I Won't Go Down Easily

The second week of training flew by. This was when Aria really kicked it into high gear. A wave of determination washed over her, and she put every ounce of effort into training. Each day, she became increasingly better at offensive skills and before she knew it, she was actually pretty good and knew what she was doing.

The problem was that while she was improving, so was everybody else. And that's the reason that she began skipping lunch breaks. She figured that gave her thirty more minutes of training per day than any of the other tributes. And that time added up. The last week of training alone gave her an extra three and a half hours of improvement. Those three and a half hours could be the difference between life and death.

And now that the two weeks of training were up, it was time for their private sessions with the Gamemakers. They started with District 1 and worked their way up to District 12. So, Aria didn't have very long to wait. However, she still had no idea what she was going to do. She was best at rope tying, but what would she do? Tie a complicated knot and then that's that? That's certainly not anything impressive.

"District two." Aria jumped at the sound of the automated voice over the speakers. Jamie stood up with a slight smirk on his face and walked to the doors with his head held high. She'd give anything to be as confident about this whole thing as him. A lot of the other tributes waiting seemed to also be having the same confidence issues Aria was. It was easy to forget that all of the tributes were only kids - just like her - and the fact that she could be the one ending any one of their lives made her feel queasy.

She let out a shaky breath and closed her eyes, focusing on her breathing - something she always found to be calming - trying to come up with anything that would help her with her private session.

Nash wasn't of much help, either. He suggested going with whatever her gut was telling her, and that scores didn't even matter that much. Easy for the victor to say who scored a ten during his private session; one of the highest scores in Hunger Games history. And she didn't even bother talking to Ezra about it - she was much too preoccupied with what she'd be wearing when she escorts her and Seth to the interviews tomorrow. At the mere thought of the interviews, her stomach flipped. With the interviews being tomorrow, that meant she'd be going into the arena the very next day. She only had one more full day of actually being safe and not having to worry about being murdered.

She quickly dismissed those thoughts, however. There were enough things for her to worry about right now. Aria was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard someone sit next to her. Opening her eyes, she saw it was Ryan, and relaxed a little, shooting him a smile.

"Are you nervous?" He asked, studying her face.

"Is it that obvious?"

He shrugged, leaning back in the chair, perfectly at ease.

"You really don't need to be. It's not that big of a deal."

"It's not that big of a deal?" She repeated incredulously. "Why does everyone keep saying that to me? These scores represent where you stand as a competitor and practically seal your fate in the game."

Ryan laughed and shook his head. "See, that's what everyone believes, but think of it this way; say you get an extraordinarily high number. Then everyone knows how much of a threat you are and a huge target is on your back from the very beginning. Sure, it can help win over sponsors, but so can having a stunning personality in the interviews."

"And if you get a low score?"

"The Careers barely acknowledge your existence, and all of the tributes will underestimate you. Everyone roots for the underdog. " He laughed at her now more relaxed expression. "See what I mean, nothing to be worried about."

"District 3." Aria and Ryan both jumped and watched the male tribute get up and leave, looking quite uneasy about the whole situation. Neither of them could really blame him. As soon as the heavy door leading to the Training Center slammed shut, Aria realized that she was next.

Her stomach slightly dropped, but thanks to what Ryan said, she wasn't as nervous as before.

"Just do what you know best," Ryan advised, giving her an assuring smile. She nodded and took a deep breath in an effort to calm her nerves. So maybe she would just do something with a rope. It may not get her an exceptional score, but if she wants to continue her strategy of remaining unnoticed by the Careers, then maybe an average score would be best. As for getting sponsors, she'd just have to be stand out in the interviews.

"Can I ask you something?" Aria asked, looking at Ryan

"Sure,"

"Why are you being so nice to me, and even giving me advice, when only one person in this entire room will be returning alive?"

"That's the thing isn't it," He answered slowly, thinking carefully about how to phrase this. "Everything about The Games is completely wrong and disgusting. I'm not expecting to come out of there alive - I really don't even have the slightest chance. However, working with someone could get you further. Now, I'm not saying we make an alliance in the arena or anything, no, that'd be too hard to go through with, especially towards the end. But what I am saying is that we work together now, and help each other out, then maybe, just maybe one of us could get out of there alive."

Aria didn't have time to agree with him, for the speakers clicked on again, announcing District 4's turn. Standing up shakily she made her way to the Training Center.

It was strange, seeing it so empty and quiet. All of the Gamemakers were seated in a balcony, looking down upon the entire room. Aria cleared her throat and spoke her name, along with District number. Then she made her way over to the knot tying station, different kinds of snares and knots flashing through her head. She ran her fingers along the various ropes available, feeling their rough fibers.

It was almost like she was back home again, weaving nets for catching fish; the cool breeze from the ocean hitting her face. And that's when it hit her. A few years ago, her older brother Logan taught her how to make a snare made entirely of rope to capture animals - or in this unfortunate case tributes. It wasn't very common, so it was sure to somewhat impress the Gamemakers.

Aria set to work right away; fingers flying over the rope, twisting, weaving and tightening, creating a wonderfully woven net. Knowing she only had a small amount of time to impress the Gamemakers, she flew through it, working faster than ever before. Within ten minutes, she finished the net and was beginning to set it up as a snare.

This was the difficult part. She'd only seen her brother do this once, and since it was so long ago, the details were quite fuzzy. But thankfully, after what seemed like a large amount of mistakes - but really weren't even that many -, she got it and with just a few minutes to spare.

She hurried over to the strength training station and grabbed a weight that resembled a small animal and tossed it at the net. The effect of the weight hitting it made an impact almost immediately. The net snapped shut, trapping the weight inside, and if it were an animal, or tribute, they had no means of escaping. Stepping back, Aria took one last good look at it before turning to the Gamemakers with a satisfied smile on her face.

"Thank you, Ms. Arlen," The head Gamemaker said, dismissing her. She gave them a small smile - which really was the best she could do considering who they were and how much they had to do with the games. Aria turned around and walked out of the doors with her head held high. She wasn't sure where this sudden burst of confidence was coming from, but she sure as hell loved it.