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Chapter Two: Saying Goodbye

No one dared to talk. A blind girl? Going to the Hunger Games? That's just crude. Even for the capitol. But no one volunteered. I slowly started making my way up to the stadium, making sure that no one was in the pathway to there.

A brave soul stepped up and said, "But she's blind!"

"Oh!" Mandy called out, sounding a bit shocked. I heard her jog down to me, take my arm, and led me up to the stadium.

"No, Cecilia!" Anne yelled. "I volun-" her voice shut off. It was my mother who was holding her mouth from behind. I didn't blame her. My mom would rather me go into the Games instead up Anne. I agree with her. Better me than her.

"So you're not going to volunteer?" Mandy asked. I could only imagine Anne slowly shaking her head. "Okay! Then let us draw the boys!" I hear her walk over to the boys' container. Everything was still silent.

Pause.

"Warnende Coffman!" she announced with cheerfulness. It was still silent when I heard the boy walking up to the stadium. By the sound of his uneven footsteps, I could tell he was a bit clumsy. He slightly tripped up the steps of the stadium, only proving my assumption correct.

So a blind girl and a clumsy boy were to participate in the 42nd Hunger Games. The capitol was being exceptionally harsh this year. Though I do recall them sending in a boy who had a crippled leg. He died in the first five minutes. I can't say I remember his name, but I knew he came from District 6.

I was zoning out when Mandy (In place of the mayor) began to state the Treaty of Treason.

"Now shake hands, you two!" She said in the upbeat way of hers. I quickly outstretched my arm to him so I wouldn't have to find his. He took it and we both shook hands. Gosh, he has a strong grip. We let go. Then the anthem played.

After it ended, a bunch of peacekeepers horded us to the Justice Building. They took us and put us both in separate rooms and then left. I was very confused and didn't know what to do. I knew for a fact that I was a goner, though. I won't last two seconds with this sight (or lack thereof) of mine. At least my family will probably get by better without me holding them back. One less mouth to feed. Tears threatened to flow out of my eyes. At least it was me, and not Anne. Or anyone else for that matter. People were probably thinking 'better her than my child', relieved that they were safe from another year of Hunger Games. I know it. It's exactly how I felt when I was not the one to be picked these last three years.

I heard the door open again and my mom's voice said "Cecilia!" and hugged me tightly. Yep, the tears spilt there.

"Mom, I'm scared." I told her, digging my face into her shoulder.

"I know, we are, too." she said. Anne and Marie were standing behind her, silently sobbing into their hands. They ran up to me and hugged me, also.

"You guys know I'm not going to make it, right?" I said gravely.

"Don't say that!" My mother snapped. "You can win. Join up with someone. Not the careers. They'll backstab you without a second thought."

She was definitely fooling herself. There was no way in hell that a puny blind girl would win the Games. Not even if she could read minds.

"Yeah, yeah." I said. "Look after Anne and Marie for me."

"Cecilia, promise me you'll at least try to win!" my mom said.

"Okay, I'll try. But I can't promise I will." I said.

"Sister!" Marie said, sniffling. "I-I'll miss y-y-you!"

"I'll miss you, too, Marie." I told her, hugging her.

"I know you'll come back!" she told me. She might be ten, but she was still so naïve.

"Okay, I want you to take this as your token." my mother said. She handed me something small. A ring.

"Is this-" I asked, eyes wide.

"My wedding ring, yes." she said, kissing my forehead. "Just remember I love you."

I froze. She had never told me she loved me before. More tears spilt down my face.

"I love you, too, mom." I told her.

"I love you, Cecilia!" Anne said, breaking down in tears, hugging me even tighter.

"Me too!" Anne said, doing the same. "I love you, too!"

Well, at least I'll die feeling loved. A peacekeeper came through the door and my only family reluctantly left, saying 'bye'. I just had this dreadful feeling that that was be the last time I'd be with my family.

The door closes and I feel as lonely as ever.

Then I hear the door open again and someone runs at me and tackles me to the ground.

"I'm so sorry, Cecilia!" The voice of Maylee sobbed. "I should have volunteered! It's all my fault!"

"Maylee, I would never want you to take my place in these Games. It's better me than you." I told her.

"Don't say that! I'm so stupid! When I heard your name called, I just froze up! I wanted to volunteer, but I couldn't bring myself to do so!" She sobbed even harder.

"It's okay!" I said. "I would never have let you die in my place. I was picked out of that bowl fair and square."

"No, it's not 'fair and square'! A blind girl is a tribute for the Hunger Games? I should kill the cap-" I jumped on her, trying to keep her from completing that sentence. There were cameras all around here! Did she want to die with me? The capitol would be happy enough to oblige to that. She just kept sobbing and hugging me.

"Take as much of them out as you can." She said.

"Will do." I said flatly.

"Don't get too close to anyone. You'll regret it later when you have to kill them." Maylee said. "I wouldn't advise you to pair up with the careers. They'll just backstab you the minute they say yes, if they even say yes."

"Funny, my mom said the same thing." I said, nothing funny about it.

"Well then listen to us. Try to get out alive. Please. And if not, take out as many as you can." she told me.

"That's easy for you to say. I don't think I can kill anyone. I don't even have the guts to kill a fly- how can I kill a human being?" I asked her.

"Okay then, stay out of fights and let the other person kill everyone. Of course, you'll have to kill him at the end, so unless a miracle happens and the other two besides you kill each other off, making you victor by default, you'll have to kill someone."

"Sounds like a plan." I said, not too thrilled at all. The peacekeepers had came back and Maylee was foced to leave with one last hug. She left and I was alone again. I played with the ring that was now on my right ring finger.

The peacekeepers took me to the train, which we would take to get to the capitol.

When we got there, I could hear talking all around me.

"She won't last a minute." I caught someone say.

"She's screwed." I heard another. I knew there would be cameras all around me, besides the ones that were going 'snap, snap, snap' every few seconds, taking pictures of District 7's tributes. I kept my face from showing any emotion, while on the inside I was freaking out. I really didn't want to die. But I didn't want to kill anyone either. Very big controversy here.

We walk onto the train, Mandy feeling that it was her duty to help the poor blind girl every time she saw her. I was a bit grateful, as I probably would not have known where the stares were, nor how many, nor how steep. But it made me feel a bit helpless, which I sort of was. Maybe the other tributes will leave me alone. Or maybe they will think I have a trick up my sleeve and kill me before anyone else. I hope it won't be the latter.

Mandy took me over to the couch and sat me down. I know she was only trying to be nice, but she was slowly getting on my nerves. The train began to move, jerking me a bit to the left.

"So, you guys excited?" she asked me and Warnende.

"To be brutally killed?" I asked. "Definitely." Note the sarcasm.

"Don't be such a downer!" Mandy said cheerfully. "It'll be fun!"

"Yeah, maybe for the capitol and all the other psychotic idiots out there." Warnende said under his breath. If Mandy heard him, she gave him no sign.

"Let's go show you to your bedrooms!" She said in her still happy voice. She pulled me up by my hand.

"Vince, show Warnende to his room!" She said and started dragging me to wherever. She stopped to open a door and pulled me in. She was silent for a moment, as if admiring the room, then asked, "How do you like it?"

"I can't see it." I told her, wondering if she was trying to annoy me.

"Oh! That's right!" she said, not sounding too surprised. "Well, there is a queen sized bed over there." she obviously pointed, making be a bit more ticked off, positive she was doing it on purpose. "It has a red comforter blanket and five billows that batched it."

Not that I knew what red looked like…

"You have a huge wardrobe that contains lots and lots of pretty clothes. Oh, you wouldn't know what they looked like, would you? Do you want me to describe them to you?"

"No thank you!" I said hurriedly. "I'll pick one out at random."

"No, no, no. You'll most likely pick out the most horrid outfit in there. I'll pick one for you." she said. Seeing as I will probably never win a fight with this too cheery woman, I gave in and let her pick out my outfit.

"Do you need help to put it on?" she asked innocently.

"No!" I told her, snatching the outfit from her hands.

"Where's the bathroom?" I asked annoyed.

"Down the hall." she said. I went to take my leave, but she continued. "Take a right and you'll see a big door. Go through there and you'll see five more doors. Take the third one then continue down that hall. There is the bathroom."

I think she was messing with me. There is no way you can 'go down a hall and then turn right' on a train.

"Get out!" I said to her, frustrated. She was really pissing me off.

"Okay, okay." she said in her high pitchy voice. She got out, shutting the door behind her.

I put on the outfit, having some trouble with the sleeves. Apparently, the shirt was almost a two piece, because there were spaghetti straps, but it was hooked onto the over shirt. The outside sleeves went just below my elbows and it showed my collarbone. The pants stopped just above my knees. Don't ask me what the design on it was. I didn't really want to know.

"Hey! You can come in now!" I yelled to Mandy, who was standing right outside the door.

'Finally. Took her long enough to get dressed. What the hell was she doing? Actually, I don't want to know.' she thought. A blush caught on my cheeks. I didn't say anything, though. I was wondering why she was such a pervert.

"Oh, it looks good!" she said, happily clapping her hands together. "Do you want me to tell you the design on it?"

"No, but you'll probably tell me anyway." I told her.

"That's right!" she said. "So, your shirt is designed so that it shows your shoulders and you can see the undershirt's straps. The shirt is light green and has a flower right above its right breast. The pants are Capri jeans and have a flower on its right pocket. It was designed by me!"

"Great, so I'll look like a walking garden." I told her. "Isn't that District 11's job?"

"You do not! And District 11's job is agriculture!" she said, like it was a big difference. "Anyway, dinner is in 43 minutes. I'll get you then!" she said and walked out of the room. Ugh, she's a hand full.