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The only living victor from our district was sitting at the table in the middle of the car, her plate already loaded with food. Her name was Typha and she had won the games ten years ago when she was sixteen. The way she had won escaped my memory since it had taken place two years after my cousin's death and I was still in mourning.
I sat down in the seat across from her and Ryder took a seat a few chairs away. We both watched her eat in silence before she looked up at us and said, "You two should fill up you're plates.You only have a week to bulk up before you're thrown into the arena."
"I'm not hungry." Ryder said as though admitting hunger was admitting weakness. I had to agree with him. I was hungry at all myself.
"Oh, but you will be." Typha said, cutting into her steak. "Eat and then I'll give you some advice on how to survive."
Wanting as much advice as I could get, I piled my plate with anything I could get my hands on; mashed potatoes, steak, two bowls of soups I had never seen before, a chicken leg, some bread. Ryder, who had managed to pile a mountain of food on his own plate, started eating at an alarming rate. He kept glancing over my way as he ate, like we were having some sort of competition to see who could finish eating first. Rollig my eyes, I started to eat at my own pace, ignoring Ryder completely.
Even though there had been more food on his plate, Ryder finished before me. Pushing his empty dish away from his, he looked at Typha and said, "How about giving us that advice now?"
Typha gave a half smile and complied.
"First off, when you're in the Capitol, you'll have to win some sponsers. To do that, you have to go for a certain angle that fits you. You," she said pointing at Ryder. "You seem like a tough guy. I'd stick with that if I were you. Sponsors like tough and merciless tributes, ones that are confident in winning and will stop at nothing to do so."
Ryder nodded and crossed his muscular arms.
"You," Typha was now directing her words at me. "You haven't said a word since you entered this car. Shyness can be mistaken as fear, helplessness. That will get you sympathy, not sponsors. I suggest you go for the silent but deadly angle. A girl of few words, but hidden skills."
Just then, the capitol woman who had reaped my name entered the car. She clapped her hands to get our attention.
"Time to turn in!" she said cheerily with a wide smile that showed off her pure white teeth. "We will be arriving in the Capitol tomorrow. It's going to be a big, big day!"
"Ryder, Kella, meet our chaperone while in the Capitol, Violane. She and I will be right by your side up until the Games."
Violane gave us a friendly smile, but it quickly faded once she saw the mess Ryder had made while eating.
"While in the Capitol," she said, trying to keep her composure. "I suggest you don't eat like such a... pig."
"While in my presence," Ryder said, imitaiting her voice almost perfectly. "I suggest you don't act like such a priss."
The corners of my mouth twitched, wanting to break into a smile, but I thought it might be rude to show that I had found Ryder's comment funny. Looking slightly hurt by what the district 10 boy had said, Violane sighed and told us to follow her to our rooms. Once we were in our seperate cars, I sat down on the cushiony bed I would be sleeping in. Though this bed was much comfier and no doubt warmer, I missed my bed back at home desperately.
With nothing else to do, I decided to take a shower. The water was so warm, something foreign to me since I lived in a district. I let the water wash away the events of that day; the waiting, the reapings, the goodbyes, everything. Once I had spent what must have been an hour in the shower, I dried myself and put on some night clothes I found in a drawer. Feeling warm and cleaned, I crawled under the covers of my bed. Sleep did not come easily, not that I had expected it to. I ended up spending most of the night staring at the ceiling, wondering what my sisters and parents and Archer were doing.

As the train pulls away from the station, I press my face against the cool glass and wave goodbye to my family. I give them a confident smile to reassure them. When I can no longer see them or my district, I turn away, and sigh heavily. How am I going to do this? The door slides open and the boy tribute walks in. It's Mark, and the shock is probably visible on my face. I was too dazed to notice who the boy tribute had been before. Mark is a year older then me, and the boy all the girls would talk about and write his name all over their stuff. I glance up at him uncertainly. He gives me a smile, runs his hand through his hair and sits across from me. I awkwardly look everywhere except at him, because I don't want to stare. However, I can feel his intense gaze, staring straight at me, and I give up. I look up from my hands at him. His face breaks into a grin. "There you are. I didn't notice you before," he teases. Even though we are probably going to die, he still seems happy and cocky. I arch my eyebrows and frown a little. "Do you really think flirting is going to solve this?"
Mark smiles, and it's like the sun coming out from behind the clouds. "Hey," he says. "If I'm going to die soon, I should at least be able to flirt with a pretty girl." I blush. I try not to, but I do. He's looking at me more intensely then ever. He opens his mouth to say something, but then one of our mentors comes in. "Follow me. It's time to eat," she says briskly. She turns on her heel, and walks away, leaving us no choice but to follow.

I wake up early. After I had dinner with my mentors and Mark, I had stumbled to my room and fallen straight to sleep. After laying in bed for a good 20 minutes, I decided to take a shower. Used to cold water in a tiny tub, the shower was like heaven. Still feeling slightly paranoid about water usage, I get out of the shower after 10 minutes and change into the black pants and dark blue t-shirt I find laying on my bed. I open my door quietly and slip into the hallway. I make my way toward the kitchen area. I don't want want to eat breakfast with my depressing mentors, so maybe I can grab a roll or two so I won't be hungry later. As I round the corner, I slam into someone, and almost fall over. He grabs my arm and steadys me. "Whoa there, girlfriend. Where are you going?" I groan inwardly. Mark. "I could ask you the same thing." I look at him definently. Mark gives me a grin. "I didn't want to have breakfast with our mentors. I see you had the same idea. Hold on." Mark slips around the corner and then reappears again. He is holding fruit, and some rolls in a basket. He grabs my arm and gives me a sneaky grin. "Come on, before we're caught!" He leads me to the very end of the train, and he sprawls out on the floor. "We'll be at the Capitol in a few days," he says, not looking up. "Sit down and eat." i sit down next to him, and start to eat a roll. I look over at Mark when he sighs. He mumbles something, but I don't catch it. I close my eyes and lean my head back against the wall. I don't want to be here.

Feel free! Just make a profile and be sure to choose a district tribute spot that hasn't been taken.

I stay in my room after lunch and don't come out. I don't care if I'm hungry. Our mentors have given us so much advice, it's hard to remember it all. And I don't want to talk with them anymore. They are depressing and mostly useless, drinking and telling me about the people that died. It makes me feel physically sick. I lay on my floor, eyes closed. I just want this to be over with. I can't stand this waiting. It's driving me crazy. I see the doorknob turn slightly. I scramble to my feet, watching as my door cracks open and a sliver of light from the hallway falls on my floor. I glance at the clock. 11:30pm? I'd been laying there for 4 hours! I tiptoe to the door, and pull it open. Mark almost falls on me. For once he looks embarrassed. He rubs the back of his neck. "I was, um, just checking to see if you're ok." I raise my eyebrow. "I'm perfectly fine, thanks." Mark sighs and pushes past me into my room, throwing himself onto my bed. "I'm not," he says. He voice is genuinely sad, laced with hopelessness and anger. I shut the door and lean against it, still not trusting him. We stay quiet for about 5 minutes, but it seems like forever. "They'll go away." Mark starts and looks up. "What?" I give him an understanding look. "They'll go away. The nightmares." He sighs, "I hope." We're quiet again, and I'm about to start another conversation when I look over. He's sleeping, with a slight smile on his face. I don't have the heart to disturb him, so I grab an extra pillow and camp out on the floor. For some reason I feel safer with him in the room. I try to shake that thought away, and soon I'm asleep as well.

No longer feeling hungry, I pushed away my plate and walked into the next car as Typha called, "Guess that's it for the mentoring then."
I sat in a chair by the window and watched the scenery fly by. It was not long before I heard Ryder come in. We hadn't really spoken to each other since he told me to stop singing. Though I wasn't planning on making friends during the Games, especially wiht him, I couldn't stand the silence.
"Are you nevous?" I asked still looking out the window.
"What?"
"I mean, are you nervous about the Hunger Games."
"Are you stupid?"
Suddenly, I regreted starting a conversation with him. "Nevermind. I should have known you wouldn't be nervous."
"What do you mean by that?"
"You're built like a Career. No doubt they'll ask you to join them in an alliance."
"They might ask you too, you know."
I looked questioningly at him. Could that have been a compliment of some sort.
"Oh, please," he said in reply to my look. "You act so weak and helpless but I know how skilled you are at archery and I've seen you with a knife. I bet you're skilled with that too."
I looked back out the window, taking in what Ryder had said. It seemed he had paid more attention to me than originally thought.

Setting in my room after all of the mentoring is making me hungry. I need some more food. I walk out the room seeing some girl who looks like she could be from district 10. She looks busy I'll talk to her later on. Hopefully it won't be when we have to face off against each other. The boy shes with seems tough my work out an alliance with him. Anyway this train is so boring I wonder where the girl from my district went. Might as well go back to my room and work out the tricks in my trinket.