Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games, it is an amazing series though!
This is my first fan fiction so I hope you guys like it! I would VERY MUCH appreciate comments and reviews on my writing. It helps me write more when I know everyone likes it! Enjoy and keep checking for updates! :)
"Finnick! Finnick! Wake up, the reaping is today." my mother's sweet voice drifted up the stairs to our quaint house in District 4.
This was it. Each year, the Capitol picks a name from the girls and one from the boys in each district to fight to the death. The older you get the more chances you have to be chosen. I am 14, so this year I only have 3 slips in my name. But I have taken out tesserae to feed my family, so I have 6 names in the reaping.
"Alright! I'm up!" I reply absent-mindedly, but something doesn't feel right. I swing my legs over the side of my bed and try my best to freshen up for the least expected day of my life. I brush my blond hair and spike it in the front, then pull on a somewhat dressy shirt and jeans.
"Ready!" I holler to my waiting parents, but a sickening feeling in my stomach lingers to every word.
Walking through the dirt road that leads to our district's center, the strange feeling worsens, making me feel as if I could curl up in a ball and cry until the reaping was over. Pushing through the pain, I take in the fishing nets, spears, hooks, and lines that are my lifestyle and realize I may never get to use them again. Clear, blue water runs freely beside us, and I envy its grace and beauty. Without hesitation it flows in perfect movements, ignoring all its my head, I pick up the pace, anticipating the end to my solemn misery. Finally we reach the children-filled pavilion that was our District Center, where the reaping is held and important events happened. Slowly, I find my best friend Erick in the dense crowd and wait in silence with him for the worst to happen.
Erick nudges me with an elbow and says, "What's wrong with you? We do this every year, nothing's different!" I look up and reply, "I just have a bad feeling about this, I don't know why." "Don't think about it!" Erick said trying to cheer me up, but it doesn't work. The lights dim suddenly, and Erick says, "You will be fine, you always have luck on your side, and we're 14 so we basically don't have any chance of getting picked. Let's just get this over with."
Anelise Pritchard, our district advisor, steps up to the stage wearing heavy makeup and a strapless sea green dress that sparkled when she moved. The video that is shown every year before the reaping plays behind her straight auburn hair, but I ignore it like I always do. Something about the districts rebelling and that's why we have the Hunger Games, but it isn't fair, none of it is.
Instead, my eyes focus on the huge crystal bowl that holds the names for the boys. When Anelise's full voice booms in to the microphone, I snap out of my daydream and listen intently. "Welcome, welcome, to the 65th Hunger Games! Today, we will be choosing one male tribute and one female tribute to compete in the arena. May the odds be ever in your favor." "First, the girls, then the boys." She said with a huge grin that sent chills down my spine. How could she be so happy when we were about to get killed for some game? Her small manicured hands plucked one piece of paper from the ominous hole of doom and read the contents aloud, "Aquamarine Fields!"
A beautiful blond, blue-eyed, girl made her way to the front with a remarkable confidence, as if she wanted to kill others for someone's enjoyment. Erick stares, completely zoned out by her amazing looks as well as multiple others in our section. "You better stop staring or your eyes will fall out!" I joke. Erick says, "Haha, very funny." His voice dripping with sarcasm, he turns away. Catching the smallest hint of fear in her eyes as she looks towards the others gathered before her, I remember her from school. She was very shy, and no one really knew her, but she was a good fisher from what I'd seen and was tougher than you'd think. She'll be tough to beat.
All the girls at school fawned over me, nearly everywhere I went a group of girls followed, carrying my books and complimenting me. Erick complained that he never got a date, because I was always stealing the girls he liked. My good looks got them every time, and even now, I caught some looking at me worriedly, afraid my name would be read.
Enthusiastically, Anelise pronounced, "Now for the boy's." In my mind, thoughts raced and my heart beat so fast I thought it would burst out of my chest. There was basically no chance I could be chosen, I only had 6 slips of paper in my name, I keep telling myself over and over again. But no matter what, the nagging feeling of the possibility I could get picked haunts me. Anelise's hand seemed to swim in the names in slow motion, and she pulled the small seal of fate out of it. I nearly forgot to breathe and my heart skipped a few beats.
Then, the world as I knew it ended.
"Finnick Odair!" She called, as if I wasn't about to fight to the death and most likely not make it back home alive.
Frozen in place, I looked around in disbelief. I hoped there was a mistake, but I knew there wasn't. Erick stood, mouth open, unsure of what had just happened. Almost all of the girls stared in shock, not ready to see their precious "idol" die in the Games.
This wasn't the time to look back and fear what would happen in the future, I needed sponsors. I put on that wide grin that won over so many girls and strode to the wide stage airily. Scared out of my mind, but not about to show it, I shook Aquamarine's hand and glimpsed my parents in the audience.
My mother was crying violently and my father, who almost never got emotional, stood in absolute stillness, holding her. I wanted to go and hug them, but I had to win, and to win I needed to get people to like me. I would look weak if I went to them now, a desire lit in my soul to do this for them. Erick glared at me with sympathy in his eyes and tears began to well up in them. One more person to win for, I thought, making this so much more important.
Anelise's voice interrupted my thoughts, "The District 4 tributes going in the 65th Hunger Games, Aquamarine and Finnick!" No one clapped, as Aquamarine and I were escorted into the train of no return.
Luck wasn't with me today.