I sat on the green plush couch, twirling my red hair around my fingers. The door opened behind me.
"Five minutes."
A Peacekeeper stood without emotion, a rifle strapped around his back, I caught sight of something in his eyes as he closed the door in front of him. Pity? I wasn't sure. I had never known these servants of the Capitol to display an emotion other than anger or annoyance.
Shey rushed into my chest, tears flowing freely down her face.
"Why did you have to take the tesserae so many times?" She managed, before bursting into tears again. My father just stood, watching me, tears slowly trickling down his face. He knew he would be losing me, like he just mum. He knew I couldn't fight, I was weak. I wouldn't last a day.
My next visitor was someone I would have never expected to see any where near me, let alone in the same room, by ourselves. River Smyth sat opposite me and held my hand. This was Marcus girlfriend, I did not know how to react.
"If he hadn't of been chosen, I knew he would of wanted to be here, to give you this."
Her eyes were red and puffy, I had not noticed her crying face in the midst of girls. Her hand opened mine, and placed a necklace in it, a gold lightning bolt, a symbol of our district.
"It was Lotrens, he wanted to give it to you when you turned sixteen. We decided to give it to you now, just incase you didn't... you know..."
Survive?
River started sobbing, she seemed very emotional, despite the fact she didn't know me very well. I wondered if Marcus cared for me at all, this could have been a sign of friendship. Thank you for being his friend, it might have said.
Then, the realisation hit me. This wasn't just our district symbol, this was Lotrens symbol. Maybe the hand shake hadn't meant a death sentence, could it have been a reassuring handshake, promising to help me in the arena?
When I looked back to River, she was getting up, leaving. She paused at the door.
"Good luck." she said, and left.
I was alone with my thoughts and questions for the next half hour, before the Peacekeepers came to take me to the Capitol train. The train to the Hunger Games.