Foxx's A/N: G'day my sweets. Having a jolly good time? Well you will be if you read this chapter. Enjoy! PS, I like pie. And I'm super duper hyper - I don't normally do all-nighters, I'm staying awake on adrenaline alone.

Snev's A/N: Hi everyone. Because us three have completely different time zones spreading across fourteen hours, me slap bang in the middle, I have found that the only time all four of us are on is my equivalent of really early in the morning. It's a shame because I'm always really tired and off key when I write these. PS, I am in love with Foxx and Subject, literally.

Subject's A/N: Hi there! There isn't much to put in this A/N, so enjoy! I'm tired, but don't tell Foxx! P.S. We haven't put this in before, but the main idea of Hunger Games is the sole property of Suzanne Collins. If you sue us, take all the empty coke cans as you want, it's all we have.

~SFSFSF~

Chapter 9 - Time To Meet The Gamemakers, Derryl's POV

The third day of training. One day closer to our deaths. To be honest, for a man who was about to die, I felt normal. It was if I had just woken up, back in the shack, to my dad waiting with hot tea at the ready. I smiled at the flood of memories that swam to my mind. Some of them were actually enjoyable, except for the image of Diamond within them all. She was like the smudge on a beautiful painting, like a virus. Infected and ugly.

The day passed uneventfully, for the last day of training. Sasha and I floated from station to station, and I kept a wary eye out for Maia and Bella. Maia, why couldn't I get her out of my head? And why was Bella being so sadistic? Someone must have crapped in her cereal. Speaking of which, maybe I should go do that, just to annoy her. Before I knew it, the Avoxes were shoving us toward the dining area for lunch in the politest way possible.

I quickly plopped down in a seat, ignoring Sasha as she quickly moved to sit with the Careers. It was quiet in the dining room as everyone ate their lunch alone, keeping to themselves The only ruckus was coming from the Career table, where Sasha and the tributes from districts one and two were laughing raucously at some joke the girl from one - Viola, I think her name was - had said.

Scanning the room, I noticed Maia stand from her seat across the room. Glancing at her quizzically as she strode towards me, it dawned on me exactly what she was doing. Damn, all she does is follow me around like a lost puppy! With a smirk on her face, she cheerily helped herself to the seat opposite me at the table, ignoring my usual death glare.

"Hello there," she says with a wave.

"What happened to not getting buddy-buddy with anyone?" I spat back, meanwhile taking notice of her blue eyes, how clear they are, shimmering like the ocean.

"Oh, that? That ended the second your friend over there," She gestured to Belladonna sitting with the Careers. She continued, "Narrowly missed impaling you via an arrow." I glanced at her quizzically, and she just grinned back.

"Besides, you looked so lonely over here, pouting and sitting by yourself." I punched her in the arm, not missing the wince that flitted across her face. She dug back into her plate, obviously stunned into silence.

I laughed slightly, "Yeah, but everyone is sitting by themselves - besides the careers."

She looked around her as if it was the first time she's actually realised we weren't alone in the room. In mock horror, she exclaims, "I never noticed!"

I shot a lopsided grin towards her and continued eating, my eyes following her every move. I really am getting obsessed with this girl.

"You're drooling in your food," Maia said half-heatedly whilst nibbling on a bread roll. She gave me another pointed look and returned to her plate.

We ate for another ten minutes like that, exchanging insults back and forth. Our mindless banter was interrupted by the Head Gamemaker arriving.

"We need," He glanced at the clipboard clutched in his hand, "Victor, from district one." I looked over to the career table where a stocky eighteen-year-old - Victor - stood from his place, his shadow casting a threatening veil over all sitting at the Career table. He casually made his way to the double doors that led to the Gamemaker's area where our skills would be judged, our talent tested, our training scores determined.

I heard Maia snickering across from me, and I took another glance at her. She really was pretty with her dark, wavy hair slightly covering her grey-blue eyes. Snap out of it you idiot! You're going to have to kill her! She caught me staring at her, and I quickly looked away.

"Think about it, Derryl. Victor the victor." I laughed at the thought, and almost missed the fact that she called me by my first name, not 'seaweed boy'. I couldn't help but feel pleased at that.

Fifteen minutes passed in silence, as us tributes sat in anticipation. As I started to get bored, the Head Gamemaker stepped through the double doors, looking flushed and clinging on to his clipboard in obvious shock, with the male tribute no where in sight.

"V-V-Viola, please." He stuttered out, and a girl with bouncy strawberry blonde curls stood up. I noted Sasha's murmur of good luck, and turned my attention back to Maia.

"She looks too.. fashion model to be a contender, right?" Maia announced as soon as the double doors closed with a click. She brushed her hair behind her ear and leaned back in her chair, relaxing.

I suppressed a laugh at the looks on the Careers' faces when they heard her slanderous remark. "They don't seem to like your disrespect for one of their pack, do they?" I whispered back at Maia, gesturing scathingly at the newly dubbed 'pack'.

Maia didn't respond, instead opting to fiddle with the eating utensils still in front of her. I continued my examination of the fine grain in the table, and waited for the Head Gamemaker to stick his head through those double doors.

"Thor, from district two." Came the wavering voice of the Head Gamemaker yet again, calling for a burly 16 year old a head taller than me and probably fifty pounds heavier than any of the tributes. Thor stood up and sauntered towards the door with a disgusted look on his face. I heard a hiccup, and looked over to the Career table, where Belladonna was giving me her usual incisive glare.

"So Derryl," Maia said with a start, breaking the silence, "What's your plans for your session, eh?"

"That's for me to know, and you to never find out," I said with a wink, tapping the side of my nose. "What about you? Any hidden talents I should know of?"

"Well, I am pretty good in bed." She said with an obvious whisper. I rolled my eyes at her, and she just giggled as the tributes closest to us balked at her.

Playing along, I launched into a very detailed and very fictional story on how many women I had bed back in my district, and the same tributes exchanged looks of horror. After a pause, I asked, "Wait, how old are you, again?"

"Fourteen." She responded, with mirth in her eyes, "You?"

"Fifteen," I nodded in reply.

Around an hour later, the Head Gamemaker stomped through the double doors, calling a name I dreaded to hear.

"Derryl, from four." I stood up, my legs numb and my mind blank as to what I was doing. I dimly thought I heard a 'good luck' from Maia, but I couldn't be sure.

Snev's A/N: I managed to contribute a whole sentence and a half to this chapter! Ok, I wasn't exactly onto this one but it was fun to read and I will be onto the next one - watch this space... (Ok don't, it could get a tiny bit boring)

Foxx's A/N: Voila! That just reminded of Viola, the D1 tribute, haha. See what we did there? Named her after an instrument, how clever. ;) Did you love this chapter? Hate it? Tell us below in a review. :3

Subject's A/N: Ahaha! The title lied! The suspense is killing me as to what Derryl will do! Not really. Us fancy shmancy co-authors already know what's next, but you humble readers may not unless you click that shiny review button that keeps our brains alive and running! That little bit on the forbidden 's' word was purely our teenage minds at perverted work.