I walk out of my room and join everyone else for breakfast, Ryle murmurs a 'morning' when I sit next to him, he is still sleepy. He is eating like he hasn't eaten in a month, though.

I eat a normal amount of food, some eggs and bread for the protein and carbohydrates so I can have some energy for later. Maybe Finnick will want to train until late today as well.

At 9:50 I make my way down to the gymnasium on my own. Half of the tributes are already there, some of them are just talking to their tribute partner and some are already training, like the girl from District 10, Serena, who is throwing knives before the careers claim that station. I recognize her because of her jet black straight hair and standing blue eyes. Those eyes give me chills, so I make my way to the station of edible and poisoned plants once again. I won't be as long as the day before but I want to refresh my memory a bit.

Then I move to another station I practice making knots and making snares. Around 12:00, I eat some of the food I brought with me without people noticing, I don't really know if I can eat or not. Time passes painfully slow, but by lunch I have been on five different stations and I am satisfied with it.

Again, people waste no time on going to the cafeteria to eat lunch. I wonder how it would be like if I went with them. The cafeteria is just next to the gymnasium and we are supposed to eat lunch together, probably to get to know each other. I can't help but think, would I sit with Ryle? Would he and the other careers reject me and make me go to another table? Would Kade let me sit with him? Would I sit alone? Probably.

As I am thinking of these silly things, Finnick enters the gymnasium, with his usual smirk planted on his face. He sees me by the making-fire station and approaches me quickly.

"I will miss the shorts on this session." He says smirking.

"Hello to you too." I comment and he only smirks even more to me. "What are we going to do today?"

Finnick first gives me an axe, and makes me practice with it. It can be deadly but I have never used one before. I manage to cut wood easily and even cut off one of the dummy's neck when I throw it for the third time. Then Finnick gives me a sickle, another weapon new to me. Sickles are small blades, they are very sharp and light, so they are easy to carry around.

"If someone ambushes you, you could be carrying one in your hand and slash their throat easily and fast, or you may just stab them, it would make an ugly and painful cut."

Finnick makes me practice, not with him of course, but with a moving dummy. I am pinned against a wall and I have no way of escaping, but I remember the sickle and slash the throat of the dummy. Finnick is happy with my training after that.

"You have good aim." Finnick tells me. "If you throw a rock at someone passing by, you may only hurt them a bit or they may end up unconscious, and then you can kill them easily, it depends of the size of the rock and the force you use to throw it."

Finnick gives me two small rocks, he puts a bottle of water very far from me and tells me to throw the rocks at it. The first rock hits it and makes it stumble but the second time I actually make the bottle fall. I keep throwing rocks for a while, different types and sizes of rocks each time. He then makes the target smaller and I still hit it with the rocks, he also puts the target further away to increase the level of difficulty.

"Our time has almost run out." Finnick tells me. "You are doing extremely well."

"Am I?" I ask him surprised, a smile creeping on my lips.

"Yes, I'm proud of you." Finnick says patting me on my shoulder. "Now eat something."

I have left my food at a table while we trained, I grab it and start to eat, I am really hungry at that point.

"Is that it?"

"I ate some things before you came, throughout the morning."

"Didn't you bring any meat, fish, or chicken? Anything like that?"

"Uhm, I actually don't eat any of that." I whisper, for some reason I am a bit scared of his reaction.

"Sorry?" He asks me, looking straight at me.

"I'm a vegetarian." I say, biting my lip.

"Fantastic." He says in a sarcastic way.

"I eat well." I say, trying to defend myself.

"It's not really about that." His anger is evident in his voice. "It's about surviving. Do you think the gamemakers will give you your three meals with a variety of food like now? Or do you think they will send you a nice dish of vegetables and fruit?"

"No." I whisper, feeling a bit stupid.

"Sometimes the only food you can eat is animals you hunt." He is almost screaming at me now. He is probably just trying to keep his voice low so no one can hear us. "Fish, birds, insects, rabbits. If you don't even eat them cooked, how will you hunt them and eat them raw?"

"I won't."

"That's not an answer." He says in a normal tone but I can see his anger flashing in his eyes, which are now a dark shade of green. "If you don't eat you will be weak, if you are weak you will be an easy prey, and if you are then you will be killed, they may have trees with some fruits and nuts, but what if they don't?"

"I have not thought about that."

"Well do it."

He glances at the clock and knows he only has probably two minutes before lunch is over and people start coming back to train again. He sighs.

"I want you to concentrate on two stations." Finnick says, his voice is still cold. "Learn to make shelter and the Gauntlet. I'll see you again at 10:00 tonight."

I only can nod at him, my throat is dry and I know that my voice would break if I dare to talk. He turns around to leave but then stops and turns around to look at me.

"Try to eat some fish or something for dinner." He adds in a nicer tone.

He turns again and leaves this time. A minute or two later all the tributes are back and already claiming stations. I run to the Gauntlet before Jett, a brunette boy with grey eyes can use it. The Gauntlet is an obstacle course. It consists of ascending platforms that rise up to a landing. You must jump from platform to platform to finish in the fastest time possible. To make it even more difficult, trainers swing padded clubs at the tributes. It is a very popular station.

I fail the three first times but I have it under control the next times I try it out. I try to improve my time every time. When my legs start to feel shaky and like they are going to give up, I decide it is time to go and move to the make-shelters station. Jett, the boy from District 7, seems like he has been keeping an eye on me because as soon as I leave he claims the station for himself.

Some hours later and it is time to go, the tributes from 5, 7, 9, the girl from 12 and I all get inside the lift. Ryle and the careers have already gone to their floors and no one dared to join them, and it isn't like we all fit inside the lift anyways.

I walk out of the lift without a word, and go straight to my room. I change into my usual pyjamas, the shorts and a comfortable shirt. I put my hair in a messy bun and go to eat something.

I grab some of everything I like and put a small piece of fish next to the mashed potatoes. I stare at it for a while, and then cut it into tiny pieces. I gag every time I try to put a piece inside my mouth. It is fortunate Ryle is still showering and no one has joined me for dinner yet.

"You own him." I say to myself. "You can do it, Danie. It's just eating."

I fail four times, on the third and fourth time I chew the piece a bit before I feel extremely sick and almost puke right there. So I attempt another approach. I grab a small piece and swallow it, then chug lots of water. I still gag a bit but nothing comes up. I do that two more times but by the third time I rush to the bathroom and throw up.

I sit down again at the table after I have cleaned up. "You are starving to death. You are on the beach and a fish is next to you, your only source of energy. Your only hope of living." I say to myself. "You can do this, you must do it, you have no choice but eat it, Danieka."

I do the same as before and swallow two small pieces without even tasting them, I gag but it is not as bad. Then I allow myself to chew two times before swallowing with a lot of trouble. I feel the need to throw up but I take deep breaths and eventually the urge goes away. I do the same two more times before I decide it is more than enough. I don't want to push it any longer. Then I eat some of my food, which is already cold by now.

I finish just as Ryle sits next to me. I excuse myself before the prep teams, stylists, our mentors and Enebry can all join us. I go to my room and take a small nap after that.