Chapter 3

When the anthem ends, we're taken into custody by the Peacekeepers and marched through the Justice Building. Once inside, they take me into a room, and I'm left alone. I sit on the velvet couch and take a few deep breaths. This is the time they give the tributes a chance to say goodbye to their loved ones. For a moment, I wonder how many people will say goodbye to Katniss; probably quite a few. Just then, my parents and my brothers enter the room.

My mother and father both sit on the couch next to me, my brothers leaning against the wall nearby. We sit in silence for awhile, not sure what to say. The chances of me being called were slim, yes, but not impossible. My parents had been more worried about Rye being called, since his name was in seven times this year. Still, this kind of thing happens from time to time. We all know there's no way I'm going to win these games. No way I'm going to come home. This really will be the last time I see my family, my home. The next time I'll be here, it will be as a corpse bought back from the Capitol in a box. I've grown up seeing those boxes being brought in from the train station, being taken down to the graveyard nearby to be buried. They're always kept closed. Even during the funerals. So this will be the last time my family sees me, alive. I think it's better this way, for their last memory to be this, of me alive and actually able to be with them.

My mother turns to me and hugs me. When she lets go, she speaks. "Maybe this year, District 12 will have a winner." She says.

Yes, maybe. I think to myself. But it just won't be me.

As if my mother heard me, she says "She's a survivor that one."

Even my own mother knows how low my chances are. Even though I knew this, it doesn't help to hear it from her.

"She is." I answer almost inaudibly. She hugs me again, and so do each of my brothers and my father. As the Peacekeepers come in to let my family know that their time is up, my mother kisses me on the forehead and turns to leave.

"I love you." I say to their retreating figures. But I'm not sure they hear me.

I stay on the couch, waiting in the silence, still waiting. Another hour passes, with some of my friends from school coming in to say goodbye. The whole time, my throat was tight with trying to hold back tears. When they leave, I take a deep breath, trying to somewhat compose myself. That's when the Peacekeepers tell me I have another visitor. I think it's going to be more of my friends from school when I look up. It's Primrose Everdeen. Katniss's sister. What is she doing here?

Her cheeks are stained with dried tears, but the look on her face is one of determination. She stands there facing me for a moment, and then she speaks.

"I want my sister to come home. I need her to come home." She says. "But if she…" her voice catches for a moment. "If she can't, I want you to try to win. For her." She finishes.

"I don't think that can happen." I say.

"Try." She says almost forcefully. I look up at her, surprised at the way she spoke. In appearance, she could almost be my sister; same blonde hair, same blue eyes. But it's the way she stands in front of me, looking me right in the eye, with that determined expression on her face that shows how much like her sister she is. I think of how she had walked up to the stage when her name was called. How, with her fists clenched, she took small, steady steps up to it. How she remained silent. How girls twice her size and three, four, five years older than her, have screamed, broken down crying at their names being called. It was only when her sister volunteered for her that she cried out. In those moments you could see how very much like her sister she is. I find myself answering her.

"I'll try." I say to her.

"Thank you."

"But what if it comes down to the two of us?" I ask without thinking.

It's happened before, the last two competitors being from the same district. It usually happens with the Careers, most often District 2. It always seems like the bloodiest, most gruesome kind of confrontation. But that might just be because I always wonder what the winner will face when they return home to their district. When they see the family of someone they knew, someone they'd killed.

"I don't think you could kill her." She says to me. I look up at her, shocked. Does she know? I think of all the times she and her sister had come to the bakery to look at the cakes on the display window. How I would sometimes have my eyes trained on Katniss, quickly looking away if she saw me. But maybe her sister noticed me looking at her. I never heard her say anything if she had. Before I can ask her, the Peacekeepers come in to tell her that her time is up. She turns without a word and leaves, with the Peacekeepers trailing behind her.

I feel the tears burn behind my eyes, and there's nothing I can do to stop them from falling. Her coming in to speak to me was the thing that did it. It had been building up, of course, but it was her that did it. This is all too much. I'm being taken to the Capitol to die for the people's entertainment. Not only that, but the girl I love, too. And there is nothing I can do. Nothing anyone can do. But I said I'd try. And I would've tried anyway. I just don't think I'll be getting very far. My death will happen long before things get interesting. That won't stop me from trying, at least. But what if I do run into Katniss? What if she's the one who has to kill me? I can't think of an answer. I don't want to.

When the Peacekeepers come in to take me away, I quickly try to wipe the tears from my face. They'll see it anyway, so I stop. I suddenly don't care if they see me cry. We take a short car ride to the train station, where it's swarming with reporters. I see how we look on the screens nearby. I look slightly red-eyed. Katniss looks almost bored. But I know she's not. No one who does what she has just done, can be bored. But she's definitely good at hiding it. We stand for a few minutes in the doorway while the cameras gobble up our images, then we're allowed inside and the doors close behind us. The train begins to move at once.

We're riding one of the fast Capitol trains that will get us there in less than a day. We are each given our own chambers that have a bedroom, a dressing area, and a bathroom. The drawers are filled with fine clothes, and Effie Trinket tells me to do anything I want, wear anything I want and just make sure to be ready for supper in an hour.

When I go to the dining room for supper an hour later, I'm alone, waiting for Effie and Katniss. From what I heard, Haymitch had gone to take a nap. When Katniss walks in with Effie Trinket, I notice that she's changed out of the blue dress she wore at the reaping, and into a dark green shirt and pants. She's also wearing a small, circular gold pin in the shape of a bird on her shirt. I wonder where she got it, since I've never seen her wear it before.

"Where's Haymitch?" Effie Trinket asks brightly.

"Last time I saw him, he said he was going to take a nap." I answer.

"Well, it's been an exhausting day." She almost sounds relieved that he's not here. Then again, who can blame her?

The supper they serve comes in courses, a carrot soup, a green salad, lamb chops and mashed potatoes, cheese and fruit, and a chocolate cake. Throughout the meal, Effie Trinket keeps reminding us to save space because there's more to come. But I'm not really listening too intently to her. I've always had enough to eat at home, but that's usually made up of stale bread that we can't sell anymore. All of this is the best food I've ever tasted.

"At least you two have decent manners," says Effie as we finish the main course. "The pair last year ate everything with their hands like a couple of savages. It completely upset my digestion."

I can't help but think that's a little unfair, since the kids last year were both from the Seam, and probably never had enough to eat a day in their lives. Effie's comment seems to have more of an effect on Katniss, an angry crease forms between her eyebrows and she defiantly eats the rest of the meal with her fingers, wiping her hands with the tablecloth. I almost want to laugh at the way she does it and the way it makes Effie purse her lips tightly together. Now that the meal's over, I'm trying to keep the food down. I can see Katniss looks a little green too. Neither of us is used to food this rich. But I'm determined to hold it down.

We're led into another compartment to watch the recap of the reapings across Panem. One by one, we watch the names being called, the volunteers stepping forward, or more often, not. We examine the faces of our future competition. A few stand out, in my mind. A blonde girl from District 1, a monstrous-looking boy from District 2, a sly-faced girl with striking red hair from District 5, a boy with a crippled foot from District 10, a boy with a build like an ox from District 11, and a tiny girl from the same district. The little girl seems to have the biggest effect on Katniss and I think I know why. Even though the girl has dark brown skin and eyes, the way she stands and her size are very much like her little sister's. Only, no one takes this little girl's place when she stands on the stage and they ask for volunteers. Then they show District 12. Her sister being called and Katniss taking her place; you can hear the desperation in her voice as she shoves her sister behind her. They show her friend, Gale Hawthorne, taking her sister away as Katniss mounts the stage. The commentators are confused as to why District 12 didn't applaud when she took to the stage. One guesses that District 12 is a bit backwards, but charming. Of course they'll excuse the gesture and the lack of applause. These are just games for them. Then we watch Haymitch yell at the camera and fall off the stage. We watch my name be called, me quietly taking the stage, Katniss and I shaking hands, and then they cut to the anthem and the program ends. Effie complains a lot about how her wig looked on camera.

"Your mentor has a lot to learn about presentation. A lot about televised behavior."

I can't help but laugh. We're being taken into an arena to die for people's entertainment, and all Effie can worry about is her hair and how Haymitch, our town's drunkard, presents himself on TV. "He was drunk" I say. "He's drunk every year."

"Every day," Katniss adds smirking. Effie obviously does not find the humor we see in her comment. "Yes." she hisses. "How odd you two find it amusing. You know your mentor is your lifeline to the world in these Games. The one who advises you, lines up your sponsors, and dictates the presentation of any gifts. Haymitch can well be the difference between your life and your death!"

Just then, Haymitch staggers into the compartment. "I miss supper?" he says in a slurred voice. Then he vomits onto the carpet and falls into the mess.

"So laugh away!" says Effie. And she hops in her pointy shoes around the pool of vomit and leaves the room.