Hey, guys. I'm back! I finally got my laptop privileges back after 6 months. My mom doesn't like me using my laptop. Anyway, here is the fourth chapter. Enjoy!


A certain female victor from the coal mining district, was up early the day after the Tribute Parade. Her nightmares didn't usually let her sleep well, and last night had been no exception. She ordered a cup of hot chocolate, which she found out that she rather enjoyed and it calmed her down. As Katniss Everdeen watched the sun rise the glittering Capitol, she realized that today was the first day of training for tributes, meaning she and Haymitch would have to give some advice to Peeta and Madge, the tributes for this year. She suddenly gasped, overwhelmed by a flood of flashbacks from her own training last year, ending with the tributes' deaths. After a few minutes, she managed to return to the present, panting and clutching the mahogany table so hard her knuckled turned white. Soon after, she heard heavy footsteps, followed by softer and quicker footfalls, and saw Peeta and Madge joining her. Both blondes greeted her with a 'good morning', which she returned shakily. As she heard Haymitch's and Effie's voices, she carefully schooled her face into a polite façade. All four of them had breakfast. Then Peeta broke the frosty silence with a, "So, what do we do in training?"

"Well, first I gotta know what are your strengths and weaknesses," said Haymitch, as Katniss continued to eat her breakfast silently.

Peeta shrugged and replied, "Well, I can wrestle pretty well. But I am not very good at long-range attacks."

Here, Madge piped in. "He's undermining himself, Haymitch. He can lift huge weights, like he can toss hundred-pound bags of flour over his head in the market. And he is extremely good at hand-to-hand combat. As for me, I can throw knives and know some basic archery and snares.

"That's all good," Haymitch said, "Well, boy, you can work on spear-throwing and archery in training. Or any field you don't have any experience in. Same goes for ya, girl. Also, both of ya, avoid the centers you are good at. Don't give your opponents any leverage over ya. Anything to add, sweetheart?"

Katniss, who had been lost in her dark thoughts, started with a jump. "No, no, nothing to add. Just follow the drunk's advice, that's all," she replied, as steadily as she could. She managed to muster a smile for the tributes, who then were led by Effie to the gym, where they would train for three days, before the Gamemakers judged them on their skills.

Three days later, when Peeta and Madge were waiting for their test, Katniss began to rethink about her own. She remembered, that being the last tribute, the Gamemakers were ignoring her. So, she had shot an arrow into them to get their attention. It was rewarded with a score of eleven, the highest in any of the Games.

After some time, Peeta and Madge returned. Peeta was grinning proudly, while Madge looked solemn. When asked why, Peeta replied, "Well, I am pretty good at painting, because I had to design all those cakes at the bakery back at home. So, I decided to draw a picture of Rue, that little girl from Eleven, covered in flowers."

Katniss looked at him, startled. She did not know whether to be grateful or angry. She decided on the former. "Thanks, Peeta," she whispered, clutching his larger yet smoother hand in her own, "for remembering her. Most people forgot her, I'm sure."

He just smiled his bright white smile and said, "No problem, Katniss. She deserved this much. But enough about me. Madge, tell us what you did."

Madge just shrugged and said, "Nothing great. I just threw some knives. Didn't miss any, though."

"Haymitch nodded while Katniss smiled and said, "Good job, Madge. Nice to see you putting my teachings to work."

Before Madge could say a word, Effie materialized behind her and trilled, "Alright, dearies, enough talk. Now let's watch the scores." Without stopping to see if anyone was listening or not, she switched on the large TV hanging on the wall.

Caesar Flickerman, the interviewer and announcer of the Hunger Games, was reading out the scores. This year, he sported bright green hair, with eyeshadow and lipstick in the same shade. The big boy from One had got a ten out of twelve. Other than him, the kids from One, Two and Four were in the eight-to-ten range. The Career pack had already formed. The girl from 3 had got an eight. The girl from 7 had a nine. The ten-year-old from 10 had somehow got a five. By now, both blonde tributes were clenching their jaw and interlocking their hands. Then, finally, Caesar read out Peeta's score. A twelve. Full marks. No one in the history of the Games had ever done it. Caesar has stumbled while reading it. Peeta looked stunned, as did everyone else. Then the others broke out of their stupor and congratulated him, while Haymitch went to the get the drinks, as this was, in his own words, 'a cause for celebration.' Madge scored an impressive marks of ten. After dinner, amid the chaos the stylists, tributes and Effie chattered happily, Katniss and Haymitch slipped away to the balcony, which overlooked the brightly lit Capitol.

"You understand what this means, don't you?" Haymitch asks quietly.

Katniss did. Keeping either Madge or Peeta alive had just gotten a lot harder.


So, that was the fourth chapter. How was it? Please review so I can understand my mistakes. Love you all 3000.