…

I know we've got it good
But they've got it made
And the grass is getting greener each day
I know things are looking up, but soon they'll take us down
Before anybody's knowing our name

…

Skye Emerald

"Gobble, gobble!" our chipper escort claps her pudgy hands. "We have got an amazing day ahead of us! I bet you can't wait!" I nod, but really she couldn't have been more wrong. Today I'll have to act like everything's perfect. I'll pretend that participating in this hell is an honor.

"The Careers are looking strong this year," Glass says, chewing his food. I will be joining the Careers, sadly. I don't think I have much of a choice.

"They sure are! I think you two will fit right in!" She replies, her wide grin distracting me a bit.

"Yeah, I bet we will," I sigh, twisting my food around my fork.

"Don't you think that's a little rude, Skye?" Glass sneers at me. I glare back at him. Our escort and mentor smile appreciatively to Glass.

"Sorry," I mumble.

"Don't mumble please. I can't stand it," Our mentor scolds.

"My apologies fair lady, but may I please be excused from this lovely meal? I think I'll get ready for training, if you do not mind," I imitate her snooty accent before scooting my chair out from under the table, standing up, and walking into my room. I hear the escort scoff loudly and a smile creeps onto my face.

…

Glass and I step into the elevator without our escort or mentor. We already know what we need to do. We're dressed in black tight suits. There are red stripes on the short sleeves and red numbers on them too along with the front and back. Our pants are just as tight and go to our ankles. I tie my red hair back into a curly ponytail. Glass's muscles are more defined in the suit.

I notice him staring at me, hate in his eyes and I falter. What? Suddenly he leaps forward, his hands on my shoulders as he pushes me into the elevator wall with a thud!

"What the hell?!" I scream.

"I'd like to ask you the same thing. What do you think you're doing? Trying to get us killed? Do you think you'll survive by going your own way?!" He waits for a minute, but when I don't respond he continues. "You won't."

"How would you know?" I jeer at him.

"My- um… Nevermind. Just stop being so damn stubborn, okay?!"

"Why do you care about me?" I continue yo push him.

He stays silent for a minute before saying softy, "This isn't about you. None of this is,"

And then the elevator doors open and Glass shoots off of me. I don't think anyone saw him though.

But then I walk over to the girl from Four, who raises her eyebrows at me with a light smirk on her lips.

Raiden Brown

The school children surround me. I've been here before, in this place. Except this time it's different. There are five kids repeated around me. Three girls and two boys cloned multiple times. They all stare at me with devil red eyes. They want me dead, but they won't hurt me- I won't let them. They tried to hurt me before, but I killed them, and now they're back again for me.

Luckily weapons surround me on the wall. I have defense. They only have revenge. I smile at them, they have nothing compared to me.

I decide to walk over to the knives. They glint from the reflection of the lights. I smile at them. They will help me. They will be my only friends.

Matthias Stitch

So far training has been okay. No one really pays attention to me, except the Careers glance over once in a while. I think the boy from Four is the leader this year, from the way he orders everyone around. It seems odd to me that people can form relationships that quickly. Some people can't be trusted, yet they don't seem to care. Then again, maybe they're so cocky they think they'll be able to fight off any other members who up-rise against them.

The brown and green paint I have smeared on my arms starts to hardern and itch. I've made myself blend in perfectly to the leaves of a bush. The trainer next to me nods.

"Good work boy. That'll be plenty useful in the arena," he says.

"Thank you," I smile softly.

"Oh man! That's really cool. How'd you do that?" A small girl asks next to me.

I hesitate. Do I want her to know my strategy? She looks at me expectantly, so I say, "You have to get the right blend of colors. You need more green than brown… Like this." I show the girl on a mat that we are stationed at.

"Okay, I think I get it. 'Mind painting on my arm?" She puts her creamy light brown arm in front of me. I look closely at it and see little scars all over.

"Sure. My name's Matthias, but I go by Mattie," I tell her quietly.

"Hi Mattie. I'm Ivy Kludge from District Eleven,"

"Nice to meet you," I say.

"Yeah, you too. So, what's your backstory?" I look at her, puzzled.

"What do you mean?"

"You know, a backstory, what happened before you were reaped," She says casually. I start painting her arm.

"Oh… that…. I don't have one," I lie, looking down at the ground.

"Everyone has a backstory- some are just better than others,"

"Really? What's your backstory then?" I ask her.

"Well, mine's one of the 'bad ones,' I guess. My parents died and I moved on to get abusive foster parents. Now your turn."

"Nothing's happened to me. I've lived a fine life," I don't know why, but I don't want to tell Ivy about my life, or my family. I think it's better left unsaid.

"Whatever, Mattie. I'll crack you someday," She giggles.

She'd better make it soon. I might not live long enough to tell it.

Autumn Eshaya

My hands act furiously, tying knots out of thick light brown rope. My District partner Aiden and I are training together, although we aren't sure whether to have an alliance in the arena or not. Even though I like the thought of home, it can be dangerous. Insanity isn't rare in the arena, in fact I think one of the tributes has already gone mad. It's rather hard to watch.

"Are you ready?" Aiden looks at me. I nod and we go to another station. We plop down next to the girl from Two. It appears that the Careers have split up for a moment to go their own ways. Surprisingly, she smiles genuinely at the both of us.

"Welcome to the dodging station! Here you'll learn how to avoid getting hit," The trainer says to us. "We will take turns. Canzi here, will demonstrate since she's already gone,"

Canzi stands up quickly, bouncing to her feet.

"First, you need to get in a loose position," he gestures to Canzi, who's muscles relax. "Then, you put your hands in front of vital organs, or your head. Whichever you want." Canzi gets her hands in front of her face in fists. "Next, prepare to duck, roll, or block an attack. Ready Canzi?" he asks. She nods. I notice her ears twitch a bit.

The trainer throws a punch at the girl. She hits the floor, then swipes her leg at the trainer's feet, knocking him to the ground. He winces.

"Wait… should I have not done that?" Canzi bites her nail.

"Umm… it's alright," he groans, then stands back up. "I think these two get the picture,"

"Yeah. Thanks Canzi. Thank you," Aiden nods to both the girl and the trainer.

We go on practicing for a while until we feel confident in our dodging. Tomorrow we'll come back and learn weapons.

…

I know we've got it good
But they've got it made
And the grass is getting greener each day
I know things are looking up, but soon they'll take us down
Before anybody's knowing our name

I have to go! That was a pretty fast update, if I do say so myself! Sorry for any errors, I don't have time to correct them if I want to update today!

No new poll up yet! Thanks for the review!:)