I never imagined that I could kill someone. Yet, every year after I turned twelve, I was forced to prepare myself for it. This year would not be any different. Everyone in town was up and about on the morning of The Reaping for the seventieth Hunger Games. They were all making their trades and preparing for it as if it were a celebration. In a way, it was. Our district, District Four, always produced strong and fully capable competitors. A few of them had even won the games promising our home a year's supply of provisions that we needed. Of course, no amount of fake smiles and enthusiasm could hide the fear in the eyes of family members and close friends preparing to lose at least one, if not two of their loved ones.

That morning, I had gotten myself out of bed early to check my usual oyster cultivating spot. I wanted very badly to find a pearl for a pair of my mother's favorite ear rings. Her left one was missing one and I felt like it was my duty to replace it. I knew the odds weren't likely at all but I was hoping for a little luck on today of all days.

When I arrived at the hidden pool surrounded by rocks, I was startled by the distinct sound of crying... or at least the tragic sniffs and gasps for air that followed a painful round of lonely sobbing. I hid behind a rock not wanting to intrude on their privacy but I was a little curious who it could be. I slowly leaned around the edge of the rock to peer at them. I could only see his back but I recognized him immediately. A familiar gold trident lay next to the young man as he wiped his eyes with the sandy sleeve of his nice suit. His usually disheveled red hair looked even more so as it blew in the wind.

Apparently, Finnick Odair was seeking refuge at my tiny clam pool this morning as well.

My heart sank to see him in such a state and I was just about to leave when he suddenly gripped the trident and spoke out, "Who's there?" He then turned to face me, his eyes still holding fresh tears that had not yet fallen but his gaze was still as sharp as the ends of his weapon. When he saw me standing there dumb founded, his shoulders relaxed and his facial expression softened, "Amanda, right? Jude's daughter?"

"Annie," I corrected.

"Oh right," he forced a smile that I was sure had melted the hearts of many women but didn't fool me, "This whole me being here this morning. Well, that can be ours, right? Dear?"

I nodded as I took a seat next to him, "Who would I tell?"

"Right." He then got up and wiped himself off.

"You can stay if you'd like. Your eyes are still red with sadness and I won't exactly intrude if you still have any other emotions you need to release before you face all of us wondering which two you'll have to keep alive this year."

He gave me a puzzled look as if to ask if I was joking. When I stared off at the incoming waves on the beach without the faintest trace of a smile, he frowned and sat back down. "I won't have to worry about you, though? You look fourteen and isn't your mother the pearl lady? I bet with her income and your father's fishing skills, you've never needed tessarae. How many times could your name have been entered? Eight? Even less?"

"I'm 16. My name has been entered thirty-one times which is enough," I answered with a shrug.

"Well then, I'll try and not get too attached, Annie."

I knew flirting was his second nature, just a ruse that being a lap dog of the capitol had taught him, but it didn't stop me from blushing before I smiled back at him and replied, "That's probably best," and it didn't stop me from becoming attached to him as he helped me dig around for that one oyster holding the hope that we both desperately needed to cling to for just a small time before every child ages 12 through 17 were forced in to the square like a school of fish trapped in a net. Watching him laugh genuinely at himself for getting his hopes for every empty oyster he found did help me any either. Maybe if he didn't have such a nice smile or if his excitement was less adorable.

"You'll be eating oyster for weeks," he joked.

I laughed and shook my head, "Nah, I'll distribute them around town or something."

"It's a pretty impressive collection. How many dives did you have to go on for all of these?"

"I'm starting to think too many," I stated as I tossed another empty oyster in my bag. Now that they were open, I had to get them distributed quickly in order for everyone I shared them with to enjoy fresh meat.

We continued to talk about fishing with our fathers and taking long dives, joking lightly about funny moments in the past involving certain fishermen in town. It was nice enough to make me forget the games existed for a split second. I believe the forgetfulness was mutual for him as well since every charming chuckle or grin was almost immediately followed by the smallest of frowns as he remembered how real the games actually were.

"Eureka!" Finnick exclaimed with a crazed look on his face paired with a satisfied grin. His suit jacket, socks, and fancy shoes had been discarded next to a nearby rock. His sleeves were rolled up as well as his now damp and sandy pants legs, and the top three buttons of his dress shirt had long been unfastened. He let out a sigh them smiled as he waded over to me grabbing my hand and placing the small pearl in it, "A pretty pearl for the pretty young lady. It seems the odds have been ever in our favor after all."

I smiled up at him lightly feeling the heat rise back in to my cheeks before a gust of wind did me the favor of blowing my hair in my face. I placing the pearl in the pocket of my shorts and straightened my hair back up before giggling softly, "Your stylist won't be happy about you getting her suit dirty."

He laughed and dusted some of the damp sand off of his legs as I grabbed my bag full of oysters (I still had plenty left in the pool, too), "No. She definitely won't. However, it isn't behavior that she isn't used to."

"So it's common for you to neglect a person's hard work?" I asked a bit sharply suddenly feeling a little annoyed with him.

He arched an eyebrow at me, "No, I only meant that... you don't know what those people are like. How easy everything is for them. For your sake, though, she does enjoy dressing me up like her little rag doll so it's not like I'm causing her any grief."

I put my hands in my pocket and rolled the pearl around between my thumb and fore-finger. It wasn't really any of my business how he treated his stylist. For all I knew, she could be mean or lazy or whatever. I quietly apologized and told him that I should be back home to get ready. Oddly enough, telling Finnick goodbye once he had walked me home stirred up a subtle sort of sadness within me like we'd never get the chance to just have an early morning conversation in a tide pool ever again. He offered to distribute my oysters for me and as he walked away to the homes I instructed him to go to, I wondered if he broke our promise not to get attached. I was pretty sure he hadn't. We had only just formally met and our time together had been much too short to amount to anything. I was just being a silly sixteen year old girl still giddy from the attention our handsome victor had just given me.

My mother was awake and baking a fresh Yellowtail from the market. Just like clockwork, I began to imagine what would happen to Mother's jewelry business if I wasn't around to harvest the pearls which took years to cultivate even if you were to add the irritant to the oyster yourself which we recently had to start doing. I then looked at my mother's tight round belly bulging out in front of her. I was relieved that she'd at least have another chance for her business to be passed down if I didn't live through these next two Reapings.

I pulled the pearl out of my pocket and wrapped my arms around her side, giving her a kiss on the cheek before placing the small silvery gem in her hand. "Oh, how very fortunate! You found this in your tide pool, didn't you? I always knew you'd be lucky enough to catch one made by Mother Earth herself. You know, I've always thought the ones made honestly by the sea were much more radiant than mine."

"Stop that, yours are gorgeous. You love each of those oysters as if they were your own little darlings," I reassured her with a gentle poke to her tummy where I assume my younger sibling would be.

"Speaking of gorgeous, was that the Odair boy walking you home?" Came my father's voice from our living room.

I wrinkled my face in discontent as I felt myself blushing madly for the third time that morning.

"It isn't like that and you know it. He's... well, he's Finnick. That's why. There. I'm getting ready before the two of you start planning baby names and anything else embarrassing to tease me about," I stated with a faint grin before catching a wink from my father as I headed up the stairs.

I searched my closet and found one of my father's sister's old dresses that I particularly liked to wear for special occasions like weddings and birthdays and the sort. It was a light coral shade with tiny cream colored seagulls sprinkled all around on it. I then tied a light yellow cloth ribbon around my waist with a bow in the back and braided my hair rather quickly as the smell of the yellowtail cooking gave me an incentive to hurry the process along.

Our meal was a quiet one as it always was each year when my parents offered me up to the capitol as their sacrificial lamb. A symbol of what happens when the districts fight against the capitol. A symbol that the capitol would always prevail and control the citizens of Panem. I honestly wondered why they couldn't just stop the games. It had been 70 years. Why were pain and suffering still necessary for peace in the eyes of the capitol?

In the town square, I gave both of my parents a hug and a kiss then a wink and an "I'll be right back to pestering you two after the ceremony. You'll see."

As if it were tradition, now, they both replied, "you'd better, guppy."

But that was not what happened. When Anthony Cumberdale, our district representative with his teal colored hair in a ponytail and his district patriotic shark tooth ear ring, drew my name from the glass sphere containing girls of the district's names... it was like the world had stopped along with my heart that had stopped beating to jump in to my throat conveniently stopping my breathing until I heard him call my name the second time and peer out at the crowd trying to find me. I swallowed hard as I took my first step towards the stage. I couldn't make eye contact with anyone. All I could do was accept Anthony's hand-shake and stand there solemnly as I was applauded. He then called our male tribute's name, Drew Foggherty. He was a year older than me with brown hair and a stone-like demeanor. He managed a polite nod before Anthony was ushering us in to our town hall building to say our goodbyes.

I vomited in the first receptacle that I could find.