Today is Victor's Birthday…

He sits on his bed, frowning. He wants to throw something across his room, but that might be considered throwing a tantrum, and that would be for children much younger than him. He thinks of all the presents he'll be missing. What sort of cool toys is he missing out on? He hasn't seen his cousin Ruby since last year, when she called him a baby. Victor really wants to make up with her. But he can't. Ruby has to spend all her time at the Training Center, and his birthday party was the only time the trainers let her leave. And now he isn't going to have a birthday party. Great-Aunt Opal died three days ago and tomorrow is her funeral. But that's not the only reason, Victor's mommy tells him. She says he was bad. In fact, she had to hit him almost every day the past week. So it's victor's fault, really. He throws himself onto a pillow. Oh, if only he could cry! A big loud spectacle, screeching and screaming while throwing things and maybe even kicking the floor. However, Victor tells himself he can't. Crying is a sign of weakness, right? Victor wants to show his mommy and daddy that hitting him won't make him weak. He's strong! Why, his wrestling instructor even said so last class. A thought crosses Victor's mind. In just one year from now, he will be old enough to train. He'll get to be with Ruby! And, most importantly of all, he will get to hold a real sword. He still plays with his wooden one, just not as much as he used to. He's growing older, and when kids grow older, they want things to be bigger and better. Another sort of happy thought crosses his mind now. He won't have to play with Emory now. Victor lies back on his bed, happier than before. Suddenly, he hears the television from downstairs. The family, meaning his aunts and uncles and grandparents are over, so they can talk about Opal. But Aunt Jade and Uncle Flavius hired a babysitter for Emory, thinking he was "too young" for this. But Victor isn't! Besides, he's bored and there might be something interesting on.

Victor makes his way into the Entertainment Room, where everyone is clustered around the screen. "The 55th Annual Hunger Games" is what the screen reds. Then, it fades into some kind of grassy flatland, where big, strong looking kids are clustered around a fire. Victor sits down cross-legged in front of his father. The screen shows another big, strong boy attacking the kids at the fire. One boy, with a sword, stabs him and kills the ambushing boy. Victor feels a sense of pride for the swordsmen. He turns to his father. "Was that boy that died a bad guy? Or was it the guy with the sword who was the bad guy?" He pauses for a minute. "I bet the guy with the sword was the good guy!" Then he stops again, thinking. In the movies he's seen, usually the bad guys look scar. He turns to his father. "Was that boy that died a bad guy? Or was it the guy with the sword who was the bad guy?" He pauses for a minute. "I bet the guy with the sword was the good guy!" Then he stops again, thinking. In the movies he's seen, usually the bad guys look scary. These kids look mostly the same. "Hey daddy, how do you tell the bad guys apart from the good guys?" His daddy puts his head in his hands, looking very sad. Uh-oh. Victor didn't mean to make him sad! His mother turns to him quickly. "Yes, Victor, the boy with the sword is the good guy. He's from District 1, just like you, and he's bringing us honor. The way you can tell the good and the bad guys apart is that everyone except for you is bad." Victor nods like he understands. Except now he has another question. "But if everyone was bad, except for the District 1 boy, why was he sitting with other kids around a fire instead of killing them?" Daddy raises his head, looking really sad, but still about Victor's question, but mommy puts her hand on his lap to tell him to stop. "He's going to kill them soon." She tells him. Aunt Jade suddenly sits up, one hand on her large stomach because she's going to have a baby soon.

"You know, Aunt Opal was alive for the very first Games. She was 18, and she told me that she was so terrified." Victor frowns.

"How come she was scared? You get to kill bad guys in the Games, so that's fun. And you get honor!" Aunt Jade and his mommy look at each other. Mommy is having a baby soon too. Victor knows she wants a girl, but he's secretly hoping for a boy. He already has a sister. Amandine is all right, but it's not the same. But he tells himself to pay attention because Aunt Jade is going to answer his question.

"Well, sweetie, they didn't have a place for Opal to train back then. She wasn't prepared." Victor nods. Okay, that makes sense. He puts his face in his fists and watches some more. Slowly, one by one people begin to leave the room. Eventually, only Victor and his daddy are left watching. He watches as the swordsmen from his one district sneaks off into the forest. Oh, he's gonna kill some more bad guys! Victor sits excitedly. He can't wait for what's coming. There will be a huge battle, where the evil guy or girl tries to take down the boy, but after a long and grueling time, he triumphs! But that's not what happens. A rustling sound happens in the bushed to the boy's left. Victor clamps one hand on his mouth. The boy jumps over the bushes and into a small campsite, where a girl, much smaller than the District 1 boy is huddled against a tree. For a bad guy, she looks pretty small and scared, even Victor can see that. But the boy begins to laugh. "How pathetic!" He roars. He bends down near the girl's trembling face, with tears going down her cheeks. She's crying! The bad guys don't cry in Victor's movies. The boy whispers in her ear. "Are you scared?" She tries to scream, but he grabs her throat. "You're going to run away, aren't you?" He sneers. "Well, that's cute. But there's nowhere to run. And you're just too easy." With that, he rakes his sword across her neck. Victor flinches as the girl screams. This just doesn't seem right somehow. But the girl isn't dead yet. The boy is literally chopping her up! And he's laughing! Victor wants to scream. No, this is too scary. Why is his hero making the girl scream like that? But now there is no more screaming. Victor takes a deep breath and turns to his daddy. "Why did the boy kill her daddy? I know she was a bad guy, but she was so much smaller than him, and really scared. He was so mean and scary, daddy. Why?" His daddy takes a long, shaky breath.

"Victor, whatever people have been telling you about good and bad guys is a lie. The arena is full of scared, trembling kids. He didn't kill that girl for honor; he killed her because she was weak. It's just killing Victor. Don't let anyone change that for you."