Part 1- The Announcement

"And as you know, tomorrow is The Reaping. Two of you will be selected. It is The Quarter Quell so something special will be put on for the games and there will be a mandatory viewing at 5pm. For homework you will have to come back here and train as hard as you can," says Danny, as we finish today's training session.

Kate and I leave the campus for home, chatting. Kate's my best friend. We are inseparable. We go swimming together, we train together and we live next door to each other.

"What do you think there will be in this Quarter Quell?" I ask Kate.

"I don't know... we've never been alive for one."

I open my door and say bye to Kate.

My Mother and Father are waiting. I check my watch. 4.55pm. Just in time. We go to the living room and switch on the TV. It is an old cranky set but we only use it to watch the games and the occasional mandatory, propaganda stuff. The seal of Panem comes on screen along with the anthem. The anthem and the seal go off, President Snow comes on screen.

He starts talking. "Panem is a country that rose up from a war-torn world filled with natural disasters from a place once known as North America. There were 13 districts and one loving Capitol protecting them. But they rebelled. One district was destroyed, District 13, and now only 12 remain. Every year there are The Hunger Games to remind the people of Panem of the power of the Capitol. One young man and one young woman, between the ages of twelve and eighteen, is chosen from each District and imprisoned in a vast outdoor arena to fight to the death. Every 25 years, there is a Quarter Quell."

He walks over to a shiny chrome table and a little boy, who can't be more than about 5, trails quickly behind him holding a simple wooden box. The boy has to stand on his tiptoes to give the box to the president who puts it on the table and opens it.

There are so many envelopes, all yellow and aged. With a swift movement of his hand President Snow picks the envelope with the number fifty on it. "As a reminder to the rebels that even the strongest among them cannot overcome the might of the Capitol, this, the second Quarter Quell will feature only tribute girls."

My heart is thumping. I cannot believe what the president has just said. Only tribute girls. Twenty-four girls fighting to the death. I run out of the house and toward the beach. I don't care if it's an extreme overreaction. I don't care if I have to go to campus for homework. I get to the beach and feel the soft sand on the soles of my shoes. I dive into the water and feel instantly at home. I forget about the world for a minute, until I have to resurface to my horrible life. The fact that there will only be girls in the games this year.

I swim as hard, fast and far as I can until I reach the buoys that mean that I cannot go any further, that there is just open ocean from there on. The sky is pitch black and twinkling with stars. "Laura!" I hear Kate's voice, distant on the shore. I swim back for the sake of it, not to talk to Kate.

"I saw you running out of your house," she tells me.

" Well done brainbox," I say sarcastically.

" Why? The announcement wasn't that bad," she says.

" You thought it wasn't that bad. Twenty-Four girls fighting to the death. Two from our district. It's going to be one of the most brutal games ever. Girls wanting to go back to boyfriends, brothers, dads," I say.

"But, it's always like that," Kate states matter-of-factly.

"I don't think you understand Kate. There are going to be worse odds at the reaping. The rivalry will start at the opening ceremonies. There will be bitch fights in training that we will have to watch," I say.

"I'm going to campus. After all, it was our homework," Kate says.

" I don't care if it's our homework. I'm going home."

I am on the verge of tears. I am feeling so angry. Kate doesn't understand. I head for home, still dripping wet from my swim. I go in the house and storm upstairs. My parents don't ask anything or say anything. They just stand there, staring at me.

"What are you looking at?" I shout. My emotions are all over the place. I don't know what to feel. I grab a towel and dry myself. I put on clean underwear and go to sleep. That night, I have a dream that all my friends and family have turned into zombies and just stare at me, and no matter how much shouting I do, they just stare.