I wake up the next morning five minutes earlier than I am supposed too. I fold up all the maps and put them back in my drawer. They are my most prized possession. I get ready for another day of training and leave the house earlier than normal.

Of course, I get to the training center earlier too. No one is here yet, no newbies, no Kayla, just me and Cato. I decide now would be a good time to try out stealth. I walk very quietly over to my set of knives and head over to the knife dummies. I make sure to stay out of the flying swords on the other side.

"Don't pretend to be in stealth mode. I can still hear you from a mile away." Cato says, without turning around to face me. He just continues to slice up a dummy.

"Sorry." I snap at him. I feel off today and these days are the best days for me. It is easier to slash more dummies when you are aggravated. I turn away and just head to my area. I try to block out the conversation and let my mind focus on my training. I have plans on going in the arena and coming out alive.

I started training when I was 11, which is actually late for most trainees. Most start around 8, but my family was and still is messed up. I barely even went to school. Somehow, my parents came across the idea of putting me into training so that I could win. They always told me that if I won, my parents wouldn't fight anymore.

For the first year, it was the entire reason that I stayed. I couldn't let go of the idea until I realized that my victory couldn't change my parents' feelings about each other. I kept going to training because by that point, I was attached to the idea of winning the games. Ever since, I've been training my butt off every day.

The biggest change since training has been the amount of friends. Sure, I wasn't the popular girl at school but I had friends. When I started going to training and skipping school, I didn't see them as much and when I did all they would talk about is boys and how much they hated the training arena. I had to leave and it was good I left when I did. By then, I was lethal.

"I heard Cato talked to you!" Kayla tells me when she arrives. She shrieks it just like my old friends. Sometimes, I don't know how I put up with Kayla.

"Yeah, such a miracle." I tell her, not putting any emotions into my words because I don't care.

"Cato doesn't talk to anybody. What does he sound like?" She asks me. I find it hard to believe that Cato doesn't talk to people. He seems like the kind of person that would spend his time bragging to some new kids.

"He sounds like a normal person. Were you hoping for a Frankenstein like voice?"

"No." She mopes away but unlike me, she doesn't take her anger out on a dummy. She decides to go scare some new kids, another thing that we like to do when we aren't actually training with our knives. Another part of the arena is manipulation.

"Attention: If you are interested in being a tribute in the 74th Hunger Games, you must be here tomorrow at 7 AM. We will be evaluating all of you. You may be asking why we must decide so early. It is because we must start preparing you for not only skill with weapons but also stealth, manipulation, and survival skills. That is all." Dwayne announces over the speaker.

Training goes to a halt for a second and the entire center becomes so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Then, everyone realizes that they are just wasting time and it seems like every knife, sword, spear, or arrow hits their target all at once, creating a huge clash of sound that shakes the room.

The new kids of course are super excited and it is almost intolerable. Do they really think that they are going to make into their arena on their first year? We all know that Cato is going in the arena – he needs it, he wants it, and he is good enough to make it. Plus, he is a personal favorite of Dwayne.

That means the only spot available is for a girl tribute. I personally don't want to go into the arena because I want to win a Quarter Quell. Plus, another year of training wouldn't hurt. I think that I am good enough to survive right now, but Dwayne wouldn't let me because I'm only fifteen and Careers tributes are older. I'm okay with that for now.

I spend the day training as normal because I don't have a doubt in my mind that I won't be going into the arena. At least not yet anyway.

Sorry for not publishing a chapter as quickly as I normally do! Please review!