Chapter Two: Reaped

"You ready for today?" Cato asked Clove as he helped her tie her hair back with a silk ribbon.

"No," Clove said honestly. She was now 17, but still didn't feel prepared for the games.

"So I assume you've decided not to volunteer then?" Cato asked as she turned to face him.

"Maybe next year," she said and Cato smiled.

"I guess it's my year then," he said and Clove laughed.

"I guess so," she said. They stood in silence for a moment, knowing these could be their last few moments together. The loud bell from the justice building sounded suddenly, making them both jump.

"I guess it's time then," Cato said and he pulled her off behind him and toward the giant justice building that towered over the rest of District Two.

Once they had signed in, they were separated into the different sections, holding all girls and boys of different ages. Cato stood with the 18-year-old boys and Clove with the 17-year-old girls. Once they were all sorted into their sections, their capitol ambassador stepped up to the mike. Clove stood up on her tiptoes to search out Cato, but he was lost in a sea of faces.

"Hello everyone," the capitol ambassador said in her awful capitol accent. "Happy Hunger Games! The time has come to select our tributes!" Without any further introduction, she walked over to the bowl of girl's names. She fished around in the bowl for an obnoxiously long time. The capitol citizens always enjoyed this part the most, as everyone else held their breath. Time slowed down as she called out the girl's name. And it's Clove.

Whispers erupted from the crowd almost immediately. For a moment, Clove stood frozen in her place, then turned suddenly and marched up to the stage. Her face looked emotionless and cold, but her eyes searched frantically for Cato. In the crowd, all the boys had turned to face him. He avoided their eyes and stared straight ahead at her, thinking about that promise he had made to her all those years ago, and hoping he wasn't going to go through with it now that the moment had actually come. She also thought how this was his last chance to fulfill his dream of being a victor, and she hoped someone would volunteer to take her place but knew no one would.

"Alright," their ambassador said, "Now for the boys." She fished around in that bowl just as long, and as soon as the name was called Cato jumped out from his place and into the center aisle.

"I VOLUNTEER," he yelled. The boy who was actually reaped had not even moved from his place by the time Cato reached the stage. Clove's heart slowed and she wanted to scream at him, but stayed quiet. Clove stared at him, keeping her face calm, but he could see that her eyes were wild.

"I present your tributes for the 74th annual Hunger Games," the ambassador squealed again. Cato and Clove turned to each other, shook hands, and were pushed back into the justice building within seconds. They were not even five feet into the room before Clove jumped on Cato.

"What is wrong with you?" she screamed, "We can't both be in this and win!" Cato easily pushed her off and pinned her against the wall behind them. The ambassador squealed for them to stop, but they both ignored her.

"I promised you that I would volunteer to protect you if you got reaped and didn't feel ready! Besides, this is my last chance! I age out next year! It's not my fault you got reaped," he yelled. She squirmed against his grip but could not break free.

"How do you think this is going to end Cato?" she yelled, "We can't both win! And if you're protecting me the whole time, it'll likely end up to be between the two of us!" Cato released his grip and stepped back.

"I guess we'll have to just wait and see," he said, "May the best man win." With that, he stormed off down the hall. Clove was shocked at his sudden emotionless demeanor. Just a second ago he was talking about protecting her, but now it's as if he's saying every man for himself.

Clove moved awkwardly passed their ambassador and into the room behind her where she would receive her family. All of her family was very pleased and excited to see her win. She was flooded with congratulations and hugs.

Only her father seemed worried. He knelt down and looked her straight in the eye and said, "I know you have some sort of relationship with this boy. Don't let that affect you. You can win this thing, Clove. But if you get distracted for just a second, that could be the end of it. And you don't get a second chance." Clove nodded and buried her face in her father's shoulder. He seemed to be the only one who understood that this was not how she had wanted it to happen.

Once their families were gone, she and Cato were whisked through the justice building and out onto a capitol train. Their capitol ambassador, whose name they now knew to be Coral, was babbling on and on about how wonderful everything in the capitol is and how excited they should be to see it. Clove and Cato didn't speak, and avoided each other's eyes as they boarded the train. They sat in silence as they awaited their mentor.

"Her name is Enobaria," Coral said as they sat down to await her arrival, "She will be taking care of both of you throughout the games and has some past victor knowledge I know she's dying to share with you. She just absolutely loves the games." Clove and Cato both stared straight ahead, not saying anything.

When Enobaria entered the room, neither of them reacted. They had already seen Enobaria and studied her own Hunger Games and victory. They had nothing new to learn from her. She sat down across from them and smiled. Her pointy gold teeth were blinding. As she started talking, they both remained silent, and stared at the floor.

"What's up with you two?" she asked, shaking them both from their daze. "I've heard of both of you and thought you'd be excited. Is their something happening that I don't know about?" Clove's eyes flicked toward Cato and then back to the floor. It wasn't more than a second, but this was enough for Enobaria to figure it out. "Are you two a thing?"

"No," Clove snapped immediately.

"We were friends," Cato said and stood up, "But I don't think we are anymore."

"Cato," Clove said and stood up too, but he backed away.

"No," he said, "You were right. Only one of us can win. Just because we've been friends forever doesn't mean I'm going to die to let you win. We should distance ourselves now. " With that he left the room.

"He's right you know," Enobaria said.

"Shut up," Clove snapped and stormed off as well.

"We're in for an interesting ride," Enobaria said to Coral who giggled uncomfortably.