DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE HUNGER GAMES TRILOGY

IT BELONGS TO SUZANNE COLLINS

Finnick

One

"Remember, son, under, across, over and then pull." Mr. Ross was pulling a net full of crabs onto the boat as he instructed Finnick. It was a very hot afternoon, perfect for collecting the nets they had set the previous night. Finnick loved to tag along with the fisherman and Mr. Ross loved the company of the kid, so he tied a life vest on the kid's chest and hoisted him on board with him. He set the net down and decided on caging the crabs later on when they were back on shore. "That's the last of it!" He announced and the boy of eleven, with glinting bronze hair squinted up at him. He was sitting on one of the crates for packaging and exporting. His hands rose into the air, clutching onto the knot he was focusing on. "Let's see what you got there, partner." Mr. Ross knelt in front of the boy to examine is work. It was a small bit of rope he had cut from the anchor line. He took the rope in his hand and it unraveled on his palm.

"Show me how you did it again." He ordered and the boy took the piece of rope back and pulled one end under the other and then started to pull it over. "Across, boy, across!" He bellowed and tousled Finnick's hair. The boy did as he was told and finished the knot perfectly.

"Thanks, Mr. Ross." Finnick grinned. "Is that the last net?" He rose and walked over the crabs, almost slipping on the wet wooden panels.

"Be careful there, wouldn't want Old Jean to come running up my door and giving me an earful about your safety on board." Ross said hurring up to Finnick and picking him up.

"Sorry, Mr. Ross." Finnick said, smelling the fish odor that seemed to follow Mr. Ross around all day.

"This is the last net for the day." Ross said, setting Finnick down on one of the benches. "We're on our way back to shore."

Ross instructed Finnick to sit tight, which meant that from this point on, until they reach land, Finnick wasn't allowed to stand from the bench. The boat would be moving really fast and the floor was really wet. Mr. Ross didn't want to present Finnick to Madame Jean with yet another busted lip and broken nose.

Finnick loved the ocean. He liked the feel of being away from the District and being all alone with the water, despite Mr. Ross. Among the hundreds, perhaps thousands of fishermen on Pier Nineteen, Finnick liked Mr. Ross the most. Mr. Ross sometimes let Finnick use one of the rods while he collected the nets and cages from the water, something the other fishermen would never let him do even if he begged. Most of the time, Mr. Ross would teach him how to tie knots. "Knots make or break your fishing skills, boy." He said when Finnick first set foot on the boat. Finnick had doubted the truth of what he said but went along with it because he wanted so bad to go see the ocean for the first time. So, Mr. Ross gave him a piece of rope and talked about the importance of tying knots all the way into the middle of the ocean where Finnick had watched him pull a great big fish out of the water with a net

Mr. Ross claimed he made himself. Mr. Ross was an old and balding man. The only patch of hair left on his head was on the very top and if you tried really hard, you would be able to count the gray strands poking out of his scalp. Mr. Ross has missing a finger, the smallest one on his left, which, he told Finnick, he lost to a great big king crab. He was a kind old man who made a living out of selling the fish he caught in the wet market near the center of the District. Sometimes, if they made it to land before sunset, Mr. Ross would grill two of the smallest fishes and would let Finnick have his own piece of fish. Finnick would eat his fill, feeling grateful that he wouldn't have to eat the horrible dinner that Madame Jean always set on the long table.

The boat had hit land and Finnick took one last look toward the horizon and saw the vast ocean and the sinking sun.

He didn't want to leave the boat. He didn't want to be anywhere else. But Mr. Ross came down to pick him off the bench and help him down the ladder. Finnick's feet sank into the damp sand and when he pulled out his foot, his slipper had been left buried. He bent to pick it out and slipped it back on. The sand got in between his toes and he wriggled them. When he rose, he found Carson waiting for him on the Pier.

"Thanks Mr. Ross." Finnick said looking up to the boat as Ross hobbled down the stairs.

"My pleasure." Ross said, taking a breath after climbing down the ladder.

"I'll see you again next week, okay?" Finnick smiled. His two front teeth were missing and it reminded Ross of his own son when he was that young.

"You bet I will." He smiled. "Practice your knots, boy. Remember it's across after under and before over."

"Under, across, over, pull." He recited, feeling confident.

"Run along now, Carson's waiting for you."

"I hope you know that I am missing my show." Carson said with an irritated voice when Finnick finally caught up to him. Carson liked making Finnick feel bad about convincing Madame Jean to let him go on boat rides with Mr. Ross once very week. Carson is Madame Jean's one and only son. He's tall and has bright blond hair. As far as Finnick knew, Carson spent the whole day watching television and kissing his girlfriend even after Madame Jean had told him not to be doing that in front of Finnick and the other children. "By all means, walk slower!" Carson called when Finnick, with his small feet and short legs fell a few steps back. "You know how much Mother likes it when we're late for supper!"

"Did you have a good day with Mr. Ross, Finnick?" Madame Jean greeted him when he and Carson entered through the big brown doors. She and Carson had the same blond hair, although her's was already graying. Madame Jean was an old woman but she kept active by taking care of the foster kids and cleaning the big house they all lived in. Carson ran up the stairs and banged the room of his door closed.

"I did, Madame Jean." Finnick answered.

"Good." She said, taking his hand in hers. "Now get yourself cleaned up, we're having dinner soon."

"Thanks, Madame Jean!" He called as he sprinted up the stairs and up to his room. Finnick slept with four other boys. He'd known them all his life. He walked down the hall, passing about a dozen doors before reaching his own. He opened the door and Bert greeted him. Bert was at least a foot taller than Finnick. He had platinum blond hair and dark blue eyes.

"Finally!" He gasped. Finnick ignored him and grabed his clothes from the drawers installed under his bed. "We have been waiting for you for dinner."

"You know I always go fishing with Mr. Ross this time of the week." He shrugged. "I don't know why you guys don't just eat without me."

"You know how Madame Jean is about meals." Jason answered. Jason was about Finnick's height. He slept on the bed next to Finnick's, "Besides, we've been waiting for you because we've got news."

Finnick was about to leave the room to get dressed for supper but the two boys pulled him back.

"Can't it wait?" He grumbled. "It's supper time, remember?"

"Observe." Jason raised his voice.

"I can't believe you didn't notice it when you went in the room." Bert scoffed. Finnick looked around the room and by the two beds nearer the opposite wall, two suitcases were packed and locked. Finnick looked back at Bert and Jason.

"Yup." Jason nodded. "A rich couple came over today and signed adoption papers for Marc and Vince. They've been trying to have kids for a long time but there's something wrong with either of them. Apparently, Loreta heard, they were the owners of that big seafood exporting business. Can't have it all I guess!"

"They got both of them?!" Finnick gaped at the two empty beds and the packed suitcases.

"Yeah!" Bert nodded. "Couldn't believe it either. Originally though, they planned on getting Marc only but they saw Vince the other day and decided to adopt him too!"

"But Marc and Vince don't even get along!" Finnick shaked is head. "Where are they?"

"Oh their new parents took them out for supper and promised to come back here to say goodbye to everyone. That's why they left their suitcases here." Jason said. They heard the dinner bell ringing from the dining room and Bert and Jason bolted out of the door. Finnick wondered if he would have been in Vince's place if he hadn't been fishing today. He wondered how it would feel to one day have no parents and with one swift motion across some papers, have a mother and a father forever. Next year he would be twelve years old.

Old enough to enter the Hunger Games.

Most of the kids here were younger than him. He is one of the few who will be shopping for Reaping clothes in the coming year. Bert and Jason's birthdays were coming some weeks after his. Vince and Marc already had their birthdays. They were the oldest foster boys in the house. He wondered if having parents would make it easier to go through the Reaping, or if it didn't really make a difference at all. He took a deep breath and decided that it was a problem for some other day. Finnick got dressed and quickly followed the other kids through the hall and down the stairs.