By noon I am already on the train making my way towards the Capitol. I have heard many rumours about the Capitol but am unsure of how much of it is true. I am basing all assumptions on the appearance and attitude of Effie Trinket.

As I sit in the chair next to Katniss, silently, Effie Trinket looks at us with pursed lips whilst holding a delicate fine china teacup. The train carriage is so silent that the only sound is the gently clattering of the cup against the saucer.
"You will just love the Capitol. Three meals a day, with all the dessert you can eat," Effie comments in an attempt to try raise our spirits. I look towards Katniss to see her looking solemn at the ground.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared, that I just wanted to lock myself in a room and suffocate myself slowly with my worries. But I can't do that. However, I cannot even try to imagine what could be going on in Katniss's head. She has become District 12's first ever volunteer, as an attempt to protect her sister from the games. Even I know that, right now, the whole of Panem will be watching her every move. Wanting to know what Katniss Everdeen will do next.

Effie leaves the train carriage as an attempt to try find Haymitch, our mentor.
"Have you ever met him?" I ask Katniss, as a way to start a conversation. She looks up from the ground, her eyes narrowing to emphasise the form of hatred she possesses towards me. "Haymitch?" I add, in case she wasn't sure of who I was speaking about. Katniss suddenly turns her head away from me, staring passively at the wall. "Prim isn't going to starve, Kat-"
"Don't you dare mention her name," Katniss spits whilst still looking away from me, "Don't you dare."
"I-I'm sorry."
A silence develops between the two of us once more, followed by the development of unbearable tension. We are sat in this way for five minutes until Haymitch arrives.

Haymitch stumbles into the carriage, supporting himself on the cake stand. I watch as a delicately iced cupcake falls to the ground, impacting with the sheep shagged rug. Haymitch looks to the floor then back at us, "oops." He slumbers over to the bar cart, grabbing a bottle of vodka and drinking from it straight. I can see a form of worry flash in Katniss's eyes as we witness the drunken actions of the man who is supposed to be trying to help us win a game where the prize is to live.

I know that attempting to talk to Haymitch will be futile, but maybe it will bring a form of support and reassurance to Katniss. Maybe. "So when are we going to start training?" I ask as Haymitch slumps into the chair opposite Katniss and I. He looks at me, slightly confused, before taking another swig of straight vodka.
"People aren't normally as eager," he scowls.
"Well we want to win don't we?" I ask, turning towards Katniss. She is staring at the ground again, lost in deep thought. I turn back towards Haymitch who is looking at me as if I was the alcoholic.
"All I can do is prepare you for the inevitable- your death. And maybe make it as quick and painless as possible."

I hear Katniss take a sharp breath next to me, though she tries to recover quickly.
"You're our mentor. You're supposed to mentor us about the Games and give us tips."
"Okay, here's a tip for you, survive. Is that the answer you was looking for?" Haymitch scoffs. He stands up quickly from his chair, falling back slightly, before regaining his composure. He takes another swig of vodka before muttering to himself as he walks away, "I wish they'd stop giving these kids false hope."

That night as I lay in bed, I am unable to sleep. I simply stare at the ceiling, thinking about District 12. I know that everybody will be speaking of Katniss and how she volunteered, I reckon that they will have forgotten that I am also a tribute too. I guarantee that everybody in the Capitol will only know me as "the boy from District 12" whilst they'll know Katniss by her full name. I don't care though. If one of us is to survive I would always choose Katniss over myself. Even mother believes in Katniss and her survival skills over mine. If I can't win these games, I at least pray that Katniss can.

I hear a scream come from the room opposite mine. I react instantly, leaving my room to find out if the person is okay. I knock gently on the door but simply hear another scream. I twist the knob of the door to find that it is unlocked before pushing it slightly open to find Katniss twisting and turning in her sleep, her bed sheets flung onto the floor.

I walk over to her carefully, not wanting to make a noise. I place my hand delicately on Katniss's forehead to feel her burning temperature, whilst her body is shivering. I walk into the bathroom and soak a cloth in cold water before placing it back on her forehead. The moment the cloth touches her head she releases a sigh of relief from her sleep.

As I watch Katniss in this helpless state I want to wake her up from her agony. But I know if I do that it could make matters worse and she would be furious if she was to know that I had seen her in such a vulnerable state. I brush a few of Katniss's hairs out of her face, noticing that her temperature has gone down considerably. I place the bed sheets carefully back over her before leaving the room.

I stay up for the remainder of that night in case I hear anymore sounds escape from Katniss's room. However, I do not, and around 4am I collapse into a short sleep. I wake up at around 7am and decide to get some breakfast. As I walk into the carriage I notice Effie sitting poised in a chair looking out the window. Although it is early in the morning, she is already applying makeup to her already heavily caked face. Effie hasn't noticed me yet, and as I watch her I notice a loss of spark and 'peppiness' from which she normally holds. Alone, Effie reminds me of any normal human being.

When Effie notices me she suddenly smiles brightly,
'Peeta! An early riser, I see. Those who awake early get the most out of their day.'
'I couldn't sleep,' I comment whilst sitting down at the table. The amount of food which is already placed on the table is absurd. 'Do I just help myself?'
'Yes, you can have anything you like!' Effie exclaims, walking over to me, 'I especially enjoy chocolate covered strawberries.' I pick up one of these which she indicates and place it in my mouth. The moment I chew the strawberry an explosion of flavour occurs and I am already piling my plate up with more. In District 12 we do have strawberries, though they are expensive to buy. Chocolate is another food which costs an extravagant amount to have.

After ten minutes of eating breakfast alone, Haymitch enters the carriage, looking even more tired than me.
'Good morning, Haymitch,' Effie smiles. Haymitch simply raises a hand up to her before slumping down at the table. He takes a flask out from the inside of his jacket and takes a swig out of it. I can guarantee it is not orange juice. As I sit near Haymitch, an aroma lifts from him which almost makes me heave. Haymitch turns his attention to me, taking a waffle off my plate.
'There's plenty to choose from,' I comment.
'Well I wanted that one,' Haymitch replies with his mouth full.
'So are we going to start training today?' I ask Haymitch whilst reaching for another waffle. Haymitch watches me carefully, taking the waffle as soon as I place it on my plate.
'I can't teach you how to die. You'll have to figure that out for yourself,' Haymitch mutters whilst taking another swig from his flask.
'Well teach us how to survive.'
'And what makes you think I can teach you that?'
'Well you won before, didn't you?' I reply. Haymitch swallows the last piece of waffle before turning to me.
'I can't teach you how to survive. It's called survival instinct, you're either born with it or you're not.'
'Well how do I know if I'm born with it?'
'Well tell me the best place to find shelter when in the arena?'
'Somewhere near water, like a lake or something,' I reply, fairly comfortable in my response.
'Until the careers come, find you by yourself, and kill you in a second.' I am slightly took back by Haymitch's response.

'What are you two talking about?' I hear Katniss say. I turn to look at her, smiling slightly. She sits opposite me at the table, not acknowledging me.
'I was just asking Haymitch how you would find shelter in the arena,' I state, answering Katniss's question. She glances over at me before looking to Haymitch. I notice deep bags under Katniss's eyes, as if she had a restless night.
'How do you find shelter?' Katniss asks.
'Give me a chance to wake up, sweetheart. This mentoring is very… taxing stuff,' Haymitch replies, taking another swig out of his flask. I watch as anger flashes in Katniss's eyes before she repeats her question. Haymitch ignores her before reaching over to get some marmalade. I can feel the agitation and frustration radiate from Katniss before she stabs a knife into the table.

'That is mahogany!' Effie exclaims from her chair. Katniss ignores Effie though, holding fierce eye contact with Haymitch. As I watch the two, I can't help but see a similarity in their personalities. Both Haymitch and Katniss are stubborn, though in different ways. Katniss is stubborn because she doesn't want to accept help from anybody, she does not want to appear weak. Haymitch, on the other hand, does not want to provide help for anybody.

As the tension develops between Haymitch and Katniss, I notice that we have arrived at the Capitol.
'Wow, look at it!' I exclaim, rising from my seat and walking towards the window. As I look out the train window I am took back by the sight I am seeing. I have only ever seen the Capitol from pictures in textbooks and also glimpses of it from the television. The true presentation, however, is one that cannot be captured in a picture. The buildings appear to be made out the finest marble and stones, coated in the most expensive gold and silvers. From the train I am able to see glimpses of extravagant colours, making District 12 seem even more plain and grey.

As we pull into the train station, I am greeted by the flashing cameras and smiles of hundreds of people. One woman, with long green eye lashes, is ecstatic when she notices me looking out the window.
'IT'S PEETA! PEETA MELLARK!' she exclaims, pointing frantically to my window. A large group of people suddenly appear at the window, trying to press their hands against the glass. I wave and smile at them all, almost feeling like a celebrity.
'Katniss, come look,' I state, turning to her. Katniss, however, simply stares at me in utter disgust. I turn my attention back to the audience, amazed at how they are all chanting my name. At the same time I feel like a type of animal at the zoo, and these people are all just waiting for me to perform a trick.

A/N- Please leave me a review and don't forget to follow the story :) x