The next day, I wake up, after a surprisingly peaceful night. Somehow, the looming thought of my violent death didn't cause me to lose any sleep. Huh. Maybe I've accepted my death.

Since these are most likely my last days alive, I might as well make the most of them. I decide to take another wonderfully hot shower, since it felt so good yesterday. While in the shower, I think about what it would be like to be a Capitol citizen.

"Ah, Rienna, here is your breakfast! If it's not cooked exactly to your taste, I'll just get you some more! It really is that easy," says the woman in the maid's costume.

"Thanks. Can I have some chocolate cake, too, please?"

"Right away, ma'am."

Life would be so convenient, but yet so wasteful. Which was better? Living in excess, like the Capitol people; or living in poverty, like my family and the rest of my district? If living in the Capitol meant I had to dye my skin a different color, then I'd take my life any day.

My old life, I correct myself. I'm not back in District 10 anymore, most likely I'll never return. Even if I do, my life will have changed beyond recognition – I'll be a murderer.

After I leave the shower and sit down to an enormous breakfast, I look out the train window to see the Capitol zooming closer. Today I'm supposed to meet my stylist and prep team to get my costume ready for the chariot rides. Usually, the stylists for our district just dressed the tributes up as something cow-related; obviously, the Capitol thinks that 'livestock' is synonymous with 'cows'. It didn't matter much to me, anyway, since sponsors usually only paid attention to the Career tributes during the parade. The later districts were almost always ignored.

First, though, we have to endure the torture of the prep team. One of them, Sylba, is a rather eccentric woman that resembles a tree. She has extremely tan skin and green hair, and is currently in the process of tearing all of the hairs out of my legs. I'm not sure why this matters, since it will undoubtedly grow back in the time I'm in the arena.

Assuming I live through the bloodbath, that is.

After I've been groomed and washed into oblivion, Sylba appears to be content with their work.

"Oh, don't you look just beautiful! Let's go call Cleara!"

Another woman walks in, who has tattoos of eyes all over her skin. It's a rather intimidating sight. She tells me that she has talked to Elya's stylist, and they've decided on our chariot outfit already. She starts to describe it.

"You're going to be wearing the most beautiful, shimmery dress –it'll go almost down to your knees, no need to worry about modesty – and it's going to have a cow print on it."

I mentally roll my eyes. Great.

"But, the catch is, the pattern will be done entirely in sequins. It'll be the most dazzling costume District 10 has seen in years!"

The next day, as the prep teams prepare us for the chariot rides, Cleara walks into the room bearing the dress. It really is rather pretty. They put makeup on me and twist my hair in an elaborate bun, and declare me ready.

I'm walking toward the holding area by the chariots when I see Elya; his costume makes me laugh. He's dressed like a cowboy, complete with a hat and boots, but they are all covered in black and white sequins, just like my dress. It doesn't make sense. Why would a cowboy be dressed like a cow? These Capitol people…

Well, there's nothing we can do about it now. The effect is actually kind of stunning.

I find myself standing by the girl from District 3 and her partner, but I can't remember their names. The girl is dressed as a circuit board, as far as I can tell – she's wrapped in wires; one arm has a tan cylinder with four different colored bands on it and the other is covered in red, tiny, blinking light bulbs. The boy is a light bulb, with a glass bulb encasing his upper body. I wonder how he can even breathe in that costume.

She says, "Hi, I'm Lynetta. This is Claud. What are your names?"

We introduce ourselves and make small talk for a while. Lynetta looks about sixteen, like me, and she's extremely gorgeous. I even see Claud checking her out. Gross. He's only about thirteen years old and he seems nervous and jumpy. I hope he doesn't throw up over all of us.

Then Lynetta proclaims bluntly, "So, I like you guys. You'd be a good help in the arena. Want to be allies?"

Elya and I glance at each other. He shrugs. I ask her, "Are you that's a good idea? Wouldn't an alliance just mean more mouths to feed, and then, eventually, betrayal?"

"Well, I was thinking that we could all four be allied at the beginning, and keep together so that we wouldn't be an easy target for the Careers. And then at the final eight or so, we could just split up peacefully and then not have to watch each other get killed."

Yeah, like we'd all make it to the final eight, I think skeptically. That means some Careers would have to die first, in addition almost everyone else. I look at Claud – certainly he couldn't kill a Career. Elya, Lynetta, and I might be able to put up a fight; not against all six of them though. Well, I guess we'd better with Lynetta than without her.

I make a decision. "Okay. Allies." Elya nods in agreement.

I turn away from them to observe the other tributes and size up my competition. All the usual Careers are in a group together, except one. Who's missing? I mentally run through the group to find out – there's Amethyst and Marin from One, Kacela from Two, and Jaqua and Marlon from Four. But where's the boy from Two? I look around until I find him, standing next to the girl from Six or Seven. I'm pretty sure her name is Shyla.

"What's that about?" I ask Elya.

"Huh?"

"Never mind." I guess I'll find out eventually if there's something going on between them. The girl Ennie from Eight is standing around by herself, glaring at everyone that walks by her. I shiver, remembering the scared feeling I got while watching her Reaping. I'll definitely want to stay away from her.

Then the Capitol people are yelling at us to get in our chariots. Lynetta and Claud leave to go up to the District 3 chariot, near the front. We get in ours just in time, and the chariots start moving.

As soon as we get out into the chariot track, Elya grabs my hand in his. I look at him, surprised. He mouths the word "sponsors" and I understand – if we play nice for the Capitol, we might get some sponsors in the Games. My mind flashes back to when he told me he loved me in the train. Was that just an act, then? I knew it. Whatever. I guess I'll have to be nice to him, for now.

We smile and wave at the Capitol crowd like nice little pawns, but inside I'm groaning at the whole event. Luckily, though, the crowd seems to like our outfits well enough. It must be the glittering sequins. They're suckers for glamour.

Soon, it's over, and we head back to our rooms. Elya stops me before I can close my door.

"Can I come in?"

Ugh, why does he want to talk to me? There aren't any cameras around, so it's not like it will help us get sponsors. Even though I don't particularly want him in my room, I don't really see what it could hurt. And he looks pretty desperate to talk to me.

"Well, all right."

He comes in and sits down, looking at the floor.

"You know how, in the chariot, I said I was holding your hand for the sponsors?" I nod. "Well, I lied." I raise my eyebrows, but he's still looking down. "I actually did it because I like you, and I figured I might as well make the most of it before we die."

"Wow. Thanks for the optimism."

"Yeah, sorry. The point is, though, that I really do love you. I'm not just saying that to mess with your head, or to get sponsors, or to get you to trust me and later betray you. I'm telling you this now because if I die in the bloodbath, I'll never get the chance to tell you. And if I don't, I want to stay with you in the arena until I do die, so I can protect you."

I look in his eyes and see nothing but honesty. How could I trust him, though? This could just be an extended version of his trick when we were younger, except with higher stakes.

He finally looks at me, and pleads, "Please, Rienna. I've always thought I had years to tell you, and it turns out that I don't. I don't expect you to say you love me back. Just think about it. I know you used to have feelings for me, but I totally screwed that up. I'll regret that day forever. I'm just begging you for one more chance."

Wow. He seems to actually mean what he said, and he apologized for embarrassing me. I sigh.

"Okay. We're allies. We'll stick together in the arena because it'll help both of us survive. But I'm not going to go running into your arms like I did before. I learned that lesson the hard way."