Goodbye, {for now}

The smile that was on your face when you got reaped has not left since. The whole time the anthem played you would think that the you would be the star of the show, but instead the camera was mostly splitting time between Topaz Ross and her now tribute younger sister. This has not come to you yet, that they have stolen the spotlight from you; you have no worries at all. Only joy and happiness fill your mind. There is nothing in your life that you are more ready for than the games, everything that could possibly happen you have simulated in your mind. Anything that could go wrong, any situation, all of it has been thought of. It is as close to a guarantee that you will win the games as it ever has been for a tribute. Even before seeing any of the other tributes (barring Sapphire Ross) you are sure of this. There is literally nothing for you to worry about.

When the anthem stops playing you are shepherded by a group of Peacekeepers towards the justice building. Apparently you are supposed to say goodbye to your loved ones, but that is something you need not do. Within a month you will be back home in District One, the victor of the 59th Hunger Games. You will have more money than ever before, though that never was an issue for you. Even your house would be better than before, though you already live in a mansion. Everything in your life would be so much better, especially the fact that you will be a nationwide celebrity. Everyone will know who you are, all the girls you could ever want will be yours. And to top it all off you will get to go to the Capitol every single year to be a mentor. There is not much more you could ask for your life. All this in less than a month, how could you not smile?

The fact that the Ross's have to send off another child to the games, especially after their first child won, has to be devastating for them. You do not know if Topaz cares about her younger sister anymore, but you are sure her parents are upset, if not crying. The younger Ross girl probably stopped training when her sister won, so that would give you even more an advantage over a tribute that could have been your greatest foe. Life just seems to be getting easier and easier; even the arena will be easy for you to navigate. It is all you can do to not laugh with joy at the situation, but you do not want to look like a maniac. Surely Snow is happy about you getting sent into the games, District One winning makes everything so much easier for that man, and surely you will bring that crown back to District One.

As you enter the justice building, you can only imagine the joy on your parents faces right now. They never were their for you as a child, but that was only because it was in your best interest to not have your actual parents as parental figures. They would show you too much affection. Instead, trainers were your role models, they taught you how to be strong, how to live without compassion. Maybe the trainers were a little harsh, but it is not like the arena would be easy. Well, for you it would be, but if they had not pushed you so hard, then the arena might be difficult, but you have no worries about that. Even though they were not technically there for you, there is no doubt in your mind that you love your parents. Clearly, you are the most important thing in the world to them, or else they would not have spent so much money on training you. They want you to win just as much as you know you are going to win.

The Peacekeepers put you in a room, it is somewhat well decorated, with a black leather couch and a decent carpet on the floor. It is nothing in comparison to your house, but it will manage for the next hour or so. Time is not of the essence to you, this is not the last bit of time you will spend in District One. You will come back and be celebrated much like Topaz Ross was a mere three years ago. It seems like so long to you though; especially since there was another District Twelve victor, followed by the one from District Five who you met during the victory tour. Thinking about it, you can only say it was your destiny to get reaped. So many things you have done in the past year have related to the games, and in future years many more will too.

Finally, your parents walk into the room. As you thought, they are all smiles, clearly overjoyed with their only child going into the games. They expect you to win, and you are sure you will not disappoint them. You are sure they have only come in here to give words of encouragement, not a goodbye. They know that you will do anything for victory, that you will win with ease. Showing any doubt would just be an insult for you and all the training that they put you through. Before you can say anything, your mom tells you, still smiling, "Michael, you have to win. You will win. Both your father and me know you will. That Sapphire Ross girl is a nobody; don't bother allying with her, it will hurt you in the long run." You know all of this besides them not wanting you to ally with your district partner. It comes as a shock to you, but it is one you quickly get over. Even though killing her would probably hurt your sponsorships because your mentor is Sapphire's older sister, you could care less. You will kill her just as quickly as you would kill a scrawny tribute from District Twelve. Who someone is and where they are from does not matter to you, they all are just minor obstacles in your way. All you wish for is a somewhat warm arena, you would hate having to battle the elements as well as the other tributes.

You look at your mom with wondering eyes, even though you do not care about allying with your district partner, you do not see why you would turn down such an obvious ally. She must think that you will not have a problem finding other allies, she is most likely right. "Mom, I agree, she is a nobody, but why not ally with her. It would look good for me, Topaz would probably like me better. Besides, she is an easy person to ally with, and it will get me a lot of publicity; even more than I will get just being the best tribute. But I guess if I don't ally with her, who should I try to ally with?" What your parents are going to say is obvious, they will obviously tell you to train with the other districts that train for the games. But it might not be so easy. The other tributes might be scared of you; they might avoid you because they think you will kill them. That is not the case, not early on in the games at least. Killing will not be an issue for you, not at the beginning, not at the end. Even if you like the person you have to fight, you will have no issue killing them. A simple movement of the arm and they are dead, not a problem for you.

Instead of your mom answering, it seems like your father is the one about to talk, almost like your parents have staged this talk and they knew what you were going to say. You doubt this, from what you know your parents would never do anything that pathetic. But there is a lingering doubt still in your head. Your father speaks, somewhat pushing the doubt away as his words seem genuine, "We only think that because she will be scared. Who could have expected her to be picked as a tribute, she will be in shock. And obviously you should try to align with the tributes from District's Two and Four. They will be the strongest tributes, it is best to have them on your side."

Your mother then continues for him, "Just be smart Michael, do what you were trained to do and everything will work out. And you will do what you are told. What else is their to do?