Hey! I know it's been almost two months... You can shoot me with your virtual phaser... Now! Or you can poison pancakes if that's your style. I'd hand out virtual knives, but I used them all up. :P Honestly between school, volleyball, robotics (which just ended), and other little things, I have a hard time fitting writing into my schedule. However, no matter how long I am away I promise to never give up on this story. No matter how much writers block tries to stop me. :D sorry it's been so long, but just stay with the story, okay? Pretty please? I'll cry if you don't. XD Then I will Bake virtual cookies as REFUSE TO GIVE YOU ANY! I know I'm evil.
Well, here is the chapter, I hope you enjoy it! It's kind of sad at times and has some wonderful language in it! :P

Today is the day, the day that will either make or break my act. The day that will either reveal my secret or allow it to remain just that, a secret. It could be the deciding factor, the day that determines your fate. The one that could mean life or death. Today, the tributes are separated into two unspoken groups; predators and their prey. For the predators, it is a wonderful day full of competition between one another and for the prey, it is a terrifying day, a day where your fate is handed to someone else, a day where you try your best and hope that it is good enough to prevent becoming a target. Sponsors are crucial to survival in the games, and if you don't do well today, you aren't going to get any. It is everything. In case you haven't guessed yet, today is the Private Sessions.

Now of course, I'm not all that worried about them. Having a target on my back is exactly what I want, and my goal is to do really bad and get a one. It doesn't take much effort to look pathetic, and I've been acting the part since I was little so I'm not afraid that I will mess it up now. All you have to do is cry and then completely miss all the targets. Simple.

However, the Gamemakers have all seen what I can do, so I'm a little concerned that they will blow my cover. I suppose it doesn't matter either way. I will make sure that I become a target, no matter what score they give me.

I walk into the waiting room outside of the training center and sit down next to Jagger, who must have arrived a few minutes ago. There are only a few tributes in the room at this moment, which is weird since the Private Sessions are starting soon. I turn my attention back to Jagger, who is staring at me with a weird look in his eyes. I think it's determination and… something else. I smile and tilt my head to the side a little, trying to figure out what he is thinking about. Over the last few days, we have gotten to know each other better and now we can pretty much hold silent conversations, which will be good in the arena. We decided to be allies, and it makes me a little sad to think that I will most likely have to kill him. Who am I kidding? I will have to kill him early in the games if I want to do what I plan to. I can't have him being suspicious of me or worse, finding out and turning on me. Besides, if I let him live, he would just slow me down. I frown just a little. It was stupid to get to know him, but I can't really undo that. Now I see him as an actual person with a district to get back to, a family to be with, and a life to continue. I can't think of him as just another person to kill, which will make things difficult in the long-run. However, I know that when the opportunity comes, I will kill him, and it will probably haunt me forever.

I shake my head slightly to clear my head of those thoughts and turn my attention back to Jagger, who is frowning slightly. I raise an eyebrow, silently questioning him, but he just shakes his head. He looks as if he is contemplating something, and just as he opens his mouth, a voice rings through the small room, effectively cutting him off.

"Lacey Lockhart"

Well, that's my cue. I didn't even realize they had started calling people. Smiling nervously, I walk through the large metal doors and into the room that is filled with weapons and Gamemakers.

I honestly don't know what my score will be. They could go off of my private session, or they could give me a score based on what they saw in night training. I guess I will find out in a few minutes when they announce the scores.

I am about to get lost in my thoughts when suddenly the Capitol Anthem begins to play and the TV automatically turns on.

"Good afternoon Panem! In case you have forgotten, and I will be heartbroken if you did, my name is Caesar Flickerman! It is that time of year again, the time to announce the training scores!"

"From District One, Cameron Colt scored a…. Ten! His District partner Flame scored an Eight!"

"From District Two…. Storm scored a ten and Blair scored a Ten as well!"

"District Three's very own Evan Denytr got a Three and his District partner Sadie scored a Five!"

"From District Four we have Sebastian, who scored an Eight and Alice, who got a score of Nine!"

"From District Five we have consecutive Sixes from Axel and Skye!"

"District Six's Brandon scored a… Four while his district partner Xena scored an Eight! Oh wait… sorry I accidentally flipped the scores. Brandon got an Eight while Xena Scored a Four!"

"Soul Kingston from District Seven scored a… Nine! Lacey, his District partner scored a… ah… as surprising as it seems, Lacey Lockhart got a…. Thirteen! Apparently she did so well that they felt the need to create a new Score just for her…. And here we thought she was out of the running!"

"Moving onto District Eight! Jasper got a Nine and Bella scored a Two."

"From District Nine, Munro got a score of Three and Cami scored a Six!"

"Jagger from District Ten got a Six while his District partner Elora got a Five."

"District Eleven's Dante got a score of One… and his partner Scarlette got a Four!"

"And finally we have District Twelve! Caleb and Clara got consecutive Twos!

"With that, we say goodbye for now! Be sure to tune in later for the Interviews! Until then, you can stay on this channel to see all the tribute's odds!"

Then the screen goes blank, and I can't manage to look away from it. It takes a moment for everything to finally sink in…

I got a Thirteen. THIRTEEN! They don't even have a thirteen! My act is ruined now, everyone knows that I'm not weak like I pretend to be, they all know I'm not innocent. I can't pretend to be afraid anymore. They all know now that I am the person to beat. I am the person that you don't want to encounter… I scored three points higher than the best Career tributes. They gave me a score that doesn't exist… it's above Twelve. It's above perfect… SHIT.

I blink a few times and look around the room warily. Everyone is staring at me like I am about to tell them that I am a vampire… or like I am about to burst into flames, which actually would happen if I was a vampire. Without saying a word, I get up and run to my room, slamming the door shut behind me. I lean against the door and close my eyes, only to open them seconds later when I realize something awful…

My room smells like blood and roses.

Cautiously, I walk over to my bed and find two notes. I can tell from the seals that one is from the President himself, hence the horrible stench of bloody roses, and the other is from Head Gamemaker Griffin Erwyn. Neither one of these can be good, I think solemnly as I pick up the one from the Head Gamemaker. I slowly open the envelope and read it.

Dear Lacey,

I hope you enjoy the wonderful score that you received. It's a shame your… act did not work out. I hope you realize that this is only the beginning of your punishment. I talked to our beloved President Snow about this issue. I'm sure he dealt with it as he felt necessary. Have fun in the Arena. May the odds be Never in your favor.

Griffin Erwyn, Head Gamemaker

I sighed. Now I'm a target to those who are in the Arena with me and those who aren't. Great. Glancing at the note from President Snow, I pick it up slowly and rip it open. Honestly, I'm a little frightened to read it, our 'beloved' President tended to use extreme acts of violence to instill obedience in all the people in Panem's hearts. I take a deep breath and read the words written in blood-red ink.

Lacey Lockhart,

I have been informed of your little… chat with Head Gamemaker Griffin. It appears that you do not understand your place here. I hope that by the time you are done reading this, you will know exactly where you belong.

You were out of line when you spoke to Griffin Erwyn, and for that there is a price to be paid. I could not put you in harm's way, it would have been too easy of a punishment, and we both know that you don't have the money, nor is that what I want… again it would be too easy. The punishment has been dealt, and let me just inform you that there has been a tragic accident back in District Seven. It seems that the factory caught on fire and sadly, your dear sister Emma and your friend Mabel were unable to escape in time.

Let this be a lesson to you. No one messes with me or the Gamemakers, no one. No one defies them, outsmarts them, or talks back to them without consequences. Next time, the punishment will be much, much greater. I'm glad we straightened things out here. May the odds be ever in your favor.

President Snow

I reread the letter, just to be sure I understood what it was saying. The room still smelled horribly of blood and roses, and suddenly it was all just too much. It was like all the light in the world had disappeared, and I was left searching in the dark abyss for anything that resembled happiness and never found anything. It was as if someone had ripped my heart out and burned it. As if I was thrown into the darkest depths of Hell and left me to be ripped apart, shred by shred. Like the sun turned dark and I was left in a room with blood slowly dripping down the walls, nothing to do but to watch and go insane. I felt angry, alone, deserted… broken. They were all gone, and it was my fault. I needed to leave this room, I needed to go somewhere, anywhere else but here. So I did.

I don't know where I was heading, but I just kept running. It was as if I was trying to run away from the truth; like running away would change what happened, it was like I believed that I could run backwards in time and change its path, like I could bring them back if I ran far enough. Suddenly all the anger left me, the little amount of hope I had held onto vanished, only to be replaced with despair, and it was as if I couldn't stand anymore. I collapsed onto the ground and for the first time since my brother died, I truly cried. I cried for every person who lost someone because of our fucked-up President. For every person who had some taken away from them for no reason. I cried for my family and for Mabel's, who no longer exist. I cry until I run out of tears, and then some.

When I finally get up, I automatically realize where I am. Unknowingly, I had run to the District Ten floor and was standing outside of the male tribute's room. Jagger is in the doorway just staring silently at me, a conflicted look in his eyes. Like half of him wants to slam the door in my face and the other half wants to comfort me. After what seems like forever, he sighs and opens the door a little wider, gesturing for me to enter the room.

After I enter he shuts the door and paces the room, occasionally stopping to look at me before shaking his head and pacing some more. Finally, when he seems to know what he wants to say, he turns to face me and sighs before whispering, "So… you being weak was an act. What else was an act? Should I even trust you?"

I shake my head slowly and reply, "This is the Hunger Games. In the end, one of us will die and the other might too. I really do want to be your friend. Yes, pretended to be weak. It was the best strategy I could come up with, and I could have easily pulled it off too if it weren't for the cameras in the Training Center."

He tilts his head to the side and gives me a questioning look. "What do the cameras change anything?" He asks me.

"I pretended to be really bad in my Private Session… but they had a video of me training at night, so they knew it was all pretend," I tell him.

"Oh," He says slowly before adding, "Hey uh… why were you crying in the hall? I mean… there is no point in crying anymore, everyone knows it was an act now."

I look at the ground and fight off the tears as I say in a voice just above a whisper, "There… There was a fire in the factory back in my District. My sister and best friend got stuck in the building and they weren't able to escape. They were all the family I had left and now… now they are gone."

I continue to stare at my feet, unsure of what else to do. I bite my lip and look up at him, blinking away tears.

"Lacey… I'm sorry," He says, stepping forward and holding his arms out. Just as he is about to hug me, I duck out of the embrace and take a few steps back.

"It's fine… not like it's your fault. The President actually wrote me a hand-written apology letter," I tell him, changing my tone slightly in hopes that he understands what I am trying to say.

Clearly, he does, and his facial expression goes from sad to angry. He quickly switches to an emotionless look and says calmly, "Did he now? That was very thoughtful of him."

"Yeah I know, right? Who knew he was so kind?" I reply, trying to keep the bitter edge out of my voice.

He opens his mouth to reply, but is cut off by someone banging on the door. He groans and yells, "Nobody is here! Can I take a message?"

I laugh as the person on the other side of the door yells back, "I know that's not true! I am not falling for that again after what happened yesterday! Your prep-team is here, so you better come out! We need to get you ready for your interview!"

I grin mischievously at Jagger and gesture to the door, then point to myself, then the closet, and then make an over-dramatic scared face. He seems to understand because he smirks and nods his head, and with that I open his closet and hide in it.

Through the closet doors I can hear Jagger say, "Alright alright! Geez I will go get ready for the interviews, but first, can you take a look at my closet? The spinning rack isn't working."

I cover my mouth to keep from laughing and stand on the side of the spinning rack that isn't visible when you first open the closet.

"Oh sure! I'll take a quick look and then it's off to work with your prep team," I hear a girly voice reply; I'm assuming it's his escort.

The door opens and you can hear a few buttons being pushed. Suddenly the rack starts spinning and finally I spin into view. When I do, I yell out "BOO!"

Jagger and I burst out laughing as his escort screams and almost runs out of the room. She stops at the door when she hears the laughing, and when she finally sees who was in the closet, she blushes like crazy and says, "Manners children!," before leaving.

Jagger and I look at each other before bursting out laughing again, and I get up and head towards the door after saying, "Well, I probably have to get ready for the interviews too, See you in a few hours!"

The moment the elevator stops on my floor, I am practically attacked by my prep team. I tune them out and sing a song that my mom taught me when I was younger.

All dressed up
In a white straitjacket
Shut your mouth
No, you can't have it

Paper airplanes
Open window
Here today
And gone tomorrow

I like to stare at the sun
And think about what I've done
I lie awake in my great escape

I like crossing the line
And slowly losing my mind
Are you ok
'Cuz I feel fine
Maybe it's me
I'm just crazy
Maybe I like that I'm not alright

All messed up
And slightly twisted
Am I sick or am I gifted

Paper airplanes
Open window
Here today
And gone tomorrow

I like to stare at the sun
And think about what I've done
I lie awake in my great escape

I like crossing the line
And slowly losing my mind
Are you ok
'Cuz I feel fine
Maybe it's me
I'm just crazy
Maybe I like that I'm not alright

Woah
I don't care if you apologize
I can't lie
Woah
I can't lie

I like to stare at the sun
And think about what I've done
I lie awake in my great escape

I like crossing the line
And slowly losing my mind
Are you ok
'Cuz I feel fine
Maybe it's me
I'm just crazy
Maybe I like that I'm not alright
Maybe I like that I'm not alright

By the time I finish the song, I realize that the only thing I hear are sobs. Glancing at my prep team, I realize that they are all crying while working on making me 'Socially Acceptable.' They quickly finish up and hand the rest over to Styarr, who is oddly quiet today. Actually, the first thing he says is, "Close your eyes" and the only other thing he says is, "You can open them now, Bye." Then he left, which was kind of weird.

After opening my eyes, I stare at the mirror in wonder. That has to be a picture. It has to be. That isn't me.

The dress is white with long sleeves that are made of a light material. The dress is tight until it reaches my waist, at which it parts from my body, but doesn't flair out, and reaches the floor with a train trailing behind me. There are beads and sequins in all the right places, causing the dress to shimmer in the faintest amounts of light. A gold strip of fabric acts as a belt around my waist. The shoes they gave me to wear are golden sandals that wrap up around my legs and stop mid-calf. My nails are painted white with gold swirls in them, and my eyes lined with white liner and black mascara as well as a pale, shimmery shadow, one that almost matches my skin color. My lips are a light pink, with a thin layer of gloss making them shine. My cheeks are a light rosy pink, and my skin is flawless, pale and smooth and perfect, seeming to almost glow in a celestial way. My hair is in perfect platinum blonde ringlets that brush against my shoulders ever so slightly. It has faint traces of glitter in it, making it sparkle and glow in the light. When I walk, it appears as if I am gliding instead of actually moving. I have a feeling he made this for me before I got my training score, but I am definitely not complaining; I look beautiful!

As I walk into the room that all the tributes wait in before going on stage for their interviews, everyone stops talking and looks at me. I don't know if it is the outfit or my training score; either way I feel extremely self-conscious with all these people staring at me, so I avert my gaze to my shoes and stand take my spot in line after Brandon.

Soon we are all being called onto the stage. We all take our seats in the plush red chairs and wait for the crowd to stop screaming so that the first interview can begin. Finally, Caesar calls Flame to the stage. Like every other girl from her district, she acts seductive and determined. She tells the audience that she can't wait to get to know them on a deeper level after she gets back. Next is Cameron, who acts arrogant and excited. When asked about girls, he turns around and looks at the tributes behind him before saying that someone may have caught his eye. Then his interview is over and he walks back to his seat.

The rest of the interviews fly by pretty fast, Blair goes with intimidating and sarcastic, Storm acts confident and cocky. Alice is thoughtful and a little mysterious; Sebastian acts like he already won the games. Brandon acts goofy, and then it's my turn.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, The Angel, Miss Lacey Lockhart!" Caesar yells as the crowd starts cheering again. I put on my brightest smile and walk across the stage, waving to the crowd. When I reach Caesar, he shakes my hand before taking a seat. I follow his actions and take a deep breath.

"So, may I just say I love your dress, am I right folks?" Caesar says, and is awarded with more applauding.

I blush before responding, "Why thank you, but you should really be applauding my stylist. He made it, I just wore it!"

Caesar chuckles and says, "Yes, we will be sure to do that later. Now, I must admit that your score earlier today was a bit surprising to everybody. Care to comment on that?"

I laugh quietly and say, "Honestly, I didn't expect that. I think the Gamemakers made a mistake; I'm not that good. I mean, I might have done well but not good enough to get a whole new number! It's kind of amazing… I'll go down in history as the only person to ever score a Thirteen! As for what I did, that is my little secret and I plan on keeping it!" I finish with a big smile on my face.

"Yes, yes you will. Now, is there a guy here, or at home..? I think a lot of people want to know who has our little angel's heart, am I right?" Again, he gets more screaming.

I smirk slightly, "Wouldn't you like to know?" I say jokingly before adding, "No, there isn't. I'm a bit young for that!"

Caesar nods understandingly and then turns to the audience and pretends to pout, earning tons of laughter. Then he turns back to me and asks the question I've been dreading, "So, tell us about your family! Are they all angels too?"

I look down at my hands and reply quietly, "Actually… I'm the only one who isn't an angel. They… aren't around anymore. They moved on to a better place." The crowd 'Awwwws' and a few people burst out crying; even Caesar wipes his eyes once.

"Well, I'm sure they are watching over you and are very proud," He says encouragingly before moving on to the next question, "What is your favorite thing about the Capitol?"

I smile brightly and reply, "The clothes, of course! There are so many and I have to admit I have a newfound love of glitter… either that or it's the people; I just can't pick between the two!"

"Oh I know, right? They are both just wonderful!"

"Yeah!" I say, giggling for a moment.

"Well Lacey, I have one last question for you; do you think you have a chance of winning?"

"Well honestly Caesar… I think so. The Gamemakers seem to think I do." I reply with a slight smirk.

"I look forward to it Lacey. I am afraid we are out of time. Everyone give it up for Panem's angel: Lacey Lockhart!"

I grin and blow a few kisses as I walk back to my seat. The interviews after mine go by just as fast as the ones before mine did. Soul is mysterious and tells the audience that he has a plan… and that he isn't coming out of the Arena if his plan works. Jasper is smart and a little witty. Jagger is funny and when asked about girls he tells them that he had a girl in mind and that she is a tribute this year, but that he was friend-zoned today. I wonder who she is, maybe Alice, who had said she didn't have a crush on anyone. Finally the interviews come to a close after Caleb finishes his interview, which in all honesty was kind of sad to watch. With one last wave to the crowd, we all head back to our rooms for the night, even though no one will be sleeping because tomorrow, we will be in a fight for our lives.

So yeah, that was sad. :/
Thank you sooo much for reading! I'll have the next chapter up... Eventually, but I won't give up on this story until it is finished. Promise :) Please review... I literally love them to death... :) And without them I will be abducted by space aliens and they will eat my brains. It's hard to write without brains, so for the safety of this story you should review...
Oh yeah by the way, I don't own the song or the Hunger Games. The song is I'm Not Alright by Shinedown.
Thanks again!