"Annelise Stague." With that, my heart drops to my stomach. I start feeling slightly disoriented and Kaitlynn's grip tightens even more as I start to sway. I look over to her and she is starting to cry, which only makes me want to cry too. But I can't. I step out from the cluster of sixteen-year-olds and start walking to the stage, taking slow shaky steps.
I hear two cries for my name somewhere from the crowd; one male and one female. Daniel and Becca come from their own section and grab on to me as I'm walking. I stop and embrace them, holding tightly. We stay holding on to each other for an undetermined amount of time. DeAnne speaks, breaking us from our moment.
"Annelise, please make your way onto the stage."
I don't want to let go but I know I must. Becca tugs on my dress and whispers to me, "Can I volunteer for you?" I look at her like she's grown a second head, but give her a stern look.
'No' I mouth to her as two policemen grab my arms and lead me to the stage. I look out into the crowd and try to control my emotions. I feel like crying, but Becca's ridiculous question plays and I'm able to subdue the sadness for now. I take a few calming breaths as DeAnne makes her way to the boys' ball.
I chant 'Don't pick Daniel' in my mind the entire time it takes her to pull a slip out and walk back to the microphone. I know whoever's name is on that slip is going to be my ally, my life line, and the only person I can trust in the arena. I hold my breath as she unfolds the paper ever so slowly and reads the name out. I feel instantly better when the name does not belong to my brother.
The name it reads is Marcus Williams. A boy from the 17 year old group steps on stage. I hate to admit it, but he is quite handsome. He has tanned skin, and crystal blue eyes. His hair is short and light brown. He is about 5 inches taller than me, and obviously works out because he has a muscular build. He is wearing a green button-up shirt and khakis.
He hides his emotions really well because his expression is blank as he steps onto the stage. I glance over at him and he catches my eye, giving me a slight nod before he turns to face the crowd. I look down at my shoes as DeAnne says "Ladies and gentlemen, Kentucky's tributes, Annelise Stague and Marcus Williams!"
The crowd claps, more out of relief that they're safe than anything else. I spot my parents in the crowd as the national anthem plays. My mother's face is buried in my dad's shirt as he fights back his emotions. When the anthem ends, Marcus and I are taken into the capitol building where we will have our hour for visits. We are put in separate rooms and I sit on the plush red couch as I wait for the first visitors.
As expected, my family comes in first. Becca runs in and jumps on my lap, crying her eyes out. Daniel sits next to me. He always acts like a grown up, but now he acts Becca's age, clinging to me. I wrap my arms around both of them. Mother and father sit down in a chair across from us. Like Becca and Daniel with me, mom holds onto dad. I can tell she wants to cry but she's staying strong for me.
"Promise me one thing," I say. "No matter what happens on that screen, you will stay strong and live life like normal." This pushes my mom over the edge and she starts crying silently. I look at dad who is the only one not crying right now, and he has a hard look on his face.
"I know you can win, Annelise," Father says. "With that boy Marcus, you two can really win this." I think about this for a moment.
"98 other tributes will be in that arena with me and him. Odds are that they will be well prepared and just as strong. I'm gonna need luck on my side too."
He stares at me again. Becca has stopped crying now and looks up at me. She speaks in a timid voice, "Promise me you will never give up, that you won't go down without a fight and you will try your hardest to win." She is looking at me with her chocolate eyes that are full of sadness, but something else. I see hope in her eyes.
"I swear I will." I wrap her into a hug and kiss the top of her head. Daniel wipes his eyes and says, "Remember what we learned, and find out Marcus' skills. If anyone can win this, it's you. Except maybe me." He gives me a small grin and I can't help but let out a small laugh. Mother has come up from father's shirt and kisses my cheek.
"We all know you can do this. We have faith in your abilities. You are a special girl, Annelise." I give a faint smile and we all embrace as a police officer steps in letting us know our time is up. I wave to them as this may be the last time I ever see them. That thought makes me sad and I remind myself that I promised Becca I would be coming home.
Next in is Kaitlynn. She sits next to me and we immediately lock into a hug. I don't try to stay strong with her here, she knows me too well for that. I don't know how long we cry together, but soon enough she sits up and pulls something from her pocket.
"Here, I want you to have this," she says, placing something in the palm of my hand. It's a gold necklace with a pendant that hangs down. The stone on the pendant is a deep blue color. "I know you have seen me wear this. It was my grandma's and I want you to wear it. Plus, I think sapphire looks good on you." She smiles and I return it.
"Are you sure? It looks awfully expensive and seems important," I say.
"Don't worry. I know you'll be able to return it." I sigh and try to hand it back.
"I'm not so sure I'm coming back, Kaitlynn." She gasps and stands up in front of me, giving me a stern yet gentle slap on the cheek.
"You are coming home, Annelise! Don't talk like that! I've seen what you can do; you have the same chance as anyone, if not a better one!" Her voice is rising, so I grab her shoulders and push her back into her seat.
"Alright, calm down firecracker. I'll be coming home." She calms a bit and sits down.
"I know you will. Now I expect to see this on you in the… arena," she says, her voice cracking at the end. I nod and hug her one last time before another officer informs her her time is up. I have enough time for one more visitor and I wonder who it will be. I wouldn't expect anyone else besides who already came. I'm sort of a shy person and only have a handful of close friends, but they probably wanted to get out of here fast.
The door opens and a young girl- probably around Becca's age- steps in. She is wearing a white dress and resembles my fellow tribute, Marcus. Her Light brown hair is braided over her shoulder and secured with a gold bow. She comes in and takes a seat across from me.
"Hi Annelise, I'm Jane, Marcus' sister."
"Hi Jane, it's nice to meet you," I say, extending out my hand for her to shake. She does before she starts talking again.
"Look, I know you want to win, right? Well, I want you to help Marcus win too. You see, it's only him, our father and me. Dad hasn't been able to work for a while, so Marcus has been working to take care of us. We can't lose him, and I don't want to. He is my big brother. Promise me you will help him to win too." She says.
For someone her age, she talks like she is in her 30's. She probably had to mature pretty fast. Of course I was going to protect him, like I would hope he would do for me. If two could win, it makes more sense to. By the sounds of it, he is a survivor and strong-willed. That's exactly the one thing I couldn't bring into that arena. Real life experience.
"I promise. Both of us will be coming home."
She studies me for a minute and then says, "Good. And good luck." With that, she stands and walks out the door. I still have about 10 minutes left, and I decide now would be a good time to let out all my feelings.
I start crying into a pillow. Then anger takes over me. I start screaming and throwing the pillows around, cursing everyone and everything. After all my anger is out, I just feel numb. I stare up at the ceiling for the rest of my time, until the officer comes in and takes me to a car to go to the airport.
Marcus gets in the car to and neither of us says anything. I glance over at him, wondering if he knew his sister came to visit me. His face is still clean of emotions and I wonder what he's thinking about. He isn't looking in my direction, so my dad's whole 'eyes are a window to the soul' thing isn't going to work.
To break the silence I reach my hand over to him.
"Hi, I'm Annelise." He looks at me, then smiles slightly and shakes my hand.
"Marcus," he says simply. I smile back and remove my hand after a little longer contact than necessary. My attempt at breaking the silence is short-lived since we lapse back into it. I can feel Marcus glancing at me though.
The ride to the airport seems endless, for which I'm thankful. I don't want to leave my home just yet and to be honest I'm not a big fan of airplanes. Once on the airplane though I realize it's not like one. Its set up more like a train would be. Marcus and I are directed into a room with 2 couches and a table in the center. I'm guessing this is where we will meet our mentor.
Again, we sit in silence until the door opens. I make out the figure of a tall man before I can actually get a good look at his face. He steps in and my mouth drops open in shock.
My mentor will be my father.