The Finnick + Annie Story
By F. S Harpham
October 2012- 2012-10-26
[Annie's POV]
They are all younger than me so no one of them is in as many times as I am, and I won't let them take the tesserae. It's not right. But I'll take it. They mean everything to me. So I'll do it to protect them.
I'm here. I'm at the main square I'm ready. The reaping is in twenty minutes, so I should head there now. My siblings, they're younger, and I've just had my blood taken to make sure that I'm here. They are almost ready for the speeches and the video that come before the actual reaping itself. I'm shaking so hard I can feel my bones quivering inside my body. And then I see him. Finnick Odair. The guy who saved my life once. A long story which I automatically remember like it was yesterday.
It was a sunny day, a school holiday in the summer, and I decided to go to the beach. I was alone as no one wanted to come from my house and I didn't have many friends. I went down to the shore, and stripped down to my swimming costume, and strode confidently into the sea. I swam out quite far, until I couldn't even see the bottom of the sea any more. I was splashing about but it was soon time to be home. As I was swimming back to shore, both my legs caught on some sharp rocks they called 'The Shards', giving me two very deep and very big gashes on my legs. The blood from my leg was flowing like a river and I was about to pass out when suddenly, a strong arm was pulling me to shore, bandaging my legs with a what looked like a piece of clothing from the strange boy who saved me, to stop the heavy flow of blood from my leg, shaking me so my consciousness doesn't slip away forever. When my eyes wouldn't stop drifting shut, the guy picked me up quite easily and carried me to someplace warm where he shouted, "She's cut her legs on the Shards! She won't stay awake!" The voice was strong and I trusted it immediately, like the guy was definitely a good person, even though I had no proof of it. Then, while the guy was carrying me into another room, I blacked out.
When I resurfaced, I heard that same strong, trusted voice ask "Is she gonna be okay?" It sounded worried. I try to find a face for the voice but my mind comes up blank. Then I hear another man's voice assure him I'll be fine, I just need to let the wounds on my legs heal. I open my eyes and glance around the room and see the owner of the local apothecary treating my wounds. I look around again and find the mysterious person who saved me. Finnick Odair. The boy that lives in the house behind my mine. The captain of the swim team. The school It-Boy. Finnick Odair saved my life. Crap.
[Finnick POV]
There she is. In the third row. Annie. The girl who's life I saved. Who annoys the crap out of me. The girl who kinda hates me. I wonder how many times her name is in the huge glass Reaping ball. And she has siblings. She won't let them have tesserae, I'm sure of that; it's not in her nature to let her loved ones be put in danger. What do I do if she's reaped, pretend like nothing has happened even though I saved her life all those years ago? Say 'Hello' and let there be a huge awkward silence? Anything I do will be weird.
[Annie's POV]
He's looking at me. Finnick, I mean. Why? It's like he's glancing at me to check I'm still there, but it's not like I can just leave. Strange.
The Reaping is about to start. Our district escort, Deedee Georgiana, the most annoying person alive, is about to start and is walking to the microphone. I think to myself, 'This is it. In half an hour's time, I will either be on the Tribute Train or safe for one more year.' My siblings in the reaping have all been signed in and taken to their correct age groups for their genders. They won't be reaped. I can feel that they are safe. But me, I'm not so sure. Ugh, if I'm reaped it will be so awkward seeing Finnick again. What do I do if I'm reaped? Pretend he didn't save my life all those years ago? Or say 'Hello' and let there be a huge awkward silence? But, saying that, seeing Finnick Odair won't be my biggest problem if I am put in that situation. The Hunger Games will be. Deedee starts the ceremony now. "Welcome to the Reaping for the 70th Annual Hunger Games! Before we begin the reaping, there is a very special video all the way from the Capitol!"And someone plays a video that we see every year, always starting with 'War. Terrible War.' Always incriminating the districts of being instigators of horrible, heinous crimes. As if. When it's done Deedee says "That was very inspiring! Let's start the reaping!" It seems she is genuinely happy about sending two of the people in front of her; a boy and a girl, to fight to the death with twenty-two other people so only one person remains. Cow. She walks in that strange Capitol way to the reaping balls and says "Ladies first!" She shoves her hand inside the great glass orb, roots around and selects one. That white slip of paper with white tape can change any girl in this square's life. Hell, it can change anyone in District Four's life. I suddenly have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach; I know what will happen next before it does. "Annie Cresta."
The voice booms out across the square and every girl within a twenty metre radius turns and stares at me. I am escorted up onto the platform by some Peacekeepers, everyone staring. I get to the edge of the platform and Deedee comes to me and directs me- no, pushes me to the centre of the platform. I stand there, silent while she asks "Any volunteers to take Annie Cresta's place in the 70th Annual Hunger Games?" There is silence, just like I knew there would be. I can see the people who know me, who love me crying silent tears. My sister, ran into a boy's arms, the boy comforting her. If I survive, I'll kill her! She's only, what, fourteen? That's way too young. Any time for her is too young. Oh my god. I've just been sent to fight to the death with 23 other people and I'm worrying about my sister's dating life. Excuse me Annie, priorities! In the end, no one volunteers, so they move onto the boys to find my district partner. Deedee repeats the process of the selection and comes out with a piece of paper saying 'Blaze Underwood'. Again the slow walk to the platform is excruciating. Everyone stares at the deputy captain of the swim team, the second-in-command to the last Victor of the Hunger Games for District Four, Finnick Odair. Damn our swim team is unlucky. Blaze walks up and when they ask for any volunteers, everyone is silent. No voices speaking, no hands raised. Then when no one volunteers, Deedee tells Blaze and I to shake hands, and a jolt of electricity run through my arm, straight to my heart. Weird. I shrug it off and Deedee, Blaze and I enter the Justice Building for our goodbyes. We are followed by Finnick Odair and the previously unnoticed Mayor and his family. They look sad yet relieved it isn't one of their family. Well, good for them. And bad for me. I've seen the videos of the reaping for the tributes of district 5 – 12, they're all pretty tough and have a shot, even 12. I have no chance. Yet maybe I can help Blaze as much as I can so he can win for District Four this year. So a (mostly) innocent person doesn't have to die. And twenty-three others do. And I do count myself in that.
I step into one of the rooms in the unfamiliar building and after a few minutes, the Peacekeepers outside the doors let in a teary-eyed bunch of people. My family. They hug me, tell me to win, or at least try, to come home to them. They know this is probably their last conversation with me though. They tell me they love me, that they will get everyone in the district to donate money to help me if that's what it takes, that they would bankrupt themselves to save me, I tell them I will try, but don't kill yourselves trying to provide for me in the arena. Because it won't be enough. And they know it. The guards tell us to wrap it up, so I hug and kiss all of them on the cheek. Even my younger brother who hates any human contact let me say goodbye to him, knowing it will be the last time I see him. And then they leave. And hear them sobbing all the way home. Well, to the end of the corridor at least.
As I have no friends, no one else comes to see me and I go find Deedee to wait with her for Blaze to finish all his goodbyes. There are a lot. Then Finnick comes around the corner and just says something to the Peacekeepers watching me, who nod, and goes back where he came from. Another ten minutes, which seems like ten months, Blaze is ready. We then get into the car to take us to the Tribute Train. There are lots of Capitol photographers and members of the District Four public and they wave and say their last goodbyes to us, telling us we can do it. Which is unlikely. For me at least. Blaze is well, kind of muscular. Like a boxer. And he can throw spears, he has amazing accuracy. He can hit a target standing twenty-five meters away. We board the train and wave goodbye to our district. At least one of us isn't returning. At least one of us will be shipped home in a simple wooden box, with a simple ceremony in the cemetery reserved for tributes of the hunger games that they have in each district.
We are shown the parts of the train we are allowed to visit, our dining room, our private suites, the lounge carriage that Deedee, Finnick, Blaze and I will use as a common room, where any questions can be answered by them if we need them. They will also discuss strategies for us tributes in that room so if we need any survival tips we have to go find Finnick there. I'll be avoiding that room for as long as possible then. W are also showed where Deedee, Finnick and another victor called Mags's rooms are (Mags couldn't make the reaping due to a health problem apparently, personally I think she couldn't face it after Finnick's reaping, she's half his family) in case of emergency, and where the little patio on the end of the train is, if we need to have time to think. After the tour ends, I head to my suite and change out of my smart reaping clothes and change into one of the pretty Capitol dresses they have in the closet. I take my hair down from it's pretty updo and brush it through with the hairbrush on the dressing table. I walk through into the dining room and get a drink of water. I sit down and force myself to drink it, gulp by gulp, until no water is left. I never did like drinking water. I switch on the fancy capitol television and put on the video of today's reaping. I see myself realise it's me before it happens and so did Panem, but it doesn't matter now. I have to figure out how to live first. I hear someone behind me and find Blaze, stood behind me leaning against the wall in that way boy's do. He says "You look really pretty." and sits down next to me. He cringes at the part when they call his name out. I know, it's like it's happening again.