Chapter 2 To the Capital
I stare blankly at Penelope. Me! Did she just say MY name?! think. As all these thoughts are going through my head, I look and see that everyone's staring at me. This catches Penelope's attention.
"Come on! Don't be scared!" She tells me.
I slowly start walking to the stage. I thought today was gonna be lucky! I mumble. The minute i start heading up the stairs, everyone gasps, reconizing me and realizing that my name was in the jar once. I finally make it up the stage and stand there.
"Well, lets move on, shall we?" says Penelope enthusiastically. She goes over to the boys jar and picks the first boy slip she feels.
She takes her time unfolding it and says outloud," Thresh Mormunt!"
Out of the crowd comes the strong, muscular boy I saw in the market today. My stomach turns. How am I suppose to compete against HIM?! I yell at myself quietly. Mayor Drapon starts talking again and I tune him out. All these thoughts are in my head. I can't believe I got reaped! I promised Lilac I wouldn't! If you can't stand Thresh, how will you beat the others?"
The mayor gestures for us to shake hands are strong and muscular. He squeezes my hand, hard. We face back to the audience. Penelope guides us to the Justice Building where we'll say our goodbyes. I'm lead to a small room with pink everywhere. The first people to visit me is my family.
"3 minutes!" yells the Peacekeeper. Immediatly Lilac and Cherry sit next to me. Kai and Marcus sit in front of me, hugging my legs, and little Marigold hops on my lap. My father sits next to Lilac, putting his arm around me and my mother sits next to Cherry, holding my hand. They just get here and my family is already crying.
"Rue, I'm so sorry..." my mother says quietly.
"'It's ok. I'm okay. It was bound to happen at some point," I say, trying to smile.
"Rue, you promised you wouldn't get picked," says Lilac. I look into all my siblings eyes. Worry, sadness, fear. That's what I see.
"Rue," says Kai, "I know that there's good competition out there, but try your best to win, for us."
"I'll do my best,"I reply, trying to sound confident.
"Promise?" asks Marcus.
"I promise," I say.
Cherry puts her head on me and starts squeezing me. I put my arm around her and squeeze her back. Suddenly the door opens and the Peacekeeper starts leading out my family. My siblings refuse to let go of me. My mother picks up marcus and my father gets Kai. Cherry and Marigold hold on to me and refuse to leave. I hug Lilac, tell her it's gonna be fine, and she starts walking out. My mother has to yank off Marigold and my father attempts to yank off Cherry, unsuccessfully.
"RUE! NOT WAIT," Cherry screams,"RUE! DON'T GO! RUE!"
"I love you all!" I say back. And then they're gone. That may be the last time I see them again.
The door opens again. I look to see who it is. Cassidy. My only friend. Without hesitation I jump up and hug her.
"I'm gonna miss you," she whispers in my ear.
"I'm gonna miss you too," I say quietly. We both sit down on the couch. "It's not worth it," she says quietly.
"Whats not worth it?" I ask.
"Going to the Cornicopia. If you're going to go to the Cornicopia, grab a bag and go. Got it?"
"Ok"
"Please try your hardest to win!" I look at her. She's crying.
"I promise I'll try my best." The Peacekeeper comes in. We hug once more, and then she leaves.
"That's it," says the Peacekeeper. He guides me to a train. I look over and see Thresh, him walking like nothing bad just happened. the Peacekeepers leave us at the entry way and Penelope walks out of the train.
She shrieks. "There's my 2 new tributes!" She leads us inside to two chairs. We take a seat.
"Wait here and I'll get your mentors, Chaff and Seeder!" she exits, leaving us alone. We stay quiet. I take a look around. This train is high tech and bright. There's a dining room, drinkbar, living room, and what I'm thinking is 2 bedrooms in the back. The door opens again.
"Hello there, you must be this years tributes!" says a middle aged woman. "My name is Seeder I'll be your mentor." I get a good look at Seeder. She has olive skin, straight black hair, and golden eyes.
"I'm Chaff and I'm also your mentor," says the middle aged man. Chaff look similar to Seeder and faintly smells like alcohol. I think he's addicted to alcohol I say to myself.
"Tell us your names," asks seeder. "How old are you two?" I speak up first.
"I'm Rue and I'm 12." I say.
"Thresh. 18." he says quietly.
"You don't talk much do you Thresh?" asks Chaff. Thresh nods.
"Well welcome aboard and make yourselves at home! We should be in the Capital by morning. Dinner's at 6:00, don't be late!" says Seeder with a friendly tone. Seeder and Chaff exit the room and Penelope enters.
"Back there are your rooms. Rue your on the left, Thresh your on the right. Go freshen up and meet us at the dining table at 6:00," says Penelope.
I get up and head to my room. I open the door and I'm overwhelmed by how gorgeous it is. I have a big window at the back, a big bed, a gorgeous bathroom, and a dresser filled with clothes. I go and take a quick shower, pick out clothes, and explore. I'm dressed in a pick shirt, black pants, and boots. I look at the time. 5:58pm. Mind as well go to dinner.
_
By the time I get there they have all started so I grab a plate and fill it up. I look at the food closely. Lamb stew, mash potatoes, peas, and rolls. I take a little of each and sit down. I notice that Thresh isn't here. Neither is Chaff.
"Where's Thresh and Chaff?" I ask Seeder.
"Chaff drank too much and is in his room. Thresh should arrive shortly." she tells me. I can't help but notice how nice Seeder has been. She acts like we're gonna have a nice trip when really we're going to be talking about the Hunger Games and the chance that we may die. Thresh finally arrives and we start eating.
Man this food is so good! I think. We are halfway through the meal when I begin to feel sick. It's from the food. It's the richness
I notice Thresh looks quesy too. We all finish our food.
"Well then. I'll go get Chaff and we can all watch the reaping together. In the meantime go to the living area and make yourselves comfy," says Seeder. thresh and I obey our orders and we head to the sofa. The door opens and Penelope comes in.
"Exciting isn't it?" she asks. We both remain silent. The door opens again and Seeder and Chaff join us. They take a seat and Penelope turns on the TV.
D1: a pretty blonde girl gets reaped. She won't last long Her partner is some cocky boy. He stands a bigger chance than her
D2: the 2 tributes look strong and fierce, as if the Games has began already.
The districts go by, one by one, and finally we watch us. Penelope reaps me and the camera zooms in on my face. I look stupid I think. Then she reaps Thresh and we move on to 12. A blonde girl gets reaped.
"She's no older than me," I say quietly.
Then I see a brown haired girl step out and volunteer. The blonde goes wild. An older guy, no older than 18, comes out and takes the blonde away. The brown haired girl walks upstage. Then the woman reaps the boy. Then its over.
"Well you two outta get some sleep. Tomorrow is the Opening Ceremonies!" says Chaff tiredly.
"Goodnight," says Seeder softly.
"I can't wait to see the two of you dolled up tomorrow!" screetches Penelope. I stand up.
"See ya tomorrow," I tell Thresh. He stares at me for a second and nods. I head to my room. I put a big nightgown on and go to bed in seconds.
Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoy my book so far! Do not worry more chapters are on their way. Please review (reviews mean the world to me!) Thanks again for reading and see you in my next update!
