Le looked around the training arena, not sure where to start. He knew he had to pick something, and be active in some way during training, but there were just so many choices. He found himself drifting towards the explosives sections because that was the most familiar to him. He figured he'd start out simple the progress to something more advanced. After listening to a Capitol representative talk all about different types of bombs and explosives and what not, he grew tired of listening and wanted to some more...interactive. He was scoping out the room, sizing up the competition when he saw her. A pregnant girl, looking determined. She was heading over to the camouflage area. He wanted to go over and ask, why would she volunteer? But he decided not to and went back to his explosives. He looked at her ever so often. Once she looked back and gave him a deadly glare. He still snuck peeks at her when she wasn't looking. He wondered what her name was, why she came here, and if she still loved the father. The last question was the one that ran through his mind most often. He looked back down at what he was doing when he felt a shock, which meant that the bomb would have exploded. He set his mind back to his work and pushed her out of his mind...for now.

While Le was fantasizing about the pregnant girl, Viola was near the climbing wall. She used to climb a lot back in district two, it was one of her favorite past times along with running. As she began climbing, she felt herself relax for the first time since her name was called. She let her mind wander to that fateful day she was reaped. She still felt the feeling of betrayal because of her sister not volunteering for her. They had been so close, if the rolls were reversed, she knew that she definitely would've volunteered for her. But she couldn't think of that anymore, she had to focus on winning.

[*]

Rose looked around the room. She looked and looked and looked but did not find one thing she was good at. She noticed people staring at her. Well, probably because she hadn't moved since she walked in the door. She heard someone mutter, "She'll be an easy kill." She walked over to one of the trainers and asked, "What's that?" in her nasal voice.

"You really don't know what a bow is? Wait you look like that girl from last year's games...what's her name? Are you two related?".

"She was my twin. What's the fastest way to kill someone?".

"Well, there are many ways but the one you're least likely to mess up is probably the gun."

"Well which one is that?"

"Are you really that daft? It's that one over there." He said pointing to the far end of the room, which had a row of targets.

Rose walked over there and picked up a gun. A trainer walked over but she brushed her aside, saying she knew what she was doing. Next thing you know, Rose's foot was bleeding. "Ow! What is wrong with this thing?" She screamed.

"Well, when you point it at your foot and pull the trigger, you're going to shoot your flipping foot! Go to the infirmary. It's that way."

After Rose got her foot fixed she went back to the gun area. She picked up the gun, pointed it at the target and shot. No one knows where the bullet went.

[*]

Ella sat outside the judging room patiently waiting her turn she watched the other tributes go in then the come back out looking nervous, or anxious, or extremely pleased with their performance. She looked to her left where the boy tribute from her district sat. He was tapping his foot obnoxiously and it was beginning to get on her nerves. So she turned to him and glared. He didn't notice at first but then he looked at her, smirked and started doing it louder and faster.

She stood up and stepped right in front of him. "Excuse me," She said, "But that foot spasming thing you're doing? It needs to stop. Now."

He looked up at her and said, "Yeah, what if I don't want to stop?"

"I think you'll come to regret it."

"Oh really"

"Really." she said before stomping on his foot. Really hard. She sat back down in her seat, as he whined about how unnecessary that was. The guy sitting on her right, Baro, she thinks his name was, was laughing as he watched the exchange between the two.

"Don't like your fellow tribute?" He asked, amused.

"Nope." She said as she watched the boy limp into the room. Five minutes later, she saw him come back out, in tears. She smiled as he walked past her, knowing that he probably screwed it up and lost any chance he had at gaining any sponsers.

When he saw her, he sneered at her and said, "You're next."

This only made her smile wider at him as she got up and entered the room confidently. She knew exactly what she was going to do. She walked up to the spears and grabbed the one she thought looked the prettiest. Then walked to the center of the room, fifteen or so feet from a big target. She took a deep sigh and lifted her spear, then threw it with as much force as possible. It landed right in the middle of the target. She smiled in triumph as the sponsors and judging clapped politely for her. Then walked out of the room.

Later that night when they watched the scores on the television, she was pleased to see that she got a seven out of a possible twelve. Not the best score, she thought, but good enough. As they continued to watch the scores flash across the screen, she was even more pleased to see that the boy from her district got a three.

[*]

Sara waited outside the room patiently waiting her turn. She watched as the other tributes went in and out of the judging room. She was nervous for her turn for she had yet to decide what she was going to do. She was good at the hard back-breaking work, like many of the others in her district, but didn't know how that could possibly impress the judges.

When it was her turn, she shakily stood and walked in the room, looking around for something, anything, that could help her. She spotted the weight section and walked over to it, feeling a bit more confident now that she had a small idea of what she was doing. She picked up the heaviest one, thanking her boss back in district 11 silently for always giving her the job of moving crates of food, and walked to the center of the room. She took a deep breath and threw it 30 feet across the arena. She looked up at the judges, quietly thanked them for their time and left feeling good about herself.

Later that evening she was watching the scores with her mentor and the boy from her district. She gave a shout of joy when she saw that she got a seven, which was much higher than she expected.

[*]

"Pyro Flamin, you're up!" Shouted the woman with the headset. Pyro walked on the stage. She didn't really like the outfit she was wearing since it was so girly, but she did like feeling like the grain she tended, free and blowing in the breeze. She walked on the stage and was met with ooos, and ahhs. She saw the interviewer smile at her and nod his approval of her outfit. She walked toward him and spun around for him, as all the other contestants had done.

"You look amazing!" The interviewer, Amadeus said.

"Thank you." Pyro said blandly."

"So Pyro, how do you hope to do in these games?"

"Well, I hope to win." She retorted.

"Now I see you got an eight as your score. Do you think that that gives you an advantage?"

"I believe it does. I'm right in the middle so I'm not one of the biggest targets."

"Ah, yes. Do you see anyone you...like?"

"No. No romance for me. I want to win the games and get back to my family."

"Oh. Well, good luck in the games and may the odds be ever in your favor!"

Pyro took the clue and left the stage, satisfied that she didn't give everyone much to gossip over. When she got backstage, she saw nervous faces. She smirked. Sissies.

[*]

Jazmine Zubak walked onto the stage confidently. She did a twirl and sat down.

"You look fabulous darling!"

"I feel fabulous too!"

"So Jazmine, let's cut the chases. I heard that you have a little romance going on back in old District 12. Care to tell more?"

The crowd was forward in their seats, waiting to hear more. Jazmine decided right then to play the crowd, that might score her some points in the arena. "Well...his name is Johnny. I think we're in love. When I was called out he was screaming and crying and I miss him so much." The crowd sighed.

"No! That's horrible! And he couldn't even volunteer for you! Oh the tragedy!"

"I just want to get home to him, if it's the last thing I do!"

"Thank you for your time. Johnny, you have one heck of a girl! And Jazmine, may the odds be ever in your favor!"

[*]

The arena was set, the tributes in the tubes. The platforms rose. You could hear 24 tributes breath leave their mouths. And you heard the screams to come from 23 children.