Read the chapter first please. Don't skip to the author's note! Please, just don't.

Private Sessions

Oceane Cascade (17) D4F

Victory's agitation made sense to me. He was fidgeting beside me, moving his hands occasionally as if wielding an imaginary spear.

"Calm down," I said in a voice as reassuring as I could muster.

"I am calm," he said in a voice that made me doubt his confidence. Sighing, I grabbed his wrist and squeezed gently.

"You can do it," I said. I believed he could. It wasn't that hard anyway and Victory had practiced diligently.

"What are you going to show them?" Olympia asked.

"Whatever I have learned till now," I answered, "There are lots of things to do and show. I'm hoping for a good score."

"What are you expecting?" she asked, "I think I should get a ten."

"I'll say a nine," I replied.

"Vic?"

Victory looked up nervously, although he was trying hard to hide it, and replied in an almost confident voice, "I-I think a seven…?"

"A seven is good," Olympia said encouragingly, "And you didn't even have much training before. That's quite good actually."

"By your leave," Amaranth said, "I don't think we should start predicting our scores before our sessions are even done."

"Good point."

We waited outside the hall, twenty-two of us casting nervous looks at the closed door. I wondered what Galilee was doing, how Bennett had performed. I hoped they did well or else it would cost the alliance dearly. We needed sponsors.

Victory was still looking as if he was there to write an examination that he would fail and it was annoying me now. I didn't want to hurt him but I always spoke my mind and my words slipped out involuntarily.

"Stop behaving like a coward. You're annoying me."

At that Victory stared at me, his eyes wide. Olympia looked at me sternly and Amaranth frowned. Tab and Quinoa looked at me too. I cursed myself internally.

"Sorry for being mean, Vic," I said evenly, "But it will just be better for everyone if you calm down now and don't panic."

He turned away with an 'okay' and I rolled my eyes. Sometimes he could be such a drama queen. I was fed up of his drama but as such he was a sweet person so I managed to bear him.

Who was I kidding? I considered Vic my friend and that's what scared me. One couldn't- shouldn't- have friends in the arena. Allies, yes. But friends? Didn't we all want to live? And what if I started caring for him too much? No, I had to stop. I had to.

"Oceane?"

"What?" I snapped irritably and then sighed. There was no need to take out my frustration on poor Olympia, who frowned and looked at me in concern.

"I'm just, I'm just not very well," I said. Vic turned towards me again with an anxious look and I wanted to hit myself. Now they would all look at me with sympathy and concern, and I really didn't want it. I knew I could get attached if I focused on them too much, if they showed genuine concern. And their concern looked very much genuine at the moment.

"What should I show them?" Vic suddenly said, "I don't know anything!"

"Well," I replied with a scoff, "Haven't you learned about spears and how to use one? Just go and rip some dummies to shreds!"

He was about to say something when suddenly Amaranth was called for. The boy stood up.

"Good luck!" I said.

"Thank you," he replied.

"You're going to rock bro! Just show 'em!" Victory said in a tone very enthusiastic.

"Yes. We know you'll do amazing!" Olympia said with a smile.

"Thank you for your best wishes," Amaranth replied and then started towards the hall. I watched his retreating form.

It will be your turn now.

I was nervous now. What if I couldn't do anything? What if five years of training went waste? That would be unbearable! No, that couldn't happen. Amaranth was so relaxed. Bennett and Galilee were so relaxed. Olympia was calm too. I saw that Fynn was pretty chill about it all. Hmm, I needed to keep my cool.

You can do it.

I had to. I had to. There was just no other way.

Victory Fervaix (16) D4M

As soon as Quinoa left I felt myself going jittery. No way. It was my turn next! I started fidgeting at the very thought. It was a common knowledge there that I was clumsy. What if I accidently gutted myself with my own spear?!

"There goes Victory," people would say, "No competition. He fell on his sword."

"He used a spear."

"Yeah. That."

I couldn't bear it. Actually I could, because I was used to insults back in Four, but these people were new! I didn't want insults from anyone new. Sure, I was almost always down on myself but if I was humiliated by them then I would feel even more down on myself. If that made sense.

"What made sense?" Oceane asked.

Oh no! I was now talking what I thought?! That was horrible!

"Anything, really? The should just give us Careers ten each," I answered, leaning back in my chair, giving her one of my awkward smiles, although all my smiles were awkward so it wasn't any different.

"That will be amazing," she admitted, "Careers usually do get at least a nine."

"Exactly."

"Mr. Fervaix, please report to the training hall."

I gulped. My time had come…no, not in that way but now I had to go and show them my non-existent skills. Oceane got up with me and gave me a tight hug.

"Be confident but not more than necessary," she said, "You can do well, Vic."

"I sure hope I do," I replied and then started towards the gates. I paused for a second outside the hall. "Do it Victory," I whispered and then entered the place, trying to keep my determination alive.

"Hello, Mr. Fervaix," Lorenzo McGally, the head gamemaker said. He was a creep and didn't look like a gamemaker and instead resembled other Capitolites better. For starters he had his hair dyed purple, and I couldn't understand the concept of purple hair, then he had a star tattoo next to his left eyes, which looked hideous, and on top of it all, he had also surgically altered his eye colours so that his one eye was red and the other magenta. Weirdo.

"Hello," I said as politely as I could.

"What are you going to show us today?"

Were we on a reality show right then? Seriously?

"I can wield a spear. I can show you that, if you like," I replied.

Lorenzo gave me the most twisted smile ever and out of nowhere an Avox turned up, holding out a spear. I frowned. As per my knowledge, this was not how it happened during private sessions. Didn't people just go around the hall showing their skills? Why was I handed a spear right into my hands in such a manner?

A burly man with a lot of beard stepped forward with another spear and I gulped. They didn't want me to go up against a trainer, right?

Right?

"You don't have to win," Lorenzo said in that sickly sweet way of his, "You just have to last for one minute against him. We'll study your moves and your grace. Your technique. And we'll grade you accordingly. However, if you lose before a minute is up, you'll not be given a chance at any other station."

"But why?!" I bellowed. I didn't want to but this was so unfair! They had no right to do this!

"Because I said so," Lorenzo replied airily, "Whoever is going to show weapons skills before their other skills will have to pass this test. That's it."

"And what if I lose before one minute?" I asked cautiously.

"Well, then we grade you for your moves till then. But believe me, if that's the case you really can't hope for a high score."

What a *** dog! I was certain there was no rule such as this! He was playing with the tributes! This was wrong!

"But-"

"Your time starts now."

As soon as he said that, the man charged at me. I dived towards the left but it seemed as if he had anticipated my move because he swung his leg and tripped me. I fell on my back, the spear still clutched tightly in my hands. He was bringing his weapon down but I blocked it with mine and then thrust my foot forward. He jumped back before I could hit him and I rolled over, getting to my feet as soon as I could.

He threw something at me but I ducked, narrowly missing it. I looked around and saw a knife and grabbed it.

"Mr. Fervaix, you can only use a spear," Lorenzo said in his microphone.

What?

I was distracted and the man kicked me in the chest, sending me into a shelf full of shields. He was soon towering over me and thrust his spear forward but I ducked and he only manage scrape my arm a bit. I pushed my spear towards him, trying to ignore the pain and it was not easy, but he blocked it with his own. He kicked me in the side and I fell down. He was bringing his spear down when I heard Lorenzo say "Time up!"

That was the longest one minute of my life.

"You can go," he said with a smile. Tossing the spear, I limped towards the other exit, already knowing that my scores were doomed.

Sevarian Vaask (16) D5M

The training sessions was hell.

The person they had set me against was honestly the most agile and ruthless I had seen. The way he moved, the way he struck… not one knife of mine hit him. I barely managed to keep myself intact for one minute. After that, Lorenzo allowed me to show my survival skills but I knew I wasn't going to score high. Being the jerk that he was, Lorenzo would grade all of us miserly. Not that I cared about anyone else but I was a tribute too right now. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if none of the Careers got a ten, or even a nine. Things were tough there.

I hoped one of his own men would kill him.

Cecelia settled herself beside me and I smiled at her.

"How was it?" I asked.

"Terrible," she replied, "Reminds me of school days. You know, when students would write an exam and know that they'd fail?"

"Same here," I replied. What would I do if I didn't get a high score. I needed at least a six and only then could I get good sponsors. And I needed Reynard to get a good score too. It seemed very unlikely now though.

"They're showing the scores," Cecelia said, staring at the TV screen with bated breath. I glanced at the reporter, my heart beating too fast, hoping against hope for a good score.

Galilee got a nine. Honestly, I was surprised that anyone could get a nine around that psycho. But this only strengthened my belief; that Galilee was a big risk.

Bennett scored a nine as well. "Wow…" Cecelia said, "That's impressive."

It was impressive. Maybe everyone had underestimated him due to being mute but I wouldn't do that now.

Olympia also scored a nine. "I actually thought she'd get ten," I muttered under my breath. "Me too." Really, she was their leader so I thought she'd score high. Oh well, nine was good too, especially coming from that jerk of a gamemaker.

Amaranthine got a ten. A ten?! Seriously?! I couldn't believe that. Out of all the Careers around, Amaranth was certainly someone I thought would score the least, after Victory. But he scored the highest…

Next was Quinoa, who got a three. It was a wonder how she managed even that, seeing that she was mad. I wondered what she did in there.

Tab, as expected, didn't do well. He got a three as well. Outer District tributes usually scored low, and Three was always slightly unlucky in scores department. What surprised me was that he got the same as Quinoa.

Oceane followed, with a score of ten. She scored a ten? I was not shocked but I had always thought that Galilee and Olympia were better than her. Would the girl from Two still be the leader of the Careers now that two Careers had scored more than her?

Victory's score came as a surprise. He got a seven and for someone who had never used a weapon, seven was a solid score. I couldn't actually understand how he managed to score so high; he had trained for only three days unlike the other Careers.

I felt Cecelia tense up beside me. giving her a sideways glance I saw that she was sweating just a bit, that her fists were clenched. My own throat was going dry. What would I get? Cecelia tapped her foot restlessly as her photo appeared on the screen.

A seven for her too… But how? She was with the Careers but he was not a Career! Seven was too good a score for an Outer District tribute!

"Congratulations," I said as she heaved a sigh of relief.

"Thanks."

Next was mine. I didn't want to be nervous, usually I wasn't, but at the time I was.

I got a six.

I let out the breath that I didn't realise I was holding. As such I would have gotten a seven or eight but I was not going to complain about a six. It was a good score, not very good, it would do.

Aileen surprised me with a seven. Again a seven?! Why didn't I score seven too then? These two weren't Careers but they had still gotten very good scores. Aileen… I had to watch out for her.

Oren got a three and I wasn't surprised. I wouldn't be surprised if he died in the bloodbath, he was too nice for all of this.

"Very well," I said, "Let's see what District Seven has to offer."

Cecelia nodded.

I only hoped now that Reynard had a good score too.

Cassidy Kelly (18) D8F

Burgundy and I, our gaze was fixated at the screen. We couldn't tear our gaze away. District Five had done really well and Aileen had done well too. What about us? What were we going to get?

"Please let me have a high score," I thought. I was going alone into the arena, without any allies. I needed perfect scores to get sponsors.

Rowan was next. She was a sweet girl but she got only a four. High scores were not to be expected but I still wished she had scored better. She appeared to be a good kid.

Asher was worse. He got only a two and Burgundy's breathing became ragged. I sighed. With a two, that child was doomed. And he didn't deserve it. he was such a nice kid.

My score was about to be displayed and my heart was racing. There was a dull pounding my ears and I muttered a silent prayer, to whom, I didn't know, but I did.

I got a five. A five! I got a five! I chuckled at that and Burgundy grinned at me.

"Well done!"

"Thank you," I replied shyly. I knew why I got a better score though, it was because I didn't bother myself with weapons and that creep was making life miserable for only those who used weapons.

Burgundy was next and I waited, hoping that he would get a good score too. He got a four. It wasn't that bad actually but next to me the boy paled. He had either expected more or hoped for more.

"It's alright," I said softly, "It-it's still n-not that bad."

"Yeah…"

Alessandra was next and she got a three. Not a very good score but what could one expect from a thirteen-year-old girl? She wasn't going to get many sponsors on that score though, and it was really sad to be honest.

Mateo scored a five which surprised both Burgundy and I. He was young and didn't look anything too impressive. But for Lorenzo, giving five was a big deal. Maybe he hadn't used weapons too? It could be.

Arrington was next and she scored a three as well. Lots of people had gotten threes. Everyone was being scored in a pretty low manner. Not that I had expected her to get more than that.

Reynard scored a six and I frowned. What had he done to get such a good score? I had honestly expected him to get something around four or five. He was formidable, I needed to watch out for him.

Next was Aspen and she too got a six. "What?" Burgundy muttered. Those were my exact thoughts. A six for someone like Aspen was high… or not. She was way too competitive. She had trained way too hard in the past three days. Hmm.

Fynn followed and I was not even surprised when he got a ten. That guy was just perfect and it was so annoying. I never wanted anything bad to happen to anyone but I hoped he would die in the bloodbath. He would deserve it if it happened.

Next was Persephone with an eight. That was drastic!

"What?! How?!" Burgundy and I exclaimed together. An eight! That was too high for this year's standards! How did she get it? Why did she get it? She was dangerous, very dangerous. She had to be eliminated early.

I sighed. How could I even think that way? Killing was what I despised and I was already picking targets? However, the cruel truth was that targets had to be chosen at this stage itself. Whether one would want it or not.

Last tribute was Bridge and he scored a two. No… something was wrong.

"How did he score a two?" Burgundy asked, "The other day he was throwing those disks like a pro."

"E-exactly what I've been wondering," I replied, "He was pretty good with a chakram yesterday."

We couldn't understand how or why this was so but something was fishy and we knew it. But what was it?

"Anyway," Burgundy said, "At least our tension is gone for the time being."

"For the time being only," I replied. The next day would be the interviews and then, and then… the Games. I dreaded it. Part of me wanted to try and escape. Another part wanted to not believe any of it. I could die the day after the next and would anyone even remember me? my sister would, probably. But how could I be sure?

"We have our work cut out for us."

... I am pretty sure you skipped to here. Go back and read the chapter people.

I know this is pretty bad but I'm tired and I don't want to go and review everything. O just hoped you liked it, and the scores were fine. Yes, in most cases I strayed from the scores given in the form but I hope you don't mind that much. Lorenzo is a git and this showed his git-ness. I know that's not a word but oh well.

Training scores:

Galilee – 9

Bennett – 9

Olympia – 9

Amaranthine – 10

Quinoa – 3

Tab – 3

Oceane – 10

Victory – 7

Cecelia – 7

Sevarian – 6

Aileen – 7

Oren – 3

Rowan – 4

Asher – 2

Cassidy – 5

Burgundy – 4

Alessandra – 3

Mateo – 5

Arrington – 3

Reynard – 6

Aspen – 6

Fynn – 10

Persephone – 8

Bridge – 2

Well, there are the scores. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Have a great day!