A/N: BAM! Chapter 2 is FINALLY here! *cues the clapping noises*. Yeah…sorry it took so long… I just got back from 2 trips so I haven't had much time to write. I will try to get the chapters out faster though... So, yeah, by the way, I don't own anything in The Hunger Games….that belongs to Suzanne Collins.
I dedicate this chapter to my team, The Nerds, for being awesome. I love you all!
Enjoy!

Chapter 2, Alaina Thomsen, District 12 girl, 15 y.o

Things have moved so fast since the president announced that The Hunger Games are back. I have been rushed from one place to another as the day that will be my doom draws near. Yesterday, I overheard my guard (yes, apparently I need a guard) talking to someone about how there is only 2 days left until he is finally done with his job. That means 2 days left until The Games.

"Alright everybody gather around," a man says with a loud, booming, voice.

I am in what is called the training center. The people who are running The Games want to know what we are capable of, so they decided to bring us all together and let us train.

"Hurry up everybody we don't have all day," the man yells as he ushers us together. I look at each of my fellow tributes. Other than about three people, I am the shortest person here. Most of the guys are tall, muscular, and all around deadly, But suddenly I see a face I have seen so many times before.

Jason.

Jason is a year older than me and is my best friend's neighbor. I only see him from time to time, and it's not like I really know him. All I do know about him is that he grew up with a very abusive mom. Every once in a while, he would show up with school with a black eye. I don't know why I noticed him, but I did.

"District 12 are you listening to me?," the man barks. Oh, he means me.

"Yes sir," I mumble and everyone laughs nervously. "Alright everyone, get to work!"

My brain seems to want to find a station, but the rest of me is not ready to move, so when I step, I trip over my feet and fall. I expect to hit the ground, but I don't. My eyes open- I had them clenched shut -and I see that I am standing, and Jason is right next to me.

"Alania, is that you?"

"How do you know my name," I ask.

"You're friends with Zia," he says.

"You remember me?"

"How could I forget you?" he replies. "Zia and you were the ones that sat in her yard and sang till you lost your voice." I can't believe he remembers that.

Back when I was little, my best friend Zia and I would sit on the grass surrounding her house and sing. A lot of the time we weren't the only people outside, quite a few people would come out to listen. When I sang, I felt like all my other problems left and I could let the music trap me.

"Oh, well, thanks for remembering," I say weekly.

"Thank you for singing." We say nothing after that and eventually we both head separate ways to begin.

I start out at a station that teaches spear throwing. The man -who introduces himself as Kaden- running the station is tall and very well built, almost like he could snap me in half as easy as he could snap a tooth pick. He gives me a spear and shows me the basics of throwing.

I am not in any way an athletic person -unless you count being able to run, which I don't- but when I throw the spear, it hits directly in the middle.

"Whoa, where did THAT come from?" I ask out loud. Kaden smiles.

"You're not done yet, 12." He pulls the spear out of the target, hands it to me, and pushes me back a couple of yards.

"From this far?" He laughs.

"That's not even half of what I can throw. Now go."

As soon as the clock hits four, we are all ushered out of training and sent back to are rooms in the higher floors of the training center.

My experience in the gym was all ups and downs. I did really well with the spears but I sucked at every other weapon. I actually made a dent in the floor from where I dropped my axe. Next they put me on a running machine they called a treadmill. Apparently I did well with my running. But, when I stepped
off the treadmill I fell, loosing all the attention I had gained.

My mind is so clouded with thoughts that I don't notice when a young woman walks in my room.

"Hello Alaina," she says and I jump. "I'm sorry for scaring you, I'm Tara." She sticks out her hand for me to shake so I do.

Tara looks almost normal. She has light brown skin, large blue eyes, jet black hair, and is just a little bit taller than me. The only reason she stands out is that the bangs of her hair are light purple. She doesn't actually look much older than me and I find myself wondering what her life story is. After we finish introducing ourselves, she sits on the corner of my bed and motions for me to do the same. We are both quiet for a moment and it is all I can do not to fidget.

"So," I start awkwardly, "why are you here?" A hint of happiness flashes though her eyes.

"I have designed your dress for tonight's interviews," she explains. "But I also am suppose to help you for prepare for the interviews."

"Well, what type of interview is it going to be?"

"Whatever you make it," she says almost mysteriously. "Think about it Alaina, they don't know who you actually are." We both sit and think about what she has just said. They don't know who I am, they don't know me. I can be anyone I want to be.

"So, you're saying I could lie?" I question slowly. All she does is nod. I can lie. I can be anyone I want to be. If I want to be a killer, I can be a killer. If I want to be a suck-up, I can be a suck-up. If I want to be someone else, I can be anyone else.

I think I know who I want to be.

A/N Please review and I will try to get chapters out faster! (p.s. I'm sorry this chapter is so short, the next one will be a lot longer.)

-Sophia