When I open my eyes, Katniss is already leaving the room. I reach out for her with one arm, but the other is tucked beneath my mother's arm. "Katniss, where are you going?" I ask her.

For some reason, my older sister does not look at me. For some reason, her voice seems distant. And it makes me want to get up and see what's wrong. But mother's strong hold of me and my sleepiness does not allow me to do so.

"Out." She replies. I'm waiting for her to tell me she'll be back soon or she'll see me later but nothing else passes her lips. Then she closes the door behind her.

I dismiss any doubts from my mind; she's probably still half asleep like me, so she forgot. Instead, I look up at the ceiling. The old ceiling that I normally see Katniss staring up at is cracked and discoloured.

My sleepiness soon grasps me, and I manage to doze for a little while longer, before mother wakes me. "It's nearly reaping time." She says to me quietly. "Come and have breakfast and then I'll let you wear one of Katniss's old dresses."

I quirk up when she mentions Katniss's dress. She only has a couple, but one of them is getting too small for her and I'll be having it soon. We have a small portion of the bread Katniss had traded her squirrel for, careful to leave some left for when she got back home.

Then mother helps me into a white button top and a pale green skirt. She tucks in the shirt and then plaits my hair. She keeps glancing at the door, and I realize how late it is. Katniss should be here by now.

It's almost time for the reaping, but she still hasn't come back. We wait for her, her bath nearly cold, and her bread sitting on the table, untouched. The dress mother was going to let her wear is laid out on the bed.

She must be hunting. Or trading squirrels at the hob. Or maybe even selling strawberries to Madge. But where ever she is, she needs to come home soon; otherwise, she won't be ready for the reaping.

Eventually, I stand up. "I'm going to look for her." I say, my voice tiny and thin and quiet. Mother drags her gaze from the door an looks at me, worry in her eyes, though she says "Okay. Be back soon."

I leave the house quickly, desperate to find Katniss. If she doesn't come to the reaping, who'll be the one to hold my hand and tell me it's okay? This is my first time, and I'm scared. I'm scared I'll be reaped.

As I'm running towards the woods, I see someone else squeezing under the fence. At first, I think it is Gale, but this boy is far too small to fit under it with no trouble. Rory.

I slow down til I'm at a stop in front of the fence and he turns around, quickly, as though I might be a Peacekeeper or something. Then he relaxes. "Have you seen Gale? He was meant to be home ages ago."

I shake my head. "I came down here to find Katniss."

"By yourself?" He asks, raising his eyebrow.

"Yes," I tilt my head. "Why?"

"Um… It doesn't matter." He holds out his hand. "Do you want to come with me? It'll be safer that way."

I look at the fence. It's electric, and even though I'm sure it's probably turned off, I don't want to go through it.

"Don't worry. It's not on." Rory says. "You don't even have to touch it if you go through here."

He points at a large hole in the middle of the fence, not far from where he had shuffled under. I take his hand and reluctantly swing my leg through the hole, and then the next.

I look up at Rory to see him blushing, but I'm too intent on the woods to ask. I've been in here before, but that was when Katniss was trying to show me what she did out here. I didn't like it because she killed innocent animals that were trying to survive just like us.

That was the only time I'd been in here, and after that, Katniss realized I wasn't the hunting type. I'd probably be a healer like my mother.

"I've been here a lot of times before." He tells me. "So don't worry, I know where Gale might be." He hesitates for a minute, looking at my hand, but then just turns around and starts walking. I follow him, looking around curiously.

"Do you hunt too?" I ask him, looking from the trees to meet his light grey eyes.

He shrugs. "Sometimes. If I can get anything. Gale's teaching me to use the bow, like your sister. It's the smaller version though. The one she practised with."

I don't know if I'm feeling jealous because he gets to hunt with my sister, or because he's learning how to use a bow like her, but I push the thoughts away.

We walk for a bit longer, until we're on top of a hill. He looks at me. "I don't think they're here."

I bite my lip. "Maybe they went past us, or are at the Hob." I say nervously. The reaping isn't far away now.

"We can go check there now, if you want." Rory says.

"Okay."

We leave the woods, which relieves me and then head to the Hob, taking a shortcut through past Rory's house. Just as we're about to turn the corner, we notice the children heading towards the square and Rory takes my hand. He weaves through the crowd and I can barely keep up with him as he pushes through the children.

"What about Katniss?" I cry, even though the square is not so loud my voice would be unheard at normal volume.

He looks over his shoulder at me; the apprehension in his eyes tells me one thing. Katniss isn't here.

Then where is she? I ask him silently. No one just disappears into thin air!

I think back to when I woke up this morning. How she didn't look me in the eye. In fact, she'd been acting strange since last time she went hunting. Panic floods me when Rory lets go of my hand to go to the area where the boys are. The girls around me watch the stage, no one can whisper reassuring words, or hold my hand like Katniss would.

She would be standing with the other 16 year olds, but I can't find her among the other girls her age. Amidst all the dread and fear that are tumbling in my stomach, I don't hear what anyone's saying or doing until my name is echoing in my mind.

Then I realize everyone is looking at me. And that scary lady with the pink hair is grinning at me as though she just said my name.

She just said my name. Fear seizes me. I can't breathe, I can't move, I can't do anything. My throat goes dry within seconds and my hand starts to tremble. All I can think about are the other tributes who died every year, children who were older than me and couldn't make it.

I have no knowledge of fighting. I don't harm, I heal. The Hunger Games are not a place for me.

My mind is blank. I don't know how to walk let alone climb those steps to the stage. And when I do get up there, what am I going to do?

The pink lady is beckoning to me, encouraging me to go up there with her. So I force every muscle in my body to move. I walk stiffly through the already parted crowd, arms by my side, because I'm scared if I get a hold of something I'm never going to let go.

I bite the inside of my cheek, feeling the silence crackle with anticipation. No one will speak up.

There is no one here who would volunteer. I know Katniss would.

Even though I'm terrified, and the death that scares me the most is being killed in the Hunger Games, I'm glad that wherever Katniss is, she's not here to take my place and send herself in a death that was chosen for me.

Because I believe in fate, and if that means my name on that one slip of paper, then I guess it was meant to be.

My feet reach the stairs and I use all of my strength to climb them. And when I get to the stage, I turn around and look at the faces of my District.

I can't look at mother. Or Rory. So I turn to the lady instead, and then I remember what her name is.

"Let's give a round of applause for our newest girl tribute!" Effie claps.

No one claps. Maybe because they're angry I was picked, because I'm definitely not going to win the Games. Effie clears her throat awkwardly and then trots to the glass ball that holds all the boys' names.

She picks one out, and then hurries back to the podium. Opening the paper, her lips pull back into a grin as she calls out the next name. "Peeta Mellark!"

I don't know this boy. He has blonde hair and blue eyes, and he seems to be stronger; well fed, at least. I've never seen him in the Seam either. The boy is walking towards the stage, slowly but not as slow as me. His blue eyes look up at me and there's fear.

"I volunteer as tribute!" I hear a young voice call. Peeta looks behind him and I see who it is.

Rory Hawthorne.