I've decided to upchuck chapters today, guys. Love me.

Ah! Chariot times abound! I just know you guys are gonna luffles this chapter to death!

I have a drawing contest at the end of this. You guys should check it out.

Popcorn cake? Some say it's not possible. I beg to differ. It's delicious.

Quote:

"We won't say our goodbyes, we know it's beter that way,"
OneRepublic, All We Are

*SHNAP! WHERE ARE MY COCOA CRISPIES?*

Day 3, Mikayla

I was trying not to self implode. Ini's family, being practicly royalty, had an amazing TV set in their home, one with good reception. Ini invited me over to watch the opening cerimony of the Games with
her. On my hand I had written a list in a berry juice that was not unlike henna of all the kids I knew that were up there. My mom wasn't too happy, but, hey, my arm.

Nine kids were on my arm. Chances were telling me only one of them could possibly make it, and odds were against the ones that mattered to me.

I tried to not let it get to me.

Ini told me who was in it that she remebered, because yesterday when watching the recaps I saw Shay durring the very begining and freaked out, thereby causing me to pass out. Not really that fun.

I started bouncing up and down on the plush couch, trying not to squeal in delight. The mayor was making popcorn in honor of the Hunger Games. Popcorn! Here it was a delacy, but back home I was addicted to the stuff. I even had a popcorn birthday cake once. The smell from the kitchen was amazing, addicting. It almost gave me a high.

I loved popcorn.

"Calm down!" Ini was trying, and failing, to not laugh at my excitment.

"But it's corn full of air!" My arms moved wildly through the air. "How can you not be happy?" She atempted to stuff back a fit of giggles, and failed.

"Here you are, girls," said the mayors wife, handing us small bowls of popcorn. I tried to wait. I really did. But who can resist popcorn?

"Slow down!" belly laughed the mayor.

"Lans, turn on the TV," said the mayors wife. The little nine year old flipped on the set, and it came to life with a gentle glow.

Some stupid Games reporters with silly accents were talking, but I tuned them out. It was a skill that I learned in Biology. Ignore the teacher in there enough, and he gave you a rubix cube. I know, it didn't really make sense, but I wanted the toy. Crazy seventy year old men losing their memory.

Then the first chariots came out. District 1 was hidious, which must have been a first. I think the only word to describe them was Cullen. Bleck. Their skin literaly sparkled, throwing light ten times farther then it was suposed to. Their clothing was almost non existant and made of jewels, giving the illusion of dimonds growing out of their skin.

"Sparklepire," muttered Ini through a mouthful of popcorn.

"Just what I was thinking." We high fived. "Leeches. Hm. New nickname?" Ini nodded.

The leeches acted like they had no idea how to perform in front of an audience, standing compleatly still. Fail. I didn't honestly care for them, anyway.

District 2 was sort of impressive. Their chariot had mini lab explosions going off all around it, and they were dressed in your typical 'mad scientist' look.

"Whitecoats," said Ini. I think this trend of nicknames would continue. It was fun.

District three had someone of slight importance to me. She was in my first and fourth grade classes, the weird girl who drew hands really well. Ashton Renny, she was. The outfit was, well, the best description was a half finnished Iron Man costume.

"Iron Men!" I chuckled. Ini nodded, then grabbed some scrap paper and a pen off a nearby table to record our nicknames.

District 4 blew me away. Both tributes were people I knew, a hyper freshmen Kara, and an idiot named David. They were growing out of a wave, I kid you not. Fish were swiming in it and everything. From the waist up it got progressivly thinner untill nothing was on their heads.

"Fish," whispered Ini. I peeked over her shoulder and saw her write fish like 'Phish'. Cool.

Five was unimpressive. Yeah, you look like your carved from metal. Big whoop. Six just had a transforming suit that was, frankly, pathetic. Seriously? I knew both kids from six, but I tried not to remeber them. Don't want to get too atached, seeing as they might be dead soon.

Seven was impressive. Multicolored streamers spilled off them, whipped around them in whirlwinds. They were a commanding storm, causing them to draw atention. Energy in the form of mini lightning bolts shot everywhere off of them. With their devil makeup, they were deadly.

Everyone in the room had thier jaws on the floor. It was shocking. My
description wasn't anywhere near what it looked like.

"Woah," breathed 16 year old Dayton at the sight of the suits that Eight was hosting. They constantly were changing from one fashion to another, always moving. I didn't like it that much.

Nine was almost the exact same as Five, with kids that looked carved out of stone. Boring.

Ten was angels of death. It was an overplayed thing for them. Livestock keeping also entailed the killing and packaging of the meat, and aparently the stylists were too thick in the heads to be creative.

I steeled myself as eleven came on the screen. Shay and Taylor were laughing. Both of them were in unasuming reddish brown jumpsuits. Shay had some sort of ball in her hands. The camera panned away from them all too quick, focusing on twelve, who looked lame in suckish hooker miner geddup. But not even two seconds later did the camera snap back to my crazy friends.

Shay was shrieking laughter as the object in her hand exploded with vines that crawled all up her arm and over her. They spilled over her hands and across the ground, snaking up Taylors legs. He screamed like a little girl and jumped up and down, and Shay chided him for his stupidity. They started joking around again as the vines wound their merry way across their bodies, even a few strands up their faces and into their hair.

Um. Wow.

The anouncers were debating over who they thought were the best. Aparently over half of the designs were never before seen in Hunger Games history. Then the anthem and President Yurt's speach started, and they had to stop the useless fighting. At the end of the anthem, the chariots took one final loop around the square before disapearing into their new home.

I laughed. "Some of those were really good," I said, turning to Ini.

Her face was more grim. "Yeah."

"Come on," I said, mock punching her. "Whats up?"

"A lot," she snapped. "All of those kids are going to be dead in a few weeks. And I have no idea how to get back." She slammed her head into her lap.

"Oh." That put a damper on my mood like a bucket of water on a campfire. Yeah. Most of those kids were going to die, and I laughed at their weaknesses. I was a jerk.

*MY COOKIE CRISP! THOSE DANG KIDS!*

Okay, I want to see what you guys think good nicknames for the districts are. We got leeches, whitecoats, IMs, and phishes. District 11 is sylvae.

Also, I am now having a contest for whoever can draw the chariot outfits, the new never-before-seen ones. You think your the best? Submit! Winner will get all the advance chapters I have stored up, which could be as much as 6 more chapters.

Get drawing!