As she walked towards the town square, Annie's thoughts went everywhere. It was unbearable, and it gave her a headache. She held onto her mother's hand tightly, as long as she could. Before they would be pulled apart by a Peacekeeper. Annie didn't want to grant them that little moment of pleasure, having to pull apart two family members, so she would let go just as they approached. That moment hadn't come just yet. All around her, Annie watched teenagers running as fast as permitted. She figured she was probably the only person in a Career district, that didn't want to be reaped.
As the Justice Building seemed to grow taller, Annie got more scared. She had this awful feeling in her stomach, and she was sure her inevitable death was near. Her mother noticed. 'Annie? Are you okay?' She tried to force her breakfast back down her throat, and calmed down by thinking of happy things. The smell of her mom's bread. Her dad's eyes. Eisley and her pretty bracelet. Finnick's go- that was new. Finnick had never been in her thoughts before, especially not in her happy thoughts. Annie grumbled and forced herself back up. 'Fine. Let's just go and get this over with, please.'
The Justice Building impressed her every single time she walked past it, or stood in front of it like today. It was so tall, so big. The black and white architecture was quite impressive, but Annie knew this building, like every other important building in every other district, had been designed by the Capitol. This fact had made her detest it from the moment she saw it for the first time.
'Mommy! If they pick me, do you think they'll let me have a trident in the arena like Finnick?'
Annie stood still for a moment to stare at the little boy who'd made that remark. The Capitol was able to brainwash everyone into thinking the Games were good, while it was just a way to control the population. She watched the twelve year old run around the street, his mother sighing and looking down at her feet. Annie would have done the same thing.
They finally arrived, Annie and her parents. Peacekeepers tried to separate them, but Annie was one step ahead of them. She kissed her mom on the cheek and waved goodbye to her dad as the Peacekeepers approached. 'We'll see you at lunch, dear!'
The fact that the citizens of the Capitol had to be able to watch all the reapings was the cause of this early one in District Four. They would be done before lunch.
'Annie! Wait up!' A smile crept onto Annie's face as she recognized the voice. 'Hey, Eisley! How are you?' Stupid question. Excited, as all the other kids. 'Just wondering, you know. Who's going to get picked.' A clever way of avoiding the question, but Annie hugged her neighbor. They signed up and were pushed towards the roped off areas by the crowd. They wouldn't be separated, as they were the same age. They could stand together, as they had done many times before.
They watched as the mayor, the previous victors and some other important people from the Capitol Annie wouldn't bother naming walked onto the stage. The mayor gave his speech, and announced that this year's mentors had volunteered to do so, for the fifth time in a row. Finnick and Mags would mentor the tributes-to-be this year. Annie wasn't surprised: most of the other victors had died, and the remaining few were probably too lazy to mentor tributes. As the announcement was being made, Annie watched Finnick's face closely. He caught her eye, and she didn't look away.
Was she imagining it, or did Finnick wink at her?
At least she saw his smile grow bigger.
At last, the mayor left the microphone, and an extravagant person walked up to speech instead. Her hair was sapphire blue, and so was her clothing. She had escorted the District Four tributes to the Capitol for about three years now, and her speech was getting old. Her name was Saffira Attirant, so Annie suspected she'd picked her clothing and hair to match her name. A chuckle went through the crowd.
'Happy Hunger Games, everyone!' The District completed the sentence for her: 'And may the odds be ever in your favor!'
Saffira rewarded the citizens with a smile, and continued to talk about President Snow and his generosity.
Finally, it was time for the picking of names. Annie glanced at Finnick again, and noticed he was getting more tense. She decided it didn't matter for now. Saffira ended her speech and walked over to the glass bowls. A roar erupted from the crowd, as was expected from a Career District. 'Ladies first, of course!'
Her hand went graciously through the bowl, and after a moment of hesitation, Saffira picked out a white slip. She walked right back to the microphone and opened the little piece of paper.
'Your female tribute for the seventieth annual Hunger Games is... Annie Cresta.'
And that's when her world came crashing right down. Everything went downhill from there.