AN: I do not own the Hunger Games or any of its characters, places or events. In this specific chapter, I completely made the events of the Games up. The 64th Hunger Games were never mentioned so I took the liberty of making them. Hope you like it!
"Let's play Hunger Games!" Satine shouted as she walked out into the small yard we had on the second story of our house. "I'll be the girl from Ten and you can be the girl from Eight!" She ran behind one of the four perfectly manicured trees and peeked out at me. "Ready?" she giggled.
"Ready," I giggled back. Then she jumped out from behind the tree and made the most intimidating face a child could attempt to make. But her blue curls would always give her away. She walked up to me slowly, narrowing her bright blue eyes and clenching her fists. Although she was only six, she always knew how to put on a great show. Our parents thought she was adorable but the kids at school were in awe of her talent and had always begged her to play with them. Satine always refused, claiming to be, "Saving her talent for more intimate groups of four or five." She may have been an actress, but I was older and stronger, making me the better fighter.
"Ready to die, Eight?" she growled as she pulled out a fake sword and started to swing it recklessly around her.
Smirking now, I walked toward her holding my own fake silver dagger. "In your dreams!" I shouted and our battle began.
The 64 Annual Hunger Games had ended about a week ago, but the excitement of the final battle was still buzzing about the citizens of the Capitol. And now, all the kids in the neighborhood had become obsessed with role-playing as the tributes. The girl from Eight took the crown that year but not without some very unforgettable fights; The Bloodbath at the Cornucopia had killed off thirteen tributes within the first two hours and overall, these Games had been some of the most violent the Capitol had ever seen. It had ended with a final showdown between the girls from Eight and Ten, Eight winning by pushing Ten up against the Cornucopia and stabbing her to death.
And we just couldn't get enough.
The afternoons would go on like this. Playing and replaying the same battles, recreating the same interviews and Parade costumes from the Games until our feet would hurt, and we'd used every piece of fabric in the house. Sometimes, we got so into it that Satine would even frizz her curls! That's how it was here on our second-story yard. Always.