I stood there among other sixteen year olds. The weather was nice. Sun was shining, birds were singing and butterflies were flying around us. If it weren't for the Reaping, it would have been a beautiful day.

Sighs and groans could be heard from the crowd, since our escort Francine was late. It never happened before and people were getting anxious to get over with the Reaping.

Squeal of tires attracted our attention and slightly ruffled Francine stepped out of the car. She ran to the stage, grabbed microphone and steadied herself. She stuffed her face in the microphone, huffed and started talking.

"Welcome, to the 74th Annual Hunger Games. Now I am sure that you are eager to hear who is going to get picked to represent District 9. So let's pick boy first in the name of a tradition." She giggled and went to big translucent glass bowls full of slips, quickening the process knowing that people were restless. We didn't even watch the short movie about the Rebellion.

It is sad, but girls bowl was nearly filled to the brim. It is an unspoken rule in the family, that it is better for the girl to get picked rather than boy. The only reason is, that boys can find work easier and they are more needed. So it is better for the family to lose their daughter and sister, rather than their son. It is cruel, but that's the way it works. That's why girls apply for a tesserae, not the boys.

It sounds bad when I say it, but it is just better for me. Though my dad wasn't able to arrange, that I would have no slips at all, he managed to make a deal, that I would have just one. The deal was to supply quarter of the tesserae provided. But it was something he was able to agree on, to ensure my safety. So the chance of me getting picked is quite nonexistent.

Francine pushed her wig in place, since it was still a bit askew. Probably from the crazy ride from station to the square. She surprised me this year. I was expecting to see a giant curly wig of some grotesque color, but she had long pin-straight golden colored wig. It seems she got inspired by the color of our fields, as it was nearly time for harvest.

"Now, the boy's tribute for the 74th Hunger Games is.."She jammed her hand into the bowl. She didn't even mixed the slips. She just grabbed the first slip of paper that got in her hand and walked to the center of the stage.

Francine cleared her throat and said: " Romar Nichols!"

Crowd instantly parted for the said boy.

He started walking to the stage, shaken up, but brave. My heart clenched at the memory of his kiss on my cheek yesterday.

I looked for his younger brother in the section of the fifteen year olds. He was struggling against two of his friends. I saw how he was desperate, he knew that he has no choice.

He broke free from them and got ahead of Romar. As he neared the stage , he shouted something, that I will never forget.

"I volunteer." Two Peacekeepers went to him, grabbed his arms and took him on the stage, where Francise was clapping her little hands, giving him no chance to turn back. Romar didn't even got the chance of beating his brother. He sank to his knees and bowed his head in defeat.

This is another part of the unspoken law in here. If an older sibling gets picked, it is the duty of the younger one to volunteer. That is just the way it works here. Older siblings are mostly able to work more and harder. Workers in this District are allowed to take a small part of what they make home. So it is just understandable for most people.

Oh, I am sure that Francine is overjoyed. This sudden turn of events will bring more spotlight on her. She knows of this rule, but the Capitol and other District have no idea. I am sure that this will attract a huge amount of attention.

A younger boy for an older one? Unbelievable. But true.

I know Morris. He is a 14 year old boy. He tooks after his brother. He is like his mini copy. But just in looks. His personality is different. He is a lot more shy, always has his nose buried in some book. He is such a sweet boy.

Francine wrapped arms around Morris. "I assume correctly, that that young man is your older brother, right?"

"Yes. He is." Morris agreed and watched as his father raised Romar and went with him to the rest of his family. When he saw them, he smiled a little, despite tears rolling down his cheeks. He knew deep down, that he did the right thing. Because this was Romar's last year.

"And now , let's pick tribute from girl's section." She went to the other bowl and as with the boys, she picked the first slip that got in her hand. This action caused me to be more nervous than I already was. Picking the first slip she touched had a certain kind of fatefulness.

"And the girl tribute for the 74th Hunger Games iss…" She prolonged the last word to create more tension.

My heart started to beat loudly in my chest.

Francine quickly glanced on the slip once more, to make sure she won't mispronounce the name.

My ears drowned out every sound except my quickened heartbeat.

"..Coreen Mahoney!"

And my heart stopped.

People stepped away from me as if I was infected. My eyes were jumping from one face to another looking for a sign, that it wasn't me who was picked. But I only saw a hidden joy, that they have been spared of this fate.

I put a foot forward. Testing whether I won't collapse. But I didn't. My hands were trembling as my feet carried me to the stage. My moves were jittery and laboured.

White gloved hands of Peacekeepers took me up on the stage where Francine was already waiting for me with her arms opened. I stumbled on the last step, but I quickly straigtened myself out.

Francine's arms enveloped me as she was blabbering to the microphone. My mind was clouded from the heavy smells of her perfume.

I barely registered Morris hand in mine, before we were ushered from the stage.

I was told to wait in a visiting room, so that anyone who wanted to say goodbye to me could. But no one came. But I knew better than to expect my parents to come. I'm sure that they do not even know, that I was reaped. Even if someone ran to my house to announce them, that their daughter was picked, they wouldn't have made it in time. And I am sure that mom would have another attack.

When we got on the train I was amazed by the beauty and elegance of it. Everything was so clean, fresh and shiny. I wanted to run my hands along the sofas and the table to feel the texture beneath my fingertips.

"Wow.." Morris breathed out. His gaze was transfixed on the array of food that was put on the table on the other side of the room. I never saw so much food in one place.

I glanced at Morris just to find him looking at me with a challenge in his eyes. I quickly understood what he was thinking about.

"1.." I said.

"..2" He prepared his feet and leaned forward.

"3." The second the number left my lips, we bolted to the table. Morris beat me to it and won. I mockingly bowed to him and said:

"I offer you this cake as a trophy." I grabbed the closest cake and held it in my hands as something sacred.

"I accept."He said and smashed his winner's cake into his mouth. I laugh at the sight, because the cake was two times bigger than his mouth.

I took one cake myself and sat on a dark brown sofa. Morris sat next to me and put his feet on a small coffee table that was stationed in front of us. I copied him and stuffed the last bit of cake in my mouth. I'm sure we looked like pigs, but I didn't care.

"I'm Coreen, by the way. But you can call me Cory, if you want." I offered him my sticky hand, to which he accepted and grabbed it with his.

"I'm Morris. And you can call me Morris, if you want."

"No nicknames?"I asked surprised.

"Not really."He shrugged his shoulders."There is not much room for imagination with a name like that. "

I hmmed in agreement.

"Now that you properly introduced to each other," said a voice from behind me," I suggest washing those hands before you smudge anything with them." Along with the voice, Francine came into my view. Her heels made a clicking sound as she went to pour herself some Capitol made beverage.

"Now you have about an hour to rest or to do whatever you want and then we will watch The Reaping."And with that she went to show us our rooms.

My room was beautiful. In the middle was a huge bed that I'm sure could hold at least four people. Next to it was a night table with some flowers on it. There were two doors against the bed. One led into a luxurious bathroom with marble tiles and gold taps with a shower and a tub.

The next door led to a nearly empty wardrobe, so I think that we will get clothes later today. There were some pants, T-shirts and dresses in neutral colors and in medium size. Everything was made in golden-brown colors. I get it that wheat is golden during the harvest. But most of the time, my district is in colors such as green and brown.

I sat bored on the bed for about 10 minutes before knock sounded through the room.

"Can I come in?' Morris head peeked out from the hall.

"Sure buddy." I said and patted bed next to me for him to sit down.

He sat obediently hiding his hands behind back.

"What do you have there?" I asked curiously.

"I grabbed few more cookies.." He offered me some.

We sat there in awkward silence munching. I didn't know what to say to him, so I chose a neutral theme.

"So you're 15 year old?"

"Yes. And you're sixteen, right?"

"Actually going on seventeen. I have birthday in 10 days. If I will be alive by then." I said sourly. In 10 days, I would be in arena already for five days.

"Oh. That sucks."

"Yeah. I know." I said and bit into another cookie.

We talked a bit more about our families and lives before Francine collected us five minutes till the Reaping Recap, so we could meet our mentors. We entered the compartment and saw our mentors.

The woman was neither small nor tall. She had long brown hair, big hazel eyes, friendly smile and freckled cheeks. She introduced herself as Elma. I looked at the male mentor waiting for him to say his name but he stood there staring at the blank screen with a frown on his face.

"This is Darby. Don't be bothered by him today. Something crawled up into his ass and died." I looked at the mentioned Darby. He looked quite young with short cropped black hair and dark brown eyes.

We sat on the couch when Francine showed her short-tempered side and turned the screen on, thinking that we missed the start..

Two colorful men appear on the screen and I heard Francine's sigh of relief that she didn't miss anything.

"Welcome to the 74th Hunger Games Reaping Recap. I am Caesar Flickerman."He flashes his most charming smile and beckoned the golden haired man to continue.

"I am Claudius Templesmith. And may the odds be ever in your favor."

They both began talking about Hunger Games, what we can expect and look forward too. If I weren't for me being one of the tributes I might have enjoyed their cheery attitude a lot more.

They went in the order of Districts. I was quite looking forward to this part, because I never saw this before and I was curious about what the other districts looked like.

District 1 Tributes didn't look very terrifying on the screen. The girl looked like she spends all her time in front of the mirror and the boy looked like he was enjoying every minute of it.

It was the District 2 tributes that gave me chills. The girl was small, but the sadistic look on her face told me not to cross her path.

But that boy. He was huge. He jumped at the opportunity to volunteer. I caught myself thinking how he can even walk with so much muscles on his body. He had blond hair and bright blue eyes. His attitude I-know-I-will-win didn't go unnoticed by the commentators who warned other tributes to beware of this boy.

Be sure that I will. I said to myself.

Other Districts went quite quickly. I didn't pay much attention to them, because my mind was still on that blond tribute.

Morris nudged me in the shoulder and whispered:" Look."

District 9 was on.

"An unexpected turn of events caught our attention in this District. Morris Nichols, male tribute for this District, volunteered for his older brother, Romar." Commented Claudius.

"It is uncommon for someone to volunteer in these Districts, but a younger brother volunteering for older one? That is very intriguing. I wonder what made this young boy to do this. Let's watch what actually happened."Caesar motioned his hand on the screen behind them.

I felt it like is was happening now. I could still hear bird's singing and Morris brave voice. They showed him as he stood on the stage, but another camera focused closely on his brother kneeling in front of the stage with his head down.

Than Francine called out my name. I saw myself as I was walking like a robot to the stage. I looked like I saw a ghost.

"Well this girl looks pretty shaken up. Her name is Coreen Mahoney."Read Claudius from a card.

"I agree with you Claudius. Well, here is a small advice for you Coreen. You better put yourself together girl and try not to trip anymore, because it won't end well for you." Caesar laughed and started talking about District 10.

Now I stopped paying attention completely. How am I supposed to get myself together knowing what is waiting for me? Sure, it may have seen like I was having fun with Morris after we got on the train. And I did have fun. But the fact that I am pretty much sentenced to death hasn't escaped my mind. It is lurking in the back of my mind, but is still present. And I am not a clutz.

But I try to not to take it like it is the end of the world. Though my end is closer than ever before, I do not want to act like I have nothing to live for anymore.

Because I do have something to live for. I still have a few more days. And I plan to make the most of them while I can.

"…and the male tribute for District 12 is Peeta Mellark!"

My head snapped up and I watched as a blond blue-eyed boy walked to the stage. I didn't recognize his face, but his name did.

Because that purple escort just called the name of my only friend.

My best friend.

Peeta.

Disclaimer: I own nothing from Hunger Games.

Chapter 2 is up. I can't believe how long it took me to write this chapter. Nearly 5 hours. I have time to update now because it is still winter holiday, but then there will be school, graduation exams and testing, university exams, so I think that if I will be able to publish new chapter once or twice a week.

Thanks to Stjarna11 for favoriting my story. And thanks to everyone that read it.

This is my first story ever, so I would like to hear what you think of it. Leave a review, it would make me happy.

And I apologize for grammar mistakes, since English isn't my first language. Thanks, Lia