Here we are with Chapter Two! I'd like to thank Carlisle'sApprentice, ultimatepancilsharpener, lostmidtranslation, and Karen-xox for reviewing. You guys are so awesome! :D
(And I'd like to give credit to lostinmidtranslation for kind of giving me an idea for this chapter.)
Oh, I updated fast for this chapter, but I can't always promise them being so fast. Sorry!
Disclaimer: I am not Suzanne Collins; therefore I do not own Hunger Games series
A V O X
Chapter Two
"Hey, you girls!" Amalie rubbed her eyes, and sat up warily. She blinked, and looked around. It looked much later in the day, as the sun was high in the sky. Next to her, Flynn was snoring; apple cores littered the ground beside her. A sudden panic swept over Amalie.
"Flynn! Wake up! Flynn!" Amalie said urgently. She grabbed Flynn's shoulder and shook her as hard as she could. Flynn stirred.
"Mom, you have to eat." Flynn murmured, still obviously half a sleep. Amalie gave up, and slapped her across the face. Flynn's eyes popped open.
"Hey… that hurt." She complained. Amalie grabbed her arm, and hauled her up.
"No time! We have to get back to…" A tall man, a peacekeeper, stepped into the light. Amalie felt a lump form in her throat, the size of a golf ball.
"Ummm… can we help you?" Flynn asked, trying and failing to look innocent. She had dried apple juice on her chin, and her hands looked all sticky. The peacekeeper raised his eyebrow. Amalie gulped.
"So, have you guys been working all day?" He asked casually.
"Uhh… Yessir." Flynn lied, and Amalie decided to let her do most of the talking. She felt that if she opened her mouth, she would accidentally confess. The Peacekeeper was a tall, muscular man, with dark hair and heavy eyebrows. He was slightly stooped, and was sweating through his robes.
"You too, little girl?" He asked Amalie. She tried to answer, but all that came out was a squeak. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Flynn giggled slightly. The peacekeeper looked back at her
"Well, I didn't see anything. But sometimes, I hear things, girlies." Both girls nodded, pretending to understand what he meant.
"And if I EVER hear anything like that again from you two…" He trailed off, and patted a whip hanging from his belt. Both girls understood.
"Thank you, sir." Flynn said, trembling. Amalie nodded in agreement, and the peacekeeper strolled away. Once he was out of ear reach, Amalie started on Flynn.
"Flynn! How did we fall asleep? How long?" Flynn shrugged nervously, but reached for the basket on the ground. Amalie snatched it away from her.
"Stop! We got off easy this time, but I don't want to know what'll happen if it happens again!" She exclaimed. Flynn sighed, but gave in. They left the orchard with their basket, and walked to Amalie's house. She lived in a small house, with her uncle. Both of Amalie's parents were dead. Her father had died of eating poisonous berries; another thing that made Amalie resent the Hunger Games. Once her mother had found out, she basically committed suicide, by disobeying everything she could. She didn't work; she back talked peacekeepers, anything. Eventually, they murdered her. Now Amalie just lived with her old uncle, but she loved him like a father.
"Uncle? I'm home." Amalie called into her house. She led Flynn in, and she promptly flopped down on a chair. Amalie heard a noise, and then her uncle was hurrying down the stairs.
"Amalie! Come on!" He said excitedly. Flynn looked up from her chair.
"Can I have a drink?" She asked. Amalie rolled her eyes, and her uncle shook his head vigorously.
"No! Come on, girls, the Victors from District 12 are probably already here!" He was wearing a faded red shirt, and fiddling with a button of his overalls. Amalie guessed that you didn't have to get dressed up. Once he stopped, he grabbed Amalie by the color, and ran out, Flynn following closely behind.
Amalie's uncle was right. Katniss and Peeta were already there. Amalie and Flynn hurried through the crowd to see what was happening on the platform. People were whispering excitedly, some looked shocked, and a few were even crying from joy. Flynn spotted her mom in the crowd, and tugged on her hair.
"Mom, what's going on?" Flynn asked. Flynn's mom was bursting with happiness.
"These kind, kind people… are giving us one month of their winnings!" She exclaimed. Amalie's heart jumped. That was a lot of food! No one in the history of the games has ever done that. Flynn looked just as shocked, and than grinned widely. Flynn's family was very poor, and didn't get a lot of food. That's why Flynn was hungry all the time.
Amalie lost sight of her uncle, but she'd find him later. She made her way to the front, where the girl victor had just stumbled forward, clutching a plaque to her chest. Amalie looked up at her, wondering what she would say.
"I want to give my thanks to the tributes of District Eleven." She said, and the crowd was paying close attention now. Flynn and Amalie exchanged a glance, and then looked back to Katniss.
"I only ever spoke to Thresh one time. Just long enough for him to spare my life. I didn't know him, but I always respected him. For his power. For his refusal to play the Games on anyone's terms but his own. The Careers wanted him to team up with them from the beginning, but he wouldn't do it. I respected him for that." She turned to look at someone, and I saw it was Rue's family. I took a deep breath, and turned back to Katniss, who was speaking again.
"But I feel as if I did know Rue, and she'll always be with me. Everything beautiful brings her to mind. I see her in the yellow flowers that grow in the Meadow by my house. I see her in the mockingjays that sing in the trees. But most of all, I see her in my sister, Prim." She looked like she couldn't go on, and Amalie suddenly remembered watching the reaping on TV. A girl named Prim had been chosen, and this girl, Katniss, had taken her place. Amalie felt a new rush of respect for this girl now. She had saved her little sister's life by sacrificing her own.
"Thank you for your children. And thank you all for the bread." Amalie could feel the importance of the situation, and her heart had swelled from Katniss's speech. The, there came a sound, from somewhere in the crowd. A whistle. It was the four-note mockingjay tune; the one that signaled work was over for the day in the orchards. Amalie knew it also meant safety, in the Hunger Games arena. She looked for the whistler, and found him. Old, faded red shirt, and overalls. Her uncle.
Amalie smiled with pride, and knew what everyone would all do next. As if they had rehearsed it, every single person in the crowd pressed the three middle fingers of their left hands to their lips, and extended them to Katniss. Amalie knew it was the sign for District 12, and it was the thing that Katniss did to say goodbye to Rue.
I told you it would be longer :) And I updated fast this time! (You have to admit it!)
And I think anyone who read "Catching Fire" knows where this is going…
Please review! PLEASE!!!! ;D
-KC