Gregor tells me to go back to balcony, and tell everyone he'll be alright; he just needs some time to think things over. This doesn't go over well with the others.

Petra stands up. "Are you sure, he seems upset. Probably the stress is just getting to him. Perhaps I should go see him-" She gets up to walk out the door, but I push her back.

"No," I say "He sounded certain. Can't we just…leave him alone? Please?" I add, as the adults give me doubtful looks.

Romulus comes to my aid.

"Let's just let him be, it seems like he wants to be alone."

"Probably can't stand the attention," says Briar, who has her feet on the table and is checking her mascara in a pocket mirror, "Some of the lesser mortals can't deal with it, the poor dears."

This sentence fills me with a sudden burst of anger.

I casually walk over to Briar, who ignores me.

"That reminds me," I say, and then I take the mirror right out of her hands and throw it on the ground, where it shatters among the shards of Gregor's glass. "You need to get off your self-absorbed, lazy butt and do some work. You are a mentor. Act like one."

Everyone stares at me, surprised.

Briar opens and closes her mouth like a fish, and whispers, in a voice very unlike her own, "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well, you should be!" I shout indignantly.

Briar then stands up and puts her hands on my shoulders, something flashes in her eyes and she begins shaking me.

"It's all my fault! I did it! It was me! They all think it was Clyde but it was me! I killed her! That poor girl, I didn't want to! They made me! I'm so sorry!"

I try to back away, completely bewildered, but her grip tightens, and she continues spitting out nonsense words that make no sense to me. Petra screams and runs for help, Alix grabs Briar's arms and try to pull her back, but to no avail. Romulus and Jada sit there, stunned.

"The snakes! They're everywhere! Stop! STOP! RUN CLYDE! I'LL FEND THEM OFF!" Briar finally lets go of me, and is swatting at the air, fighting off something unseen to anyone but her.

There are footsteps behind me, and Petra runs back into the room, followed by two peacekeepers.

Briar sees the peacekeepers and lunges at them.

"YOU! You dirty rotten capitol workers, go back to Vasile! Tell him I said to GO TO HELL!"

One of the peacekeepers pulls out a small gun and fires it. I scream, thinking that he killed her, but I notice a small dart sticking out of Briar's arm, filled with sleeping gas. She staggers and then falls backwards onto the ground.

We all rush forwards, but the peacekeepers stand in front of Briar's lifeless body.

"Kindly return to your rooms," says one, "We will get her medical help."

I push against them, still trying to get to her. "Will she be alright? What did you do to-"

"Kindly return to your rooms," the peacekeeper repeats, pushing me backwards.

Feeling dejected, I go to my room, feeling confused, embarrassed, and scared all at once. Suddenly the door flies open with a bang that shakes the artwork on the walls. In the doorway stands Gregor, his eyes alight with fury.

"What did you do?"

I back up as he enters, worried about what he was going to do, whether he was going to scream at me or shake me like Briar did. My shoulders are still aching from where she grabbed me.

"I…I told her to do some work for a change… It's not fair for you!"

"Ruby! There's a reason I don't talk to Briar myself! I said not to deal with it!"

"I didn't know, I thought she was just being lazy!" Gregor collapses on the bed, and grabs the blanket in his fists, shaking slightly.

"She's in no state to help Rhubarb. She can't help. Whenever she does, she has a fit." I realized that fit didn't mean a tantrum. It meant what I just saw. A complete mental breakdown.

Gregor turns his head towards me.

"Do you want to know the reason Briar acts like this? Why she looks like she's from the capitol?" He shouts.

He continues without waiting for an answer.

"Briar is mentally unstable. After winning the Hunger Games, doctors do a complete check up on you, to make sure you can live life normally after that. They realized that Briar was actually had an indent in her brain after a blow to the head. They did surgery. It went wrong. They altered her personality completely. She doesn't remember anything past the Victory Tour, when a certain memory is brought back, she goes completely mental. I told you not to say anything, I TOLD YOU!"

He says this all very fast, but I don't miss a word. When he shakes his hands, I cringe. He stands up and doesn't look at me.

"You need to know when to keep your nose out of other's people's business. If you don't, you'll be easy game in the arena."

He leaves, and it takes me a minute to realize he was giving me advice. I feel, if possible, even more terrible then before. I have crossed a line, and now it's like I have betrayed Gregor. I want to make it up to him, I need to do something.

In the morning, I think, pummeling my pillow, not even bother getting undressed. You don't want to ruin things anymore then you already have.

The morning comes faster then I wanted. In no time at all it is dawn, and a bright orange sun is hanging over the capitol, dulling even the colors of the buildings in comparison to its brightness.

I step out of bed, still wearing the wrinkled outfit from yesterday. I splash some water in my face, and sneak out of the room onto the balcony, hoping to grab some breakfast before anyone else is up. Unfortunately, the one person who I'm trying to avoid, Gregor, is seated at the table. He has dark circles under his eyes, and I'm guessing he didn't sleep at all. I decide to tip-toe away, but the floor creaks under my feet, and Gregor looks up.

"Ruby, come here for a moment," he says.

Swallowing with difficulty, I enter the balcony, pull out a chair and sit down, not meeting his eyes.

"Y-yes?"

Gregor sighs, and I glance up. He has a small smile on his face.

"I believe I owe you an apology. With all that happened last night…seeing my brother for the first time in years-" he breaks off, and then continues. "I overreacted. I shouldn't have yelled at you, you were simply trying to make things easier for me. For that, I thank you."

I smile. "No, it's my fault. You were right, I need to stop questioning everything and leave you guys alone. I guess I just didn't understand the fact that you guys have your own problems in life. It seems like the life of a victor would be…perfect."

"Yes, but everything is not always as it seems." He takes a sip of coffee. "I'm pleased to inform you that Briar will be fine. She'll come back while you're in the training center, so you'll see her later. I would advise you not to do anything to aggravate her. After moments like last night, she is extremely sensitive."

"Of course."

There is the sharp noise of heels against wood, and Petra walks in the room, her curly blonde hair slightly disheveled. She looks at me and purses her lips.

"What—were—you—thinking?" She asks.

"Now Petra, I've already discussed-"

"No. Rhubarb here needs to learn something about manners." She pokes her finger into my arm. "You don't question your mentors. One wrong move, and they might not be feeling so partial to find you sponsors. You know how important sponsors are."

"Yes Petra," I say in a dull voice, "Won't happen again."

She narrows her eyes as though trying to find a reason to rant at me, but seems to feel like I made a decent apology. She sits down and snaps her fingers.

"Avox! Breakfast please!" A pair of Avoxes run into the room. Gregor stiffens slightly, but Lukas isn't one of the two.

They put out platters of steaming hot food, and as Alix walks into the room, rubbing his eyes and yawning, one actually puts a cup of coffee into his outstretched hand.

"Thnks…" he mumbles and sits down next to me. He throws back his head and swallows the entire cup in one gulp, only to begin coughing loudly and waving his hands in front of his mouth.

"HOT! Oh my-that was burning hot!" He looks at Gregor, Petra, and I as though seeing us clearly for the first time this morning. "Why did no one tell me?"

I answer, trying and failing to hold back laughter. "You didn't ask!"

Still taking large, steadying gasps, Alix asks, "So, what's the plan for today?"

Petra reaches into a pocket on her dress and pulls out a slightly crumpled piece of paper. Her eyes dart up and down the paper.

"Just the Training Center for you two," she says.

Gregor looks up. "Ah yes, thank you for reminding me Petra, I wanted to talk to them about that." He leans over. "Now, you'll probably hear this from the head trainer, Livia, but I cannot stress how crucial it is. You need to make sure to spend plenty of time at the survival skill stations. How to light a fire, camouflage yourself, heal small injuries, identify poisonous berries from edible ones, all of these things are important to your survival. Yes, you should learn to standardize yourself with a weapon or two, but death by another tribute is only part of the whole. The Gamemakers want a show. They won't hesitate in using poisons, fire, or muttations against you."

Alix and I let this sentence sink in, and eat in silence. Gregor speaks again.

"Are either of you good with a weapon?"

"Well…I can use a…a whip," says Alix, his cheeks going pink, "I used to use it in the farms to cut the tops of wheat off the tillers."

Gregor rests his head on one of his hands. "A whip…hmm…that's a weapon you don't often see one use in the arena, but no doubt it would be useful, most of the tributes wouldn't know how to fight against a whip, maybe not even the careers. The problem would be finding a whip in the cornucopia. Though I do suppose if the Gamemakers think you have potential with one, they may purposely put one in there…" He turns to me.

"What about you Ruby?"

I can't ever think of using a weapon throughout my childhood. My mother wouldn't let me anywhere near the knifes while she made dinner. The only kind of useful thing would be the throwing darts me and April used to play.

"I've never used a weapon. But, I can throw darts pretty well. We used to play those kinds of games as kids."

I catch Alix's eye and he smiles, reminding me of a particularly amusing memory, concerning a stray dart that got stuck in his hat.

"Throwing darts…I guess that could relate to throwing knifes or daggers, by a stretch…I would try to focus on those if you think you could fight with them."

I nod, and Petra checks a rhinestone encrusted watch on her wrist.

"Well look at the time! Quarter to ten already! You two, come with me, I'm taking you to the Training Center."

I wave goodbye to Gregor as we exit our apartment, trying to remember everything he told me. We take the glass elevator down to the bottom floor, and when it opens I gasp.

The room is front of us is gigantic, filled with every kind of weapon imaginable. Bows and arrows, knifes, swords, spears, and nun chucks among others. There are multiple human shaped dummies, with bull's-eyes marking the most fatal parts; the brain, the heart, the eyes. There are computer screens with animals and plants pictured on them. Multiple cages for hand-to-hand fights with the trainers. Rope courses for climbing, Platforms for jumping, tracks for running. Small stations resembling different environments, with tools for lighting fires, building snares, and buckets of paint for camouflage. There is a small platform where the Gamemakers sit, guarded by gun wielding Peacekeepers.

A few of the tributes are already there, bunched up in a group, but not talking to each other. Their eyes are darting around the room, deciding on where to start. A trainer walks over to us and pins the number 11 on my back. They then do the same to Alix. We stand near the others, and wait for the final tributes to come in. The pair from 9 walk in nervously, the girl looking as though she might blackout. The two from 5, and, finally, the kids from 12.

We gather in a circle, and the head trainer, Livia walks over.

She explains the things that Gregor already told us, along with the fact that we are not allowed, at any time, to engage in physical contact with the other tributes. She begins reading a list of the different stations, my mind drifts, and I instead focus my attention on the other tributes, remembering the ones who I had picked out from watching the reapings. I catch the eye of the boy from 4, and he winks at me. I feel myself blushing and turn back to Livia, who dismisses us.

The careers immediately run to the swords and combat stations. The girl from 8 begins a conversation with the trainer running the snare station. I look around, trying to find something that is open, and my eyes find the rope station. Being from District 11, I have some skills with climbing and jumping, and I feel like that would be a good place to start. I look questioningly at the trainer running the station and she nods at me, so I begin climbing.

It's easy enough while the ropes are straight and have that rough texture that makes them easy to grip. I get through those quickly. The ropes then turn flexible and slippery, and I find my hands struggling to grab hold of them. With effort, I make my way through those, and they change to stiff and brittle, and then wet and fraying. Wiping my brow, I finish the course, and then challenge it a second time, this time going over the other side. I grit my teeth as the ropes turn me upside down, trying to ignore the fact that from this angle I can see a boy from district 1 lopping off the head of a dummy with a sword. I spend another half hour on the ropes, by the end of which my hands are as blistered as after a day out in the fields.

After that I move on to the edible berries station. It's more of a game, matching berries with their descriptions. It's easy for me, living in a district where plants are second nature. I learn some things I didn't know, like using flint to start a fire when matches are unavailable, and to tie basic knots for traps.

Surprisingly, we don't go back to our rooms to eat, but go to a small cafeteria space right next to the training center. It's an all you can eat buffet, you can just keep coming back for more. There are small tables to sit at. The careers take 2 and push them together, talking in loud aggressive voices. I notice that the boy from 4, who ought to be sitting with the other careers, is at a table by himself, staring at the back of the girl from 4 with a sour look on his face. Me and Alix sit together, making small talk when we aren't eating.

After lunch is the same. I keep away from the weapons, still not sure of what to pick, and continue perfecting my survival skills.

It's the same for the next few days, by which then my head is spinning with fires, plants, and traps. My legs ache from when I have sprained them jumping too far or climbing too long, and I haven't even started with combat.

This all changes the day I pick up a knife. It's the final day before the private sessions with the Gamemakers, and I want to spend it training with weapons. I feel all of the Career's staring at me as I enter what they've come to know as their 'territory'. I have a small conversation with the trainer, explaining my lack of experience. She explains the best ways to hold and throw a knife, and I make sure to do exactly what she tells me. She points to the dummy closest to us, which is about 20 feet away from us, and tells me to aim for the chest.

"Wait, you want me to throw the knife, all the way over there?" I ask cautiously.

She nods.

I swallow uncertainly and bring back my arm, aware of the whispers surrounding me. Staring hard at the target, as though willing it to come closer, I bring my arm forward and let go, closing my eyes as soon as I feel the hilt leave my fingertips.

There is silence. Not the clatter that means it fell to the ground, which is good. I feel a hand on my shoulder, and hear Alix's voice in my ear.

"Open up your eyes."

I do as he says, and there in front of me is the dummy. With the knife stuck in the center of its chest.