"AHHHHHH!"
A strangled cry escapes my throat and I pant heavily for a few minutes, trying to recover from that cruel dream. Now I am even more scared for the games as I realized that no matter how hard Georgia and Athens tried, they couldn't save me in the arena. I glance at the clock. It is 2:09 AM. That can't be good. I try tossing and turning, but my mind keeps on wandering back to that nightmare. I eventually give up at around 2:47 and decide to shower and get ready. I move slowly. Because I have time, I decide to take a soothing bath like the first day. I set everything up and throw the bath bomb in. The colors are beautiful; it starts golden and spreads yellow until the corners are bronze. Like my ring. "Lovely," I mutter to myself, smiling and mocking the Capitol accent. After my long and soothing bath, I slip on a white T-shirt, black ripped jeans, and a tan and fluffy bomber jacket. I then rummage through a drawer to find a small backpack, similar to the ones in the games, and pull it out. It is black with a golden buckle. I stuff a water bottle, my hat, sunglasses, and a rusty chain that Max gifted me. I pull out the chain and touch it. I then have a wonderful idea so I can bring both items as one District Token; I unlocked the snap in the chain and slid the ring on. I then closed the latch and had my ring attached to the chain. I slipped it onto my neck and slung the backpack over my shoulder and fastened my earrings. I marched out the door with a smile, feeling confident. I decide to take a walk to distract myself. As I approach the exit, a guard stops me.
"Let me go!" I shout.
"You cannot go!" he darts back. I raise my eyebrows in disgust and scoff. Whipping my hair back, I trot away back to the room. Now I'm trapped in a huge building for the next few days. I scamper the hallways to find something interesting, when I stumble across Trina. She shoves the clothes into my arms, mumbles something, and runs away. Oh man! I completely forgot that we had training! I slip into the clothes in the nearest restroom and sprint toward the training center. When I get there, Ash and Max are screaming with laughter and joy at the axe wielding station. I step up next to them and see a familiar face teaching them: the one from my dream. "Hello. You must be from District 7, am I right?" I ask.
"Yes, I am. Duh!" She snaps back.
"Okay then. I was just asking," I say defensively.
"Your little friends here are not the best at using an axe. I'm wasting my time with these dumps. I'm out," she finishes, and drops her axe while jogging over to another station. I frown at Max and he asks, "What?".
"Nothing, Max. But do you really trust the girl from 7?" I ask back.
"Her name is Sparrow, not 'that girl from 7'. And yes, I do trust her!" he responds.
"No you shouldn't! Did you see how she just talked about you guys to me?"
"Nope, and I don't care. Ash and I trust her. Why else would she try to teach us how to kill people?" he asks. The boy's got a point. Sparrow was running on the gauntlets. When she reached the rope, she glanced over and snuck a smile to Thorn. I shake Max. "See! She is allying with the enemy!" I whisper-shout. He laughs and shakes his head while heading back to Ash. I go the rest of the day ignoring Ash and Max. They get concerned, but I continue to ignore them. At lunch, I pick up a burrito and Sparrow slides in next to me. "What do you want?" I snarl.
"Nothing, chill! If you really want me to leave you alone, I will! But I can't promise that in the arena!" I shoots back defensively, as if she was shocked by my reaction.
"Oh my goodness Sparrow! All I want is my brother back before we get butchered in the arena, and you CAN'T let me even have that!" I snap at her. "HOW MORE SELFISH CAN A GIRL BE?" I scream.
"Very, it appears. Well, now that I've met you..." she smirks.
"UGH! LEAVE ME ALONE, SPARROW! YOU'RE JUST MAKING THINGS MORE WORSE THAN IT ALREADY IS! GO AWAY!" I rage, while crushing my innocent burrito. I groan in frustration and throw my "burrito" in the trash can. I know that I have to fuel up and fill myself with food before we get thrown into the arena, but I can't eat with Sparrow's endless annoyance. I shove a poor little boy from District 8 aside and storm to the plants and berries station. In rage, I start the memory plant test. Faster and more furious than ever, I angrily slam my fist several times into the safe plant on the screen. I end up getting a 100% score with the comment, "Most tributes die from lack of survival skills. You won't be one of them! Keep it up!". I sit down on the edge of a stool and grind the heels of my palms into my eyes in frustration. Might as well just let myself die in the bloodbath. Less days of suffering. Yay. So fun. I can't wait, I think. The large bang of the drum and cymbal in harmony suggests that training is over. With that signal, I stand up and march out in front of Ash. I reach the splitting pathways and hesitate. With a sigh, I head down the left hallway. My shoes slam over and over against the ground as it finally comes to an abrupt halt in front of Shade's office. Before I can swing the door open, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I whip my head around. It's Ash. "WHAT DO YOU WANT, ASH?" I yell like an ape.
"I just wanted to say sorry, okay? I'll make sure Max and I ignore that witch from 7. In the meantime, let's have a seat and get to know each other better." I raise my eyebrows at her expectantly, and she does the same back mockingly. I roll my eyes with a curt laugh and politely take a seat on the bench. "So.... why Ash? Not Ashley?" I ask.
"Oh, that. Long story," she says with a hesitant look.
"I have time," I say with a grin.
"...Fine.... but promise me you won't tell anyone!" She says.
"Okay, okay. Now tell me!"
"Okay. It was a normal morning 5 years ago. I was 11. Lets just say that I.... liked to burn things. My parents finally saw that I was underestimated and WAY to tough for a prissy name like Ashley, so it's now Ash. Done!" she announces proudly. I laugh a bit and so does Ash. Then, my watch dings and that signals time to meet Max.

What are the odds and why are they in my favor?