A/N: QUESTION! Do these chapters seem rushed? Tell me what you think. First of all, I am on Winter Break for 2 weeks, that's why I have been updating so fast. I have a lot of time on my hands!

I have the Arena decided! XD Ahhhhhhhh, I'M SO FREAKING EXCITED!

But, bad news, I have a terrible illness. It's called writer's block. Symptoms usually include frustration, ripping your hair out and yelling at your computer screen. xD

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Hunger Games. Sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes.

I step off the stage and into a sea of flashing lights, distant screams, and colorful people. Haymitch comes out of nowhere with Lynn, Felix, and Alex. Alex is grinning at me while Haymitch on the other hand, does not look happy. I continue walking until we make it to the confines of the building.

"What were you thinking?" Haymitch bellowed.

I immediately step back from him, knowing he's drunk and seething.

Alex starts screaming at Haymitch to calm down and that's where everything goes downhill. Swearing words are said, fighting takes place, and Peacekeepers are called to settle things and all I can do is stand and watch.

Alex ended up pushing our mentor and Haymitch, being drunk, took everything way too critically and took out his knife. Haymitch ended up cutting a gash in Alex's right arm and blood was splattered onto the perfect, square shaped tiles of the Justice building. I run over to Alex, ripping off a sleeve of my dress and I press it firmly to his arm.

"Don't move." I say through clenched teeth. "I'm so sorry." I mumble before the cloth is now soaked thoroughly with red scarlet blood. He just shakes his head, telling me it's alright and it's not my fault for any of this. I hold my breath, trying to keep myself focused on the main cause here and not passing out from the stench. Felix and Lynn are escorted out from the room by Peacekeepers as the medic's storm in. The medics ended up carrying Alex to the Hospital wing.

I am forced to go back to my room without any explanation on the condition Alex is currently in. I lay in my bed for what feels like hours, not getting an ounce of sleep until 2:00 in the morning. I again, have a very eventful nightmare full of dread, blood, graves, darkness, and dying loved ones.

I wake up with a start and I drag myself out of bed and into the bathroom. I start to strip off my pajamas. Wait? Pajamas? I went to sleep with my dress on… I go back to the room and see the dress folded nicely on a nearby chair with an envelope sitting on top. I stumble over to it and clumsily rip open the neatly written envelope.

I can't quite recognize the handwriting off the top of my head as I read what the letter says:

Dear Rue,

Last night must have been very upsetting for you. You're probably very tired and I can see why. If you'd like, we can skip the breakfast with the President and I will sneak you down to the hospital wing.

Alex is fine, he's just a little banged up. Haymitch is currently in his room without any liquor for him to drink. The Capitol has taken away his stash until he is relieved of the duty of mentoring you two.

Call me in my room: 555-883-2937

With love,

Felix.

I read over the lines again before making my way over to the phone on my bedside table with the note clenched in my hands. I dial the number that is on the paper and I hear Felix's voice through the receiver.

"Hello?" He asks into the phone sleepily.

"Good morning Felix! It's Rue." I say into the receiver.

"Oh, Rue. You got my note then, didn't you?" He mumbles back.

"Yes, I did. Um, I really wanted to see Alex. So, would it be alright if you take me down to him?"

"Yes, go take a shower and then we'll get you down there before training today."

"Alright, thank you Felix. Bye!" I hang up the phone and sprint to the bathroom, dropping the note onto the floor. I strip off my pajamas and step into the marvelous shower. I try to think back to when Octavia was helping me and can't quite think of what she pressed, so I press a random button. Green soap studs ooze out of the side lever, hitting my body with a sting. I immediately turn it off and go on the tiring adventure to finding the right shampoo. It's a whole different story with the conditioner, don't get me started.

After, about 30 minutes, I'm out of the shower and fully dressed in what we're supposed to be wearing for training. It's a black jumpsuit with gray, red, and blue stripes. It's made out of a stretchy fabric with the numbers 12 on the sleeve next to the shoulder.

I press the machine that my prep team showed me yesterday and my hair is instantly dry. I experiment with my hair for a while on different machines for a few minutes and soon half my hair is straight and the other is curled. I giggle when my hair stands stick straight in the air. I can't believe that people here think this is in fashion. I find the right machine that makes my hair straight and I pull it back into a high ponytail right as there is a light knock on the door.

I pull open the door to see Felix breathing heavily and what looks like a CD in his hand.

"Rue, good! You're ready, you look flawless." He smiles before continuing, "I have something for you, and we need to watch it quickly before your training session before lunch."

"What is it?" I look at the CD questionably.

"It's your mom and dad's training tapes. It's the recording of what they did to get their score." He explains into further detail.

I smile at him, "Oh, great. So I can get ideas right?"

He nods and leads his way to the couch. He pushes the CD into the player and my mom's younger face pops onto the screen. It shows her whole experience in both the games. It shows her shooting the apple in the Pigs mouth at the Gamemakers table. I have to admit I did laugh at the reactions. It also shows her tying the noose around the dummy. Smart idea. Her skill with the bow and arrows blows me away, same does the skill that my dad had with painting Rue (A/N: The one that was allies with Katniss) on the floor for his talent. The only thought that comes to mind during all of this is: Defying the Capitol.

I turn to Felix and ask him, "Were they trying to rebel against the Capitol?"

Felix stares at me stunned for a moment, "You are nine, correct?" He asks.

"Um, yeah…?" I mumble, looking at him curiously.

"You put that together by looking at these videos?" He shakes his head, disbelieving it.

"Is that a bad thing?" I ask shyly.

"No, no. It's just… you're really smart. Like your mom and dad. You're going to need those skills." He nods, still not believing she just picked that up from videos.

"Wow." He murmurs, obviously lost in thought, then stands up minutes later. "Okay, your schedule for today is visiting Alex, then prep for your training, then lunch, then the actual training. We are hoping that Alex can go with you."

And with that, we're on our way to the hospital.

"How are you, Alex?" I smile reassuringly at him, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Good…good." He murmurs.

"Look, I'm sorry about Haymitch. He really isn't usually violent he-" I am cut off by Alex screaming.

"He's not always violent, no! But he's always drunk! Always! How are we supposed to learn from a mentor that is always drunk?" He screams at me.

"Alex, calm down." I put my hand on his. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes.

After he finally calmed down, we talked about what we were going to do in training. Then, Felix came in and said I had to get ready for Prep for Training.

"Bye, Rue." He smiles before lying back down on the bed.

"I'll hopefully see you at the Training Center." And with that, the hard part of the day began.

"What are you good at?" Felix interrogates me.

"I don't know! I've never tried anything with weapons before. I haven't needed to!" I shrug, getting annoyed.

"Then we're going to have to show you." He states with a smug face.

"Like what?" I ask.

"Well, Katniss was good with a bow and arrows. Well, good is an understatement. She was the best I've ever seen with a bow and arrows. Peeta was good with everything. But, his best was with the knife; he kept it with him wherever he went. If you're talking about skill then Peeta was best with his words. He was a leader. He could sway your opinion on things that you thought were right. Your mom, on the other hand, was the worst with words." He laughs then continues, "So, you need to find your strength."