I am still in shock that my name was read during the reaping for this year’s Hunger Games. Amelia Walker, tribute from District 7. What a joke. I guess I shouldn’t be too angry. I honestly don’t have much going for me. My parents are useless, their minds gone but bodies still kicking. My brother is addicted to pain killers and therefore also useless. I have no friends. I’m just kind of on my own, having to care for my parents while they are slugs since my brother is nowhere to be found most of the time. Maybe the Games will be good for me. I’m certainly made for them.

This year, the tributes each get to bring one non-lethal item into the arena. And of course we all get to reveal it to the nation during the interviews with Caesar. The male tribute from my district is an idiot. Big burly 17 year old named Ross Moser. We can work together inside the arena if we wish - it tends to be a reliable way of surviving. I can probably make use of him. He certainly will be a good distraction while I …

I’m waiting what feels like hours to be brought up on stage for my interview. Finally they call my name and I stride out onto the stage with my best resting bitch face. Caesar asks the same annoying questions to me as everyone else before. I roll my eyes and answer with one word.

“So, Amelia, I’d just love to know what your non-lethal item is. Care to share?” asks Caesar, like I have a choice to share or not.

I begrudgingly pull my item out of my pocket. It’s a mask that I used to wear playing pretend as a child. The crowd is so confused. Caesar takes it in astonished, then smiles wide as he says, “Amelia, you know I have to ask you to put that on.”

So I do. And I become a different person completely. They can’t see my face anymore, now I’m Alicia. And Alicia is CONFIDENT. Alicia is CHARMING. Alicia is LETHAL. Alicia is going to make sure that Amelia wins the Hunger Games. Caesar asks more questions and Alicia responds with eloquence and intelligence. The people of the Capitol love Alicia. After the interview, the mask comes off. I’m me again and my mentor is flabbergasted. Now everyone that I’ve fought in District 7 will know that the weird kid Amelia has been kicking all of their asses in the ring. And when Alicia is done, they’ll all realize Alicia could have easily killed each and every one of them but she was holding back. The thought of their expressions at this revelation makes me smile.

It’s finally time to get into the arena. We’re released into the arena and I sprint into the forest. Once under cover, I put the mask on so that Alicia can deal with this atrocity. Alicia thrives under pressure. Alicia is especially skilled in hand to hand combat and knows all of the pressure points in the human body. As long as she can get into close combat with someone, she has never lost a fight. Even if the opponent is nearly twice her size.

Alicia stays out of sight and travels by jumping from tree to tree until she can find Ross. She must find Ross so that he can be her decoy - distracting the other tributes while Alicia can get clean hits on them when they least expect it. They just need to make sure that nobody sees them together for maximum effectiveness. She finds Ross as he bashes in the head of the girl from District 5 as the sun is setting on day 1. The tributes from Districts 8, 9, and 10 also die on the first day.

On day 2, Alicia and Ross easily take out the tributes from Districts 11 and 12. On day 3, they get rid of the District 5 boy and both from District 1. Day 3 is quiet. On day 4, Ross is downed with a dart to the neck. Before taking out the District 3 girl, Alicia waits to see if the District 3 boy is here too. She’s not disappointed, as he materializes from a nearby tree. As they gather around Ross’s body to confirm he’s dead, Alicia drops onto the girl, taking her out in an instant as she smashes the girls face into the ground. In the same movement, she comes up with a high kick right into the neck of the boy. They had no chance. She grabs the device that the District 3 girl used to shoot the dart along with the extra poison darts she had in a pocket.

Alicia hears screams in the distance and she makes her way that direction as fast as possible. She just wants to be done with this. When she arrives at the scene, it appears that the District 2 tributes are the ones still standing as the District 6 tributes lie on the ground. That means there’s only Districts 2, 4, and herself left. She takes aim at the boy from District 2, but just before she shoots, a trident soars past her ear. Well, they know she’s up here now. She drops onto the girl from 2 and feels a familiar crunch. She jumps back before the boy from 2 can stab her with a dagger. She is able to disarm him and land a nice teeth punch, but not able to down him before she feels another trident strike her foot, pinning her in place. She looks up in agony as she knows she’s trapped.

Alicia reaches up to remove the mask, to bring Amelia back for this moment. I thought that Alicia couldn’t lose. Turns out patience wasn’t one of the things in which Alicia excelled. I proudly look the District 2 boy in the eyes as he stabs my heart.