A/N: OKAY, to clear up any confusion: Rex was sneaking across some borders to get to the TCTC, and only to survive. They don't exactly say "Hey, we can't take your money for you to get trained because you don't live here." :) Read on.

Sydney Lendley, District 3

I wake up knowing that I probably won't survive. The chances of my crazy, messed-up plan working are slim. But still, I must try. I pull my wavy brown hair into four different styles before just leaving it as-is. If I don't look good, and I'm no beauty, then no one in the ring (including the guys) will ever exept my Alliance. I've been planning this day for ages. And now that I'm 15, my overprotective parents have to learn a lesson: I don't need to be babied. I can live on my own. I have to. I'm smarter and more clever than even my teachers realize. I tried at first to wow them with my writing, but they just ignored it or insisted that it wasn't that good. So when I dumb it down, I don't get beat up. It's that simple. I dress in my black knee high leggings with the lace section at the bottom, a tank top and a loose, low-cut tunic and push my older brother out of the way.

"Sydney!" he yells, annoyed. My little brother, Nathan, looks at our stiff postures and speaks.

"What are you guys fighting about now?" he asks. My older brother Jason shrugs and pushes me to the side. I sneer at his turned form. Nathan frowns.

"What if you get Reaped?" he asks. I pull him closer. He's only 1 and 3/4 years younger than me, but a foot shorter and 2 grades behind me.

"You know my plan." I tell him, then let him go. His freckled face betrays worry. I turn and head down the hall. The smell of burning toast rakes my nose. My mom, Bekah, tells me that I'm the last one to get up and to clean the kitchen when I'm done eating. I nod, staring at my little sister Lillian from across the table. She's munching on a peach from our backyard.

"Morning, sissy!" she says, breaking into a grin. I grimace inwardly. I'm not one for cutsie nicknames...or emotion, now that I come to think about it. Life must go on.

"Morning." I grunt. I leave the table after a cup of coffee, knowing that I'll be well fed on my way to the Capitol. I walk to the Reaping with my best friends Alissa, Lydia, and Michelle. They're all one year older than me except Lydia, who can usually be found wearing black. My heart lifts two notches when I see them.

"...and then...Special Table!" laughs Michelle, repeating one of our inside jokes. We reach the Reaping area, and I wave to Jeremiah, one of the few people who gets my writing. My friends leave for the 16-year-old section, and Lydia, true to her clothing color, disappears to the front of the crowd, her being much shorter than me. In the 18-year-old section stands Yancy, one of my friends from school. I yell some petty insult in Spanish at him, smiling. It's another of my inside jokes. He yells back at me in German, which I (coincedentally) can't understand. Our escort, Terrah, takes the stand. Her nose is small and pinched.

"Well. Let's get this over with, shall we? For the male tribute..."

I sense our whole group tense. Two boys from the 16-year-old section yell that they volunteer at the same time. I turn to see them. One looks almost identical to Nathan, but the other is (in my opinion) very good-looking. He has spiky black hair and bluer-than-blue eyes and is taller than me. She calls for him to join her on the stage. She whispers something to him.

"Rex Carper!" she yells. Ah, so that's his name. I clap gently. I'm the only one who does anything at all.

"and for the female tribute...Sydney Lendley!" she says. I breathe in silently, then walk onto the stage reluctantly. I was almost hoping that I wouldn't get picked, but my destiny chose me. I stand next to Rex and then Terrah says some indistinct words into the microphone. We're pushed into our train car. Terrah tells us to get to know each other.

"Hi." I say nervously, drawing out my favorite book, my Token. His eyes study it.

"What are you reading?" he asks. I can't help it, I smile. When I do smile, my eyes squint up good-naturedly.

"Fairy Tales. I've had this book since I was three. It was my first book, and it'll probably be my last." I answer, sighing. I'd hope to have it wether my plan works or no.

"Skill?" he asks. Before I can strategize and stop myself, I blurt it out.

"Bows and arrows." I say, biting my lip after. He leans back into his seat, smiling like he knows that I'm doomed.

He probably does.