Valencia Cadillac, District Six female (18)

A lot of Victors talked about how when they were in the Arena they had to learn how to kill. They said it changed them and how much they lost along the way. To me it always sounded so heartbreakingly innocent. I knew how to kill long before I got Reaped. None of this was new to me. I hadn't even gone to the weapons stations, since I already knew how to kill someone. The only thing I didn't have experience with, coming from Six, was the outdoors. So I went between the survival stations, learning how to build a fire or to purify water.

I spent a lot of time people-watching. When the training room was closed I avoided the Six lounge, for obvious reasons. Romeo couldn't come into my room but he had no problem lurking just outside the hundred-foot distance Lancia wrote into our little fake restraining order. I would wake up at the butt-crack of dawn and sneak out so I could lose myself in the Games building before Romeo could get up and follow me like the weirdo he was.

Capitolites were like aliens. Like honestly, if I didn't know they were people I would have assumed they were aliens trying very badly to fit in. But still, it was eerie to think about their lives outside the Games center. They just lived here, all year round. This was normal to them. Normal houses, normal families... normal parents.

I didn't know how long I'd been staring at the Capitol couple. The two women- wouldn't my life be so much easier if I could make myself be into girls- and their little bouncing boy. Their little boy. Their perfect little son, dressed in an orange onesie with a little frill. He had chubby cheeks and his little tongue came out whenever he smiled. He was babbling and reaching out his cute little hands to play with his mothers' hair. The only thing I could have done without was the pierced ears. Who pierces baby's ears? But then, in the Capitol they probably had a painless way to do it.

They're just going to go home with him. At the end of their trip to the Games building, they'd bundle up their little baby in a little baby carrier and take him to their car. They'd drive to their beautiful house, where he had his own nursery. They'd use real breast milk and never have to use formula because they had to leave him with a babysitter. He would sleep in a pastel crib with soft blankets that hadn't been washed a million times. They wouldn't buy clothes three sizes too large and pin them until he grew into them so they'd last longer. He would have anything he wanted.

What scared me wasn't that a life like that was impossible for me. It was that it was possible. There was a way I could have all of that for Nico. It wasn't even what I had to do that scared me. It was how I didn't hesitate before deciding to do it.

Kade McNamara, District Eight female (13)

I'd never been out so long without my mother before. She always said if I went out by myself someone would snatch me up and do horrible things since I was so pretty. None of this was new to me- I'd actually been in the Games building a few times before for modeling jobs- but never on my own. Never alone with the big, scary Capitolites who were apparently less likely to kidnap pretty girls but it was still a concern.

The first thing I noticed about being in the Capitol was that there were no cameras. There weren't cameras all the time in my life, of course, but whenever there weren't cameras, my mom was right there. Now I was just another face in the crowd. No one knew who I was, since I'd asked my stylist to put cover-up over my birthmark. She was really sad until I told her it was to sneak around and not because I thought it was ugly. Then she was super excited to help a little kid get into mischief. Anyway, no one knew who I was. No one gave me a second glance. In a city full of plastic surgery and costume makeup, I just looked like a completely forgettable kid.

There were so many clothes stores in the Capitol. I didn't know what they could possibly do with so many clothes. There were ball gowns and skirts and suits and some things I honestly wasn't sure where they were worn. And of course, there was so much jewelry.

Gosh I want to try that on, I thought, looking at a shiny black dress. It clung to the mannequin and it was just so sleek and I loved how I could see the light reflecting off the smooth material. My mother would never let me wear something like that. It looked way too old for me. I was a cute innocent little kid who wore pink and bows.

My mother would never let me wear that, I thought. But wait... my mother's not here. I looked back and forth up the aisle like someone might see me and tell me I shouldn't disobey my mother. But no one was there. Not my mother and not anyone else.

I looked back at the dress. It was pretty. It was alluring. No one was telling me no. I took one off the rack and scurried to the dressing room like a mouse carrying stolen cheese.

I love it. I turned in front of the triple mirror. I looked dangerous. Scary. I looked like a woman, not a little girl. I looked as old as I very likely would ever look in my life.

"You like it?" I whirled around and looked at the storekeeper like a deer in headlights.

"Don't worry, you're allowed to try things on," he said, smiling. "You can take it if you like."

"I didn't bring any money," I said.

"It's free advertising," he said, and winked. "Just leave the tag on, will you?"

"Really?" I squealed. "Oh my gosh, I'm gonna go out somewhere tonight and wear it!"

"Have a great time," the storekeeper said. "Just some advice, though- you might want to bring your escort along. You look sixteen in that dress and there are some bad people out there."

"Okay, I will!" I said. "Thanks again!" I ran out the store and didn't even notice until hours later that I'd left my clothes in the dressing room.

Good guy shopkeeper watching out for girls kids who want to look like women.