"They don't fit!" Riley said in despair. Her black training pants lay in a heap around her ankles having fallen down as she walked. Trying not to snigger, Antonia called for Roberta, who hastily tightened the pants on Riley's skinny waist.

"Why do I have to be so small?" she complained, poking at her ribs moodily.

"It's a virtue," Roberta insisted "It's very fashionable in the Capitol."

"And it makes you a smaller target!" I chipped in, thinking Riley would rather hear that than being told it was "fashionable". With Riley's trousers tightened, we made our way to breakfast. Riley surprised me by picking at her food, her fork sliding a piece of toast around her plate.

"What's wrong, Riley? Scared of the competition?" Otto said as he sat down at the table, late as usual. Riley stuck out her bottom lip, but said nothing. I think Otto was right though. She was scared. When no one was looking, I patted her shoulder and she smiled slightly.

At least she still enjoyed the lift ride to the Training Centre. She tilted her head back and watched the floors disappear above our heads. But when the lift stopped, she walked as slowly as possible to have her number pinned to her. She was clearly procrastinating to get out of training. Antonia gave her a small shove, and Riley stumbled forward, an Avox pinning a number 7 on the back of her black shirt.

"Have fun," I said awkwardly, waving. Riley looked at me as though I was mad, and stalked off to stand near the other tributes.

"Have fun?" Antonia exclaimed, raising her eyebrows. I shrugged uncomfortably.

"I didn't know what else to say."

"You should have told her to get a grip," Otto said, stepping out the lift behind us. He's insisted on taking the lift alone, not wanting to be seen with his mentors. He stalked past us and proudly allowed his number to be pinned to his back. Rather than standing alone like Riley, he headed straight for the Career tributes. My mouth gaped in horror as he seemingly began to flirt with the girl from District 4.

"I don't like him," Antonia commented casually. I didn't reply, but my own thoughts matched hers. I saw Riley watching Otto, hurt filling her eyes. To her, despite their cold relationship, it must have felt like a betrayal on his part. I made a mental note to confront him that evening.

I watched Riley shift from foot to foot nervously. It was a good job it contributed to her act, because she really did look weak at that moment. Otto sneered over at her and said something that I didn't quite hear. The young girl from District 1 approached Riley and started jeering at her, their noses almost touching as they spoke in hushed tones, the girl's smirk sending shivers down my spine. Riley's arms trembled slightly, and I couldn't be certain whether she was faking it or not. I tried to step forward and help her, but Antonia pulled me back.

"The last thing she needs is you stepping in to save her. Otto's right on some level. She needs to deal with this herself," Antonia hissed. Just then, the bulky boy from District 5 stepped into the scene. His face was hard as stone as he confronted the girl. She backed away slightly, moving back to the protection of the other Careers and Otto. Then Marcus, the trainer, was calling them, and they all went into the training rooms, Riley and the boy from 5 side by side.

"That was unexpected," Antonia muttered. "Come on. Let's go and watch the training."

Though the tributes are unaware, their mentors are able to watch their tributes through a secret camera. Having said this, they aren't allowed to watch tributes from other Districts in case they told their own tributes their opponent's strengths. Most mentors have abandoned this privilege in the belief that it can't help them in any way, but Antonia and I agreed that observing Riley might help see what she was capable of. And as we went to the Observing Room, Antonia muttered that it could also be worth watching Otto, using some very inappropriate words to describe him.

We settled down in the leather seats, and began to watch. The screen was split in two so we could see Riley and Otto at the same time. Of course, we couldn't listen to both of them at once, so a remote allowed us to switch between microphones. I turned Riley's microphone on first, tuning in to a conversation she was having with District 5's boy at the rope tying station. The microphone fuzzed momentarily, but then we could hear them.

"Riley. You?" our tribute was saying.

"I'm Milo," the boy replied.

"Milo," Riley repeated, as though testing the name in her mouth "That's a nice name," she added awkwardly. I thought back to what she'd said about her class mates the night before. I guessed she wasn't very good at interacting with her peers.

"Yeah. Have you done any training before?"

"No," Riley said quietly "You?"

"Some. My father had me lifting weights at home. To keep me strong, you know."

"I'm not strong. I don't have any skills," Riley said, her head bowed.

"You don't fool me, Riley. I know it's all an act. So why not show me what you can do?" Milo said softly. Riley's mask slipped momentarily, and she looked Milo in the eye, giving him one of her secret grins.

"OK. Let's go to the knife workshop. There's no one near there at the moment."

They slipped quietly over to the knife station. They spoke briefly with the trainer who ran the workshop, and then positioned themselves in front of the targets.

"I've never used a knife before," Riley said to Milo, a knife between her fingers "But I have good aim."

With that, she released the knife, allowing it to fly through the air and hit the middle of the target. I grinned to myself, and found that Antonia was smiling too. She certainly wasn't as hopeless as we believed her to be when we first met. Milo tried to imitate her throw, but it hit the edge of a target, wobbling slightly before dislodging itself and falling to the floor with a clatter. I watched as Riley demonstrated to Milo how it should be done with a smile on my face.

"She's just like Raven," I commented.

"Huh?" Antonia asked.

"Raven. She won a few years ago, remember? She was good with knives."

"For all the good it's done her," Antonia said, thinking back to Raven's home in District 13. I didn't reply. I personally thought she'd made a very good life for herself.

As the morning dragged on, Antonia and I switched between watching Otto and Riley. Riley excelled in archery and the edible plants workshop, but failed to achieve in sword fighting, the weapon too heavy for her skinny arms. That was where Milo came in handy, showing her the best ways in which to use a dagger rather than a sword in close combat. He also quietly took her into the corner of the room out of sight and showed her some defensive techniques in hand to hand battle. Through each other, their teamwork improved their skills. They recognized each other's strengths and used them to each other's advantage. Where Riley couldn't succeed, Milo could, and vice versa.

"I think I can see an alliance forming," Antonia whispered to me. I couldn't have been happier for Riley at that moment. But my mood dampened considerably when we returned from lunch and discovered what Otto was plotting.

Throughout the day, two groups within the Career's had formed. There was an even split of them, with the girls from 4 and 2 joining with the male from 4. The small girl from 1 appeared to be the leader of the rest of the Career's, but Otto didn't particularly place anywhere, and he drifted between the two groups during the day. When they returned from lunch, we listened in to a conversation he was having with the small pretty girl from 1.

"You're very good for your age, Cassia," he commented, watching as she skilfully wielded a mace.

"What's it to you, Otto?" she said snootily, resting for a moment to speak with him.

"I think we could work well as a team, don't you? It would benefit us both. I could learn a lot from you, and I think I have things I can teach you."

"Such as?"

"Tactics," he said, tapping his head "It's all in here. Weapons and strength will get you nowhere if you don't know how to manipulate your enemy," he whispered. He finally seemed to have Cassia's attention, and leant in closer to hear more.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" she said, her eyes wide with excitement. Otto smiled, his eyes wandering around the room.

"We pick off the weaklings first. I have several in mind. But one in particular."

"Who?" Cassia asked eagerly. Otto smirked.

"Riley Swan."

Antonia was on her feet in an instant, shaking with anger. She headed straight for the door, her footsteps heavy in reflection of her fury.

"Where are you going?" I asked her. I was shocked by Otto, but I feared what Antonia might do.

"I have things to do," she growled, exiting the room with a slam of the door behind her. I switched the screen off and sighed, rubbing my forehead. Riley was causing so many problems for me, directly and indirectly. I convinced myself that she was worth it, though.

I decided to meet her on the bottom floor when her training finished, fearing what Otto might do in my absence, but it seemed he'd already got to her. She returned with her head hung, sporting a purple bruise over her left eye. Otto smirked as he passed us with his new Career friends.

"Hey, look. Mummy Arrian came to pick Riley up," he chuckled. The others guffawed with him, and they all crowded into the elevator together to ride the lift. I bent down and tilted Riley's face to see the damage.

"What happened?" I asked, having missed the action.

"Cassia pushed me over," Riley said, almost childishly "But I'm OK. I had a good day. Honestly, stop fussing, Arrian. I'm fine."

She kept trying to convince me she was OK as we went up in the lift, but I was worried. All I could think of was Otto's threat. As the doors opened on the seventh floor, we headed back to Riley's room to see if I could find anything to stop the swelling on her eye.

"Honestly, Riley. I'll be lucky to get you in the Games in one piece," I said, nodding to her facial injury and then the one's she'd gained the day before. Riley grinned, and I swore her teeth were more crooked than they had been before.

"Nonsense. I'm right as rain," she beamed, waving her arms around in a way that was, I believe, to demonstrate that she was OK. I smiled as we turned the corner, but it slipped when I saw Antonia pinning Otto against the wall.

"Get back. Behind the wall," I hissed to Riley, pulling her back by her shirt. We peered around the corner at the unfolding scene.

"I'm warning you, Otto. If you dare touch her, I'll make your life hell," Antonia hissed. Otto squirmed slightly, trying to get away.

"Oh yeah? And how do you propose to do that?" he spat. Antonia laughed without humour, tightening her grip on Otto's shoulder.

"The very second you touch Riley, I'll cut you off. I won't train you. I won't help you. And I'll turn every single person against you. You'll have no sponsors. And one thing is for certain. I can make sure you don't come out that arena alive," Antonia hissed, her face pressed up against Otto's. He was taller than her, and stronger too, but at that moment, Antonia was the scariest, most powerful woman in the world.

"I'm not afraid of you," Otto said, but he didn't sound so sure. Antonia slowly reached into her pocket and brought out a penknife. She flicked the blade out and pressed it gently against the prominent veins on Otto's neck. A tear of blood trickled down his shirt and he whimpered slightly.

"Aren't you?" Antonia said quietly "Well you should be. I'm a victor for a reason, Otto. If you dare mess with me again, I'll kill you with my bare hands," she purred. With that she released him and he scurried away. Riley's mouth hung open, but slowly, her face formed a smile.

"I think maybe I could grow to like her now," she said, smirking as Otto retreated. I found my heart filled with pride for my best friend, but in the back of my mind, I had a niggling feeling that we hadn't yet seen the worst from Otto.