I go straight to the room Savan tells me is mine. It is normal, almost like the girls dormitory at Hogwarts, it's got a four poster bed. I lied. That's the only similarity. And I assume the rooms at the Capitol are much better. There is blue paint on the walls, a separate bathroom with a bunch of knobs half of which I have no idea what they do. I make a mental note to try it out later. But for now I just put on a red t shirt and a black skirt. I put my hair up into braids. And I think about my strategy. How in the world am I going to keep myself and Gabrielle alive? That's virtually impossible. I don't even know what the Hunger Games are. I decide to ask.
"Everyone! It's dinnertime!" Savan calls. I guess we get to be near the othrer wizards and witches who were picked. I find a seat next to Gabrielle.
"You still haven't told us exactly what the Hunger Games are. Could you please tell us?" I ask sort of impatiently.
"Well, we'll be on the train until tomorrow. Tomorrow night there's a parade in the City Circle where the public will get to see the tributes for the first time. Then the next day, there's training. That is for three days. On the third day, you will get a private session with the Gamemakers. They will give you a score. You can get a score between 1 and 12, 1 being very bad and 12 being very good. Higher scores are better if you want sponsors, but they make you a target. Lower scores are better if you want to be ignored, but you might not get sponsors. Then there's a break in between. The mentors usually use this to coach the tributes on what to do during the interview the next get three minutes to make yourself shine. Make it count. And the next day the Games begin. You are taken to an outdoor arena, where you have to live until there is one left. They are the winner of the Games. And occasionally, Claudius Templesmith will announce a could be anything from a old moldy piece of bread to weapons, a feast, supplies. Anything. It's also a good chance to take out some competiton. And we all want a Hogwarts victory, don't we?" Savan explains. Wow, these Games sound complicated. But for now I'll just worry about the parade and training.
I look over at little Gabrielle. She looks so small compared to all the others. Both of us do.
"Oh, I almost forgot, the recap of the Reaping!" Savan said. She ushered us all into the sitting room, where a big tv was on. A man with yellow hair was talking.
"- now, don't go away! We'll be playing the recaps as soon as I get back!" he says. The screen goes black. When it goes back on, we watch all the reapings. I see a large boy from District Two, named Cato. The girl was called Clove. There was a sneaky looking girl from 5, who had a face that resembled a fox. I think that all these names are so odd. The saddest of all is 2 small girls from District 11 and 12, Primrose and Rue. Prim's my age, but she looks only ten. She doesn't look very strong, but I've learned from firsthand exerience not to judge on first opinions. They do a close up of a dark haired girl. She looks nothing alike to this Primrose, except they have the same nose and eye shape. The girl is about 16. She looks fit to cry.
No one steps up for Rue either. The wind rustles through the square, blowing her dark hair around. Still, no one volunteers. It makes me glad that I did volunteer for Hermione, otherwise she might've had the same feeling. I notice five girls crying hysterically, their mother beside them. This must be Rue's family
Then they show us. Hermione being reaped, me desperately running to stop her. I notice Luna and Gabrielle talking excitedly. Their last happy moment. Then Luna being reaped, and Gabrielle volunteering. Gabrielle looks so sad looking at the girl she will probably not see again. Just like I might not ever see Harry or Hermione again. We're in the same predicament.
Savan turns it off, saying it's late and we should all go to bed. So I go to my room, but not before Gabrielle stopped me just outside my room.
"You are Hazel, are you not?" she asks me.
"Yes, I know. Your sister asked me to watch you and help you out," I said to her. It was not going to be easy, but I would make sure that Gabrielle won, no matter what. Of course, there was the tiny, itty bitty problem of me being only twelve. Sure, I'm the Girl Who Lived and all, but when all's said and done, all those older tributes could kill me in about a fraction of a second, and wouldn't hesitate to either.
"Fleur just said to stick close to you, you'd keep me safe," she said sadly. I could sympathize. If she cared for Fleur even a fraction of the way I care for Harry, it had to be hard for her. She wasn't really leaving any friends besides Luna, though.
"Of course I will. First, my friend Ginny told me to pretend my wand is just a lucky stick. I suggest you do the same. They might confiscate them," I said. She nodded vigorously. It was nice to have someone depend on me, even if it was a little 11 year old.
"So, what do we do in training day after next?" Gabrielle asked.
"Whatever you think is useful. Climbing, fires, shelters. Save weapons for later, the one from the first districts will probably hog them the first day," I said. "Now, we'd better go to bed. We've got a long day ahead tomorrow." So we parted, and I made sure Gabrielle went into her room.
I decided to take a shower, which turns into a crash course on Capitol showers. I'm covered in fluffy soap, and covered in burn marks and frozen places from the alternating jets of freezing cold and burning hot water. Eventually, I manage to get it to a normal setting. When I step onto the bathmat, A odd current runs along my hair, instantly drying and untangling it, my annoying black hair for once, straight. I flop onto the bed, exhausted.