I have an actual pair this time! We're getting closer.


Charming Goodwin, 18 (D1)

It was a little-known fact among Academy students that there were strategy classes in addition to combat classes. Perhaps I was being a little ungracious, but it seemed like there were never as many people in those classes as there should have been. What few other students were in the room were all great volunteer candidates, and I would have been happy if any of them had been picked. I was also happy that I had been picked, but I was politely trying not to show it.

The unpopularity of the strategy classes meant that the students involved always had easy acccess to an advisor. We were all assigned one at the beginning of the year, but even in a District as strong as One, there were more eager candidates than actual Victors. The strategy advisors often never actually volunteered. Perhaps that said something about the intelligence of doing so.

My advisor was an ivory-skinned, dark-haired man named Tang. I'd learned a lot from him already. I started out at the Academy ready to burst onto the scene and blow everyone else away. I knew now that it was good to be good at one thing, but better to work even harder and have lots of skills to count on. It was Tang that told me I should learn a long-range weapon as well and not rely solely on a sword. It was embarrassing at first to practice in front of people when I was bad, but I was getting good enough now that it wasn't as goofy-looking.

"Okay, so work hard, keep an eye on everyone else, and make connections," I said as Tang and I went over my plan again. He peeked at the cameras before he responded.

"Rumor has it things are going to be different this year," he said.

"Oh no. What does that mean?" I asked, thinking about the crazy stuff that went down whenever some Capitol lunatic decided it was time for a "Resurrection Games".

"This is just a rumor, mind you, and if it was true, it would be against the rules to talk about it. But if I was allowed to advise based on it, I would suggest you spend more time keeping your alliance strong," Tang said. That could have meant anything from a team-based Games (which I would have hated) to paired eliminations (which would have been even worse).

"That... sounds really ominous," I said.

"Let's hope it's just a silly rumor," Tang said.

We never would have told the outliers, but even volunteers had trouble sleeping the night before Reaping day. Most of the people in One wouldn't even have guessed it. Around town, I was somewhat of a golden boy. I came from a happy family, even though we weren't the richest. I got good grades and went on dates with wholesome girls. I did well at the Academy and obviously got picked to volunteer. What bothered me was that none of that really mattered. I could be the smartest, sweetest, handsomest, most modest boy in the District (I wasn't, by the way), but none of that would matter at all if I came back from the Games in a coffin. Bad fighters died in the Games. So did a lot of good fighters.


Ruby Lalonde, 18 (D1)

Run from problems, run from my genes, run from my troubles. I could never run fast enough.

I wasn't fast enough to save my friends from a freak nightmare that shocked even the bloodthirsty people of One. I wasn't fast enough to dodge my mother's slaps, and I wasn't fast enough to get away when the Peacekeepers came. I wasn't fast enough to outrun the bottle that always hovered at the back of my mind. I was faster than anyone else at the Academy, but never fast enough. Ever since that first day I wasn't fast enough, I hardly deserved to outrun anything bad that happened to me.

Students and alumni of the Academy were responsible for dozens of dead kids, but the Academy was what saved my life. Having something to work toward and strive for kept me sane. Every minute I spent devoting all my mental energy to training was a minute I could block out the siren call of past vices and bad memories. If I won the Games, I would be good enough for once. I worked like a madwoman to get picked to volunteer, and it paid off. Once I was picked, I worked even harder to make sure they'd made the right choice.

It was hot on Reaping day. I'd worn my good black dress, and I was starting to regret it. No one expected volunteers to dress up anyway. Often the volunteers wore athletic wear to show off their forms and so they could hop onstage easily. Some of us were more vain and preferred fancy dress, but there was no expectation either way. I'd worn my good dress to show everyone I took this seriously, but I realized I'd put a lot more thought into it than anyone in the audience.

Philomena called the girls first this year. "Mellifluence Shard!" she announced. She let the girl, a young brunette, get onstage before she continued. Since few people in One took tesserae, we had more young people get Reaped than most Districts. Not that it mattered, since they never went in.

"Do we have any volunteers?" Philomena asked.

"I volunteer as Tribute!" I said. It wasn't the grandiose gesture some volunteers made it into. I was the chosen volunteer and I did it. I didn't need fanfare.

I was indifferent when Charming joined me. Oftentimes the instructors at the Academy tried to encourage the chosen pair to get to know each other to maximize One's chances, but we never really hit it off. I was sure he was competent, but we hadn't spoken much. I was too busy worrying about myself to think about anyone else.

"Do you have anything to say?" Philomena asked. It was tradition in One to make a speech. It probably was in Two and Four also, but I couldn't be sure, since not everything was shown on television.

My own speech was short and polite. "I am grateful for this chance to represent my District. I thank everyone who helped me get here. No one wins the Games alone, and I'm endlessly thankful for your support. Above all, I won't let you down."