I tried to let my mind go blank as the cold water ran down my face and back. I always thought well in the shower, as it helped me to clear my mind.

I was interrupted by Auntie, who was basically an unpaid caretaker for me and father. She was always around and will continue to be around for her hopefully long, long life.

I stepped out of the shower and gently dried myself off. Auntie had laid a beautiful gown out on my bed for me. It had lace on the collar and around the bottom as well. A beautiful baby blue color showed no signs of age or wrinkles.

"It was your mother's," Auntie said carefully.

I didn't know her. I had such a strange detached feeling from her and from her life. She had me when she was 17, and she was lucky enough to be selected for the 33rd Hunger Games. I'm very sure she is the only every tribute to have had a child back home. She died, of course, but made it to the top ten. Apparently the district was very proud.

Auntie waited for me to dress before helping me do my hair. Her hands wove throughout my black, straight hair masterfully. Without even pulling on my hair, Auntie transformed me into a princess with a perfect braided bun to match.

"Your father is getting ready for breakfast," she added and started to clean up the room.

District 6 wasn't poor but it wasn't wealthy like District 1 or District 2. I would see starving children and women in cheap fur coats on the same walk to the bakery. Father had a high position at the train manufacturing factory, which allowed us to have luxuries like a shower. Even with his position and out District's wealth, we were considered middle class.

Father was a very respectable man at work. He was kind and generous. But at home he was a drunk. I believed he blamed me for mother's death, even though I was one year old and I didn't realize the terrible world I was about to endure.

He sat at the table, eating eggs off of a plate and drinking alcohol hidden in a coffee mug. I greeted him before making my own eggs. I liked them scrambled, and since today was the reaping, I decided to add a slice of cheese as a treat.

As I sat down to eat, I watched my father. This must be a hard day for him, as he had to relive the love of his life dying over and over again. He's had to relive it for sixteen years and I don't know how much longer he will last.

"How did you sleep?" I asked as I gathered eggs into my mouth.

He grunted in reply. I already knew that he was having nightmares of some sort. If it weren't for Auntie, I don't know if he'd be alive. She made sure he only drank on the weekends or on days off of school and work, such as today.

I recall last year, when my friend Charlie Anne watched her 14 year old sister die in a competition that she was never meant to win. Charlie Anne didn't go to school for a week afterwards, and she always had dark bags under her eyes as if she never slept.

I considered my mother's death somewhat of a gift. Since she was gone so early, I never got to know her, so I couldn't necessarily miss her. Although I did long for a mother's embrace or praise like the kids at school, I had Auntie. And I had no siblings to cry for if they were ever to meet their fate on live television.

Auntie emerged from my room, putting on a smiling face for my father and I. She filled our heads with distracting gossip. Apparently, a friend told her that the mayor's daughter was pregnant.

My father seemed to snap to for a moment. He stared at me, with unrecognizable emotions on his face. "Where did you get that dress?" He questioned.

Auntie stepped in. "Reggie, I gave it to her. Doesn't she look wonderful."

"She looks like Evangeline," he whispered my mother's name as of it were a secret only he could hold.

From the pictures I've seen and pieces of her Games I've watched, I know I am a spitting image of my mother. We're both left handed, we both part our black hair in the middle, and we both have freckles sitting over tan skin. But my green eyes prove myself to be my fathers daughter, as my mother had rich, gorgeous brown eyes. She was beautiful.

Father returned to his drinking and I looked at Auntie. "May I be excused?"

"And where would you go?" She questioned.

"I want to visit Cain," I explained.

Cain was a tough spirited boy with short cropped, curly hair, and stunning hazel eyes. He was turning 19 years old in a few months, and he was my boyfriend. Out of all the girls that fawned over him, he chose me.

Auntie sighed and gave a smile. "Go on. Be home before 10, or I'll send peacekeepers to look for you!"

I smiled before heading out the door and making the four minute walk to Cain's house. I live very close to the square, so I was able to see the bustle and movement of the Capitol people as they got to work on their stage and presentation.

Cain's family was a little richer than mine and sat on a corner with a long front porch and a decorative front door. I didn't knock before entering, as his mother insisted I was family and allowed whenever I pleased.

I ran inside and jumped onto Cain from the back, wrapping my arms around his shoulders. He jumped with an initial surprise and gave a short chuckle.

"Hey Lonnie," he caught me from his back and spun me around to hold me. I smiled at the nickname he gave me and at how it made me feel.

I hear footsteps and turn to see Onix and Jem, Cain's little cousins. I smile and hug them both tightly. While their family had their own house, they spent a lot of time with Cain as their mother's were twins and very close.

Jem was 16 years old, and starting to grow taller than me, catching up to his cousin. Onix has just turned 13 and had the same curls as Cain, but a more gentle face and a kind smile.

"How are we feeling today, cadets?" I addressed them.

Jem smiled. "I'm not a kid anymore, Alana," he tried to protest but was slapped in the stomach by Onix.

"Is that anyway to talk to your commander?" The young boy cried.

Cain decided to play along. "How dare you upset this lovely woman?" He grabbed Jem and slung him over his shoulder while Onix laughed hysterically.

Cassandra and Kenna, their mother's, sat on a sofa and watched as their boys played. Cassandra, who was Cain's mom, looked at me lovingly.

"Why hello there, Lonnie," she greeted and took a sip of her tea.

"Hello Mrs. Li. You are looking absolutely gorgeous today." She smiled at my compliment. "And of course you are looking as radiant as ever, Mrs. Rain," I told her sister.

After the boys had their roughhousing, they came back inside. Cain wrapped his arms around me, holding me close.

"You'll be safe," I promised him. "Or I'll break you out of the arena myself." He planted a light kiss on the top of my head as I dreamed of our future together.