HELLO! I'm on an updating spree because I am bored. Dum de dum de dummmmm. HERE.
The Peacekeepers shepherd us into the Justice Building after they play the anthem. I haven't caught a glimpse of our mentor yet. I'm sent into the richest room I've ever seen. Our whole apartment could fit inside it. I'm in awe. I look, admiring the soft carpet and velvety chairs. I kick off my shoes and wiggle my toes in the plush carpet. It calms me as I try to hold myself for the next hour.
The next hour. That will be it, and then I'll be sent off to die. I chew on this thought as my mother and siblings enter the room.
Xaviar races in first and throws himself at me, sobbing. I'm engulfed by my siblings, who all gather around me like sheep. I manage to pull away for a moment to hug my mother. She sits in one of the armchairs as I gather my siblings around me.
"Declan and Amanda," I say, turning to them first," You have to watch over your brothers and sisters. Don't get into too much trouble. If you can, find Shaunna and get her to teach you"—I drop my voice to a whisper—"How to smuggle food out of the orchards." I straighten up and turn to Xaviar and Basil. "Take care of yourselves. Don't give Mummy too much trouble, okay?" I say, hugging them in turn. We sit in silence, tears coursing down Xaviar, Basil and Amanda's cheeks. Eventually, they are called to leave. Mother stands up, hugs me one last time, and tells me, "Stay strong. I know you can make it. "
"You have to come back," Maryanna cries, latching onto my leg. "You have to!" I try to calm her down, but the Peacekeepers run in first and take her out. She screams, and there's nothing I can do as she's pulled out of the hallway. I run to the door, but another Peacekeeper grabs my arm roughly. I shriek, but nobody helps me. I sit back down and start crying, my cheeks burning with hatred, when Shaunna comes in.
"Hi, Rue," she says quietly. Her eyes are red, and it's clear that she's been crying.
"I wanted you to take this, for your district token," she says, pulling something out of her pocket. It's a roughly carved wooden star, on a grass-woven necklace. We used to make these all the time when we were little. "It's the first one you ever made me. " Her eyes glitter with tears and she presses into my hand.
"Really try to stay alive, Rue. Please. Not just for me, but for your siblings. They need you."
She knows I could never make it—I'm too thin and weak. My only true strength is that I'm fast.
"I won't let them catch me." I smile at her through my tears. Then the Peacekeepers come and take her and leave me sitting and feeling miserable.
I am walked out with Thresh, who doesn't look fazed at all. I dry my tears as we are walked to a car. A car! I've never seen a car, much less ridden in one. The drive to the station is remarkably short, especially for one who walks everywhere, and I am distracted as the images outside the window blow past as fast as the wind.
The station is crowded with television crews and cameras. I try to appear brave and defiant, but my hands are shaking. I think Thresh feels badly for me, because he shoulders away the people trying to talk to me, to catch a glimpse of me on their cameras. We manage to get on the train, which speeds of so quickly it takes away my breath. I press my nose to the window and watch the images go by even faster than they did in the car.
The train is fancy—even more so than the Justice Building, which is a little worn down. I feel out of place as we are shown to our own private quarters. A whole room to myself—with my own bathroom! I feel terrible, knowing that at home, my family is sitting down to a tiny lunch in a tiny house where nobody will fill their tiny stomachs, and here I am being treated to such grandeur. I walk into the bathroom and find hot and cold water. We don't have hot water unless your boil it yourself.
Our escort—his name is Xenith—tells me I can take anything I want and that supper is in an hour. The drawers are filled with clothing, many more and much nicer than I own at home. I try the shower. It feels amazing, like when we work in the rain, but mixed with all the hottest parts of a summer's day.
I put on a blouse and a brown jumper similar to the one I have at home. I look closer at the necklace Shaunna gave me—it's a wooden star, cut hurriedly, with the words For Rue Love Shaunna carved on the back. My eyes water again, but then Xenith calls me again for dinner and I calm myself, tying on the necklace.
Thresh comes out and follows us to the dining car. The table is richly decorated with foods we could only dream of back in District 11. I sit and fill my plate, trying to remember my manners and try anything I can reach. Our mentors are sitting with us too. Their names are Chaff and Seeder. Chaff is missing a hand that he lost in the 45th Hunger Games. There is very little conversation as we eat, and soon we go to another compartment to watch the reapings.
None of them really stand out. I watch mine, and the wind is whistling in the silence when they ask for volunteers. The next one is the one that really catches my eye. A girl is called, and she steps forwards, but another much older girl volunteers. Her name is Katniss. She looks like a good ally.
Could she be my ally?