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This chapter we get to see the private sessions with the Gamemakers!

Disclaimer- I do not own the Hunger Games, or anything you might recognise from it. Nor do I own Wednesday Addams.

"No, no, May," Delicia scolds. "You want the smile to look natural, not forced."

I resist the temptation to stick my tongue out at her and attempt a cheesy grin.

"No, no, no." Delicia trills again. "Like this, see?" She spreads her lips in a smile I have no doubt could win awards. She stops smiling abruptly. "Your turn."

I try to smile, lifting the corners of my mouth ever so slightly. I can smile, I just can't force it and make it look real at the same time.

Delicia sighs.

"This," My stylist says from beside Delicia (they're sitting across from me at the table, so that they can see how I'm 'progressing' easily), "Is like watching Wednesday Addams."

I don't get the joke, but it cracks our escort up. She snickers behind a perfectly manicured hand, before throwing that out the window and just full-out laughing.

"Um…" I look from Delicia to Rosalia. "Can someone please explain?"

Delicia stops laughing and the two Capitol women stare at me like I've just admitted to killing the president.

"You," Rosalia says bluntly, "Haven't lived."

"You're dismissed." Delicia pipes up. "Go and ask Wilhelm for help, you impossible child."

Relieved (It's over! Finally!), I push my chair back and leave the dining room.

When I reach the living room, I find Betony sitting and watching the TV. She's staring at it with a confused expression. Our mentor is still stretched across the sofa, his eyes flicking from the Small Girl to the TV with amusement.

"What's this?" I ask, sitting in the arm-chair across from Betony.

"I don't know!" Betony insists.

Wilhelm smirks and looks over at me. "How'd your lessons go, Blondie?"

"Terrible." I flop against the back of the armchair. "Apparently, I can't smile to save my life. Which it just might, if it's going to get me sponsors."

"Think of something happy." Betony suggests. "Like Christmas!"

I think of Christmas. I think of the little plastic fir tree that Father said has been in the family for generations. I think of hanging Mother's little chocolate decorations on the branches with Macy. I think of 'testing' one. Or two. Or twenty. I think of the presents, of the wrapping-paper battles with my sister, with my parents. I feel a ghost of a smile sneak across my face.

"By Jove, it's working!" Wilhelm says in disbelief. He looks over at Betony with newfound respect. "How did you do that?"

The little girl snickers at some secret joke of hers. "Smiling is easy."

I feel the smile drop from my face as quickly as it arrived and glance at our mentor. "So, can I pull it off?"

I study him, and it's like I can see him thinking this through carefully. "I think you can." He decides eventually, looking over at Betony. "What do you think?"

"I thought she could anyway." Her grey eyes settle on me with a mischievous twinkle. "Can I have a favour now?"

I feel my heart sink. "And what would that be?"

"I gave you a lesson in your angle." She explains. "Which means it's only fair you give me a lesson on mine."

Well, this should be easy. "Cute, right?"

"No!" She shouts. "I'm gonna be a ninja, remember?"

Wilhelm smirks.

Well. This'll be interesting.

Baxter enters the living room with dripping wet hair (I'm guessing he's just had a shower) to find me holding onto Betony's ankles whilst she attempts a handstand. Wilhelm thinks the whole situation is hilarious.

"Okaaaay…" Baxter draws out, sitting in the chair Betony had been when I escaped from my Smiling Lesson about an hour ago.

"Maysilee's giving me ninja lessons!" Betony beams. Her face is bright red; all of the blood is rushing to her head.

"You know," Wilhelm advises. "I'm pretty sure that ninjas can do handstands without someone holding their ankles."

Betony considers this for a moment before deciding he's probably right. "Maysilee, let go."

"But-"

"Do it!" She hisses. It's a strangely scary noise coming from a seemingly innocent little girl. I let go of her ankles and take a step back.

Apparently, my step wasn't big enough. Betony falls backwards, catching me with her legs and bringing me down with her. My head whacks against the floor.

I try to stop the dizzy feeling in my head as Betony rolls off of me (literally) and stands up.

"Oops." She apologises weakly. "Sorry, Maysilee."

"Yeah, yeah." I mutter as I stand up.

I scowl at Baxter and Wilhelm, who are both clearly holding back laughter.

"Smile, Blondie." Wilhelm scolds. I force a large smile, one that I'm positive makes me look demented, and quickly go back to scowling.

"Dinner!" Screeches a loud, high-pitched noise. It can only be Delicia.

"You heard the creature," Wilhelm said, swinging his legs off the sofa and standing up. "Dinner time."

The four of us head to the dining area and sit down to eat. Our stylists are there again, sitting in a little line. Betony takes the seat across from Faunus, who immediately picks the coke bottle up and moves it out of her reach. Her disappointed look lasts only until she catches sight of the chocolate cake in the centre of the table.

"That's for pudding!" Delicia warns before she has chance to get at it. Betony huffs and settles down in her chair.

I sit beside her, opposite Leo. He seems friendly. Far more friendly than Rosalia, who is currently winding Wilhelm up, at any rate.

Baxter takes the chair beside me and looks at the one last, empty chair.

"Is he still in the shower?" He says, looking at Delicia. When he catches my raised eyebrow he hastily adds "He hopped in once I was finished in the bathroom."

I nod once, but otherwise ignore him for the sake of grabbing a spoon and tucking into a bowl of chicken soup. Yummy!

"I am not fetching him from the shower!" Delicia shouts, disgusted. "Wilhelm!"

"I'm on it." Wilhelm grumbles, dropping his entire spoon into his bowl of soup (It'll be funny watching him fish that out!) and stalking off toward the boys' bedroom.

All of us- Delicia included- stare at the steps, waiting to see if Wilhelm can manage to drag Haymitch to dinner.

After about ten minutes, the door opens and Wilhelm strides out with a very smug expression. Haymitch trudges behind him wearing a pair of navy blue pyjamas.

"He let me get dressed." He states as he slips into the seat the other side of Baxter. "Be thankful."

Wilhelm slips back into his seat and stares at his soup for a moment, probably trying to figure out how exactly he's going to get his spoon back.

"So," He says, deciding to just plunge his hand in and slopping soup all over the tablecloth. Rosalia makes a 'tsk' noise and Delicia rolls her eyes dramatically. "What are you doing for the Gamemakers?" His hand emerges from the now half-filled soup bowl with a dripping spoon held tightly in his fingers. He starts licking the food off of his hand.

"Clair taught me some knife-throwing skills." Baxter answers. "I was thinking of doing that."

"Cool." Wilhelm nods. "Small Girl, your go."

"Climbing." She replies matter-of-factly. "I can do it faster than Kieran and Tanya." Her two friends from District 8.

"Awesome." He looks pointedly at Haymitch. "Curly, go."

"I'm alright at camouflage." He says. "And I'm okay at hand-to-hand combat."

"Pick one of those and go with it." Wilhelm instructs. "Blondie?"

I think about it for a moment before answering. "I can disguise myself as mud."

I hear Haymitch choke back a laugh from the other side of Baxter, fail, and start sniggering.

"And are you planning on lying in mud in the Arena?" Wilhelm asks, eyebrow raised.

"That depends on whether or not there is mud, doesn't it?" I shoot back.

"And you aren't worried it will," He puts on a very high-pitched, screaming voice that isn't unlike Delicia's, "Get in your hair and nails!"

"Nope." I assure him. "There are far more important things to worry about. Like staying alive."

"I suppose you could always trip people up if you lay in the mud." Wilhelm says, glancing at Haymitch. He's still laughing.

"She can run too." Baxter cuts in. "Remember?"

"Maybe if I run to the camouflage station," I think out loud. "And then lie on the floor and pretend to be mud?"

"Whatever works, Blondie," Wilhelm says, slurping some soup from his now clean and shiny spoon. "Whatever works."

I wake up the next morning to the sound of crying.

I sit up groggily and rub my eyes. It takes a moment for 'crying' to register in my brain, but when it does I find I've leapt out of my bed. Because who else would be crying in this room besides sweet little Betony?

I sit down on her bed.

"Hey," I whisper gently. "What's the matter?"

She sniffles and rubs an eye with the palm of her hand. "I can't find my token."

"What does it look like?"

"It's a button- a shiny blue one." She explains, her voice still crackly. "I put it by my pillow, but it's gone!"

"Well, it can't have gone far, can it?" I give her a genuine smile, which she returns.

I jump from her bed and crouch down on the floor, looking underneath it. I think I see it, but I'd better check.

I crawl underneath the bed, until just my feet are poking out, and lunge toward the maybe-button. My fingers clasp round it and I start to back out.

I try getting up too early, which results in a bump to the head. But it makes Betony giggle, so that's alright.

Opening my hand, I hold the shiny blue object I found out to her.

"Is this it?" I ask. She nods. "Maybe we can get Faunus to sew it into a hair-band for you or something. So that you won't lose it again."

I can't get back to sleep again after that. I decide to have a shower. Casting a glance over at Betony's bed (She's asleep, bless) I stand up and fling the wardrobe open. I pick out the forest green t-shirt and black leggings required for training, promising myself that I'll change straight after our private sessions with the Gamemakers. I am not a leggings person.

As silently as I can, I close the wardrobe's doors and head to the bathroom. Once in there, I make sure to leave my token somewhere I can find it- I don't want to lose it like Betony did hers! I choose to leave it on the edge of the sink, between the taps.

I swear the shower has developed new buttons since yesterday. For example, that one that looks like an apple pie isn't familiar, I swear! I press it, just to see what it does.

Okay, there is a shower setting that makes the water smell like apple pie. This is strange. This is really strange.

Still, apple pie smells nice.

Washed, dressed, and smelling of fresh apple pie, I decide to go sit in the living room. It'll be far more fun than sitting on my bed. My bed is taunting me, teasing me because I can't sleep no matter how much I toss and I turn.

After what feels like hours of sitting on the sofa, but is, according to the clock, actually only about a minute, I get bored. I jump up and decide to go see if Wilhelm's sleeping under the dining table.

I make my way over to the dining area and lift the corner of the table-cloth up.

Yes, Wilhelm's asleep under the table.

I drop the table-cloth and try to think of something else to do.

I end up on the rooftop. If I'm going to stand there and do nothing, I might as well do it somewhere pretty.

I would practice being mud, but I've just had a shower and, pleasant as it was, I don't feel like having another one just yet.

Instead, I decide to watch a ladybird I've found crawl across the floor. It's a black one with yellow spots, which reminds me of Macy's Reaping dress. I will not cry, I will not cry.

The bug crawls up my arm and looks up at me before spreading its wings and flying away. I bite my lip. I will not cry. It is not Macy. It is a ladybird.

I stand for a moment and consider chasing after it- I have nothing better do to and it can't have flown through the force-field- when I hear the door to the rooftop open.

My mind immediately assumes that this is a ninja coming to assassinate me (That is so the last time I help Betony with her angle training) and kicks into attack mode. I reach out and wrench the bamboo stick, which is being used as something for some sort of ivy to climb up, from a plant pot and turn around.

I hear laughing and tighten my grip on the stick.

"Haymitch," I hiss. "What are you doing up?"

"I could ask you the same thing." He replies.

I glance at the stick in my hand and seriously consider using it to whack him round the head.

"I can't sleep." I tell him.

"Me neither." He walks past me, to the edge of the rooftop, and looks down. "Nice view."

"Yep." I agree, trying to whirl the stick round with one hand and smacking myself on the head with it. I find the plant pot it came from and shove it back into the dirt angrily, grateful that Haymitch wasn't looking. I blow a raspberry at it and fold my arms angrily.

"Did you…" Haymitch turns around. "Just blow a raspberry at a plant-pot?"

"No." I say, and it isn't exactly a lie.

He shakes his head and leans against the wall surrounding the rooftop. "So, how are your smiling lessons going?"

I take Betony's advice and think of Christmas. I think of turkey, of all the candy canes my parents would sell in the shop every December. I smile slightly at the memory of stealing the odd few from the display, of my innocent face when questioned later on.

"Well, I see." Haymitch compliments.

Drat! I'd forgotten he was there! "That was Betony's lessons, not Delicia's. She told me to think of Christmas."

"That sounds like the sort of thing she'd come out with." He agrees.

We chat about nothing in particular, meaning nearly everything- wasps, why the sky is blue, our favourite days of the week. We don't mention the Hunger Games though.

We go in at what we think is about breakfast time. We reach the bottom of the metal staircase just as Delicia finishes knocking on mine and Betony's bedroom door.

"Oh," She looks over. "May, is Bethany with you?"

"No." I tell her. "She's in our room."

"Oh, okay." Our escort goes back to pounding at the door with a delicate little fist.

"We'll wake Baxter up." I inform her. She gives me a brief nod of acknowledgement before flinging mine and Betony's door open.

I don't bother knocking, I just throw the boys' door open. Baxter's fast asleep, his face buried in the pillow, his hand hugging the duvet close.

I creep up to him and kneel down by his bed, rest my chin on his pillow.

"RAWR!" I shout. He screams and darts upright, throwing his duvet away and moving his hands in an attack stance.

When he catches me laughing, he scowls at me.

"Maysilee, that isn't funny!"

"It was!" I titter, dashing away before he can catch me.

I push past Haymitch, who's standing by the door and pretending he wasn't listening (He was!), sprinting to the dining table before Baxter's even out of bed.

At ten o'clock, Delicia rides with the four of us down to the training level in the lift once again. When the doors ping open at the bottom, she gives us a bright smile.

"Do well in your personal sessions." She instructs. "I want a district to be proud of this year!"

We hurry to training and split off our separate ways. Betony finds Kieran and Tanya, Baxter heads off with Clair and her little gaggle of friends. I'm jumped on by Jill, who takes my hand and drags me over to the berries section. And Haymitch… God knows where he's got to.

"My mentor said I need to learn about what I can and can't eat while I've got the chance." She explains. "And you might as well come along, right?"

"Right." I agree.

The instructor must be fed up of us by the time we leave. On the one hand, there's a boy from 7 who seems to know everything there is to know about berries. And then there's me and Jill, who can't tell an elderberry from nightlock. I know strawberries, raspberries and cherries from the flavours of the sweets we get back home, but I know the Gamemakers won't be so kind as to include those in the Arena. Probably.

After lunch, they start to call tributes, district by district, to their private sessions with the Gamemakers, starting with the boys from 1, then the girls, boys from 2- you get the picture.

Because of this, Jill gets called out quite a while before me.

"Good luck!" I call after her.

"You too!" She shouts back.

Betony's hanging around with Kieran and Tanya still, as they have yet to be called. I go and find Haymitch and Baxter- who are together since District 2 has already been called, and therefore Clair- and poke the latter.

"You," He says matter-of-factly. "Are the worst alarm clock I've ever had."

"But I'm damn good at it." I point out.

"She has a point." Haymitch tells Baxter.

"No-one asked you."

As the three of us argue (Though it's nothing serious), I catch Thyme watching us with a small smile.

Once District 8 are called, Betony sidles up to us. The four of us are clearly the most friendly District left with each-other. Thyme seems friendly, and the tall girl from her District seems to get along with her, but the boys blank them completely.

When all of District 11 are gone, Baxter puts his serious face on.

"Listen," He says to the three of us. "Do your absolute best. Haymitch, they're going to call me first because my name's before yours in the alphabet."

"That means I'm last." I realise aloud.

He nods. "Make it count."

"Baxter Barnes," The Gamemaker who comes to collect us calls out. Baxter gives us a reassuring smile and heads off.

The rest of us are silent for a moment.

"I'm frightened." Betony states eventually.

"Hey," Haymitch says gently stooping to her level. "It's gonna be fine, you know that."

She smiles just as the Gamemaker calls for a Mr. 'Haymitch Abernathy. He hurries off.

Betony latches herself onto my arm in his absence, so that when her name is called I have to pry her fingers off of me. The Gamemaker gives her a warm smile, and she scampers off like a little mouse.

I mooch around the lunch hall on my own, feeling very bored and wishing something would just break the silence. Even the avoxes are gone now. It has been at least three hours since lunch, because so many tributes means everything takes a lot longer.

When the Gamemaker lady calls 'Maysilee Donner', I feel so relieved that I want to either breathe a sigh of relief or jump up and down on the spot- I can't quite decide.

I reach the now-familiar training room and look up at the Gamemaker's balcony. They all look so bored. Well, I'll just have to do something amazing, and exciting.

I run round and round the hall for a bit, just to show them how fast I can do it. They really don't seem to be paying attention.

Hm. Annoying.

I walk up to the camouflage station. Most of the colours have been used already, but the green-brown I need is barely touched. The other tributes have probably been doing art, like Jill's.

I take the bowl and smear the mud-like colour up my arms. A few Gamemakers are watching, but the majority aren't.

Okay, time for drastic action, I decide.

I take a really loud, really shaky breath and stick my entire face into the bowl. I emerge seconds later, gasping for breath, my face dripping with paint.

"Thank you," Says the lady who showed me in hastily. "You may leave."

I would say something like 'bye', but I'm still fighting to get my breath back. That paint was a lot colder than I thought it would be! And thicker.

When I step off of the lift at the twelfth floor, I head straight for mine and Betony's room. I really need a shower.

Unfortunately, I'm jumped on by Betony before that can happen.

"How did it go?" She asks me.

"Okay," I tell her, which causes paint to creep into my mouth. I push her aside and cough it up into my hand.

Baxter and Haymitch come to greet me then. The latter bursts into peals of laughter, whilst Bax just stares at me like I'm insane.

"Did you seriously take his advice?" He asks, glancing at the boy in hysterics by his side.

"Running didn't get their attention." I cough more paint into my hand before continuing. "Shoving my face in the paint bowl did."

Haymitch laughs harder.

"Now," I say, pushing past them. "I need a shower."

This chapter was originally going to be two chapters, but I decided to squish them together. So if that's a lot of information to take in, then that's why.