Two days early! Woo hoo! Ok, I felt like I needed to thank those who reviewed and followed. So... THANK YOU! :) it felt good to know that you guys like the story.
Reminder: I don't own the Hunger Games, sadly
And now, without further ado... Chapter 3 (yes I said ado XD)
Chapter 3
We sit in the train car in silence. Even though I haven't even looked over at him, I feel him glancing over at me at times. When I do look over at him, he's looking me up and down, a slight smirk playing across his lips. His eyes met mine and I hold his gaze for a while. I hope he can make out the disgust I have for him. The thing is, I've met Samuel Woods before. He was the biggest playboy in school, always had some girl at his side, surrounded by a huge group of friends. All the girls fall at his feet, all except me and Willow. We laugh at his attempts to flirt with us, don't get me wrong, he is very good-looking, but he's arrogant and a jerk. I found that out a while ago.
I was 12, the legal age to start work in 7, and was with Willow. We stood in a shoulder to shoulder line with about a dozen other 12 year olds. A tall, muscular man walked back and forth, sizing us up. "Alright, I'm putting you kids into groups of 3. You then will get an assignment and start it with your group." He barked, and began reading down a list to make groups. "Green. you're with Jones." Me and Willow smile at each other, happy that we're in the same group. "And you two are with Woods." Then a tall boy with short dark hair and the same complexion as me saunters over and smirks, then says "So you're the lucky girls that get to work with me. I'm Samuel" I roll my eyes, "Yeah, it's an honor, let's get our assignment." I say and walk away with Willow. After getting a small piece of paper with our assignment on it we meet Samuel. "Ok, we have to get rid of a small, dying pine." Willow says, reading the paper. She then adds, "It's by the edge of the stump yard, marked with red paint." Samuel and I nod and we grab 2 axes as well as a small hand saw.
We approached the tree, it was a good 10-15 feet tall and clearly dying. Since I was the smallest, I volunteered to climb up to de-branch it. Meaning I cut off the branches that could fall off while we cut it down, we can't have any injuries. As I climb up with the small hand saw, I swear Samuel was staring at me, but all he can see of me is my rear. It makes me feel violated somehow but I shake the feeling. For every branch I cut off I yell a warning and when it gets to the ground, Samuel and Willow move it away. I finally finish and climb down. You'd think that it'd be easy work but I was sweating a surprising amount. "How 'bout we take turns with the axe, I'll go first." Samuel grabs the axe from the ground and begins hacking at the pine. I sit on the ground to rest. After a while its Willows turn, she's not that strong but manages to continue Samuel's work.
I feel him staring at me and I feel uncomfortable. "So, Amber I was wondering if-" I cut him off, knowing where he was going.
"No thanks." He pouts "you don't know what I was gonna ask." I roll my eyes slightly "Yes I do, and I'm not gonna go on a date with you." He seems a little mad "you don't know what you're missing, girl. You'd be lucky to go on a date with me." Ok, now he sounded like an arrogant jerk, which he is. But before I could respond it was my turn.
We had finished the job in maybe 3 hours, during which Samuel flirted with me and Willow. She had rejected him too and he didn't like it. Ever since, that boy has tried to get me or Willow, we kept shooting him down.
So now I'd still have to deal with him, it's gonna be a long couple of days. Then, our mentor came in. He had won a while ago, his name is Leif Allen. He was maybe around 30 and sat across from us. He looked at us for a minute until I spoke up. "Well? Are you gonna say anything or are you-" Samuel cut me off. "Amber, let the man size us up, see what he thinks."
"He's right, girl. Just give me a second." Samuel smirked, and you might as well have written 'smug' on his forehead. So I stayed silent until we were done being sized up. "Ok, you boy, look quite strong. And you don't look so bad either, that could help with sponsors." Samuel's smirk just grew, Leif turned to me. "You're small, but you have a fire in your eyes. I can tell you're a fighter." I nod slowly, he's pretty good at this. "We'll talk over dinner, come on." And the next thing I know, we're sitting at a table. Being served by people who walk silently and they whatever we ask for. Avoxes.
We all talk, Daisy (our escort) is back now, and I stay out of most of the conversation. Leif was explaining about arriving in the Capitol "We'll arrive at the Capitol tomorrow, they'll dress you up and make you pretty then have you ride in the tribute parade. I don't want you arguing with the stylists, understand?" Samuel nods, keeping up his 'suck up, nice guy act' but I say something. "But what if its ridiculous? Our district looks ridiculous a lot." Everyone stares at me "What? It's true." I say defensively, Samuel nudges me and quietly says, "Amber, quit it. Just listen."
"Shut it Samuel. I can ask questions." He scowls and continues eating. Daisy decides to answer me. "Amber, no matter how bad you think you look, you can't complain." "Ok, I won't complain." We finish eating and go to watch the reapings.
We sit on the couch, I'm on the side next to Samuel. 'Great' I think as the reapings play. First up is district 1. A girl, maybe my age, with short dirty blonde hair is picked and a tall muscular boy volunteers. In 2, both the boy and girl volunteer. They both are 18 and have a threatening look in their eyes. Instantly, I know I should fear them, I know they'll team up, they are careers after all. I don't pay attention to the rest, only a few stick in my mind. A crying girl with glasses from 3, a maybe 14-year-old blonde girl from 4, and a boy from 10. I don't know why but he sticks out. We're dismissed to our rooms for bed, I leave silently.
I didn't bother showering, they'd clean me up tomorrow, so I changed into some pajamas. I wore a deep purple shirt and black pajama pants, leaving my reaping dress on the floor. I lay on the bed, holding my necklace tightly and trying not to cry. I replayed everything that happened today. My name being called, my parents' sad faces, Trent and Blake saying goodbye, Willow. Poor, sweet Willow that I stood up for and protected. Our goodbye cannot be the last time I see her. I can't believe all this happened in a day.
I fell asleep like that, clutching the necklace and thinking about home. I had a terrible nightmare about seeing my friends and family's lives after I die. Trent and Blake argued more than normal as Willow cried. I guess their friendship ended because I saw Willow getting teased by boys, and Trent and Blake didn't go near each other. Then I saw my parents crying on the couch, holding each other. Dante sat in his room, head in his hands, muttering something I didn't understand. I saw a hole in the wall, he punched it out of anger and sadness. Evan was with his friends, but he was out of it. He wasn't paying attention, he suddenly left them with tears in his eyes, he was thinking about me. But the most horrible was what happened to Tyler. He laid, on the ground, a knife in his hand, a stab wound over his heart. No one knew because everyone was to busy being depressed. I also saw cut marks on his wrists. He was oldest, he protected everyone else and he felt like he failed, and he didn't want to live with that feeling.
Luckily, Daisy came knocking at the door, chirping the way she did and woke me up. "Oh Amber! Get up, it's time for breakfast. And we'll arrive in the Capitol very soon! Today's going to be wonderful!" I hear her heels click away down the hall. 'Someones a morning person' I thought. I then sat up and got dressed, making sure I wore the necklace, and headed to the dining car.
What? This is the longest chapter so far? Hmm, I didn't notice. Oh wait I did! Anyways, I hope you liked it. I would've written more but it'd be way to long and this was the best stopping point. BTW, my updating ability will be limited, I'm gonna be staying with my grandparents for thanksgiving and I'll have limited wi-fi. :(
While I'm gone, review! Love to all! Have a cookie! (::)
