Katniss wakes from nightmares about the redheaded Avox girl, her dead father, and Prim, then finds some comfort in simple clothes that make her feel like herself again. At breakfast, Haymitch explains the strategy for training: Katniss and Peeta should hide their best skills until the private sessions with the Gamemakers and spend the public sessions learning new abilities. When Haymitch asks what they can do, Peeta praises Katniss’s hunting and accuracy, and Katniss points out Peeta’s strength and wrestling, but the exchange turns into an argument about who is more likely to survive and what Peeta’s mother said about Katniss being “a survivor.” Haymitch ends the fight by ordering them to stay together and act friendly in public at all times.

Katniss resents both Haymitch’s command and Peeta’s comments, yet she also realizes that both of them have been paying close attention to each other for years. When they reach the training center, Katniss is intimidated by the other tributes, especially the larger, well-fed Career tributes from Districts 1, 2, and 4, who clearly expect to dominate the Games. Following Haymitch’s plan, Katniss and Peeta avoid showing off with archery or weightlifting and instead move quietly from station to station, practicing knot-tying, camouflage, fire-making, knife throwing, shelter-building, and other survival skills.

Over the next three days, Katniss sees that Peeta is genuinely talented at camouflage and hand-to-hand combat, while she stands out with plants and survival knowledge. The Gamemakers watch from the stands, though often carelessly, and the Career tributes gather together with open arrogance. During meals, Katniss and Peeta keep up the appearance of friendliness because Haymitch insists on it, even though private conversation between them becomes strained. On the second day, Peeta quietly points out that the young District 11 tribute Rue has begun following them. Katniss notices Rue’s small size, birdlike movements, and skill with plants, climbing, and a slingshot, and feels a strong association between Rue and Prim.

Back on the District 12 floor, Haymitch and Effie question Katniss and Peeta constantly about training, which makes Katniss increasingly irritated. By the third day, the tributes are called one by one for private sessions with the Gamemakers. When Peeta is summoned, Katniss unexpectedly reminds him to conceal his full strength, and Peeta tells Katniss to shoot straight, revealing a brief moment of sincere concern between them despite the tension.

When Katniss enters her own private session, she immediately realizes the Gamemakers are tired, drunk, and barely interested after watching twenty-three tributes. She begins with archery, misses at first because the equipment differs from her hunting bow, then adjusts and performs several excellent shots, including striking a dummy through the heart, cutting down a sandbag, and hitting a hanging light. But when most of the Gamemakers ignore her in favor of a roast pig at their banquet table, Katniss becomes furious at their indifference to a contest that will decide her life. Acting on anger and humiliation, Katniss shoots an arrow into the apple in the pig’s mouth, pins it to the wall, thanks the Gamemakers for their consideration, and walks out without being dismissed.