Today is the last day of training. The dream I had last night will haunt me in the training center. I'm so eager that today's the last day of training. Then I won't see the training room ever again after the private training sessions. I rise slowly out of the uncomfortable large bed. I would much rather sheep on my small, pillow covered, comfy bed at home. I twist my back. Crack. Ahhh... so much better! I open the window and stare outside. The sun is bright, although I'm kinda sure its a mod. After all, it is the Capitol! I go straight to the bathroom and brush my teeth. Well, the bathroom kinda does it for me so... whatever. I jump into the tub and scrub my face thoroghly. I dry myself off and  slip on the training outfit.

Opening the door slowly, I creep over to an Avox who looks like the red head I met yesterday, commanding for breakfast. She curtly nods and heads over to the counter as I braid my hair into a single braid that wraps around my shoulder. I also leave some curls at the front, to play as bangs. After an intense session of waiting, I get bored and grab a cereal bar, storming out of the room. I still have some time before training starts and so I go to Shade's office. I sit there for a few minutes, waiting for the office to open so I have a chance to talk to Shade. Tapping my foot impatiently, I hear light footsteps. Suddenly, a tall girl, about 17 years old, peeks her head out of Shade's office. She has a blond bun on top of her head and white pants and a white uniform to match.
An Avox.
She opens her mouth and whispers, "Shade's not going to come today."
An Avox can't talk, their tongues are chopped off. How is this girl speaking?
"WHATS GOING ON??? HOW CAN YOU TALK? YOU ARE AN AVOX, ITS IMPOSSIBLE!" I yell.
"Shh!" She whisper shouts.
But it's too late.
Three peacekeepers come marching into the hallway, the girl's eyes widened in horror. I gasp and clasp my mouth closed as two peacekeepers grab her by the arms and one grabs a weapon from his holder. Five more peacekeepers come out and tackle Ash and I to the ground. He grabs a odd mask from his pocket and shoved it on my mouth. Struggling, I try to get up and tackle the the peacekeepers, but my movements are becoming slower and heavier. Soon, the corners of my eyes start to go black and my vision is blurry. My speech becomes slurred and I can't feel my body anymore. The only thing I can do is suffer through the Avox's bloodcurdling screams and the noise of booms piercing her body. "AGGGGHHHHH! STOP HURTING HER GAHHHH!" I scream. Eventually the screams die and all I hear is dead silence. Seconds later, I faint.
Oh no.
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I wake up in the training center.
All the tributes surround me. They stare with odd looks on their faces. I squint my eyes, confused. Toni props me up on a chair and asks, "Are you okay?" while grasping my shoulders.
"I'm fine, but what about the Avox?"
"Oh, Starr? They injured her badly and decided to make her a tribute for District 9, where she came from, so the original girl from 9 gets to go home. Lucky."
"But, how can she do it if she's been shot several times?"
"I don't know, she's in a full body cast. She's tying up a net over there, why don't you talk to her?"
"Alright." I reply and jog over to Starr. She's making some progress on her net. I grab the other end of the net and start weaving. She drops the net and stares at me. "Oh, hey." She whispers, trying to ignore me. "Wait, I don't understand. They didn't cut off your tongue?" I reply calmly.

"No. They said I'll die anyways. Might as well let me speak during my last days. None of the shots hit vital organs."

"How come you aren't mad at me?" I ask.

"I'm actually thankful. I would rather die than live as an Avox."

"Well that's not very positive!" I respond.

"Listen, you wouldn't understand. We spend every second of every minute of every hour being a servant against our will. And it's not fun when normal kids our age are laughing and gossiping and being normal while you have to pretend you don't hear them. And don't even get me started on communication! The easy part was escaping the tongue cutting, but I had to pretend I couldn't talk for 3 years. 3 YEARS. I was captured when I was only 14. " She says, eyes still focused on the wonky knots.

"Why? Why were you taken to be an Avox?" I curiously ask, knowing that I may have crossed the line.

"Me? Well... I was helping my grandpa. He and I lived together. He was starving. I stole a loaf of bread one day. Almost got caught. I thought that would be the only time, but slowly his health was declining. The healthcare center demanded money and the nursing home wouldn't accept him because then no one would be there to take care of me. So I did it again. And again. And again. First it was an apple, then a 10 dollar bill from a woman's pocket. Sooner or later, I was stealing thousands of dollars worth of necklaces and earrings and bracelets on the daily. One day peacekeepers had some suspicion of me being a pickpocket and raided our small home. They searched for hours and finally found my gems and stolen goods hidden in my mattress. They immediately whisked me away, and I never saw my grandpa again. Maybe he's alone at home struggling to make his own lunch, maybe he's been on the streets for the past few years depending on humanity to feed him. maybe he's in the nursing home, maybe he's gone. Maybe his soul knew it was time."

"You might survive, you know. You might win and they might ship you back home and pay for your grandpa's health stuff." I say.

She heavily sighs and points at the bullet shots on her torso and the shot on her leg. "Don't even bother. I'm going to die anyway. How can I survive in this condition?" She announces.

I sigh and look her in the eye, catching a glimpse of tears. I see one let loose and roll down her cheek.

"I'll leave you alone for now."

I then pivot on my heel and jog away.  Max and Ash are eating something interesting. I scoop some peas onto my plate and slide in between them. "What's that?" I ask.
"Apparently it's a hamburger." Max replies.
"Oh."
"What's wrong?" Ash asks.
"Nothing." I reply.
"Okay..." Ash whispers.
I pick up my bush peas and throw the Styrofoam plate out. I can't do this. Suddenly, the bell wakes me and I am rushed to my room. I immediately meet Georgia in the kitchen. Rolling up my sleeves, I start to help her chop up vegetables. "Did you hear Georgia? I almost killed an Avox." I sigh.
"Yes. I'm very disappointed in you but we have to discuss what your going to do in the private training session tomorrow," She sadly adds.
"Easy; I'll throw some knives at a target," I respond.
"That's simple. All the tributes will do that. Try something else." She says while walking out.
I then lazily search around the entire suite, finding dirty old racks and drawers, until I find old dummies and from the training center. After hours of racking up on several pieces of equipment, I place all the dummies and knives in an empty room. For the rest of the night, I sit on the floor, out of ideas, wearily throwing knives into dummy stomachs. At dinner time, Georgia walks in and sighs.
"What did I tell you?"
"I know. I just... don't know."
"It's alright, head to sleep and you will figure something out."
I throw the last knife into a dummy in the corner of the room. I thank her and tiredly head to sleep. Tomorrow is the private training sessions and scores, the day after that is the interviews, and then the games begin.

I figured it out. The odds are not in my favor.