Lyann Leavett- District Nine female

"So. Is the offer still open on allying?" I asked Totem, who was eating lunch with Thay.

"Yes!" he blurted, and then he looked guiltily at Thay. "I mean, if it's okay with you."

"How could I stand in the way?" Thay joked.

I took a seat next to Thay. I didn't mean to insult Totem, and I didn't have anything going on with Thay, but I wasn't sure I was ready for the full Totem experience yet.

"Great! I've been working on edible plants. Are either of you two working on that? I've also been working on knives, but I think Totem has that covered."

"No, neither of us know much about plants," Thay said. "We probably won't be needing much food, since I have a lot of connections. It's good to have a backup, though."

"All right. I'll keep working on that," I said. We talked strategy through lunch and separated afterwards to do our training.

The Capitol acted like it was doing us a big favor to let us train for a few days before the Games. What a joke. We weren't going to be able to save our lives with a bowl of leaves or a couple of knives thrown at a target. We couldn't learn anything noteworthy in a week. We didn't have a chance against people who had been practicing a handful of deadly skills every day for years. Even if we could learn something in a week, the Careers already knew it, and they had the same amount of time that we did to make themselves even better. I was making the best of what I had and I wasn't giving up, but it was a joke. They gave us that week so we could fool ourselves into thinking we had a chance, because hopeful kids were more fun to watch die.

I felt almost stir-crazy in the Capitol. I didn't have things to clean or anyone to take care of. Whenever I tried to tidy things up, an Avox would materialize from nowhere and give me the closest thing to a scolding I'd ever seen from an Avox. I could train, which was a sham. I could try to clean and get shooed away from an Avox. Or I could sit around surrounded by luxury feeling sort of like I was taking advantage of someone, even though I didn't know who. All the luxuries around me came from the Districts, and none of them were given willingly. It wasn't the Capitol's hospitality. It was the blood of the Districts.

I wasn't dumb enough to rebel. I'd gotten this far by staying quiet and keeping my thoughts to myself. That would be my only chance of winning. I was definitely the quiet one in my alliance, and that could be what saved me. I liked both my allies, but none of us had much chance. The joke would be on the Capitol if I won. They all said the Hunger Games were a chance for anyone to make it big, no matter where they came from. Only a Capitolite was dumb enough to believe that.

Soya Tores, District Eleven

Orchard said I had to drop my standards and do what I had to do if I wanted to win. She was my mentor, and I definitely wanted to listen to her. I wasn't sure I could be as savage as she wanted, but I had to try.

"Oops." I turned to get up and knocked over a glass of orange juice. It spilled all over the table and started to drip onto the carpet. Orchard headed for the bathroom, but I stopped her.

"It's okay. I'll call an Avox," I said. I pressed the button under the table just as she raised a hand.

"Don't-" she started. I was about to ask what was wrong when the Avox came in.

"I spilled some juice," I said, pointing at the stain. The Avox pulled a rag from her pocket and started to dab at the stain.

"While you're here, make the bed, too," I said. "And then bring us some more juice." The Avox nodded. I turned around and flinched when I saw Orchard making just about the scariest face I'd ever seen.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Orchard took my arm and pulled me into the bedroom.

"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.

"Telling the Avox what I want," I said. She must have seen Avoxes before. She probably dealt with them all the time.

"I haven't expected anything from you since we met, but you still disappoint me," Orchard said.

"What?" I barely knew Orchard, but she was still an adult. I was supposed to respect her and do what she said. As soon as I heard her say that, my eyes filled with tears.

"Who do you think you are, treating someone like that? You think you're better than her? Is that what it is?" Orchard asked.

"My mom said only bad people get turned into Avoxes," I managed to say.

"Did she tell you only bad people go into the Games?" Orchard asked. She saw in my eyes she'd guessed right.

"I'm sorry," I said, and I burst into full-on ugly crying. I didn't mean to make my mentor mad.

"I'll fix it," I said, and I ran back into the other room. The Avox was done with the stain, and she was standing by my bed.

"It's okay! I'll do it. You can go do whatever you want. Thanks for cleaning my juice," I said. The Avox looked at me, then at Orchard, and then fled the room. I looked worriedly at Orchard.

"Maybe I was wrong about you," she said. That was all I needed to hear.

Jacob Morales, District Nine

I picked up a spear and aimed it at the target. I would practice until I was a crack shot, and then I could win everything. I'd hunt for food and keep the others away. If they kept coming at me, then I'd have to fight, and I'd be able to win. I'd track down the last other Tribute and after a grand fight, I'd be the Victor.

Two hours later, things weren't going as well as I'd hoped. I'd made some progress, but I could do better. Maybe the spear wasn't my strong suit. I'd gotten good enough to hit some things and maybe scare the others off. It was a useful skill, but I could move on to something else now.

I started up the tracking simulation and looked at the holographic markings. I'd become an expert tracker, using tiny markings on the ground and the environment to hunt down anything I targeted. I would know about anything in my area and nothing would get past me. I'd slip through the forest like a ghost, and no one would see me coming until it was too late.

Tracking went pretty well. I learned a lot of things, and I hoped I could combine my tracking skills and spear skills to be a hunting machine. Truth be told, I just got bored after a while. It was better to have a lot of skills, anyway. I couldn't really be an expert in anything after a few days.

I wrapped the climbing rope around my leg and looked up the sheer wall. No one could kill me if they couldn't catch me. I'd be a monkey in the Arena, jumping between the trees and never touching the ground. If someone tried to come after me, I'd scuttle away like a squirrel. I'd climb all the way to the top.

I dipped a foot into the pool. I'd be a fish in the Arena. Most of the Tributes couldn't even swim. I'd duck under the water and hide out of sight until they went away. No one could chase me if they couldn't even come out into the water. Other than the two from Four, I'd be unstoppable. I'd just have to hope they sorted themselves out.

There were a lot of paths through the Arena. I tried them all on one by one. Painter. Bowman. Forager. Runner. Some of them worked, and others didn't. I could be any of those things, but I had to pick carefully. Somewhere, in all those choices, was a Victor.

Leila will be allying with Philly. Speaking of which:

I happened to see Leila is seeking trustworthy allies and Soya is seeking older allies. I thought I'd play matchmaker and suggest Soya join the alliance. I think Soya's submitter mentioned she was going to be pretty busy and wouldn't be on much, so she might not have seen the possible alliance. If Leila is interested and I don't hear from Soya before the night before the Games, I might pair them up.