The other tributes murmur nervously around me; my mind is blank. Right now, Damien is trying his hardest to impress the Gamemakers. I hope he's doing everything Simon told him to - this could be our only chance.

I feel sick. I just know that Damien is pulling some sort of stunt right now, and there's nothing I can do about it. I'm going to walk in after him, and the Gamemakers are already going to hate me.

A voice cuts through the tension in the room, silencing the other tributes.

"District Five, Luna Brimstone. Please report for your Individual Assessment."

I glance over at Sienna as I stand; she offers me an encouraging smile. Behind her, Casper gives me a nod.

Two Peacekeepers escort me down the long, dark hallway to the Training Center. The room has been cleared of most of the stations. They've taken away the fishing hooks and the plant guides - all of my memories with Sienna and with Lindsay before her, wiped away just like that. It's just me and the Gamemakers now.

I turn to face the Gamemakers, keeping my posture straight like Simon told me to.

"Luna Brimstone," I announce, my voice echoing around the empty space. "District Five."

The Gamemakers sit on a raised platform above me; at the center sits a young man with shiny blonde hair. I recognize him instantly - he's the famous prodigy known across Panem. Helvius Athanasios is his name; Simon says that this is his tenth year as Gamemaker, but he looks far too young to hold that distinction.

Just laying eyes on Helvius makes my heart sink. Ever since he started as Gamemaker ten years ago, he's been known to put on a show, always at the tributes' expense. The Arenas of the past few years have been unrivaled. Not only that, but he's definitely not fond of Damien or me, and that fact is evident on his face. According to Simon, four of the nine Victors overseen by Helvius were Careers, and two others were strong enough to be considered in the same category. It's well-known by now that the Careers this year are not fans of Damien or me, and I think I know which side Helvius is planning on taking.

Simon told me that most of the Gamemakers would ignore me - apparently, they always do. That's not the case, though. Every Gamemaker is watching me… a chill runs down my body. What has Damien done?

"Welcome, Ms. Brimstone," Helvius says, his lips curling into a smirk. "Please begin with your assessment."

I nod, trying not to let my nerves show. "I'll take a selection of plants, please."

Helvius stares at me, unmoving, but after a few seconds, he offers me a nod. "Very well."

A trainer brings in a small table, setting it in front of me. The table has a small screen on it, and I quickly tap it to activate it. A small list of plants appears on the screen.

I scan the list as fast as I can, and my heart drops. Something is wrong - I barely understand any of these words. These are the complicated scientific names for all the plants; I've been set up to fail.

I glance up at Helvius, contemplating if I should say something. The look on his face tells me that I should keep my mouth shut.

Blood rushes to my face as I stare at the list in front of me. My reading capabilities are weak enough as it is - I barely managed to memorize some of the plants I needed, and now it was all for nothing. I'm about to make a fool out of myself.

I have to do something; I tap the first plant on the list. A small image appears in the corner of the device, and I let out a sigh of relief. I may not know the names of these plants, but I can still recognize them. I tap the button on the bottom of the device, and a small slot in the table opens. I grab the plant as quickly as I can.

"Jequirity beans," I exhale, holding the plant up for the Gamemakers to see. Already, I've lost most of their attention. They must be realizing that I'm not as exciting as my brother.

"Identified by the red seeds at the top. Just pricking your finger on one of the seeds can kill you, usually within a few days. This killed three tributes in the 115th Games."

I don't get any response from the Gamemakers. Helvius looks thoroughly unimpressed, but I have to keep going. I quickly tap through the list, selecting another plant.

"Sylverthorn's snakeroot," I announce, presenting a plant with dark red flowers. "A muttation created about fifteen years ago. Causes intense hallucinations which can be manipulated by sound. These were used by Iris Kessler to win the Games."

I pull out a third plant, and then a fourth. Neither gain me a single glance from the Gamemakers.

Come on, Luna… I pull out a fifth plant, holding it up for the Gamemakers. "This is nightlock-"

"Thank you, Ms. Brimstone," Helvius says; at the sound of his voice, some of the other Gamemakers actually turn around to pay attention.

I can tell from the look on Helvius' face that he interrupted me on purpose, and he enjoyed it greatly. "Do you have any other skills to present to the Gamemakers at this time?" Helvius asks, tapping his pen on his leg impatiently.

"Yes," I say, my heart pounding. Helvius' gaze makes me want to be anywhere but here; compared to this, even the Arena can't be too bad. "I can try to make a fishing hook."

Helvius stares at me again; his face breaks into a rare smile, as if he's holding back a laugh. The other Gamemakers smirk at my stupidity.

"We've cleared the hooks away, unfortunately," Helvius drawls slowly. "That isn't an assessable skill. But I'll make sure to note that… you say you're good at making hooks, correct?"

This time, a few of the Gamemakers do laugh, but they try to muffle them to avoid Helvius' wrath.

"That's right," I choke out; my throat closes in, making it hard to breathe.

"That'll be all, then," Helvius says. "Thank you."

I waste no time making my way out of the room. I practically sprint to the elevator, throwing myself inside.

Laurentia's in hysterics when I step into the District Five suite. "After everything we told him, all that work, Simon!"

Simon hears the doors to the elevator open, turning to face me.

"How was it?" he asks. He's sitting at the dining table across from Laurentia. Damien is nowhere to be seen.

"Awful," I spit, walking past the pair and retreating to my room.

I feel like such a failure. Laurentia said it best - after all that work that Simon put into preparing us, after everything I worked for to mend my relationship with Damien, it was all for nothing. Hell, even Laurentia worked her hardest to try and make us be successful, and it simply won't happen. Maybe it's just not meant to be. I'm not meant to survive this.

Maybe I should be like Damien, shrugging everything off like it's nothing, but I can't. I care what Helvius thinks of me; I care about the fact that Midas and the Careers hate us, and I care about how my performance will affect Sienna in all of this. I've always said that Damien was going to get me killed, but maybe it was my own capabilities that will do it first.

After four days of giving everything I have to give, I've finally reached my breaking point. All of this would have been easier if I'd just seen it from the start - I'm just not good enough. The only thing left for me to do is to die a brutal death for all of Panem to see, and then I'll be quickly forgotten. The sooner I accept that, the easier it will be in the end…

A/N - Anyone hate Helvius as much as I do? Poor Luna :(

Also, for those who missed it, Sylverthorn's snakeroot is a reference to Acanthus Sylverthorn, the head Gamemaker of the 101st Games in Twin Snakes!