As soon as I finish scarfing down my food, I scurry back to the library. It takes me less than two minutes, since I managed to memorize the route while they dragged me to the dining room. I take a minute to breathe in the scent of the books, appreciate the vast amount of knowledge held in this room. Then I practically dive into the chair I had claimed as my own, picking up the dog-eared book and picking up where I had left off. A book on the weaknesses of common weapons. Should I get myself into a scrap, this could be useful information. I submerge myself in the book, not coming up for air until Escalanda finds me and drags me to watch the reapings. I sullenly follow her, just wanting to return to my sanctuary in this Hell. Never the less, I sit next to Adam and watch as Escalanda turns on the TV. Ina and Kander saunter in just as the recap of the reapings begins. I take mental notes of the potential tributes. The ones from District 1 are certainly a threat, but I'm not overly impressed. The female, Glimmer, is too skinny, despite her most likely cushy upbringing. The male, Marvel, is actually on the small side. They are strong and well trained, but not as impressive as I had been expecting. District 2 is definitely a bigger threat. The female, Clove, is a rather big, strong looking girl, much more substantial than Glimmer. She has a wicked gleam in her eye; I certainly don't want to cross her. The male, Cato, is enormous. He thunders up to the stage to volunteer and state his name, which he does proudly, smirking and absorbing the applause like a sponge. Physically, he's clearly a major threat. And yet, something about him makes me wonder just how smart he is. Clearly the volunteering was planned, but he seems impulsive and maybe even stupid to me. Perhaps I'm just stereotyping due to his strength, but I decide to tuck this away in my head so I can study him during training. District 3 is no different than any other year. If anything, they're even scrawnier and more timid than usual. They don't appear to be a threat. District 4 is disappointing, two relatively small and unmemorable volunteers for a Career District. This confuses me; this must just be an off year for 4. None of the other tributes really stand out until 11. They're all small, scared kids who probably won't make it far. District 11, however, surprises me. The girl is only a tiny little 12 year old, not seeming to be much, and yet I do a double take. This mousy girl, Rue, has an intelligent look in her eye. She doesn't appear to be simple minded. And while she's skinny, if one looks closely they can see the definition in her tiny arms. She's also strong. I'm willing to bet most other tributes will write her off, but I won't underestimate her. I'm keeping an eye on this one. The male from 11 is another giant, even bigger than Cato. Thresh is gigantic, huge rippling muscles presumably from harvesting. He's stoic, stone faced and intimidating. I plan to stay away from him.

District 12 completely shocks me. Generally, district 12 tributes are emaciated poor kids who die off in the bloodbath. They never have a strong tribute, and volunteers are unheard of. However, when a small girl named Primrose Everdeen is reaped out of the 12 year olds, something completely unforeseen happens. A tall, clearly strong and well fed girl from the 16 year olds barrels toward Primrose, screaming "Prim! I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!" Everyone in the room sits up straight in shock. I scrutinize this girl, who identifies herself as Katniss Everdeen. Primrose's sister. She appears smart, and stands confidently and strongly. The muscles in her arms are well defined, if wiry. This girl does something, trains somehow or something. I don't know what it is, but one does not simply develop that kind of strength out of nowhere. The male tribute, Peeta, is nearly as surprising. A stocky, strong blonde kid from the 16 year olds, he's also strong and well fed. My guess is he's some kind of shop owner or something, maybe Katniss is too. Something bothers me about her though. I think it might be the look in her eye, but she has an intimidating appearance. Peeta appears softer, not such a hard look in his eye, and he's crying. The only ones who haven't cried were the Career volunteers, me, the District 11 tributes, and this Katniss girl. They shake hands and the program is over. I'm sitting there, mulling over this new information in my head when Escalanda claps her hands and says "Oh, how exciting! This is going to be a wonderful Games, I just know it! But for now, we have a big, big day tomorrow, so off to bed!"

Realizing how tired I am, I head off to my room without any argument, without even a word actually. I quickly strip, deciding to just sleep in my underwear. Only females are allowed in female rooms and male attendants in male rooms anyhow, so I really didn't care. I slid beneath the covers, exhausted, drifting easily into sleep.

I'm running as quickly as I can through a dessert. I keep slipping on the sand, and I can feel myself dehydrating under the blistering sun. I've never had sunburn before, but my skin is bright red and the small sacs of fluid on the surface bring a whole new meaning to the expression "blistering sun". I desperately want a rest but I know I'm being chased. I keep running and running, slipping, falling, unable to see my pursuer but knowing they're there. Just as I'm about to collapse, someone jumps out from behind a cactus and I feel a knife pierce my chest, a direct hit in my heart. I fall to the ground and feel my life drain away, everything fading to black as my murderer cackles evilly…

I bolt upright in bed, making no noise. My bed is soaked in sweat and my heart is racing from my nightmare. I look at the clock, which reads 4 am. I groan, wishing I could have slept longer but not wanting to go back to sleep and risk reliving the nightmare. Instead, I hop out of bed and open some random drawers. They're stocked with clothes, all my size. I choose out some soft jeans and a green short sleeved shirt. I then walk into the bathroom, take out my hair style, and brush my hair and teeth. I notice something strange in the corner. It's a large box, like a closet, but no shelves. It's all tile, with a pipe thing coming out of it. But the pipe widens and has a cover with holes punched in it. There's a panel with buttons on it, so I press one. Water shoots out the holes, smelling of something sweet. We had it at dinner last night… Chocolate, it smells of chocolate. I put a hand under the water and it feels amazing. I take a closer look at the panel. The button I pressed has a brown rectangle with smaller squares in it. I remember that this is the chocolate setting. The warm water feels amazing, soothing my tense muscles and warming me up, washing away the sweat from my awful dream. I stand there for what feels like forever, then glance at the panel and get curious. I press a button with a picture of a pink bottle on it. Pink liquid squirts out the sides of the strange closet, out of spouts I hadn't seen before. It smells like wild flowers. The water turns unscented at the same time and rinses the pink stuff off. I decided that's enough of that and press the "off" button and step out. THere are no towels, but there's a metal square with a hand print on it on the wall in front of me. Warily, I put my hand where the print is. I feel a tingly feeling, then my hair floats down my back, dry and untangled. The rest of me is dry as well. Shocked, I dress myself and wander back into my room. I look through my drawers and play with a remote that lets me see all over the country, I think, out of the window. I spy on Capitol people, but there aren't very many out at 7 am. Instead I find a place somewhere were there's a beach. Birds fly about and the green-blue ocean laps at the sand. I find it very relaxing and watch it, listening to the sounds until Escalanda comes knocking for breakfast. She appears surprised when I immediately walk out, completely ready, but seems to choose to stay quiet and follows me to the dining room.

I sit next to Ina, again on the opposite end from the boys, and an attendant brings me a plate full of pancakes, waffles, bacon, eggs, and all kinds of things. I start eating as Ina starts talking.

"Ok, today you'll meet your stylist. I can tell you now you'll probably hate them and what they do to you, but that doesn't matter. Just go along with it and let them have at you. The prep team's jobs will hurt you, and the stylist will make you look ridiculous. But the Capitol people love ridiculous, and that's who you're trying to please right now. Don't glare at them, don't make snarky or sarcastic remarks, and don't stay too silent. Be kind and friendly and put up with it. It's good for you in the long run. Capiche?" she finally finishes her little speech and I nod, eyes wide. This sounds a bit scary. "Good," she smirks at me. "Let's see how your little books prepare you for this."