I finish my first day of training with high spirits. When we are dismissed, the other Careers and I load the elevator and bid each other goodbye one by one as they get off. Sean is waiting for me in the sitting room.

"How was the first day?" he asks me with a grin as I flip my sweaty yellow hair out of my eyes.

"Productive." I reply.

"So..." he smiles. "Make any friends?"

I roll my eyes. "If you already know, then why are you asking me?"

Sean adopts a falsely innocent expression. "Whatever do you mean?"

I pretend to play along. "Yes, I made a few friends; the tributes from 1, 2 and 4. No big deal." I smirk. "But you already knew that."

"Yes, I was talking to the mentor from District 1 seconds before you arrived. So you're a Career now, eh?"

"Yup. They seem nice. You know, for merciless killers with hearts of stone and veins clogged with ice."

"Good. Now, is that girl from 2 really as young as she looks?"

"She's older than I am!" I laugh.

"Someone hasn't hit their growth spurt yet, I guess." Chuckles Sean as Ricky trudges out of the elevator. "How was your first day of training?" Sean asks him.

Ricky shrugs. "Ok, I guess. I learned how to throw knives."

"That will be helpful in the arena." Responds Sean encouragingly. "Now, you have another big day tomorrow, so let's go have a quick dinner, and then off to bed for both of you."

We nod and obey, stuffing ourselves before we retreat to our rooms. I have a quick shower and stare at myself in the mirror for a fair bit of time, trying to get used to my new hairstyle. I can't. Grimacing, I stomp back into my bedroom and crawl angrily under the covers. Before I can get to sleep, however, someone knocks on my door.

"Come in!" I call, and to my horror, Ricky silently steps in. "What do you want?" I cry.

He studies me carefully. "I thought you were brave and strong and an athlete. I thought you wanted to compete in the Games. I thought I had you figured out."

"What do you mean?" I ask, exasperated. "I am a competitor, and I'm stronger, braver and more athletic than most of the people here."

"Then why did you join the Careers?" Ricky sneers.

"None of your business!"

"I suppose it isn't, but think Olivia. You've got skill, I'll give you that, but not nearly as much as the Careers. By joining them, you're basically surrendering yourself to them. If you fought on your own, you could sneak up on them and take them out one by one. Now, they'll always have an eye on you, and when the time comes, they will gang up on you. You'll make it far, but you won't win, mark my words."

"Since when were you a strategist?" I snarl at him. "You don't know anything!"

"Fine, don't listen to the facts. Think of it this way; what will your aunt think when she's seen that you've joined the Careers. Think of how many people from District 9 the Careers have killed in the past. What about Casey and Nathan? What will they think? What will the district think when you murder innocent children?"

"It's the Hunger Games, stupid. If you don't kill, you die. They'll understand. And as for joining the Careers, my aunt will probably be proud of me for being skilled enough. Something that you're not! Just leave me alone. Why do you care anyway; you hate me!"

"Yeah, well, I believe in keeping things fair." Ricky replies with a tremor in his voice. I have a feeling that he's not being truthful. "And before you joined them, I thought you had a pretty good chance of winning. I'm not going to win, and it'd be better for my family if you did."

"Whatever." I scoff. "Please, just get out of my room." Ricky shrugs and leaves, and finally, I fall asleep.

In the morning, Ricky and I pretend like our conversation the previous night never happened. I see him glance at me periodically, sometimes scared and sometimes angry, but he doesn't talk. My plate is still half full when I board the elevator.

"You shouldn't go to training on an empty stomach." Ricky mumbles to me as I hold the door open for him.

"Thanks, but since when were you my mother?" He doesn't say a word after that.

I go through the obstacle course first, beating my original time by a few seconds, before continuing my sword training. I'm itching to try the maces, but I remember what Sean instructed me, so I resist the temptation. I am aware of other tributes watching me nervously. It drives me to work harder, and out of the corner of my eye, I see their expressions slowly change to horrified. I snicker.

Finally, Hassan calls lunch. Quickly, I use a towel to wipe my sweaty forehead before I retreat to the cafeteria. The other Careers are already at the big table, so I join them after stocking my tray.

"Olivia, why is your hair yellow?" Cassandra asks me after a while. I've noticed her glancing at my head momentarily, so I knew this question would be coming soon. The others nod, as if they were wondering the same thing.

"Yeah, your hair was brown for the Reaping!" adds Melany.

"My stupid stylist did this to me." I grumble. "She died my hair, and it didn't come out."

"I think it looks cool!" exclaims Melany.

"I think it looks weird." Gem mutters.

"Okay, enough with the trivial conversations." Orders Titanium. "We have a serious problem."

"We do?" chuckles Chase.

"Yes, we do. That girl, Nakita has skill. She is a serious threat. We need to figure out a way to take her out quick or slow her down during the Games."

"Too bad we can't take something from her and blackmail her with it." Muses Mason. "That's what I do with my brothers, and it works every time."

"Who says we can't?" asks Gem. "We could steal the only bow or something and leave her defenceless!"

"That's not big enough." Counters Titanium. "There are plenty of weapons in the Cornucopia; it won't matter if we hide one."

Cassandra glances over towards Nakita's table. "Wow, she and that boy look so close; almost like family!" she says, thinking aloud.

"Wait, that's perfect!" exclaims Melany. "We could corner him or something at the start of the Games, and the 'show mercy' and let him join us! He won't be any the wiser, but Nakita will know we're holding him hostage! If she attacks us, we kill him. In the end, we'll have to kill him anyway, but we'd have, like, immunity for most of the Games!"

Mason raises his eyebrow. "That's a really good idea!"

"Yeah, I wish I would have thought of that!" whines Cassandra.

Titanium smiles wickedly. "So, we have a plan. Nakita won't do anything to us while we have her little friend on our side. Now that we know what we're doing, watch them. For the rest of the afternoon, keep an eye on those two. Figure out their strengths and weaknesses."

"Aye aye, captain." Mutters Gem sarcastically, as the Careers stand up to throw out their garbage. Ruefully, I watch the boy named Talon. He has no idea what's going to happen. I hope he's brave, because in the coming days, he'll need every ounce of courage he possesses.