Despite knowing that one day I would be in the arena, I never fully realized the circumstances that would face me. I am so floored by what the President said I didn't notice that Peeta walked up behind me.
"You look like you saw a ghost, are you alright," he asked in a soft caring voice. I knew Peeta and Katniss didn't earn any points with the President from the stunt they pulled with the berries last year, I just wonder how often the President pays them visits.
"How do you do it?"
"Honestly, Richard sometimes I ask myself the same question."
"I thought victors were supposed to be free, not just puppets on a string," I said quietly.
"It's either do what he says or lose those closest to you. It's really not a tough choice. Now follow me, you wouldn't want to be late for your first reaping would you?"
"Aren't we going to wait for Katniss before we leave," I asked.
"Nah, she was already in town so I'm guessing she will meet us there."
As we walked slowly down the cobblestone drive connecting the Victors Village to the actual town thoughts began to race through my mind. This could be the last time I walk these roads, the last time I am able to see my home. I wonder what it is like to die? Does everything just stop or does some part of you live on like nothing ever happened?
Sensing my nervousness Peeta leans over close to my ear and says, " You know it could be worse. You don't even know that you will be reaped. Your name is only in there once."
I open my mouth to tell him that Snow himself guaranteed that I would be picked, but my words are cut off by a cry from behind me.
"No, I'm not going to go. They can't do this. I just wanna go home."
"Prim, you need to relax. Try to breath. You won't get reaped, I guarantee it," said Katniss in a soothing tone.
This seems to have the desired effect on Prim as her screams had slowly downgraded to whimpers and a few tears. I couldn't help but feel bad for her. She was my age but she seemed so pure. I noticed that Peeta had walked over to Prim to help Katniss comfort her younger sister. When they seem to have the situation under control I wheel around and continue my walk to the registration center for the reaping. They take a sample of blood for identification and record it so they know if any of the kids are skipping the reaping.
"Hand," says the peacekeeper behind the table. I absentmindedly stick my hand out and she pricks my finger and sticks in underneath my name in the register. I wander around for a little while before my eyes find a group of my friends from school. I walk over to them and pretend like I have no idea what will happen.
"I bet it's that older Hawthorne kid. I heard his name is in there over 40 times and honestly he's probably the only one in 12 who could take down a Career," one of them said. The conversation continues about how we may have a volunteer this year or who they hope gets picked because they don't get along. Finally I can't take this guessing any more so I blurt out, "I bet it's me."
"Ha good one Richard. You have a better chance of getting mauled by a polar bear and a regular bear in the same day," said Tristan, one of my friends from science class. This gets a chuckle from the rest of the group, but before I am able to respond a overly giddy Effie Trinket prances up on the stage and tests the microphone with a quick tap. The square goes silent while Effie shows a video from the Capitol. It talks about the Treason Treaty and why the games were invented but I found my mind wandering yet again. I wonder who my partner will be? Can I trust them or should I go through this solo?
I am pulled out of my daydream when Effie says in an excited voice, "ladies first." She digs around in the glass bowl until she finds a slip that she seems to like. A collective gasp is heard throughout the square as Effie says, "Primrose Everdeen." No this cant be happening. Why would they pick Prim. She was in there one time. And then I think about it, could it be revenge for the berries. I wouldn't put it past Snow to rig the drawing for Prim as well. "Any volunteers?" Effie says while simultaneously walking towards the boys bowl. "We'll in that case I guess..."
"Wait, I volunteer!" I swing my head around trying to locate the owner of the voice. I see some shuffling in the girls crowd as a girl slowly rises to the stage. She is a little taller than me and looks fairly well fed. She is obviously not from the Seam. What confuses me is the fact that somebody from the town would sacrifice their life for a kid from the Seam.
"What's your name darling?" Effie asks in an overly excited voice as if she won the lottery.
The girl, who I've never seen before quietly whispers, "My name is Cayley Rose." I can't help but feel a little happy, Prim is safe and I don't know this girl, maybe I am catching a bit of a break after all. Effie prances over to the boys bowl and before she picks a name I carefully begin to weave my way through the crowd of boys ahead of me.
"Richard Abernathy," Effie yells into the microphone. I take a quick glance at my friends, giving them an 'I told you so' look before climbing the steps to the stage. I take my spot next to Effie while she asks for volunteers. I am not surprised that there are no takers, but I am surprised when I see a man turn around and punch a Peacekeeper. The peacekeeper is as stunned as I am, but he eventually subdues the man and carries him away in handcuffs. Effie, who is completely confused at this point tries to get the crowds attention by asking for a round of applause, but her request is met by silence. I turn and shake hands with Cayley before we are whisked away into the Justice Building.
As we are walking up the steps to the building, I try to make a mental note to thank Cayley for volunteering for Prim, but when I shook her hand there was something in her eyes that made me think she would have done it no matter who was reaped. Nevertheless, she saved Prim and that is all that really matters after all. We enter the building and are met by Peacekeepers. One takes me down a hallway on the right while Cayley is taken to the left. I am lead into a room and the Peacekeeper informs me that I will have exactly 5 minutes with each person to say my goodbyes. I then take a seat in the corner and wait for my first visitor.
The time passes slowly and I begin to feel myself nodding off. Apparently, instead of being a nervous eater I am a nervous sleeper. I am about to close my eyes when I hear the door quietly squeak open. To my surprise Effie Trinket stands in the doorway.
"Is it time to go already," I ask the escort.
"No not quite, I wanted to talk to you before we got on the train," she replied. This struck me as odd, considering we had an entire train ride to talk, unless she didn't want somebody to hear what she said.
"Okay, shoot, what do you need to know?"
"Well... Umm, how should I phrase this? Umm... You know how you don't know who your mother is right?
Well I have been in contact with her and she would very much appreciate it if you made it out of the arena. Then I would be able to formally introduce the two of you."
"Wait, what, you know my mom? How do you..."
"We in the Capitol have connections my dear, but don't worry about that right now. You need to devote all of your attention to the upcoming games."
I hear the door open again, but in steps the Peacekeeper to escort my escort out of the room. As she leaves two more people who I have never seen before come in. They introduce themselves as Cayley's parents and ask that I try to protect Cayley as long as I can. By the way they are talking to me I can tell that they have given up on her chances. I nod and tell them that I will do everything that I can. This seems to take some of the worry off of their faces. They quickly wish me good luck and exit the room.
After about 5 more minutes the Peacekeeper comes back into the room and tells me that it is time to board the train.
"How long is the drive to the Capitol," I ask the man.
"For y'all it'll probably be 'bout two days or so depending on the weather. You'll be there before you know it."
"Thanks I appreciate it."
"Best be enjoying the time on that train 'cause the odds certainly ain't in your favor. Gotta embrace the fact that your probably not gunna come out," he replies.
"Thanks for the pep talk. That should be put up for the feel good speech of the year," I respond sarcastically.
"But am I right?" He responds with a smile on his face.
Deep down I know that he is right but I still can't face the fact that in a week and a half I will be fighting for entertainment, or dead...probably dead. We reach the train station where reporters from all over the Capitol have flocked to get a picture before we head out. I can't help but flash a smile to the cameras. Might as well start trying to get sponsors early. I board the train and we slowly begin to pull out of the station.
"Right this way Richard," yells Effie from across the train. She leads me through car after car, one of which has a full bar loaded with all sorts of alcohol. If I ever need my dad I will know where to find him. We continue to wander through car after car, each decorated to the ceiling with luxury items and amenities. It amazes me how decorated a train could be. If I didn't know any better I would mistake it for the inside of a mansion. Finally, Effie points to a door and says, "In there you will find a shower and a change of cloths, please put both to good use. Oh and meet in the dining car when you are done so we may eat and talk about strategy."
Knowing how I would never hear the end of it, I simply thanks her for her kindness and enter my room. I rifle through the drawers and find the cloths Effie spoke about before heading to the shower. Having grown up in the Victors Village, I am accustomed to the Capitol showers. I can only imagine the time Cayley is having right now trying to figure out which button in which. These showers certainly are deadly, because one wrong push could make me smell like fruit for the next two weeks. Honestly, if a tribute smelled like fruit in the arena, I don't think I would be overly intimidated. I decide to play it safe and quickly rinse off, before changing my cloths and heading out to the dining car.
"Ah there's the man of the hour, come sit down," my dad says happily as he gestures to a seat between Peeta and Cayley. I can't tell how he could possibly be happy with his son going into the arena, and I quickly become infuriated with him.
Peeta seems to sense my anger and quickly leans over to my ear and whispers, "He's been drinking all day today, he's not in his right mind."
This statement only makes things worse. I quickly turn at Peeta and yell, "How is that an excuse! I am his son, the least he could do is stay sober for me, assuming he is my mentor."
"I am," Peeta replies quietly, "He can't handle the thought of losing you, so he is drinking his troubles away. Now eat up, you need to put some weight on before we get to the Capitol."
"Any suggestions on what to eat," I ask, making sure to control my voice to avoid more arguments.
"Try the lamb stew," Katniss says before anybody can get a word out. When did she get here. I could have sworn she wasn't here when I sat down. I give Peeta a quick glance and he leans over again and whispers, "I don't know how she does it, but she is the sneakiest person alive."
This gets a quick laugh out of me as I reach for the previously mentioned lamb stew. I take a big spoonful and shove it in my mouth. It's pretty good so I decide to eat a couple bowls of it.
"Dang boy, slow down, you really like that stuff," says Cayley, "I've heard it's pretty rich so I would stop now if you want to avoid some pain and suffering."
"Who'd you hear that from?"
"Personal experience, I learned the hard way."
This gets a good laugh out of everybody at the table besides Effie, who can't believe that people would talk about such a topic while eating. To avoid further comments, she quickly changes the topic.
"Since we are a done eating we should go watch the recap of the reapings."
"Sounds good to me," I respond. The rest of the table nods their heads and we follow Effie out into the living room area of the car and take seats on the comfortable leather couches. Effie flips on the TV right as the recap begins. They start at District 1, the boy is abnormally large and has an even larger ego. I think his name was Diamond or something like that. The girl from 1 is scary looking and I definitely plan on avoiding her. I think she could give Diamond a run for his money in a fist fight. The recap continues as the announcers drone on about how many 17 and 18 year olds they have in this reaping, believing that it will make it more evenly matched between all of the districts. None of the tributes really steal the reaping, that is until we reach 12. Cayley's volunteering surprised even the announcers, making hem believe that she may actually have trained to volunteer for the games. They show me being reaped and our handshake before they switch it back to the announcers for their pre-games predictions. I didn't earn any attention from the announcers, one I them just said that being a son of a victor should provide a slight advantage, even if that victor is Haymitch. Obviously they favor one and two, but they seem intrigued with Cayley, saying that if her score is high enough, she may stand a chance. Effie quickly shuts the TV off when the program is over and ushers us to bed, claiming that we have a big big day ahead of us. I trudge down the hall, open my door, and climb into the amazingly comfortable bed. I stay there with my eyes open for what seems to be hours until my eyelids become heavy and I am carried away to sleep.
Thanks for reading. Oh and please review, I would love some constructive criticism as this is my first fanfic I've ever written. I will try to update my story a couple times a week but right now my schedule is crazy. Gracias.