I sit stiffly on an old velvet upholstered couch. They've put me in a random office for my goodbyes before I'm whisked off to the Capitol. It's at least quiet here, and it gives me a moment to recollect my thoughts. I have been reaped for the 73rd hunger games and now I must figure out what to do. Frankly, I don't even know if I can even bring myself to kill anyone. I don't even know if I've got any innate talent that can help me in these games. Most tributes you see from District 7 are usually pretty handy with an axe. Axe's certainly aren't foreign to me but I wasn't out there every day cutting down trees and learning to be proficient with them. If the time came I could probably hold my own though.

I hear the voice of a peacekeeper outside the door.

"You have 3 minutes."

That's not very long. My family bursts through the door first and Max and June already have me in a tight hug. June is sobbing loudly but Max is quiet.

"Forsythia."

It's my father that is speaking.

"Forsythia, sweetheart." He pulls me into his arms to comfort me "don't give up just yet. You're a smart resourceful girl."

"But Papa, I'm not strong, I don't know how to use any weapons-"

"That doesn't matter; you can win the Hunger Games but wit too." He gently moves the hair out of my face and wipes my tears.

"Just try." Sniffs June quietly. This is the first thing she's said for hours.

"Try for all of us. Try for Mom!" Max adds.

They're right. The least I can do I go down trying. That's what everyone wants, so that's what I'm going to do. I nod silently. The all hug me again, reassuring me that I can do this. But can I?

My father pulls something out of his pocket; I know what it is right away, an old necklace that used to be my mother's. The chain is tarnished and the little emerald that sits on the pendant is miniscule, nevertheless it's still extremely valuable to all of us. He clips it around my neck.

"There. Mom will be with you the whole way." He tells me.

I start to cry again. I can't believe he's giving me this. I certainly won't be taking it off. Ever.

"Are you sure this is okay?"

He nods.

A peacekeeper comes through the door and tells us that time is up. My family tells me that they love me as they're pulled through the doors. That will probably be the last time I see them. I sit back down on the couch. Is that it? I that the only farewell I get?

I hear another "You have 3 minutes behind the door." This time Corin bursts through. I launch myself off the couch and he catches me in his arms. We stay there for a moment, not saying anything. He smells like firewood.

"Scythe...I don't even know what to say." His voice is wobbly and quiet.

"What did you tell Lucifer?" I ask him.

"I told him he has to win. He's my brother but I don't want either of you to die, so what am I supposed to say?"

Of course he's torn and obviously he's going to pick his younger brother over me. So all he can do is stay here for those three minutes and relish these last moments together with his friend.

"If he can't win, you have to."

"Don't be stupid Corin, if anyone has a chance of winning its more Lucifer than it is me."

Corin doesn't answer. He just stares at a book case, probably wondering what to say next. He looks back at me and I'm not even sure what emotion his brown eyes are holding. He looks away again.

"Forsythia...I..."

The peacekeepers come back into the room.

"Times up!"

"No wait! I'm not done-"

"We said times up!"

They grab Corin roughly and pull him by the elbows through the doors. He's struggling but he can't get out of their iron grip.

"Forsythia I-"

I don't catch the end of his sentence. The slam of the doors and the yell of the peacekeepers drown him out.

Well, that's it. That's the only goodbyes I'll probably get. I had a few other peers, but I most likely don't know them well enough for them to come here and say good bye.

Our justice building is conveniently placed across from our train station, so we don't even have to take a car ride over. Soren Pressman comes by the room I was in to escort us to the train. Lucifer is standing behind him already looking shaken. As we walk to the train I notice that Lucifer looks more shocked than sad. The streets and stations are swarmed with people and photographers. I expect nothing less. Every year I see this, tributes overwhelmed as they're swarmed by paparazzi. It's almost strange, how relatively unknown children become overnight celebrities. That is until their dead. Soren leads us up the steps to the train and as soon as were up the stairs the door slides shut and the train begins to move.

"Through here!" Soren tells us. We're leaded into the main car of the train. It's breathtaking, crystal chandeliers, velvet upholstery, and food. All that food, Cakes, pastries, sugared fruits and chocolate. I want to touch everything. It makes me feel sad though. How this lavish train is the norm for Capitol citizens. How they take the lap of luxury for granted and the Districts live in relative poverty, with no real comfort. This food here alone could feed a family. It's not even a meal time. The more I think about it the more it disgusts me. Instead I want to flip all the plates over. Soren tells us to make ourselves comfortable. I sit down on one of the plush chairs. Lucifer does the same. We notice that Soren did not follow us in.

I turn to Lucifer who still looks out of sorts.

"Luce...Are you alright?" I ask him.

"As alright as I could be." He answers, but he doesn't look at me.

I decide to not press him for any more answers. He continues anyway.

"Do you remember Sage Marlin?"

Sage Marlin. She was in our class. A pretty girl with blonde curls. I always thought Lucifer had a crush on her.

"I do. Why?"

"She came and said good bye to me," He shifts in his chair "right after Corin. I thought he was going to be the only one to say goodbye."

"That was nice of her." I'm not totally sure where he's going with this conversation.

"She told me she loved me."

Oh. Now I understand why he's so shocked. I guess it's kind of a slap in the face to him. Here's this girl that he's liked for years and he only comes to her attention once he's been reaped.

"Oh Lucifer..."

"Then she kissed me and told me I had to win." Lucifer finally looks me in the eye "Why would she do that only just now-"

Lucifer is cut off with the sound of the doors sliding open. We expect it to be Soren, but instead in steps Johanna Mason. She must be our mentor for this year. She strolls over to us and sets herself down on the chairs across from us. She raises a condescending eyebrow.

"So look what the cat dragged in this year."

I lean back offended. Hopefully she can tell from my face that I'm unimpressed. I look at Lucifer who is slouched back in his chair looking sour. I don't blame him. Johanna isn't exactly known to be charming. Johanna is the youngest victor from District 7. She won the 65th or 66th hunger games. I can't really remember. The last time Johanna won was the last time District 7 won. She probably is hoping for some promising tributes. Hopefully we look promising enough.

"I'm not discussing any strategies right now." Johanna says frankly.

"Why not?" Lucifer asks.

She shrugs "I wanna eat lunch first."

She goes to get up but I stop her.

"Wait. I don't know what kind of tributes you've been getting for these past games but were not going down with a fight. I'll do whatever I need to do win."

Johanna smirks. "Oh. Do we have some fighters this year? Well, we'll see."

She strides through the door into another car. Lucifer and I look at each other. Johanna Mason is certainly going to take some time getting used to but we're going to have to get on her good side if either of us wants to survive this thing. I run my hand along the soft velvet of the chair. This is a lot to take in all at once. I had no idea that the tributes were given the best the Capitol had to offer. It's strange almost. They'll let you experience what they experience but only if you've been drawn to be killed.

The sliding doors open and this time in trots Soren Pressman. He's smiling and humming a jaunty tune. Now that I can see him closely, Soren looks no older than Johanna does, somewhere in his early twenties. He smoothes down his silk plum coloured vest and stands before us.

"Lucifer! Forsythia! I hope you're enjoying everything so far but if you'd like to join us in the dining car, lunch will be served very soon."

He also tells us that our train ride will only be a short 3.5 hours to the Capitol then he leads us to the dining car. Johanna has already made herself comfortable in one of the chairs. She's kicked her shoes off in the corner and is practically hanging out of the chair. I seat myself across from her and Lucifer goes gutsy and sits right beside her. Soren sits beside me. Suddenly, plates of food are coming from the kitchen and being placed in front of us. Johanna rubs her hands together in delight and licks her lips. Pork tenderloin with an apple cider sauce has been placed in front of me along with stuffing and other various roasted vegetables and greens.

"So what exactly is your job, Soren?" Lucifer asks.

"Being a waste of space." Johanna says with a mouthful of stuffing.

"No one asked you, Mason." Soren says wiping his mouth with a napkin "I'm your escort. I tell you your schedules, give you advice. Simply put I am your guardian until the Games start."

Lucifer now turns to Johanna. "And you, you're our mentor. What can you tell us?"

Johanna stops chewing and swallows. "Hey, hey, Ginger, the time will come to talk strategies. First, I need a little insight on you. Do you have any talents?"

Lucifer looks at his plate and shrugs. He's a humble sort of guy and wouldn't exactly boast about any abilities he had.

"Axes I guess. My brother and I do weekend work with the lumber teams so we got some extra training. Mostly they'd just make is haul logs though."

Johanna nods "You're strong and you can haul and axe, we can work with that!" then she gives him a light punch in the arm.

I decide to put my two cents in. "He's fast too. He was the top sprinter at school for sports."

"Good good. What about you?"

Me. What about me. I certainly can't haul a couple of axes around my head. Maybe I could with a hatchet. I look around trying to think.

"I can climb trees." I say lamely.

Johanna gives me a look of disapproval. I need more than that to impress her. Lots of children from District 7 can remotely climb a tree. Lucifer helps me out.

"More like run up trees. I swear she can get to the top of a hundred old cedar in thirty seconds."

This is mostly true. I can climb them fast. When I was younger my father and I used to play a game called 'mockingjay race' he would hum a tune and I would have to climb to a top of a tree before the mockingjays repeated his song. Eventually I got good enough that I could climb tall trees quite quickly. Because of this I got a job tying markers around the tops of trees that were to be cut down. I explain this to Johanna.

"It's a start" she tells me "but we're going to have to find some weapons you can use."

Johanna is eyeing us up and down in her seat, nodding and scratching her chin. She looks at me

"You...you've got a very pretty face. Work with that, sell it; it'll get you sponsors guaranteed. "Then she looks at Lucifer. "You're not bad looking either...Yeah. I think I can work with this!"

She's grinning and I don't know what she's got in store for us but I smile back and go along with her. I have to go along with her if want to win this.