~ District Four Train Rides ~

Name: Lily-Mae Forrester
Age: 16
District: Four - Fishing
Occupation: Tribute
Location: Train Going to The Capitol

Lily-Mae sat on the comfortable red velvet couch. Her hands stroked the soft fabric. Even though she lived in a career-district, a velvet couch is quite expensive. Her family is considered 'middle-class'. She had food on the table, a flat-screened television, a two-story house, and a nice bed. What else does she need?

Her eyes scanned the food menu greedily, going up and down. Fried duck with a light brown caramel sauce? That kind of food is really expensive. Lily and her family can only have fried duck on special occasions like weddings or birthdays. Since she wasn't really that hungry, she opted for a small carrot-cake cupcake. She pressed a blue button, and a female robotic voice said, "Your order will be served shortly."

Lily watched as her partner sat across from her. He was munching on an apple.

"Ray, out of all the stuff here, you pick an apple?"

"Yeah, why not? I am trying to be healthy here."

"What's the point? We're all gonna be skin and bones once we are in the arena."

Lily was annoyed. Ray kept on munching, and the crunching sounds were so irritating.

Once the avox delivered her cupcake, Lily smiled. It looked and smelled great. It has a huge dollop of crisp white vanilla frosting coated with red sugar crystals. At the local bakery, it would have taken at least six dead fish in order to pay for something sweet.

"So… What's your side of the story? After all, you were reaped in a career district."

Ray pointed towards the door, and Lily got the message. They quickly exited the train so the voice recorders or security cameras wouldn't pick up anything. Five years ago, the cameras and voice recorders were installed when a District Seven tribute decided to blow up a chunk of the Capitol. As soon as his words were recorded, they immediately executed him for terrorism and treason.

Ray began dying of laughter.

"What the?"

"I'm sorry, but I think all of this is bullshit. The Hunger Games is cruel and pointless." Ray laughed.

Lily glared at him. She ran up to him, and stood on her tippy-toes. "Ray, shut the hell up. Someone could hear you."

Deep down inside, Lily thought he was right. She completely hated the Hunger Games.

"I don't really give! And you know what? It feels good to laugh. To express emotion. Cause I have always been a serious guy. Always focused on training." Ray produced a bottle of expensive vodka.

"Whoa, I never knew you were a drinker." Lily grinned. She had seen Ray hanging around a few times. Whenever a marking period ends at school, the upperclassmen usually throw a huge party to celebrate the fact that school is coming closer to an end. Lily would always see Ray drinking a cup filled with water; nothing alcoholic.

"I never was, but you only live once, you know?" he took a swig of the bottle. Then he passed the bottle on to Lily.

Name: Ray Clerval
Age: 16
District: Four - Fishing
Occupation: Tribute
Location: Train Going to The Capitol

After drinking almost half the bottle, Ray Clerval chucked the bottle away into the outskirts of District One. He knew his decision was kind of stupid, but he had never tasted something alcoholic before. He liked the way the liquid burned in his throat. It felt good. But in order to survive, he must remain sober. Plus the Capitol citizens wouldn't want to sponsor a drunk career tribute.

Ray chugged down a huge glass of ice water. Even though he was a bit tipsy, his head felt much better. After he felt sober enough, he called Nathaniel Pierce, a twenty-five-year old victor.

"Are you guys done getting wasted?" Nathaniel raised an eyebrow at the pair of tributes.

"You're hot." Lily giggled. She pointed at Nathaniel's muscular chest, especially Ray's. Ray slightly blushed. He wasn't that bad-looking himself. He is quite muscled, has tanned skin, and piercing blue eyes.

Nathaniel grabbed a cup of iced water, and sloshed it all over Lily. She shrieked.

"You didn't have to do that, you dickwad!"

"Guys, this is all wrong. I didn't expect a pair of drunken tributes this year. I expected fighters." the mentor sighed.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but I hate the Games." once the words flew out of Lily's mouth, she quickly covered it with her hands.

"I don't really care. But I need to know your strengths. I can't have you guys dying in the bloodbath."

"We won't. I may not look like it, but I am an intelligent person with a level-headed mind. I just never drank anything alcoholic before. Plus Lily gets drunk easily. She only had a few sips, and it turned her tiny body crazy."

Nathaniel took out a piece of paper and wrote down the word intelligent. "What about you, Miss Forrester?"

"I-I'm sort of an acrobat. I can fly around in the air easily. I can d-dodge things and tie intricate knots." Lily said half-sober.

After writing that down, the young mentor also wrote down physical strength for Ray.

"Preferred weapons?"

"Spears." Lily and Ray said at the same time. They looked at each other for a brief second.

"Also knives." Lily added.

"Okay, then. The other mentors from Districts One and Two would like to know this." Nathaniel said, preparing to get up.

Suddenly, Ray said, "NO! I can't make an alliance with those people."

"Are you kidding me? You are basically rejecting a million-dollar offer. Those other kids will protect you, shelter you, and give you food. You can't be a dumbass in this situation."

"Hey, you need to shut up, Nate! I've known for a fact that Ray isn't dumb. He gets straight A's in everything. What about you? I'm guessing you were a typical jock back when you were a teenager. Thought you were too good for education. Thought you were too sexy or attractive because you were a victor at eighteen-years-old. I sort of know this stuff because you went to the same high school we went to, and the media says that you dropped out during your senior-year because you were so freaking rich!" Lily snapped.

The mentor stared at the tributes with an open-mouth.

She held Ray's hand, and squeezed it. "We can do this by ourselves."

The answers to the last question were: Counting Stars by One Republic and Everyday by David Levithan. In the novel, "Everyday", it is about a guy named A who can switch bodies every single day. He can be any gender and any physical form. Then he meets a girl name Rhiannon, and falls in love with her.

Sponsor Question 1) Who was the first bloodbath tribute to die in the 74th Hunger Games?

Sponsor Question 2) What does this sentence mean, and where does the language originate from? "Iyan ang bagay tungkol sa sakit. Mga hinihingi ito sa madam."