-March 29th, Year of the 45th Hunger Games-

We sit on the couch waiting for the results of the Training Scores. The last few days have not been good. Cassia and Surius have seemingly run out of ideas for the chariot parade, and this year, Savannah and Daley didn't stand out in their shiny, metallic outfits. The training sessions don't seem to have gone too well either. Savannah said she worked alright with a knife and could handle an axe, and Daley seems to be alright at the survival skills – which I emphasised were important. I hope that wasn't bad advice, and I hope he hasn't ignored the weapons skills. Neither talk that much – Daley because he's shy, and I don't think Savannah really feels she has anything to gain from a Victor the same age as her.

The atmosphere is uncomfortable. Decimus has unrealistically high expectations I think, but I am relieved he hasn't voiced them. Caesar appears on the screen, and memories of last year shoot through me. I think I am just as nervous. Glaze, the boy from District 1 appears onscreen. He receives an 8, followed by his District partner, Cerulean receives a 9. Both of District 2 score 8s. District 3, a pair of weedy pale kids score 4s.

'Oooh...that's not good...' comments Cassia.

I feel Daley tense up beside me. The boy from 4 gets a 10 and the girl gets an 8, and then it's us. Daley's face appears first. A 5 lights up next to it, and I feel a sudden pang of familiarity. This time, we know how to deal with it.

'Not a problem.' Decimus says. 'No one looks at the middle scores – they only care about the obvious threats.'

I wonder if Tyga told him to react like this, because the words seem very out of place coming from Decimus' black lips. Savannah's name is up next, and she receives a 7. Smiles surround the room – it's a fairly strong score, but it doesn't put her in danger of being targeted. This is probably the best we could have hoped for. Districts 6, 7 and 8 get average scores between 3 and 7. By the time the scrawny girl from 12 appears with a score of 6, I can tell Daley and Savannah don't really want to be here anymore. The final screen shows pictures of all the tributes with their scores next to their faces, with the tributes whom scored 8 or higher lit up. Nine faces light up – the six Careers and the boys from 9, 10 and 11, with the boy from 9 scoring a 9 and the other two scoring 8. This will be a tough year.

When the screen flickers off, we let Savannah and Daley scurry to their rooms. Tyga suggests we go somewhere private, so the five of us head to her bedroom. She softly shuts the door behind her.

'Right, so what do we think?' she asks, addressing all of us as one.

'They're not bad scores.' Surius starts, 'Not good either, but we can work with them.'

Cassia shakes her head. 'No, the seven we can work with. But a five?'

'Need I remind you that Connor got a five last year, and he's sitting here today, as a Victor?' Tyga says, stood up, whilst the rest of us are seated on the plush couches around her room.

'Yes, but sponsors aren't going to want to put their money on something so risky.' Decimus adds.

There is a mutter of agreement around the room, before Cassia says what we're all thinking.

'But there can only be one winner.'

'I've been looking at the odds' Decimus says. 'Neither are particularly high, but Savannah's the higher of the pair.'

'Who's at the top?' I ask.

Decimus purses his lips at me, before answering.

'The usuals – Careers mostly. Cerulean and Glaze from 1, Aura and Rune from 4.' He regains his focus, back to the topic at hand. 'So, the question here is...who do we pick?'

'Well, I think the choice is obvious.' Cassia says with a sigh. 'The girl speaks more, she's got a fair training score, and with the right angle I reckon we could get her noticed at the interviews.'

'All in favour of choosing Savannah?' Tyga asks.

Decimus and Cassia raise their hands, followed by Surius. With a sigh, Tyga raises hers. All eyes fall on me, and I swallow hard, raising my hand.

'That's settled then.' Tyga says, with a solemn expression. 'We'll try to make Savannah our Victor.'

The others leave the room until it's just Tyga and I left. She sits down on the bed next to me, breathing heavily.

'Tobi always used to do that' she says, eyes on the floor.

I put my arm around her, and squeeze her shoulder. She smiles a sad smile, and sighs. We sit there for a while, until I decide to go and get some sleep.

'Sleep tight' I say as I leave.

I walk through the empty hall to my room, thoughts swimming through my mind. I push open the door, and notice a figure sitting on my bed. I suddenly realise that this isn't my room – it's the room I stayed in last year – the male tribute's quarters. I turn to leave, apologising, but then my gaze on Daley lingers. He's curled up in a ball, his legs held tight into his chest. His brown hair covers his face, but I can hear his sniffles and it's obvious he's crying. I walk over to him and sit down by his side. His damp face looks up and his red eyes stare into mine.

'Hey', I say, softening my voice, as I put my hand on his knee. He attempts at a smile, and I think he says hey quietly, but I'm not sure. 'You alright?'

I know the answer to this. It's a stupid question, but I don't know what else to say.

'I...I got a 5' he says between sniffles.

'And what's wrong with that?' I say with a smile.

'People who get fives don't win.'

'Now, that's just not true. And if anyone has a right to say that, it's me. I got a 5, in case you've forgotten.'

'I know...I know. But you were different.'

'How?'

'You...you were stronger.'

I almost laugh at that. The idea that anyone could consider me strong in anyway is ridiculous. Daley continues.

'I mean, look at me! I'm sat here, crying, and in two days I'm gonna be in the arena. How the hell am I gonna cope with that if I can't even get a decent training score! I mean, how many Victors have you ever seen cry?!' He almost shouts this, with the emotion flying everywhere, but the tears stop it from getting too loud.

'Well. Me, for one.' I reply softly.

'You? You cried?' he says, shocked.

'Yep. Most days. But, I got over it once I got into the arena and, hey, I'm still here today. So, I guess something went right.'

The tears are drying up, and he smiles through the damp valleys the teardrops have carved into his face. 'And you'll help me, right?'

And in that one question, it's all so obvious. Everything about this boy is so clear. Because now I finally see Daley. I really see him, and I understand everything he is. Because Daley is me.

'Yes' I reply.

And now I know that I cannot let this boy die.

Hey guys :) Did you like that? Let me know! So, the next chapter should be up on Monday. I always love to hear your reviews - any characters you like/dislike/need to be described more? Let me know! Anything you think is going to happen? Let me know! Any improvements that I could work on? Let me know!

Oh, and also if anyone has actually made use of the summary of the 44th Annual Hunger Games, please let me know - it would be great to hear that it was worth making :) So, yeah, to some up - review! Reviews aid my writing and inspire me to write more and faster.