How scary to know that I probably won't wake up tomorrow.
I'll be gone; another contestant lost.
How frightening to walk before the Gamemakers and sponsors with nothing to show but an arrow shot from a shaky, nervous hand.
To have nothing but my voice.
This was my life.
My name is Iris DeMartik.
I'm thirteen, District 12's tribute for the 60th Hunger Games.
I woke up in the bed that isn't mine. I drew myself up and tightened my fists.
The Games were far from starting, but I was in the Capitol. A knock echoed from the wood of my door.
"Yes?" I called. A slice of white light hit my eyes as the other tribute from District 12 walked in. His name was Jacob Terenause. His golden-brown hair was styled into the usual faux-hawk. He had glasses, something that the sponsors saw as a weakness. He sat down on the bed beside me.
"First training session today." he said. I looked into his eyes. They were green with a ring of brown around the pupil. In one fluid motion, he planted a soft kiss on my lips. Then the moment was over, and I pulled myself up from the bed. Jacob saluted me and slipped into the hall. I stared at my face in the mirror. The two darker freckles by the sides of my mouth; my brown-gray eyes of clear color. I ran a hand through my knarled brown hair and a tear dripped from my face onto the sink.
I wasn't going to live.