I stood in the town square, shaking from fear and keeping my eye on the glass ball at all times. People still were arriving and being roped off into sections. They wore expressions of terror also. Why did we have to go through this? Why did they make us suffer? Why couldn't we migrate to the Capitol, where all the children had fun and went to school instead of worked all day long?

It felt like all too soon before I was pulled from my thoughts by the lady standing before us and smiling. "Welcome, welcome to the drawing of names for the seventy-fourth annual Hunger Games!" She dragged on with her speech, keeping me in a trance and zoning out of it all. It was my first year and decided to go without tesserae; they couldn't pick me. The odds were certainly in my favor.

The woman first drew the boy tribute's name. Everyone watched with bated breath, not daring to move a muscle or blink. She flashed the pearly smile only a Capitol person could have and shouted the name. He stepped forward with silent tears streaming down his face as what was presumably friends and family shouted. They screamed for him to come back, don't die, don't leave them. As sorry as I felt, I was secretly glad it wasn't me.

She then made another mini speech and dove her hand into the girl tribute's ball. My heart raced, but it couldn't possibly be me. No way could a girl with only one entry be picked among all those.

Out came the paper, it unfolded, her voice rang...

"Rue-"

She never got to finish, because my scream cut off the rest. I tried to run away but peacekeepers hauled me back. Even kicking, biting, and squirming wouldn't release me from the tight grip. It was like I was in another state; my family cried just like the boy's, yelling my name and insulting the Captitol in muffled sobs, but my brain registered none of it. Cameras pointed and caught the whole thing as two victors on stage laughed. All of Panem would see my fit, but it didn't matter. I was hauled up on stage where the woman sat me on a chair next to the male tribute.

"Hey." He whispered. "I'm Thresh. Really sorry about you getting picked."

I simply nodded. "You too. There's not much we can do, though."

"You're right."

We stopped talking lady walked over and everyone else quickly scattered. How lucky they were, able to leave and go work again.

"Hello! Thresh and Rue, congratulations for being chosen! Are you ready? Of course you are! I'm Marina, and I'll be the escort for you both. We'll have a great time in the Capitol and in the games! Shall we go now? Yes, let's."

It was the first time I really surveyed her over. She had pale skin and silky, wavy chestnut brown hair that spilled over onto her shoulders and to her waist. Marina's eyes were large and animated, such a deep brown they were almost black. Her lips were glossed a light pink with silvery sparkles and took away attention from the light freckled scattered across her nose and cheeks. She wasn't very tall. It was the doing of the high heels, almost the same color as the lip gloss. It went well with the powder pink dress. A tight and sleeveless bodice, ruffled bottom that went to the knees and long, silky scarf. Would they make me dress that way once we got to our destination?

We followed Marina without an option. The cameras tagged along too, shooting our every move. It was announced that tomorrow we'd set off for the Capitol and begin training. It all felt like a dream; I would wake up in a couple hours, wrap up in my blanket and and tell my sister about it.

But of course, it turned out to be much more than a dream. I went through the everyday motions, along with crying quite a bit, until it came time to be whisked away to the Capitol. Nothing seemed real anymore; I was just going to die anyways, why even try to make sense of it all?

My mother came up and wrapped me in a tight hug. She didn't speak or say any words of comfort, but for what? Why lie to me? Of course my death was near. No purpose in trying to fill my head with crazy ideas of coming out alive. So my family members came to me, one by one, whispering goodbyes and I love yous. If only the Capitol could see the tears, the heartbreak this caused. They showed us our punishment for the uprising 74 years ago; couldn't it stop now?

Marina ushered me away and we walked to a train. It was just to soon. Everything hapened to fast. Just yesterday, my sister and I were singing in the fields before the reaping. All of a sudden this was my destiny. Nothing added up.

She showed me my room and I went right to sleep. No matter how nice we had to look for purposes of fitting in, sleep was all I wanted.

Hours later someone rustled me awake. "Rue. Rue! Wake up, it's dinner. Hey-HEY, RUE!"

Rubbing my eyes, it soon came clear that the someone was Thresh. His smile was warm and comforting, so unlike the recent events.

"What are we having? It's been so long since my mom was able to cook a whole bowl of rice for me, or maybe we'll even get a full piece of bread! Mine was always split with Zuria. She was my little sister, and do you think it was easy to stand her starving? No, that's why the bread was always split. No regrets, though. Wouldn't that just be amazing? A whole-"

He opened the door before me to a large table, complete with velvet red tablecloth and atleast 60 different dishes. Marnia, the two victors, and a few other people at around waiting. My mouth dropped open and I only stood there in shock.

"Well, after you."

I smiled and sat down on a chair with beautiful carvings and a plush cushion. Waiters came by and poured a red liquid into a crystal glass then set it before me, did the same for Thresh, and told us to start eating.

I piled my plate with fancy looking foods, exotic and never before heard of. They all looked amazing and it would have been great to try every single one, but Marina shook her head. "No, Rue. You have to save some room for dessert. Do you think we only serve one course? Silly girl, we'll have another big meal tommorrow." Looking around, no one else had a mountain of food, but it didn't matter. I stuffed myself like I'd never seen anything to eat before. I might as well haven't. My family never had enough for themselves and we always went hungry, staying that way through the night. Infact, the hunger never left, but we'd grown so used it that it never phased us anymore.

Feeling full was like living for the first time. No growling noises filled my head anymore, and everything tasted so good going down. All too soon did the waiters come around, take my plates, and leave a big, expensive-looking glass filled with creamy stuff in its place.

"What's this?" I mumbled, sad to see dinner go.

"Take a bite." Said a victor, extending her hand. "Hey, I'm Seeder. Just another winner in those games. I went in and came out alive, so why can't you?"

I shook it lightly. "And my name is Rue. Um, just another tribute. The answer to that question would be... there's only a one in twenty-four chance."

Seeder laughed loudly but quickly silenced herself. "Funny kid. Look, you know that one tribute always beats those chances and wins. Why can't it be you?"

Did she not see my small, fragile frame? "It just doesn't seem possible. Anyways, a career will probably win. They always do." I quickly glanced over at Thresh to see if he heard her comment or my doubts, but it didn't seem so.

She stared at me accusingly. "I'm not a career, neither is Chaff over here, but we won!"

"I'm sorry, I-"

"Forget it." Snapped Chaff. "Seeder, let it go. She's obviously not ready for this. You always try to make every tribute want to win, but does it ever work?"

We all dropped the conversation after that. The train just kept going, we kept eating, and eventually tiredness won me over once more. No one said anything when I dismissed myself to sleep. From here, it was the Capitol then the Games.

It was Thresh who woke me again the second time. We had arrived and were to go to our rooms immediatley. I gladly followed Marina up the many flights of stairs and past a large, regal door into my private dorm.

The inside was huge; a king-sized bed with downy pillows and comforter was against the wall, with a mahogany dresser next to it. Sunlight flooded in through the windows which had silk curtains draped over them, matching the pure white hue of the carpet. More drawers stood everywhere and were adorned with vases of exotic flowers. A large mirror hung on the wall that my bed was against with lillies and orchids twisted around the frame, but I couldn't tell if they were faux or real. There was a door in the corner that led to a grand bathroom, half as big as the room I stood before, but it could wait. These Capitol people sure did want me to be comfortable. Why shouldn't I deserve luxury while awaiting death?

"Clean up and take a shower. I'll be back in exactly 60 minutes for you to meet with the stylists." Marina informed. Then she left without another word, so it was up to me to turn on the shower and get ready.

The tub was just as big as in my mind, but confusing. Buttons and nozzles were everywhere. What would happen if the wrong was activated? I'd never really used something like this back in District 11. Some people owned one, but my family had sponges, buckets, and the creek.

Guessing worked pretty well. With the switching of two small levers, hot water came pouring from multiple nozzles and I was done within 10 minutes. After hunting for nice clothes to look presentable for 'the stylists', I found that the dresser was fully stocked. Picking out just one outfit wasn't easy. In the end, though, it was a simple cerulian blouse and knee-length, flowing white skirt. There was a brush on the surface so I combed through my hair quickly and looked in the mirorr. Not too bad.

No later did Marina rasp on the door. "Rue, let's go!"

The stylist was a young girl, about 20. Her hair was auburn and wavy, and fell to just above her shoulders. She wore plently of gold and royal purple. Gold eyeshadow, purple blusher, eyeliner, and nailpolish in a pattern of the two. A golden band wrapped around her forehead area with a purple pompom on the side. Chunky gold rings with purple stones, shiny bracelets, and anklets rattled when she walked. Necklaces made of huge moonstones hung from her neck. The stylist's bodice was a velvety purple material, contrasting with the slick gold of her skirt. It went down to about the knees like mine. What I found most interesting, though, were the high heels. Unlike everything else, they were just silvery-white. Even under a bit of obnoxious clothing, this lady was still pretty. Fair, glossy skin, dark almond eyes and full lips that remained unpainted.

"Hello, you must be Rue. I'm Castelle."

"H-hello..."

My voice must've sounded really scared, because Castelle's face softened and a warm smile spread across it. "No need to worry. We'll have a great time preparing you for the games!"

Not likely. Everyone wanted me to look fantastic, make a big deal of this, then cut to death? Why not just skip to the arena?

"We sure will."

Marina nodded and turned to back away. "Enjoy the meeting. I'll come back to escort her soon, just buzz when everything is done."

Didn't anyone have any idea how none of this was fun?