I fell into a routine of sorts. For three days, I forced myself to only sleep for four hours at a time. I wanted to learn how it might be to stay alert at all times. Waking up without an alarm clock proved difficult, but the fear in my stomach kept twisting like a knife, forcing me to wake up every now and then. With each passing day, it seemed more and more normal.

I'd rise before even Drew, who often went out early in the mornings to tend to cattle and horses with the District kids he was tutoring. We avoided each other as much as possible, but I made him breakfast each morning by roasting meat on a fire outside in his garden. I'd read about how to do it in Drew's Capitol issued training manual, which was designed to help him teach his mentees. Since he didn't want anything to do with me, I decided to learn it all for myself.

Then after Drew was gone, I'd head up to the gym and work out until my muscles ached. My body was used to intensive training at the Academy, but the problem was my body had lost some muscle over the week since my life changed forever. I worked hard on the weights, avoiding cardio burning off all of the food I was taking from Drew. If it came to it, I'd know how to run. I needed to know I could rely on my strength to put up a fight.

It was the day before the reaping. Adrenaline drove me, even as my body cried out in pain. I took a few breaks throughout the day and ate like a horse in between my sessions, but I kept pushing my body to the limit until the sun went down.

I heard Drew come home as I was finishing up my weights session. To my surprise, he headed right upstairs and watched me finish up with my weights. Once I put them to one side, sweating hard and gasping for air, he shook his head in amazement.

"Where does a Capitol girl learn to get that strong?"

I shook my head, wiping sweat from my forehead. "You think we're all just lazy slobs, right? I trained hard to get this way."

"So you're telling me it's not some Capitol bred drug that made you so strong?"

I scowled. "You make a lot of assumptions."

Drew shrugged. "I've had a lot of reasons to believe the Capitol would do something like that."

I rolled my eyes. "I trained hard at the Academy. Only the best and brightest get in."

"So you're telling me that education is only for the rich and the smart, is that it?"

He'd stumped me there. I'd never had to think much about Capitol kids who didn't get into the Academy. Those of us who did manage to get into the Academy tended to stick together, all the way through University too if we decided to go. Of course, many bought their way into the Academy, like Cicero. With both smarts and money, I was always going to be an Academy graduate.

"That's not the point. I would've made it one way or another."

"Because your father is a Gamemaker."

I threw my hands in the air in frustration. "Look, if you're here to antagonize me, I'll leave now. I can find a way to survive until the reaping without you."

Drew said nothing, inviting me to leave silently, but I didn't move. Truth be told, the thought of sleeping outside was a scary one, and I knew I had to let my pride go. I sighed.

"Can I stay? I'll keep out of your way."

Drew smirked slightly. "I never asked you to leave. You Capitol folk are so sensitive. You don't know how to be the butt of a joke."

I thought that was your job, I thought cruelly and immediately regretted it. My prejudice was so deeply ingrained that even when I wanted to let it go, I couldn't. It was always in the back of my mind, making me feel conflicted between what I wanted to feel and what I actually felt.

"You know...Aurelia...we might actually stand a fighting chance with you."

I glanced up at Drew in shock. It was the closest thing to a compliment he'd paid me so far. He looked me up and down, his skinny arms folded over his hollow chest. It was hard to see a Victor in him when everything about him screamed District, screamed poverty, screamed underdog. But I'd seen him win with my own eyes. I knew one thing I should learn from that moment - never underestimate someone who seems weak.

"I thought you didn't want me to win," I said icily. Drew shrugged.

"I don't. I want whoever my District boy is to win. I'm just saying that once you get into the arena, your life is in your own hands. You could probably make it through, even without me."

I chewed the inside of my cheek. "And you don't want to know why I'm here? To know why I'm entering."

Drew hesitated for a moment before he shook his head. "I don't need to know."

"I think you do. I'm here because my mother has been accused of treason. I don't know what she did or why...but she went against the President. She's been sentenced to death. But I went to the President and asked him if I could take her place. He told me that if I enter the Games, he'll spare her."

Drew frowned. "Whether you live or die?"

I nodded. "Yes. And I don't fully expect to come out alive. I'll fight hard. I know that once I'm out there, that will be my only option. But if going to the arena spares her then it's my only choice."

Drew fell silent, his eyes searching mine for insincerity. I knew he wouldn't find any in my gaze. For the first time in my life I was acting selflessly. I'd do anything for my mother. Even die.

Drew took a deep breath. "Perhaps I've misjudged you."

"Perhaps," I echoed. He grunted in response and I straightened my back.

"You know, Drew, you should be glad I came along. Whatever happens, one girl from your District has been saved. And if I win, as you believe I can, then think of the things your District will gain. Money, food, glory. Wouldn't you like to be the reason your people are happy again? Don't you remember how it was when you won?"

Drew's eyes turned cold. "No. I don't remember a thing. I was too busy trying to hold myself together." He paused. "But you might be right. If I can make a Victor of you, or whoever the boy might be, then this year might not be so painful."

I bit my lip. I never thought too much about how it must be for the mentors. They never quite escaped the cycle of the Games, after all. Year after year, they were forced to train kids to do the things they did to survive. Did they feel unbearable guilt each time one of their tributes was lost? Or did it feel worse celebrating when one of theirs came back alive with blood on their hands? I'd never know that feeling. The only life that I was focussed on was my own.

Maybe I wasn't so selfless after all.

Drew sighed. "Come on. I'll make you dinner. Let's keep you strong. You're going to need it."

I didn't need to be told twice. The gesture of goodwill was enough to make me realize that he was starting to warm to me, even if his attitude to me was still ice cold. It was better to be cold than frozen to the bone, after all. Every step I made, I was learning more about survival. With Drew on my side, I might stand a chance.

If he backed me up, I'd be unstoppable.