| " T R A P S . " |

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After everyone has impressed the game makers with their talents- well not everyone impressed them, but anyway- I find myself on the couch with Bane, along with our mentors and escort. All eyes are on the television projection as Ceasar Flickerman begins talking.

"So, it looks like we have some fighters this year, huh folks?" Ceasar asks, and the crowd in front of him cheers. I roll my eyes at their stupidity, and for his ridiculous enthusiasm.

"Well, let's get started with the training scores, shall we? But this year, we are going to choose the District scores that go first, randomly." He announces. The first name he pulls out is-

"Deedee Slone from District eight," Ceasar announces. "With a score of . . . six."

She's not a threat at all.

"Leane Collins from District seven."

Oh boy, here we go.

"With a score of . . . nine."

"You need to watch out for her, that's a pretty high score." Paul states, ignoring the next score which happens to be Chris Naila's from District eight. "Stay away from her and her band of misfits. They're all trouble."

"You don't have to tell me twice." Bane mutters.

"Triton Hall from District one, with a score of ten." Ceasar speaks up.

"Stick with him." Krystal says, referring to Triton.

"As if." I say smartly with a scoff. She sighs, and turns her attention back to the television.

"Laila Fall from District five. She scored an eight."

Good job Laila.

"Grace Fanon from District four. With a score of eight. Nason Blake from District five, he has a five."

"Seth Torroe from District four. With a score of ten." Nice.

"Maria Lloyd from District nine. She scored a six. Tristan Perry from District ten, with a score of nine." Gotta watch out for him.

"Nina Bridge from District three. Wow . . . she scored a two."

Great job, Nina Bridge. I'm just kidding.

"Lance Brewer from District nine. With a score of eight."

"Bane Haze from District two." Ceasar starts. I grip Bane's hand, leaning towards the screen in anticipation. "With a score of eleven."

"Yes!" I screech, jumping into his arms. He chuckles, and a braces me tightly.

"Okay, calm down you two. We can celebrate after the rest of the scores." Krystal says. We nod, and sit back down.

"Jonah Parker from District seven. He got a score of nine."

After about two more minutes of scores, I get nervous. My name will be called soon enough. So far, no one has gotten above an eleven, making Bane the score leader. And when the last name is called, I know it has to be me- no one else is left.

"Lana Clark from District two." He pauses, his eyes roaming over the card that he holds in his hand.

"You'll get a great score, don't worry" Bane whispers to me.

"Wow, Lana Clark. Our golden princess has gotten a twelve!" Ceasar says happily.

I got a twelve!

"YES!" Bane yells, and pulls me into a kiss.

"Great job, you two." Paul says with a smile. But at this moment, I'm not listening.

Maybe I have a chance in winning this thing, after all.

___♕___

"Get up, princess. It's the last day of training." Paul says, shaking me from my slumber. I roll over, groaning into my fluffy pillow.

"No," I whine stubbornly, a chuckle leaving Paul's lips.

"C'mon. Get up, Lana."

"Nope," I state, keeping my eyes closed and my face buried in the pillows.

"You asked for it." He shrugs, ripping the blankets off of me. I grunt, but ignore the sharp coldness on my legs.

"I'm not getting up, Paul."

"Well, in that case," He chimes as he picks me up, throwing me over his shoulder.

"Put me down!" I yell as he walks into the closet, pulling out a clean training outfit with his free hand.

"No can do." He places me down on the sink counter in the bathroom, handing me my clothes. "Now get dressed."

"No." I narrow my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest.

"If you like, I can get Leo, Bane, and Aven in here to help me." He says with a smirk.

"Bring it on," I narrow my eyes, a smirk of my own forming on my lips.

"Okay." He says, his expression not changing. "Aven! Bane! Leo! A little help in here." He yells. The guys walk into the bathroom, and my eyes widen. "You can change into your training outfit, or we can strip you down and do it for you."

"You wouldn't dare invade my privacy like that."

"Oh princess, I believe I would," He challenges

"Fine. You win. Now all of you get the hell out of my bathroom." I roll my eyes, shoving them out, and locking the bathroom door behind me. I sigh, pulling on my clothes.

After I'm done, I put my hair in a ponytail, and head to the training room, skipping breakfast. When I get to the training room, I look around, like usual. Leane, Chris, Creve, Maria and Lance are all huddled in a circle, probably going over strategies for the games. Then it hits me.

The 100th Hunger Games will be in two days.

Vian, our training instructor calls all of the tributes to the mat. I watch Bane enter, and he flashes me a smile, before pecking my lips. He holds my hand, and sends a smirk Triton's way as Triton's eyes widen. I turn my attention to Vian, ignoring the two.

"In less than two days the Hunger Games will begin. During today's training, you will need to finish up your skills strongly. Start getting together with your allies, making a plan of what you will be doing. Soon enough, twenty three of you will be dead. It differs upon the conditions; natural, dehydration, starvation, suicide, or slaughter. So be prepared for anything." He says with a harsh, yet flat, voice.

I shiver at the thought of these people dying.

And with that, Vian walks away from us, leaving me with a frown. I sigh, turning to Bane. I get a quick glimpse of Triton- of course he's staring at me and Bane. He looks furious and jealous at the same time. I huff, stepping away with Bane by my side.

"What do you want to do on the last day of training?" He questions.

"Nothing." I reply.

"Really? I was thinking we should work on making traps . . . " He trails off, raising an eyebrow at my response.

"You go ahead. There's someone I need to talk to first," I smile.

He nods, and walks away, heading in the direction of the traps booth. I walk over to the careers, and ignore the stares of Leane and her allies.

I really wish they would stop staring at me and just mind their own business. I think to myself, but shrug it off.

I jump on Jonah's back, placing my chin on his shoulder as he steadies himself. Jonah lets out a chuckle, and I wrap my legs around his waist.

"Hey guys!" I greet cheerfully.

"Someone's in a good mood," Laila grins, walking over to us with Raley following behind her. Weapons are in their hands, and I smirk.

"Yep. Just happy about my score from last night." I chime.

"Oh yeah. Nice job Lala." Jonah says. I furrow my eyebrows at him, even though he can't see me.

"Lala?" I ask. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. It's a nickname." He shrugs as I jump down off of him.

"No, that's a terrible nickname. No offence."

"None taken." He says. I one swift motion, I am thrown over his shoulder.

"AH! Put me down!" I yell, swatting at him. Riley and Laila bursts into laughter as Jonah sprints across the training center, me still dangling in his grasp.

"No can do!"

After a few minutes, he finally sits me down. "Now that was a work out." He wipes the fake sweat from his forehead.

"Woah," I say, feeling dizzy as I touch my head.

I am caught in someone's arms as I almost fall to the floor from the wave of nausea that sweeps over me.

"Oh, hey there," Seth smiles down at me.

"Hey!" I wave, and jump into his arms, forgetting the dizziness that was once taking over my body. He chuckles, like Jonah did.

"Happy to see me?" He asks.

"Yeah," I say, pulling away from him. I plop onto the bench behind me, deciding to watch the other tributes fight as Seth and Jonah begin to converse.

Maybe I can learn their strategies . . .

"Hi," A familiar voice says. I look beside me to see Lily and Grace.

"Hey," I furrow my eyebrows.

"So . . . what's going on between you and Seth?" Grace asks, wiggling her eyebrows in the slightest.

"Nothing," I shake my head.

"Oh, come on. It's obvious that he likes you." Lily says, nudging me in the side with her elbow.

"Really?" I ask.

"I'm guessing someone else already told you," Lilly mumbles.

"Yeah," I nod.

"Lana! Come over here!" Chris yells. I send a glare his way.

"I'm gonna go talk to the enemy, girls." I salute them, then walk over to Chris, Maria Creve, Lance, and Leane. They smirk as I come into their line of vision. I cross my arm over my chest.

"What do you guys want?" I snap.

"We want to know if you're joining us." Maria speaks up.

"No," I reply flatly. "If I got a dollar for every time you asked me that, I'd have enough to feed District twelve for years on end."

"What?" Leane asks, and annoyed look on her face.

"I said no," I say with a shrug.

"We're gonna ask you one more time. Do you want to join us in the games?" Lance asks.

"Nope."

"Are you serious?" Chris scoffs.

"Yes, I'm positive. I don't want to join you," I groan. "See what I mean?"

Chris growers at me, and shoves me against the wall hardly. I whimper as my head connects with the hard concrete, but he doesn't seem to notice. He is towering over me by at least three feet. And let me tell you, I'm terrified, despite my normally defensive stance.

"You will join us, Lana Clark. I'll get to you. You'll be on our team soon enough, and that's a promise." He hisses, then throws me to the ground.

And with that, they leave the training center, Leane shooting me a glance over her shoulder. The careers, Bane, and Seth rush over to me, finally realizing what happened.

I completely zone out of everything that happens after that, even throughout dinner, letting those words seep in. It scares me, even after I fall asleep later on.

"You will join us, Lana Clark. I'll get to you. You'll be on our team soon enough, and that's a promise."

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