Hi guys! I hope you liked the last chapter because I have a new one here. hope you enjoy it and remember to review!

Goodbyes.

Chapter 2.

With that she plunges her hand in and wiggles it about for a while before bringing up a slip. She then looks at the crowd and opens the paper. She looks back at us and I swear if I wasn't scared for my life I would be laughing my head off right now.

She then un-folds it and shouts out "Thresh Pinewood!"

Uh Oh, poor Scarlett!

In my opinion the only thing worse that being reaped is having someone close to you reaped. I start to wonder how Scarlett will say good-bye to her older brother when Thresh makes it to the top of the stage. He is moving stiffly and is looking straight ahead. When the escort asks for applause he merely glances at her, then at the crowd. Everyone claps quietly in fear of what would happen if we didn't. The peacekeepers are so strict here whatever you are told to do here you learn to do, and quickly. There was a man who used to work at my orchards and a peacekeeper came up one day, the peacekeeper whispered something in his ear and the man went. The peacekeeper then shoved the whip into the man's hands and shoved him towards a young boy who had just started that week. He then said sorry with tears in his eyes and shoved the boy to the floor. By then the man had silent tears falling down his face. He then started whipping the boy repeatedly until the boy was silent and unmoving. Everybody in the orchards was silent as the boy's mother came rushing in to take him away. We never saw the young boy again and the man we saw the next morning, but he was hanging from the tree by the whip he had been given yesterday. We found out later in the day that the boy had died. All the peacekeeper could say was that he was bored!

By the time I have snapped back to consciousness everyone is staring at me. I look up at the stage and the escort Sparkles is tapping the microphone muttering "is this thing broken? And on a day like this!"

A boy comes rushing up onto stage to change the microphone and that is when I notice that she has a slip of paper in her hand. I gulp. Then she shouts down the microphone making everyone wince, except me. She shouted Rue, my name. This time everyone makes room for me. I walk as slowly as I can to the stage, hoping that she will realize that she has said that wrong name, but no I get to the top of the stage and everyone is clapping with sorrow in their eyes. They know there is slim to none chance of me getting home and it is always worse to give up a twelve year old but they do have a bit of a chance with Thresh. Wait, I think I have to stop this I do have a chance albeit how slim. I mustn't give up hope; if I do I will have no hope at winning this thing at all.

After the peacekeepers had escorted us into the justice building I gasp. The room they have put me in to say my good-byes is the most luxurious room I have ever been in! The carpet is so plush I feel as if I have shrunk three inches and the patters on the wall are so elaborate that I can't help but trace them with my finger. There are four red and gold chairs around a glass table in the middle of the room. Behind it is a rectangular window that let in some light through the green curtains. The only thing that ruins it is the peacekeeper outside of the door and the bars on the window. I sigh and plop down in a chair. As soon as I do the door opens and my family walks in Peaches and Bluebell just look around the room in wonder with no idea why they are in here but Trent just walks straight towards me without looking around the room and gives me a big hug. I feel something wet on my shoulder and realise he is crying. He then says "I knew I should have stopped you! I would have but I was just nine so I didn't know." His voice is so sad I have to comfort him. "You didn't know and I had to otherwise we would have starved!"

"What?" oops! I forgot my farther still doesn't know I took out tesserae. "Daddy I have to take out tesserae otherwise we wouldn't have enough to eat." I say in my defence.

He then looks at me with pride and sorrow etched onto his face. As he envelopes me in a hug I manage to choke out "I'm sorry!"

"What for Rueey Rue, Rue!" Bluebell may be young but she is by no means stupid. She can always tell when something is wrong.

I get down on my knees and say "I am going on a trip far away and you might not see me again but I am going to be famous you'll be able to watch me on TV but-"

She then interrupts me with a big hug saying "Why are you crying?"

I hadn't even noticed I was crying until she mentioned it. Just then the peacekeeper enters the room and says that our time is up. As they are marched from the room I shout "I love you!" over and over again. Trent shouts "win this Rue you can do it I believe in y-"but the door slams shut before I can hear the rest of what he was about to say.

After that I am left on my own until the peacekeeper comes to collect me. I was secretly hoping that Scarlett would come and see me but with me being in a life or death competition with her brother I don't think I am her favourite person right now. The peacekeeper leads me outside to the waiting car where I finally see my district partner for this year.

I hope you guys liked that. Remember reviews make me type faster!