I start to move slowly towards the stage and as I come closer and the screen focuses on me there are more gasps and muttering because if they didn't know be my name they can see me know, see how small I am, see that I'm just a 12 year old girl in a dress that's too short for her and maybe they've seen me around, seen me with Ceres…

But still I don't see how they're so shocked as some of them must have voted on me for me to be coming up here. I reach the stage and climb up. Xabina greets me and repeats the same sort of thing she said to Ceres then 'ok then shake hands' we go to shake hands and somehow end up hugging. 'I'm sorry' I whisper. 'Me too' he replies. Sorry for what? Sorry for the position the others in, sorry that I can't watch out for his siblings, sorry that he couldn't help me, sorry that we're embarrassing ourselves in front of everyone, sorry that we might have to kill each other…? Just sorry.

We are escorted into separate rooms; this is where our family and friends will come to see us for quite probably the last time… I wonder if anyone will come to see me. After around ten minutes I decide that nobody is coming and just try to get some rest. Until the door opens and Zinnia comes in. She walks towards me and doesn't seem to know what to do. 'Nobody was coming to see you so I came…' I nod.

'You're so young, why would anyone vote for a twelve year old?' she says.

'Like you said, no one was coming to see me, I'm an orphan with no siblings who cares if I die' I say staring at the elaborately patterned carpet.

'I'm sure that's not true' she says desperately trying to think of an example 'Ceres and his siblings'

'That's not much use seeing as he's coming with me' I say. She stares at the floor probably trying to think of something to say to comfort me I think she must give up as the next think she does is ask if I want to see Orchis, Aphea and Braeburn. 'I know that you're going into the hunger games with their brother but I thought you might want to say goodbye.' I nod again.

'Ok then, good bye and good luck' she says standing up and walking towards the door.

'Who did you vote for? I ask stopping her at the door.

'Some people I didn't know they were eighteen' she says opening the door and leaving. I guess I'll have to wait a few minutes while Zinnia finds them so I get up and start looking around the room when to my surprise someone else comes in. it's the lady from the bakery the one who washed my dress. When I see her I can't help myself from blurting out 'did you vote for Ceres?'

'No dear I didn't' she says coming over to me 'I think anyone who did would feel guilty now seeing his siblings standing there crying'. She leads me to the sofa and sits down next to me. 'You're going to be alright you hear?' she says to me and suddenly I start crying because I know that's not true. We just sit there me crying and her stroking my hair, telling me that it's alright, it's going to be ok, maybe there was a mistake. I wish I could believe her. I think she's partly trying to say it to herself. After a while the peacekeepers come and tell her to leave. She leaves silently leaving me trying to dry my tears. Orchis, Aphea and Brae come in just as she leaves. They've been crying as well, their eyes are red rimmed and Aphea's still sniffing. Brae can't have understood what was happening he was probably crying just because his sisters were. He toddles over too me and Aphea follows him but Orchis hangs back. Aphea has a flower in her hand well more a flower made up of lots of tiny little flowers she gives it to me 'Orchis picked this for you earlier to wear to the reaping but forgot to give it to you'

'It's my name…' Orchis says 'it'll be alright wont it? you'll work something out, you and Ceres won't you?' I nod; I don't have the energy to comfort her.

'You won't hurt him will you?' she says.

'Of course I won't, it will be fine don't worry' I reply forcing a smile

'Good I knew it would, didn't I Aph?'Orchis says Aphea nods agreeing to whatever her big sister says. The peacekeepers come and tell them to leave I give them all a quick hug then say something about how I'm sure the woman from the bakery will look out for them while they wait for Ceres to come back…

No one else comes. After a while peacekeepers come and march me down to the train station. I regret crying when I get there: there are more cameras and it's obvious I've been crying. I wipe my eyes again and try to avoid the cameras then I change my mind I stare straight ahead letting the cameras see my face the tears in my face, the hatred in my face. I want the capitol to know it's their fault I'm crying, I want the people in my district to know it's their fault too. They voted for me…

I get on the train behind Xabina and Maris gets on behind me and behind her I can see Ceres just coming in the door which shuts behind him and the train starts to move almost immediately. As we walk along the carriages I can see district 11 zooming past me through the windows. I've been on a train once before which is unusual for someone in district 11. It was before my mother died, she was overseeing a delivery of plant cuttings or something like that from somewhere near the edge of district 11. It was during the school holidays and I was too young to stay at home on my own as my mother couldn't find anyone to look after me I went with her. We went there by train then came back in the vans with the cuttings. It was nothing like this train though, it was nowhere near as fast and nowhere near as smart. On the train we have our own room with a bathroom Xabina leaves me their telling me we'll be on the train overnight and that now I have an hour to get washed and changed for dinner. I decide to wash first so go into the bathroom and find a shower. I've never used a shower before. I stand under it and press a button in the centre of a little board of dials and buttons. Suddenly I am being sprinkled with freezing cold water. I shriek and turn it off. I turn a few dials before pressing the centre button again this time only putting my arm into the water. It's scalding hot, I withdraw my arm quickly and mess around with a few more dials until eventually I get a temperature that I can cope with. I feel like I could stand in the shower for ages but I remember that I've only got an hour so I quickly wash myself then get out. When I get out I feel the cleanest I've been in ages it'd be great if it wasn't because of where I am headed.

I open a wardrobe and lots of drawers seeing a seemingly endless selection of clothes. For a moment I just stand staring at them; I don't think I've ever seen so many dresses together in my life. I decide I want to try on as many of them as possible before dinner. I try on what seems like hundreds of dresses, skirts, trousers and tops but I feel strange in them not only because hardly any of them fit me (I guess they weren't expecting a twelve year old). In the end I just put my own dress back on because it reminds me of my mother and right now I really miss her. I pull a hairbrush through my hair then look at my reflection in a mirror, no matter how I feel, I look terrible: my hair is wet and tangled, my eyes are red from crying and my small tight dress isn't helping. I just sit on the bed until Maris comes and fetches me for dinner…

Sorry it may be a little while before i can upload the next chapter as i'm going back to school tomorrow but hopefully i'll get it done soon.