Celeste POV

I started with spears, because at least then my opponent would be a little farther away. I did do some damage, but it was to my own hand. Then I tried swords. That wasn't for me either. Neither were maces or arrows.

Well, looks like you'd better learn to run, I thought. I tried a few laps around the track. By the time I finished the third lap I was walking and I had a huge pain in my side.

Wow, I suck, I thought. I sat down in defeat.

"Hey, you all right?" I heard a man ask from one of the stations.

"Not for long," I said.

"Hey, don't give up. It's not all about fighting. Cornflower pretty much just hid in a hole and she won. Wanna learn how to make a hole?" the man asked. I got up and joined him at his station.

"You must be Celeste. I'm Rac, and I run the shelter-making station. You ever made a fort before?"

"I'm not very good at… anything," I said.

"Then you can only improve," Rac said. He showed me how to make shelters with grass, and mud, and snow. It was much easier than working with computers. Soon I had a neat little hut that was totally waterproof.

"See? You can do it. Why don't you go ask Leaf to show you some edible plants? I bet you'd pick up on that quick."

I started over to the nice looking old lady he pointed out. Maybe I wasn't as hopeless as I thought.

Jonathan POV

Close weapons weren't my thing. I didn't think I had the guts to chop someone up. I went for the trap station. The attendant said I should probably go to the knot station first, but I showed him the stuff I knew and he approved. I mostly learned about snares, since just about any Arena will have rope somewhere. The attendant mentioned that I might catch food, too, so he sent me to the fire-making station for a basic lesson. Then I went back to the trap station and practiced.

"What do I do if I don't have any rope?" I asked the attendant.

"You can use vines, of course, but if there aren't any vines, any old tall grass will do." He showed me how to braid grass together until it made a thin cord.

I held the cord in my hand and thought about what I was going to do with it. What would I really do if I trapped another Tribute? Would I run up and kill him where he was, or would I run for the hills? I had a pretty good idea what the answer was, but until the Games started, I wouldn't really know.

Torchy POV

I picked up a mace and smashed it into a dummy, breaking it into pieces. I saw a few Tributes looking my way and tossed the mace between my hands like it was light as a feather. I threw the heaviest weight in the weight station halfway across the room. I saw two of the inner District kids discussing something while looking at me.

Scared? I thought. I called for a partner and overpowered him with sheer size. That was when the girl from Two came over.

"You got some moves, Eight," she said. "We think you might have what it takes to be a Career. Interested?"

My first thought was I don't need you, but then I got to thinking. I'd learned a few things about fighting from my mentor, but I was still more a smasher than a fighter. If they thought I was on their side, I could help them pick off the weaker Tributes, and by the time we broke up, they'd be tired. I'm an ox- I'd be as strong as ever. I took her hand and shook it.

"Sure, I'm in."

Ardun POV

I finally found what I am good at. I am good at hiding. One thing is for sure: I will not have to worry about the others thinking I'm a threat. The attendants were all very nice, but after a few minutes, each of them suggested that maybe my talent lay somewhere else. I ended up at the camouflage station smearing paint on myself. The attendant doesn't seem to know where I am, but I'm not sure if that's because she can't see me or if she forgot I ever came. This doesn't bode well.

Misty POV

The attendants don't like it when you try to stab them. They're quick on their feet for Capitol trash.

You can stab yourself.

I ran lap after lap around the track, calculating how much calories each moment burned.

Burning? Burning is good.

I returned to the sword station. The attendant rang for a substitute and ran off. I took up a sword without waiting and slashed wildly at a dummy.

Wow, you showed him who's boss.

I looked behind the dummy and saw Troy glaring at me with his burned face.

"Go away," I said. He started laughing.

"I said go away!" I screeched. I stuck my sword through his chest, but he just kept laughing.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

Harmony POV

"The most important thing is friction. That's what makes the sparks fly…"

I didn't hear a word the instructor was saying. I was trying to learn how to start a fire, but it was hard when I could see Beth across the room gutting a dummy. Dummies don't even have guts. How was she doing that?

"Now you try," the instructor said.

"Huh? Oh…" I started. I looked down at the tools next to a pile of sticks.

"Were you even listening?" the instructor said.

"Sorry," I said. I picked up a box of matches and struck one.

"You need to light the kindling first," the instructor reminded me. I held the match by the smallest sticks. A little fire started to grow. The instructor said something, but my eyes were back on Beth. I saw the fire grow brighter out of the corner of my eyes. Then my head was one fire.

"Agh!" I yelped when I felt the heat searing my scalp. I jumped up without thinking and ran around in a panic.

"Stop drop and roll! Stop, drop, and roll!" the fire instructor yelled as she ran after me. What good will that do? I'm on FIRE! I thought. I threw myself on the ground as the fire started to consume my skin. Then water drenched me from above, and I sat up slowly.

"You all right?" Frankie said. Everyone in the room was staring at me. I burst into tears and fled from the training room to my bedroom. I lay crying on my bed until someone knocked at the door.

"You all right?" Cornflower asked.

"Go away!" I answered.

"Dinner's in an hour," Cornflower said. I heard her leaving. I wasn't hungry anyway.

Beth POV

I entered the training room and saw my dream come true. There were swords and daggers and maces and rope and spears… what more could a girl want? I didn't know where to begin. I started for the daggers, but I had those at home. Maybe a sword would be more fun. I picked one up and ran a dummy through. It didn't have real blood, but I loved the tearing sound the ripping fabric made. I switched to a dagger and slit the dummy's throat from behind. So many ways to kill someone- a spear through the heart, a mace in the face, brass knuckles in the throat…

Stuffing started to leak from the dummy. I laughed as it piled up and merrily circled it, stabbing everywhere that wasn't already ripped. I sensed someone looking at me, and whirled my head around.

It was Ardun. He was looking at me like I was crazy. I swept the knife behind my back and smiled shyly at him.

"Wanna help?" I asked. He started to shake his head with wide eyes, but a sound distracted him. Harmony was running through the room with her head on fire. Ardun ran in her direction. I turned back to my dummy. I had more important things to do.

Anyone know if the instructors are from the Capitol or the Districts? I assumed Capitolites wouldn't know plants, so at least some are from the Districts. I finally gave Leaf the old plant lady a name. She's from Eleven.