Gidget Ford

There were a lot of options that were impossible for me. Swords were not going to happen, not with my lack of striking space. Camouflage didn't work miracles. I was not hideable. Not unless I disguised myself as a boulder. I was pretty sure I would snap a bow if I tried to sling it across myself. And so I settled on throwing knives.

This is so cliché, I thought as I tried to learn. But it could have been worse. I wasn't a Career. It was somewhat more unique for someone from three. We tended to be eggheads. Unfortunately, an egghead I was not.

It may have been a pipe dream, but I would have liked some allies. It made me sick to see the Careers eyeing the younger Tributes like wolves. Maybe it was the hormones talking, but I wanted to see them safe. And it definitely wasn't just the hormones talking, because I wanted allies for my own preservation, too. I wasn't quite in shape for fighting. I could throw knives from afar and try to waddle to safety, but it would be easier with allies.

Ideally I'd have about four allies. Maybe two young ones to round us out and to keep my morality in place, and then two my age or older to protect us all. It would be best if I could find some close-range fighters. The younger ones could find food, I'd scare off enemies before they got close, and the others would take care of the ones that didn't heed my warning.

There was another reason I wanted young allies. I knew my chances. Pretty faces and sad stories (and I had of those two) didn't win the Games. I'd do my best to get home to my family, but my little girl was going to have make to with a wonderful father. Eventually she was going to watch the tapes, and I wanted her to see her mother's love. If I couldn't show it to her, I could show it to some other girl. I hoped she would know what I was trying to say.

Violet Robbins

When I was done at the first aid station, I moved on to the plants table. I knew I could eat just about any insect- there were only a handful in the country that were poisonous to humans, like monarch butterflies. If I could pick up just a few plants, I'd be able to eat anywhere.

The plants table was covered in bowls with samples of the plants. I picked one of them at random and looked inside.

"That one's good to eat," the assistant said. I was curious, so I took one of the leaves and ate it. It was yucky and strong, like spinach, but it wasn't disgusting. But something was wrong. My face felt hot, and then my throat started to swell. I had a horrible feeling I'd felt before in the past, and I looked down the table to confirm my suspicions.

"What's wrong?" the assistant asked. I couldn't speak at that point. My throat was so tight I couldn't even breathe. I pointed down the table at a bowl of butternuts. The assistant saw them and bolted for the door. He knew what was up.

I was allergic to nuts. After the first reaction, I'd only had two more in my life. We didn't have money for that kind of medicine in Seven. I was just lucky my reactions hadn't been severe enough to kill me. Whoever set up the table must have cross-contaminated the nuts and the leaves. Neither were poisonous, so there would have been no reason to worry for most people. I struggled to breathe as hives broke out over my skin.

The assistant was back in record time. He jammed a needle into my arm and my throat cleared like lightning. If we had that stuff in Seven, I'd be a happy camper. I sucked in breath gratefully and looked around the room. The others were all staring at me, since I was leaned over the table and my face was red and puffy.

Briar Hampton

I had a bag full of confetti, a balloon, and a thumbtack. That was all I needed to wreak havoc. With a little difficulty, I managed to stuff the confetti into the balloon and blow it up. I taped it to the wall behind the door that lead into Ten's lounge. I taped the thumbtack to the door, pointy side out, and waited for the big moment. Calvary was supposed to meet with me in a few minutes to go over our strategy. This was going to be great.

I waited by the door with eager anticipation, and I grinned when I heard Calvary's footsteps down the hall. The doorknob twisted, and the door swung open.

Everything worked perfectly. The thumbtack pressed into the balloon. There was a huge pop and the balloon burst, raining confetti down on Calvary. Calvary jumped a foot into the air and slammed the door into the wall. She tore it back open and threw a punch behind the wall, but no one was there, so she just punched air. She turned back, noticed me, and folded her arms, trying to look serious with confetti sprinkling from her hair.

"I suppose you think this is funny," she said. I was giggling too much to answer.

"Did you maybe think that pranking someone who's been in the Arena might not be a good idea?" she asked.

"Ohh... sorry," I said.

"You're just lucky it wasn't Cornflower. She would have started bashing herself in the head and done that creepy rocking chant thing," Calvary said. She picked at a clump of her hair and examined the handful of confetti.

"I'll be more thoughtful next time," I said.

"Maybe it was a little funny."