The room was crowded; people were bustling, scampering around to prepare for the president's live appearance on national television for the announcement of the Quarter Quell. People were delicately placing a worn box onto a stand that sat directly in front of the large camera. Reporters stood pressed against the walls, and cameramen were fussing with their instruments.

A loud ring went up through the crowd, and a man with a headset standing by the giant television screen on the wall shouted in the silence that followed, "Everyone, the broadcast starts in two minutes. Get ready, or get out!" Within no more than thirty seconds, everyone had evacuated the room save for a handful of cameramen and three of the highest-quality reporters. It was quiet but for the man who had spoken up earlier. He was murmuring into the headset and scrolling through a document on his screentop. A moment later he said, "And here comes the president."

Just then, the door in the left wall opened, and in strolled President Mullen. He was a tall, thin man with graying hair and sideburns. Though his skin was wrinkled, he was said to be only around 40 years of age. The rumors were that he had tried to get an operation on his skin that went quite wrong. No one dared confront to him on the matter, though, to see if it was true.

He spoke no words as he walked up to the box and waited until the lead cameraman counted down to airing time.

"Three… two… one."

The president plastered on a wide smile. He was a favorite among the Capitol citizens for his charisma that only existed when he was on television.

To begin the broadcast, he lists the past three Quarter Quells. Then he clicks open the wooden box and pulls out a yellowed envelope with the number 100 clearly inscribed upon it. Taking his time, he carefully opens the envelope and pulls out a piece of paper. "For the 100th Hunger Games, to show that even when the result seems clear, the Capitol has the power to change everything, at the final eight, there will be a new surprise in store for the tributes." The president still had his smile on, and gave a quick wave before leaving the room.

And the camera clicked off.

Okay, well, sorry for that poor piece of writing. I was anxious to go ahead and post something else, so this is the result. Anyway, I also apologize for that poor description of the Quarter Quell. First of all, I couldn't figure out what the explanation would be without giving away what I was going to have happen, although I don't think it will be very hard to guess something similar as to what's going to happen. I had to go with Plan B, and I don't feel that it is as original as my first idea, but, as it turns out, that one was just too complicated. Second of all, the Gamemakers decided that it would best for…certain reasons… that I will explain after the "surprise" is out of the bag, if I remember to, that it would be best to wait to reveal the Quell. So you guys shouldn't know exactly what it is for a while and neither will the tributes.

Anyway, now I should be starting the reapings. These will probably take much longer to finish than these previous chapters because I'm going to be working much harder on them and they will be much longer. And I've got school stuff, too. This week is the week before exams though, so I haven't had much homework. But after next week, posts will probably be coming a lot slower, but I will do my best.

Goodbye!

-Tasting Raindrops-