Last workout circuit: Flip the tire down the block. Grab the sledgehammer for twenty slams. Then, push the weighted sled back,” shouted Thad, a yoked personal trainer who prioritized muscle gain over everything.

I locked eyes with the asphalt, visualizing myself in the Hunger Games , a gruesome competition where adolescents were forced to fight to the death. I plotted my route through the fictional Cornucopia, a large metal structure housing weapons and supplies.

“Timer starts . . . now!” I squatted to grab under the tire, already in character as Katniss Everdeen, the lead role I was auditioning for. Katniss was a lean, lithe, and resourceful sixteen-year-old with black hair, olive skin, and gray eyes. A tough and independent survivalist whose childhood was cut short, she bravely volun

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