The audience just stared at Nora in silence. All she could do was stand there and hyperventilate. "Did you know this was going to happen?" Bram whispered. Simon shook his head, hoping that Spring saw this as just a tribute to Leah. Not as a sign that another rebellion was on the rise. Simon hoped that it was just a tribute to Leah. He didn't want Nora to be involved in a war at the age of thirteen. The games were bad enough.
Nora walked off stage. Chris's interview came shortly after. He managed to win over the audience with his charm and performing a rap song. He walked off the stage and people started to leave the theater. "I'll see you tomorrow," Simon said. "I love you."
"Love you too," Bram said. They then leave the auditorium to meet up with their tributes. Once Simon met up with Chris and Nora, they started to head back to the capitol building. They were silent for the entirety of the walk.
They ate in silence. They could only hear the sound of the clock ticking. Once they were done eating, Simon hugged Nora. He feared that this would be the last one he would ever give her. "Just in case I don't see you in the mourning," Simon muttered. She wrapped her arms around his torso. "I love you."
"I love you too," Nora said. They then slowly let go of each other and head to their separate rooms. Simon took a shower and then climbed into his bed. He turned off the lights and stared blankly at the ceiling. He blinked a few dozen times.
He knew he wasn't going to get much sleep that night. So he laid on his side and looked out the window. He really liked the view. Something about the lights from the skyscrapers brought peace to him. Nights in district twelve were always dark, so this was a nice change. It almost made him forget the inevitable.
Simon was escorted to the Gamekeeper's headquarter. There was a theater there that was for the victors to watch the games together. It was a dark room with leather couches and a large screen on the far left wall. He scanned the room but didn't see Bram, so he sat beside Pilar.
"Nervous?" Simon asked, trying to spark up a conversation.
"I am, but I've trained Victor a bit so he's not completely unprepared," Pilar said. "I just don't think he has it in him to kill anyone."
"Same with my sister," Simon sighed. The TV then turned on to show footage of that year's arena. The tributes were going to be taken to a large lake that was surrounded by a jungle. Simon began to wonder if the lake was freshwater or saltwater.
Soon the tributes were shot up onto the platform. Simon noted that Nora was breathing heavily while most of the faces of the other tributes were blank. The count down then began, and Bram entered the room. He sat beside Simon. He also had a shaken up look on his face.
"Hey babe," Simon said.
"Hey," Bram said. "I have bad news. I just got word from the bunker where the tributes were taken. Some peacekeepers came and executed Neco, you, and your sister's stylist. I am so sorry."
"This marks the beginning of the 75th annual Hunger Games," Cinc announced. "May the odds be ever in their favor."