"To know how to hide one's ability is great skill."

-Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Calida Blitz, District Nine (13)

I've decided what I'm going to do. I'm going to play it safe and not be a target, by not showing what I could really do. I'm not allowed to use my fire power in my private session anyway, I have those fireproof gloves on, probably because I might otherwise burn up the Gamemakers.

I walk in slowly, looking around with my big, beautiful dark eyes, pretending to be nervous. Taking a knife, I purposely throw it into the outer ring. It doesn't really matter anyway. The Gamemakers are engrossed in a great big roasted bird. What was it called again? Turkey? I had some for breakfast, it was quite nice actually, after I scorched it a little. Jakob just gobbled it down.

I rub my eyes as if wiping away tears at my failure. Pathetically trying again, I intend to make it land in the outer ring again. Unfortunately, my real skill shows through, and it makes it into the bullseye. That made them notice. Rats!

I shrug my shoulders innocently. "Lucky shot!" I call, hoping they take it as such. Then I run out, praying I won't score very high.

Jakob Caraway, District Nine (11)

My head still feels funny from when I hurt it. But I still can probably play in the game. You know, they still haven't told me what I'm supposed to do! They just said something about going into an arena. It's the strangest thing.

Let's see. Before Aaliyah went out, she said I was supposed to go in that room after Calida went, and show off my skills.

I skip into the room, startling all the people who are sitting up there and eating.

"Hi!" I call, beaming up at them. "I'm supposed to show you my skills! So here I go!"

I run up to the automated obstacle course. That's what the trainer said it was called. Since I'm small and light, it's quite simple for me to get past. I press the button to begin, and hop on.

The surface I'm on starts moving toward a brick wall. I dodge it, easily, and duck under a swinging stick. Next is the tricky blade part. A bunch of spikes pops up through the floor, but I'm too quick to be caught, and I grab a ledge in the brick wall. It starts to sink through a hole in the ground, so with a leap, I manage to balance with my toes on a moving platform.

The final part is easy, it's just a series of moving tiles. I jump from one to another until I reach the end. "Tada!" I say, bow deeply, and leave the room.

Promise Hawk, District Ten (15)

That little District Nine boy, Jakob, skips out, grinning for all he's worth. He is so adorable. So much like Rory. I'd have asked him to be our ally, but he's already Aaliyah's ally. She's kind of threatening to the other tributes, and I don't really want to hang around her. Ember, however, is just amazing. It's so sad, too, her birthday is in a few days. She'll be sixteen and without a birthday party. Great, I'm going to start crying about it. What's wrong with me? Ever since about a month ago, I've been overemotional and weird overall.

"Promise!" hisses Rory. "Go now! It's your turn!"

His small hands push me into the room, and the door closes. Oh well, got to get this over with.

I've learned to do a lot of things in the training center. So I begin with a whip. Selecting a long one with metal fringe on the end, I grow large to add more force and strength, and snap the whip at a human-shaped target. It tears a long hole in it. I strike again, and again, ripping it into tiny pieces. Finally, I run back, snatch up a knife, and hurl it into the ragged remnant of a face.

"Thanks for watching, Gamemakers!" I yell. They seem to have been paying attention at least moderately. So I snap my whip in the air just for the fun of it, and run out.

Rory Hawk, District Ten (12)

When Promise comes out, I carefully study her expression. Let's see...she did a very good job, judging from her eyes squinching up in a partly hidden smile. But also, the Gamemakers weren't paying a ton of attention, I can tell because that telltale vein in her neck is pulsing, and her eyebrows are almost imperceptibly lowered. I'm know she'll get a good score, though.

I walk into the room without looking at the Gamemakers, since they make me nervous.

First, I take my usual blowgun from its rack. I kind of, shall we say, altered it a little in my room. So I expect to get a high score. I insert a dart, look down the tiny laser sight I installed, and fire at a human shaped target. The dart lands in the nose. Excellent. Even though I can't see them, I know they're watching now. I fire another dart, just four centimetres from the heart. Finally, I dash toward it, winding around rows of weapons and other training things, until I reach the target. Since I've steadily accelerated through the training center, I have a lot of speed built up, so I crash into the target and knock the whole heavy thing over. Yes! I win! I win! I win!

Karlina Pareith, District Eleven (17)

The District Ten boy came out, so it's my turn. No. Oh, no, no! I can't do anything! I can't! I feel tears filling my eyes again, but Phoenix notices, and wraps a comforting arm around me. "It's okay, Karlina. You'll do an excellent job. You'll do better than I will. Remember, you've learned so much about fighting and survival, right? Go ahead. Show them."

His words calm me, and I manage to enter the room, looking anywhere but at the Gamemakers. With a shaking hand, I select a short sword, and wave an avox over. I take a deep breath and begin sparring. The avox is going easy on me, thankfully. He's only making a few strikes, which I counter with my own. I try a surprise stab but he dodges, so I stretch out my arm with my elastic-like power, and tap him in the neck from behind. That would mean I had won. So he raises his arms in surrender. After the quick battle, I have time to match up some edible plants, which I do easily, and then I leave.

Here, then. Maybe here, if I get a good score, I won't just be the crybaby. Maybe I'll be somebody.

Phoenix Florence, District Eleven (18)

Karlina has a small smile when she comes out. I'm glad, that means she must have beaten her anxiety and showed her true skills. The poor little thing. Every night, I hear her sobbing her pretty green eyes out. She buries her face in her pillow but that does nothing to muffle it. I must protect the fragile girl, no matter what.

Orcha pokes me in the arm, reminding me to go in. I poke her back and walk in, my head held high. I am going to show those Gamemakers what I can do and I won't be afraid. I head for the maces, since I've learned a lot about blunt weapons in training. An avox steps up for practice combat with me, and goes in for a headshot without warning. Since I'm slow and clumsy from being in bed at home for ages, I can't quite avoid it all the way, and it clips my arm. Wincing, I reflexively flail out the other arm, and it catches on an overhead branch of a climbing tree. Hmm.

The avox man swings his mace, which would have crashed down brutally on me, except I'm not there anymore. I turned my arms into this magnetic material I learned about in the Capitol, called alnico, and just as I hoped, they were pulled up to the tree. It's not a real tree, there's magnetic metal underneath. I swing down again and crash into the avox, knocking him down and winning the fight. I feel very proud of my quick thinking, but suddenly I'm dizzy, and my head...ow, it's hurting me...is it the bone splinter at last?

Sorry, Mother, I think as I crash to the floor...

Orcha Mellow, District Eleven (14)

Two avoxes carry Phoenix out the door on a stretcher. "What happened?" I exclaim, jumping to my feet. "Is he okay?" There's no sign of injury on him at all. The avoxes don't answer me but simply leave the room. One of them gestures at the training room.

Trying to forget my shock, I step in, and take note of the things I could do. There are some weights I could lift. I go to the weight lifting station, glance up at the Gamemakers, and see that not a single one is looking at me. What? Why are they ignoring me? Is it because I'm small and skinny, and I look like I can't do anything? That's not fair!

I pick up a heavy weight, fighting to lift it to my head. Then I throw it at a targetboard, producing a heavy bonggggg sound as it hits and rolls across the floor. That gets their attention but not in the right way. They laugh, assuming that I dropped it.

Biting my tongue to stop the angry words I'm thinking, I pick up two smaller ones, one in each hand, and throw them at two different targetboards. They each hit right on the mark, making smaller sounds, but noticeable nonetheless. Finally, some of them look up from their wine glasses. They nod, but they look bored. I take hold of a last weight, heavier than any of the others, and strain every muscle to lift it. It inches up, my arms trembling with exhaustion, until it reaches my stomach. Then I hurl it into the wall, making a huge sound that vibrates across the room. But they are barely watching anymore, because to them, I'm just a skinny little girl who shouldn't even be here.

It's not fair.

Ember Burns, District Twelve (15)

When the extra District Eleven girl comes out, she's obviously trying to compose herself, but it doesn't work with me. I can hear with my enhanced ears, I can hear her small, snuffling breaths. I can see she's biting her lip and it's going white, even though she's already across the room at the elevator.

I don't know if this is a blessing or a curse.

My ears are still ringing from the cacophony of the District Seven girl.

Walking into the training room, slowly, so as not to leave heavy footsteps, I stop at the spears. Taking one, I throw it at a target, and cover my ears the moment after it leaves my hand. The clang of it hitting the ring just outside the bullseye still assaults my ears.

Then I switch to edible plants, a mercifully quiet station. I match them up and make only one mistake. It was the holly berry, for some reason I forgot that they are moderately poisonous. That would be very bad in the arena.

Finally, I return to the spear station. Picking up a long one, I run to the target, ignoring the heavy pounding, and drive the spear straight through it. It plunges to its middle.

I feel proud of myself. But oh, my head aches...

Sam McEowan, District Twelve (16)

I'm the last one to go. Back around the third Quarter Quell (which happened to be no volunteers), they had the boys go first in private training sessions, so the girls went last. not now. Now I have to have my demonstration in front of very bored Gamemakers who have sat through twenty-four already. Twenty-four, not twenty-three, which is that pixie girl's fault.

After Ember comes out, clutching her head, I make sure to switch off my power because it wouldn't do to freak out the Gamemakers, then go in cautiously.

I head for the knives, take a wickedly pointed one, and face a heavy sandbag used for boxing. I run with my full speed toward it, and when the knife connects, it tears a long gash in it. Sand spills out everywhere. Impressive, yes?

But the Gamemakers are drinking wine and getting tipsy.

I take a knife in each hand and slash at a human-shaped target. Soon, the head comes off, and falls to the floor. It bounces, and lands on my foot. It has two eyes pointing away from each other, and a weird little grin. Like it's saying, 'Haha, I'm dead!'

I can't help myself, and I start giggling madly. It doesn't make even the smallest bit of sense to paint a smile on a training dummy you're supposed to destroy. The Gamemakers notice me giggling, and are puzzled.

I don't care. I don't know if I should. I think I'm finally going crazy.

FINALLY! I DESPISE writing private training sessions! They got so repetitive.

Anyway, I'm putting the other poll back up, the one about which character do you think will have the highest training score. The one about what couple you like most had the most votes at 'I would like a new couple'. And so you shall! Even if it takes a while...

The training scores chapter should be fun and easy to write, so it actually should be out soon.

On another note, if you like Battle Royale, I updated my first Battle Royale fic. Not the SYOS. Reviews for that and this would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance!