Grr. I wrote this chapter a while back but it got deleted. :( Then I had my hiatus, so I finally wrote it again now. I hope you enjoy, bleh. Heh. Yeah. And I made up most of the training scores. Short, I know; I'm sorry. Writers block.

The next few days passed quickly, me waiting. Because they didn't want to show off the tribute's abilities until the arena, they wouldn't show any updates during training. I missed the tribute parade, but it was fine by me; appearances and fancy dresses mattered little to me.

But when the interviews came on, I was very interested. After all, the training scores and them determined who to bet on.

I was curled up on the couch, Tommy sitting on the floor at my feet. It was that stupid fashion show that always aired before the Hunger Games updates, and I was impatient for it to be over. But I also kind of liked the wait; it gave me time to think.

In the Capital, the bets worked like this; Pre-Game bets (who you think would win before the Games began), Mid-Game bets (when there were twelve left, you'd pick the one you'd think would win), and Final bets (who would win out of the top three.) You would go to the Bet Station, put your top three choices in order, and if one of the tributes you picked got to the next round, you got $100. For the Final bets, you can only pick one, and if the one you chose won, you get $1000. It wasn't much money, but considering how many people bet correctly, it was a lot. If you somehow won all three rounds, which was extremely rare, you got $5000. If you lost a round at any time, you were taken out of the competion with whatever you'd already won, or nothing at all. You had to pay half of it back, too, but only if you had won once already.

I thought back to who I should choose. If you wanted to participate in the betting, you had to get there at three to six o' clock. If you missed it, you couldn't win anything. It was one now; the Hunger Games always aired at one in the afternoon. Somehow, Katniss had gotten the highest schore; an 11, which was unheard of. Then Cato, Clove, and Thresh had each gotten tens. Marvel and Glimmer had gotten nine, and so had Thresh along with Paisley from District 9 and Arabella from 4. Next came Cooper from 4 and Peeta with eights, and then Xavier from 3 and Rue with sevens, and Electra from 3, Hyde from 7, and Logan from 9 with sixes. Fives were popular this year; Malia from 5, Jason from 6, Coil from 8, Wren from 9, and Jayden from 10. Then came Lynch from 5 and Thimble from 8 with fours. Last came Tawnie from 10 and Tally from 6 with threes.

This was all so much, I couldn't even think. Katniss was a thin girl from 12, and I doubted she'd make it past the top 10, even with her 11. I think Cato would be the safest bet for now.

The interviews came on, Ross' blue-haired brother Caesar taking over. He introduced himself and then called out, "Let's call out Glimmer Carrington, shall we?"

Glimmer came out in a sexy transparent dress, grinning largely.

"Ew!" Chip exclaimed from the ground, covering her eyes. "You can see her-"

"I know, Chip. Just hang on."

Averting my eyes from her body, I focused on her face as she answered Caesar's questions.

"So you want to win and continue the Carrington legend?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered, her teeth sparkling. "I'm positive I can do it. That's why I volunteered now. I know I can. Us Carrington's are just that strong."

The buzzer went. Caesar sent her off and continued.

I paid little attention to the words themselves. Mainly I noticed actions, angles, outfits, and how they spoke. By the time it was finished with a lovey dovey statement from Peeta that I didn't fall for, I was decided on Cato.

Standing up, Chip informed me, "I think you should chose Katniss."

"What do you mean?"

"She's going to win."

"Nah, Cato is."

"No. Katniss and Peeta."

"And? Two can't win."

"They will."

"And how do you know this?"

He shrugged and got back to playing with his litle oPad.

I stood. "I'll be back. Tell Mom I've gone to bet."

"Okay." He said simply.

Heading out the door and grabbing my jacket, I took off at a jog. If I hurried, I wouldn't have to wait in line.

When I got there, there was only three people ahead of me. I smiled. Yay.

Within five minutes or so, I was at the front, looking at the deeply tanned man in the stall.

"Um, hi. I'd like to bet on a tribute."

The man pursed his lips as if thinking, "Obviously." Instead he said, "Your name?"

He had that annoying Capital voice. I held back a grimace and said, "Dandelion Garettson."

The man nodded and turned to his computer. He typed something, his eyes flickering across the screen, and then looked back at me. "You're only seventeen."

"That's the age where eligablity begins."

He gave me a sideways look and then nodded. "Who woud you like to place your number one bet on?"

"C-" I bit my tongue suddenly, coming prepared to say Cato and wanting to say Cato. But something stopped me.

"Cato? Clove? Cooper? Coil? Katniss? Who, ma'am?"

The words came out before I could stop them. "Katniss. Katniss Everdeen, from District 12, as my number one choice."
The man, who's name was Elmer Florence according to a little nametag I just now noticed on his lapel, nodded and clicked something on his computer. "Good choice. Girl on Fire. Second?"

"Peeta Mellark from District 12." Those words came out before I could stop them as well.

He raised an eyebrow but then clicked it. "You must really like the coal-miners. Third and final pick?"

"Cato Bronell." Finally, a self-influenced decision. The words were mine this time.

"Alright. Thank you, Ms. Garettson."

I blinked. "Thank you, Elmer."

He looked at me, his eyes hosting a emotion I was unfarmilar with. Loathing? Dislike? Annoyance? Those feelings were rare among most Capitalites; we were happy-go-lucky airheads. Most of us, anyway.

"Farewell, ma'am. See you soon. Next!"

I nodded at him and turned, for the first time noticing the large crowd that had accumulated behind me. I whispered an apology to the petite, yellow woman behind me and started home.

I had bet for the first time. And, somehow, I'd picked the two least likely to win, as in most scenarios District 12 tributes were Bloodbath victims. I scowled at the ground as I made my way home.

Damn Chip.