I've been in the Capitol for almost four days now and I feel like I'm already stuck in a routine. Get up, take a shower, go down to find sponsors, go back up to my floor to get ready, have a 'date' and then have a chat with Dustin when I get back. And today is no different.

"So," I say when I spot my tribute on the couch again late at night, "you're ready for tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" he says without looking up from the television screen.

"Yes, tomorrow, when you have to perform for the gamemakers."

I take a glass of scotch out of the cabinet and take a seat next to him on the couch.

"Oh that, yeah I'm ready."

I smirk. "You had no idea that was tomorrow, do you?"

He turns to look at me. "No. I just got back so I haven't seen Darren or Trynni all day."

"Trynni?" I ask.

Dustin raises his eyebrows. "Trynni, our escort?"

"Right!" I exclaim as if I just didn't know which Trynni he was referring to.

"You really didn't know her name?" Dustin asks, clearly seeing right through my façade.

I just shrug. "No. But whatever, I do now."

I take a sip from my drink and notice the thin layer of sweat on Dustin's forehead as well as the glass of water in his hand.

"If you just got back," I start, "then where were you all day?"

"At the training centre. I stayed a little longer."

I glance at the clock. "But it's one in the morning! You should've been back seven hours ago."

"Just felt like staying."

I narrow my eyes at him, sensing the sudden change in his behavior. "Something's not right here. You're lying."

He starts laughing his ridiculously contagious chuckle. "I'm not lying, Johanna. I just wanted to stay at the training centre today, and I informed Darren this morning. It's no big deal."

"But why did you want to stay there?" I ask, still not fully convinced.

"Because I like it."

"You… like it?"

"Yes, I do. And now I'm off to bed, because I want to have a clear mind tomorrow. I have to make an impression, remember?" He winks at me and then stands up to go to his room.

When he's walking away from the sofa, I notice there's an extra sway in his step.

"You're limping!" I almost shout.

"I'm not," he says. He just keeps on walking without turning around. "It's just a scratch. Stop being so paranoid."

"I'm not paranoid," I protest. "I'm just looking out for my tribute."

"And you're doing a good job," he says, finally at his door. "Goodnight."

Maybe I am being paranoid because now that I think about it, everyone can get a bruise during training. And if Dustin wants to stay a little longer, who am I to question his motives? I'm pretty sure he didn't go to bed at ten every night back in District 7.

I just shake it off and finish my scotch. Maybe it is just me. It's not like my life has been the same since I got here.

"So, how did it go?" Darren asks both Jean and Dustin when they get back after having showed the gamemakers what they're worth.

Dustin just shrugs and mumbles 'fine' while Jean looks like she might cry again. It's like that sad face of hers never changes.

"I just tied a few nods and showed them I could make a fire," she says before she runs off to her room.

So she showed surviving skills. I'm not saying it's not necessary, which it most definitely is, but when you have to fight for your life, a few nods and a fire won't exactly help you.

"Well, it'll be a few hours before your points will be made public so maybe you should rest a while as well," I say, raising my eyebrows at Dustin who looks a bit tired.

"Nah," he says, "I'm just going to hang out here for a while."

"Suit yourself."

He joins me, Darren and Chadara on the couch and takes one of the glasses from the coffee table in the process.

"That was mine," I say, throwing him an evil look.

"Was," he agrees, grinning.

I just roll my eyes and take my glass back from his hands. "It's not even alcohol, you dipshit. It's water."

He raises his hands in surrender. "Hey, you're the boozy from this floor, not me."

I decide not to go against him so instead I ask him what he showed the gamemakers.

"Oh, you know, showed them some of my charm."

"Your charm huh," I say. "Could you be a bit more specific?"

"Now now, Johanna, you don't want me to spoil it all. Let it be a surprise."

I narrow my eyes at him. "You do realize they won't actually show your performance, right? Just the points."

"I do," he nods. "I just don't want everyone guessing about how well I did, or didn't."

"We don't need to guess," Darren suddenly says. "We already know you did well."

I snort. "I hope they didn't notice your limp."

Darren immediately catches my bait. "Limp? What limp?"

"Oh didn't he tell you?" I smile wickedly. "He hurt himself last night, when he was trying to be a show-off by training extra hard."

I can almost feel Darren's sudden anger radiating from his body. "Dustin! You can't afford to get hurt! Not this close to the Games!"

"Relax," Dustin says, rolling his eyes and sighing. "Like I told Johanna last night, it was just a scratch. And I don't even feel it anymore."

Darren is visibly relieved and moves to lean back a bit but suddenly gets up. "Just out of curiosity, how did you get that scratch?"

Dustin doesn't answer but sighs heavily in response, obviously not interested in this discussion.

But clearly Darren doesn't need Dustin to actually answer. "You got into a fight with someone, didn't you?"

"That's impossible," I say. "He would've told me last night when-"

"With whom?" Darren cuts me off.

"The guy from 1," Dustin replies.

"What?" I shriek.

Dustin smiles apologetically at me, as if to say 'hey, sorry I didn't tell you last night but now you know!'

"Unbelievable," I mutter bitterly.

"He's a douche," Dustin explains his fight.

"You're a douche if that's the reason why you fought him," I fire at him.

"That's not the reason but he's still a douche," Dustin says, taking the remote from my hand and flipping through the channel's on TV.

"Then what was the reason?"

Dustin sighs again, irritated by my endless list of questions. "Let it go."

"No, I won't-"

"Let it go, Johanna," Darren says, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"No, I will not!" I explode. "I am sick and tired of being left out. Obviously, there is something going on and I want to know what! So, tell me, Dustin!"

"No!" he shouts back, his eyes almost shooting daggers at me. "We all have stuff that gets under our skin, we all have things we don't talk about. Now let it go!"

"Fine," I say after a long pause before I walk away.

"Their points will be up soon!" Chadara shouts in an attempt to make me come back.

"I don't care," is all I say before I slam the door shut.

I go straight to the bathroom and turn on the shower. I really need to calm down and I don't think lying on my bed will help me with that. A cold shower should do the trick.

I don't know how it's possible that this whole floor has become one of those freaking Capitol TV shows. Every day there's drama, people shouting at each other, secrets, gossip… Is this going to be my life from now on? Because I hardly doubt I'll only have to be here for one month every year. In a few years I'll probably have flaming red and white hair with tattoos all over my body, and I'll be talking with that ridiculous Capitol accent.

When I get out of the shower I'm not completely calm yet but not as furious as before either. I quickly put the towel around my body when I hear a knock on my door.

"Hey," Dustin says, his voice soft and a bit insecure.

I don't say anything, instead just wait for him to continue.

"Just wanted to let you know that Jean got a three and I got a ten."

I try to keep the excitement out of my voice. "Okay. And the other districts?"

"Both tributes from 1 got a nine, the girl from 2 a ten and the boy an eight. And the other districts all had lower that than, except for the boy from 10. They gave him a nine as well."

I nod. "Okay, thank you."

He gives me a small smile before he turns to leave. I lean against the door as soon as I've closed it. A ten. My tribute has a ten!