Nan Weatherall

District 5

There is no disturbance that causes me to wake up. I'm not disoriented, or even tired. I know exactly what day it is. The reaping.

I hate these days, the day where friends are sent off to kill each other.

Memories of all the past reapings flood my mind, but I slowly force them out. My thoughts jump from one thing to another as I make my way across my room, finally stopping in front of my floor length mirror.

My shoulder-length red hair is frizzy from sleeping, so I brush through it, seeing what else I need to fix.

My green eyes, which are the color of dark peridots, are opened wide. I look like I am wide-awake and alarmed, despite the fact I just got up. I guess in a way I am, struggling even now to focus on getting ready.

I'm a bit scatterbrained, and have trouble focusing, what with having Attention-Deficit Disorder. I have gotten used to it though, and it is a lot more under control then it used to be.

I frown at my pale face, which makes the few freckles across my nose that much more distinct, and turn. I reach up, standing on my tiptoes to grab my white dress off the hook, which is about 5 foot 5 inches above the ground.

As I change into my dress I think sadly about how young I look. I am 13, and only 5 feet tall, weighing in at only 75 pounds. That mixed with my usual hairstyle, makes me look like a 10 year old.

I make my way back to the mirror, and braid my hair into the usual pigtail braids. After doing that I examine my reflection.

My braided red pigtails fall down to my shoulders, with dark green ribbons tying them. My white dress has a dark green ribbon around the middle. Matching the ribbons in my hair, and my dark green eyes.

I walk quietly out of my room, and nobody notices until my door makes a horrible screeching noise.

"Hey Nan. You look beautiful." My father smiles at me and I wave off the compliment, same as I do every year.

"Thanks dad. You look great too." I smile brightly at him as my mother makes her way over.

"Has anyone seen Elisabeth? She must have run off to play again." She sighed and shook her head, and red hair identical to mine flew around her face. "Sometimes I don't know what to do with her!"

As if on cue Elisabeth ran in the door, giggling madly.

"Bethy!" I began to giggle along with her, which wasn't something I normally did. It was so…contagious. "What did you do!"

"I was running around! And then Cal gave me this for you. She said you forgot it at her house." She handed my silver chain, which had a turquoise stone set onto it. It was a prized possession of mine, I wore it often.

"Thank you, I will have to thank her too." Elisabeth nodded before she was shooed off to her room to get dressed.

"Well, I'm off to the reaping. If Cal gave her that to give to me, she must be waiting." I started for the door, then doubled back and grabbed a piece of fruit, before continuing on my way.

"Nan! I was afraid you would be late!" Calculus, or Cal as everyone called her, yelled out to me.

"Why would I want to be late to a reaping? I wouldn't ever want to do that!" She laughed and we continued walking.

OoOoO

Cal and I trudged our way over to the 13's, and were late, even though we hadn't planned to be. As the Treaty of Treason was read, we finally got our spots.

"Now let us welcome our escort, Samantha Peirce!" A girl with white skin, icy blue hair, eyes, and lips, stepped onto the stage. She reminded me of some sort of ice princess, and I shivered.

"Ladies first!" She made her way over to the glass bowel, and pulled out the name of the girl who would die in the games this year.

"Nan Weatherall!" She called out in a shrill, piercing voices. I let out a shocked gasp, as I realized what that meant. The girl I had just condemned to death was me!

I walked shakily up to the stage, my eyes lowered to the ground, and my legs shaking as I walked. I wasn't cut out for this!

As soon as I stepped up Samantha patted me on the back.

"Its alright Hon." She said softly and quietly with a smile, before turning towards the boys' bowel.

"Wes Demeryi!" A skinny boy that looked a bit older then me walked up, then nodded to me. I smiled back weakly and he stuck out his hand, waiting for me to shake it.

"Congratulations to the tributes from District Five, Nan and Wes! Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor!"

OoOoO

"Win." Was the first word my mother told me as she walked in. "You are a genius! Use it to win!"

"Mom! Mom, I am not a genius. I have A.D.D. I can't be." Usually I wasn't so down on myself, but I had pretty much been sentenced to death.

"You're a scattered-brain genius then! A.D.D. doesn't affect anything Nan! You are smart. You are going to make it out alive." I nodded as the peacekeepers came in and told her to leave, and then Elisabeth came in.

"Nan! Promise me you'll live, pinky promise." I shook my head, I wasn't about to make a promise I didn't know for sure I could keep.

"I pinky promise I will try, ok?" I knelt down beside her and held out my pinky, which she hesitantly took.

"Ok." I could hear the shakiness in her voice, and I felt terrible when I saw a tear fall down her face.

"I'm sorry Bethy." I pulled her in for a hug, and then had her leave before the peacekeepers came and scared her.

"You still look beautiful Nan. I can't believe your about to go off to the games…" My father walked in, and I started sobbing at the sight of his tear-streaked face.

"I don't want to go!" I let out a cry and sat on the ground. I felt all the emotions I had welled up inside me burst out. I was terrified. Sad. Worried. Angry. Everything.

"Shh.." He whispered to me. "You will make it back. I promise. Okay?" I bit my lip and nodded, forcing the tears to stop as he walked out.

Then Wes came in.

"Were you expecting anyone else? Because the trains are about to leave. And I wanted to talk to you before we left." He sat down beside me and waited for my tears to dry.

"Yeah?" Was all I could get out.

"I don't want you to die. I obviously don't want to die either but…" He trailed off for a minute. "An alliance?"

I was shocked That was definitely unexpected. I searched him for any sign of lives, and after finding none, I nodded.

"Ok. Lets go." We both stood up and made our way to the trains.

OoOoO(This is because, since it's the quell and all, its being changed up a bit. The same train goes through all of the districts, adding in more people along the way.) OoOoO

A peacekeeper pushed open the door for us, and I stepped inside, catching my first glimpse of the games.

A girl with almost bronzed hair was in the corner of the train, talking to a girl with golden curly hair. She constantly looked at a guy across the room with amazing blue eyes.

That guy was talking to another guy, whose black hair went just a bit shorter then mine.

There was another girl standing in a different corner, her long black hair highlighted with red. She looked deep in thought.

Next to her was another boy, who looked weak and skinny. He continually looked around the train.

In yet another corner stood a girl with stormy eyes, and a boy with eyes almost as dark green as mine.

"I'm going by them." I told Wes. They really looked the friendliest, out of everyone here. He nodded and headed over to the other guys.

When I was over there they both nodded to me.

"Nan, 5." I told them.

"Rikki, 4." Said the girl. She held out a hand for me to shake, and I did.

"Jesse, 4." His smile was friendly, and I felt like I had chosen the wrong person to go by. Why couldn't I have gone by someone I could hate?

A/N – I would have had this up sooner if my friend hadn't continually called me! But I am hoping to get the next chapter in, and maybe start 6, because I have until 3 : 30 to type unless she calls me again, and then at 6 I will be able to type till like 9 again xD that is if she doesn't call me. I hope you guys liked a small bit of the train. Why is Wes being so nice do you think? Well, we shall find out soon xD until then, you guys can have… Chocolate chip cookies, dipped in chocolate.