******Disclaimer: I do not own Hunger Games or any of the characters.******

Annabell felt the rays of sunshine on her face that were pouring through her small cream colored window that was so dirty that the spots that speckled the glass never seemed to go away no matter how hard she tried to wipe them away with the ultra clean windex her mom made.

Anna (as her friends liked to call her) sat up and squinted at the window, doing those awkward morning stretches that we all do after we wake up. Slowly she yawned letting the fuzz of sleep slip away, just as her younger brother, Luke, slipped into the room. He began to pester her telling her it was reaping day; to get dressed in the stuff mom had laid out and comb that tangled long hair of hers. Anna sighed, rolled her brownish speckled eyes then told him "okay mom" and to "get out of her room".

Luke being at the mere age of eight had grown up all too fast after their father had passed away in a fishing accident, along with Finnick's father just three years ago. Anna had always been pretty mature but it seemed that after their dad Harold's passing they had swapped personalities. Anna becoming more childish and Luke becoming so much like an adult it frightened her. And since Finnick stopped helping after his games, Luke saw it upon his now eleven year old self, to become the man of the house. Which quite frankly having your younger brother act as though he were a man, none the less your dad, was quite annoying at times.

Finnick… now that was a topic she never had the patience to ponder upon anymore. Once they had been the closest of friends, being bonded because their parents had been so close. He was a year older than her, and always looked out for her, had defended her, and even helped her learn piano when she had struggled to keep up with her lessons (while like always he did amazingly). She had been so sure of their friendship, that had finally started to go somewhere other than the friendzone. Frankly she had always seen them being together forever, but apparently the capitol can turn even the sweetest of people into a fat head who turns against his own friends.

That's the thing, is when Finnick came back from his games he was a new person- which given she had expected- but when he came to see her all she got was a sad longing glance and a shake of the head. After that he walked out of her life -quite literally- and they never spoke to one another again, and while he hoared himself to the capitol she sat idly by wondering what had happened to her former friend and love.

But that had been two years ago; she had waited long enough now, she was fifteen and ready to take on the world. All she had to do was get through three more reapings and she would be fine.

Anna slipped the silky dark ocean blue dress her mom had laid out on her dresser over her head. She recognized it as the same dress her mother wore to her best friend Emera's wedding they had attended so many years ago. It came to about mid calf on her petite mother (she was only 5'2''), but for her it fit her slightly curved 5'7'' frame just the way she liked it rising to about knee-length. She did a quick twirl and pleased with the simplicity and beauty of the gown grabbed the pair of black flats that lay next to her tan wooden night stand that she almost always wore. Satisfied with her outfit, Anna quickly brushed her silky brownish somewhat tinted bronze (from the sun) hair, which despite its look and texture, always managed to knot itself in tighter twists then the knots that the district fishermen used.

Now looking presentable enough for reaping day Anna waltzed out of her bedroom down the wooden halls and met her anxious mother and brother, who were in similar attire as her silky outfit, with a big confident smile that masked the sick feeling in her gut that she always seemed to get when she was stressed or nervous.

"Well let's just get this lovely ordeal over with, shall we?" Anna said in a sarcastic tone and with that she walked out of the door of their small little cottage by the beach and soon after her little brother and mom closely followed.

Sandy, Anna's mom soon caught up to her and grasped her hand and whispered in her ear "May the odds be ever in your favor, I love you".

Suddenly she felt her mom pull away and watched as her mom walked away with Luke, who turned and shouted "GOOD LUCK ANNA". She was then whisked away to the sign in counter where all of the other young females were. Annabell gazed upon the faces and saw some familiar, some not so much. From the mere young age of 12 all the way to the 18 year olds who were almost full fledged adults.

Some were fighters and others were not (Anna herself falling somewhere inbetween), this being due to some being able to afford the luxury of the academy in which they illegally trained young children who wanted to prepared for the games or even just for the glory of winning it all.

All Anna had was flexibility, slightly toned muscles (from hours of ballet class), and a good arm with tridents which was only due to the fact Finnick had taught her when they were kids. Not bad attributes she had to admit, she wasn't complaining but she was certainly no career or victor worthy.

The peacekeeper all of a sudden shoved Anna forward knocking her out of her daze. Anna held out her finger to the middle aged woman who sat in front of her holding out her pristinely white gloved hand- which matched her white lab coat- that held a 'blood zapper' as she liked to call it. Which pretty much took some blood from your finger and then registered your DNA to confirm you were at the reaping, and not ditching, because God forbid someone disobeyed the capitol and their overly dramatic Hunger Games obsession.

After the woman registered her and shouted "NEXT" to the peacekeepers, Anna walked away taking deep breaths to calm her edging nerves. This was it, she just had to make it through this year and she would then only have two more years and then she would be home free!

Flabia waltzed onto the stage in 6 inch blue rhinestone heels and a huge puff ball, that she calls a dress, it was so short Anna was sort of afraid to even look at her for fear of getting an eyeful of more than she bargained for. Then to top it all off she felt the need to adorn her head with a curly bright greenish-blue wig (which Anna assumed was supposed to resemble an algea infested area of the ocean) covered in sparkly forest green guppies.

After Flabia had finally managed to scoot her way across the stage in her high heavy heels she went through the whole speech about the uprising and the capitol being so generous and bla bla bla bla bla that she gave every year. Anna rolled her eyes and looked at the screen as it began to show district thirteen and all of the ruins and broken families and such which were caused apparently by the districts uprising.

"OH isn't that just perfect and heart warming! Now, may the odds be everrrr in your favor" Flabia said so shriekingly loud in her thick capitol accent, through a much too perfectly white smile, it almost bursted the audiences of possible tributes ear drums 'great they want us to go deaf too! Yippie!' was all Anna could think.

"Well ladies first" Flabia shrieked as always and fished her jaggedly long blue sparkly rhinestone nails (which matched her heels) into the crystal ball shaped bowl which held the names of each possible tribute. The tension was so thick in the district courtyard you could slice it with a knife or possibly stab it with the districts weapon of choice, a trident. Anna gulped in air and felt herself stop breathing as Flabia grasped the paper that had someones death stamped onto it and said into the microphone "Andddddd the tributeee this year is…" Annabell Ponder".

Anna let out a sigh of relief, and only as she did, did she notice the pathway the female section had made just for her and all of the despairing looks her friends gave her. Reality came crashing down on her so hard she felt as though she might suffocate

Well it looked like the odds were never truly in Anna's favor now were they…

Authors Note

Hi readers, I hoped you liked it! Please comment and support this fanfic it would mean a lot xoxo