"Suspense is worse than disappointment."

-Robert Burns

Tristan Bronx, District Two (18)

Miri, Marcus, Liz, Thalia and I are all on the District One floor to see the scores. Careers stick together, in the Capitol and arena.

I know I'll have gotten a good score.

Thalia is also sure she will.

Elizabeth seems pretty sure, but she's less confident than I am.

Marcus has been boasting endlessly about how he will have a twelve, and Miri has been studiously ignoring him. She's been pretty quiet. She hasn't said if she thinks she'll score well.

I think something happened between her and Marcus.

Miri idly summons illusions of a woman she's told me is her aunt, and a boy she said was her friend back home. She keeps making the boy appear near her, and makes the illusion blow her kisses. Every time this happens, Marcus grows red and clenches his hands into fists.

Finally, the announcer Sherry Lockheart comes onto the screen. "Hello, Panem! Are we ready for the training scores?" she says, her red lipsticked mouth too close to the microphone. She has bright blue hair. I can hear her every breath and swallow. It's disgusting, like she has her face shoved up in front of mine.

"Well, I'll announce them now! Here we go, beginning with District One!"

Miri and Marcus tense up, staring at the screen with backs straight and faces composed. Their mentors Aphrodite and Topaz also are, hands on their tributes' shoulders.

"We have Miri Ismail-Pignati with a score of...nine!"

She smiles in relief, the first smile I've seen her give for a day or so. Aphrodite smiles, obviously proud of her tribute. A good start for our Career pack.

"And Marcus Nosa, with a score of eight!"

Uh-oh. This is not good, not good at all. Miri has a small smirk on her face, and is nodding to herself, as if this proved something. Topaz has a vein pulsing in his temple, and his hand is tightened on Marcus's shoulder.

"I will have something to say to you about being outperformed by a girl later, Marcus," he hisses. Marcus looks miserable.

Next, Sherry announces Thalia's score. Shantelle doesn't look like she's expecting much. She's just bored as always.

"For District Two, Thalia Bronx has a score of...nine!"

Oh, good. She beat Marcus. But she snorts in frustration and slumps down on the couch. That's my sister, always wanting to get the best of everything. Shantelle shrugs and wanders off to her bedroom.

"Tristan Bronx has a score of...ten!"

I whoop, as does my mentor Athelstan, but that's Athelstan's usual state. I'm certainly content with this score, even though the Gamemakers are cheating me out of a twelve. Thalia's going to be mad that I outshined her. I always do. I bet I'll have the highest training score of all the tributes.

"For District Three," begins Sherry. Thalia rolls her eyes. "Oh, not them. They always do terribly. They're so boring."

Charlie Blue, District Five (13)

"Erica Jones has a score of...five!"

Well, that's sad. The moment we get out of Career scores, the scores plunge down. There's still the District Four girl, though, and I bet she'll do well.

Galvan isn't even watching. He's just in the dining room, eating and drinking wine, as he's done for the whole time he's been at the Capitol. He's so useless, and probably will forget to send me sponsor gifts.

Prysm, however, is attentively watching by Aaliyah's side. She reminds me of a cat, sitting completely still on the couch, but fixated on one thing.

A picture of the spindly District Three boy appears on the screen. "Narui Chahyne has a score of...four!"

"Pathetic," mutters Prysm. Aaliyah glares at her.

"You don't have to be so nasty. He's just a little boy who tried as best he could, like Charlie," she says, and I have a moment of deep admiration for her.

"Exactly."

"Hey!" I yell. "I am not pathetic."

"Mr. Galvan, sir," calls Prysm in a falsely sweet voice, "Is Charlie pathetic?"

"Yes," comes a weary voice from the kitchen.

"That settles it," says Prysm decisively.

Everyone thinks so. My father, Prysm and Galvan, the Gamemakers. Maybe even Orcha. I wonder why she even allied me.

"And for District Four, Elizabeth Shore has a score of...eleven!"

Our heads whip around in unison. What? What in Panem?

"An eleven," growls Aaliyah. "Just brilliant."

That is, without a doubt, going to be the highest score of everyone. Because nobody scores twelves.

"Next is Nurturew Quetile, with a score of five!"

Shouldn't surprise me, seeing as how he wasn't even good enough to join the Careers. But he still scored better than Narui. Most likely, better than I will.

Rory Hawk, District Ten (12)

Dear goodness. An eleven? I had watched everyone in training, and did predict Elizabeth would score very high, but eleven? I was thinking more of a ten. She actually beat Tristan, who is no mean fighter himself.

"Next is District Five," says Sherry. I take one long look at her.

I nudge Promise. "Poor Sherry. She was divorced today."

Promise looks down at me, shaking her head bemusedly.

"I've lived with you my whole life, kid, and I still don't know how you're so smart. Come on. You know you're dying to. Tell me how you know."

"Okay. So, first, her eyelashes. She's been crying, because three of them are stuck together on each side, and Capitol mascara doesn't do that. And her left ring finger. There's a pale circle of skin on it, kind of sunken in from the rest of the finger. She just took her wedding ring off. And last, her purse. I can see some scratches at the top right corner, where her name is engraved. She scratched off the part with her husband's name. Simple."

Promise laughs. "You're a wonder, Rory-kins. Rory the wonder dwarf."

I don't argue because Aaliyah's score just came onto the screen, and it's an eight.

We all look at each other, shocked. We are as stunned as when Elizabeth scored an eleven. I hadn't even expected this. She's not a Career. How the Panem did this happen? She didn't show any particular skills in training, so I suppose she hid them. If any non-Career tribute were to score an eight, I would expect Ashely Downing to.

We are drawn away when her district partner, Charlie Blue, scores a five. Nice score for a small thing like him.

Auroch, Promise's mentor, shakes her head.

"Aaliyah is going to be a target, no doubt. At least she'll get sponsors. Right, Gander?"

My mentor Gander jerks his head up.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, of course. She'll get sponsors, all right."

He starts snoring again.

He's so helpful, right? Fortunately I won't need him that much. I have my brain.

"District Six," says Sherry, peering down at her papers.

"We have Bianca Calder here with a...seven."

That one I did anticipate. In training, she was doing very well with swords. I know why. Once a month at school, they show a random one of the past Games. Probably to pound them into our brains. The one showed a few months ago was from a very long time ago, and the victor was a certain Romet Davis from District Six. He had won by very quickly mastering the skill of swords, and so I was intrigued. After pilfering some documents from the Justice Building, I traced his family tree, right down to Bianca Calder. Apparently someone in that family, probably her mother, had somehow gotten her daughter to be trained with swords.

Promise shakes me, distracting me.

"Look, her district partner Killian also got a seven." The proof is there on the screen.

So Bianca helped train her boyfriend Killian Edwards. If he betrayed her in the Games, she could regret that sincerely. But why am I even thinking that? They love each other, and aren't even afraid to show it in public, all that kissing and hugging they do. Bonds of love can't be broken that easily, and neither could bonds of siblings, either...

Right?

Karlina Pareith, District Eleven (17)

So many high scores from the middle districts. I bet I'll get a one. No, I'm sure I'll get a one. My eyes start to water at the thought, and Phoenix slips his arm around my shoulders. Orcha just sits off to the side, away from Heather and King. Not saying anything. Her eyes are red. So, she's been crying too.

"For District Seven," says the announcer. I think her name was Shary. She glances down at her papers, and gasps in surprise.

"Er, Alyssa Nightbloom has...a one."

Well, I can't say I didn't expect that. Orcha shakes her head and sighs.

"I guess the Gamemakers didn't appreciate her outburst," says Phoenix, holding me closer. "I hope she won't be punished in any other way." His arms turn into a soft, furry material, and they feel nice around me.

"And Jifere Asolki has...a seven."

Another high score, from an outer district, but I'm not crying because my Phoenix is here.

"Don't worry, Karlina," he says. "I know you'll score high. Higher than I will, I bet."

I'm not sure I want to do that.

"For District Eight," announces Shary. "We have Flanella McCoy with a four."

That poor little thing. She's fourteen, I believe. She can fly and use camouflage but that's all I noticed. And around District Eight is where the Gamemakers start getting really bored.

"Ashely Downing has...an eight."

"That is unbelievable," says Phoenix. "That just doesn't make any sense. He's an outer district! The Gamemakers must have been more interested in their drinks by the time he had his private session!"

I would cry, for losing my hope of doing well compared to Aaliyah and Ashely, but I have my Phoenix. He won't let me cry.

Phoenix Florence, District Eleven (18)

Karlina leans on me, and I wrap my arms around her waist. It comforts her, so she won't cry. How I hate to see her cry. She is so delicate. I have to protect her.

"Next is District Nine," says Sherry Lockheart. I think the pretty girl from there will have done quite well, the way she was showing off and trying to get into the Career pack. The little boy, well, I'm not sure. He spent a lot of training smiling at people and trying to get into conversations with them.

"Calida Blitz has a score of...five."

Okay, that was unexpected. I saw she had the skills to score higher than that. Either she really messed up, or she's trying to go under the radar.

"And Jakob Caraway has...a four."

Well, that's not surprising. He's just a little kid. He doesn't even look like he's twelve, more like ten or eleven. Poor kid.

"For District Ten," says Sherry, adjusting her papers.

"Promise Hawk has a...seven."

Oh, amazing. She did seem capable with whips and throwing knives in training. I wonder what score her little brother will get. I hope he scores well.

"Rory Hawk has...a six."

Good job, little boy. That's even better than the boy from District Four, who, even though he's not a Career, should have picked up some skills.

I would get a good score, I bet, but for the incident in my private training session. I turned out to be fine. The bone chip had only shifted. But I'm going to have to be careful.

Karlina leans her head on my shoulder, and smiles, putting her hand in mine.

I will protect you, Karlina. I will protect you in the arena and I won't let you go.

Sam McEowan, District Twelve (16)

"Time to finish the scores up," says my mentor Kenneth, yawning ostentatiously. His little sister Kuthu, Ember's mentor, smiles and stretches out on the couch, revealing even more of what isn't covered by her pink knee-high dress. I know it isn't her fault, seeing that the Capitol has given her the fate of long ago Finnick Odair, (in other words, a doxy) but it has made me uncomfortable, since she's so pretty, and it distracts me. Kenneth is a male doxy, but doesn't flaunt it.

"For District Eleven, first we have Karlina Pareith with a...seven," Sherry says. Now that certainly surprises me. True, she's seventeen, one of the oldest ones, but she's a hopeless crybaby. Every time she made a mistake in training, she would cry. I suppose her partner Phoenix has helped her.

"And Phoenix Florence with a...six."

Imagine that. The large, calm boy scored lower than his crying tribute partner. Of course, I'm sure that the extra tribute Orcha will score terribly. She's so scrawny and small.

"Orcha Mellow has a...four."

Well! That was definitely terrible. Goodness.

"And for District Twelve, we have Ember Burns with..."

Ember presses her lips together nervously.

"A six."

She smiles a huge smile, flinging her hands into the air.

"Kuthu, I scored a six. I scored as high as the big Phoenix Florence boy. Maybe I'm not doomed."

"Oh, no. You're doomed all right," says Kuthu casually, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. She points an elegantly manicured finger at me.

"Sam, darling," she simpers, "Toss me one of those peppermints, won't you, and be a dear?"

Cheeks turning red, I fumble for the bowl on the table, and throw a peppermint to her. She catches it and gives it a slow lick.

"Thank you, honey," she says, smiling triumphantly. "You are so helpful."

Ember frowns and turns away. I've got to do something make amends to her, seeing as how I just rated Kuthu's request over Ember's training score.

"Finally, we have Sam McEowan with a five."

Great. Worse than Ember. I bet she's smiling inside. What can I do to fix this with her?

Alyssa Nightbloom, District Seven (15)

The scores are done. I got what I expected, a one. Good. Who cares about sponsors anyway? Jifere, of course, will get plenty, with his score of seven.

Before Jifere can switch the television off, the screen changes. We both gasp and scoot back, because it's showing the town square of District Seven. The Capitol televises town squares for punishments.

Then I see a gallows set up in the middle of the square. I see the people who are standing there with their hands cuffed. And I scream.

Because it's my family. Dad, Mom, Jack, Rachel and Mary.

I scream again, and claw at the screen. Jifere has to drag me back, using all his strength.

"You- you bastards!" I shriek at the television. "I hate you, Capitol! I hate you! I hate you!"

"Shh, shh, it's okay," Jifere whispers frantically. "Please don't say that, Aly- ouch!"

I punch him in the jaw. He stumbles back, shocked. I give him one furious glance.

"Don't say that? What am I supposed to do, let them kill my family and not do anything about it?"

A Peacekeeper walks up to them, fitting the nooses around their necks.

"Why you doin' this to us?" asks Dad, slurring drunkenly. "I haven't stolen anythin' fer a week, and tha' was only a loaf of bread."

"Oh, Dad," I moan, pressing my forehead against the carpet. Tears are uncontrollably pouring out of my eyes. He is going to die. My wonderful, brave dad.

Mom is standing there and trembling, too scared to do anything. Like always. Oh, Mom.

"You can't do this to us!" yells Jack, shaking the handcuffs. "We didn't do anything! This is wrong!"

"You're right, Jack. This is wrong," I growl. "I know why they're being punished. Because of what I did in my training session. Because I'm so brainless, I didn't think of what would happen."

"This is wrong!" Rachel and Mary cry, addressing the crowd, then the camera. "This is wrong!" Jack shouts it again too, and Dad joins in.

"This is wrong! This is wrong!"

Finally, Mom does too, and I'm yelling it along with them, even though they can't hear me. The crowd in District Seven begins to yell it too, softly at first, then loud enough to vibrate the camera.

"This is wrong! This is wrong! This is wrong!"

What has Jack begun?

Soon, all of District Seven is roaring it.

"This is wrong! This is wrong! This is wrong!"

A group of people breaks away from the crowd and rushes toward the gallows. They push the Peacekeeper off the stage, and free my family from their nooses. They start to pull at the handcuffs.

"No way," I breathe, my eyes huge. "No, bloody, way-"

The cuffs break, and they are free.

I let out a loud cheer, and so does Jifere. I can't believe what is happening. The population of District Seven has united, and they're all thronging around the Justice Building. They break in. They are actually attacking the building, tearing it all down, stone by stone. All because of Jack. All because of my big brother.

As if he heard me, he turns toward the camera.

"I did this for you, Ally. Be brave. You can survive. Just remember we all have faith in you! We'll be rooting for you every moment!"

I will come home. I have to.

I have to come home to my family. My brave family who started a small rebellion against the Capitol.

Yay, a (relatively) quick update! I hope you all like the scores. And Alyssa's family. They are amazing!

Anyway, I'm making a new poll. A bloodbath poll. You vote for up to three characters you do not want to die in the bloodbath. Please vote.

Sam's cheeks are red,

Sherry's hair is blue,

If you review,

I will love you.