Disclaimer (Because I forgot to write it at all yesterday): Sadly, I don't own Hunger Games... 'Tis only a dream...
I watch Tizzy Bloom waltz on stage. Her wig is bright blue with even brighter yellow highlights. The light seems to bounce off her unnaturally pale skin and I find that my eyes are hurting by just looking at her. She's the new escort for District 7 and is pretty much jumping up and down with excitement. Eventually, though, she takes her seat next to the Mayor, some other officials and Karo Veneer, who's district 7's latest victor.
Quickly, I search the rows of children and see Zoe Thistle, my best friend, a few rows forward. I try to smile at her but of course she doesn't see me so I turn my attention back to the stage. The mayor steps up to the center of the stage and begins reading the story of Panem. I pretty much fall asleep till he gets to the bit where he reads the past victor's names. We have had 9 victors in total. At least it's not as bad as District 12.
Then the mayor calls up Tizzy for the reaping. Oh how she must love being the center of attention... Even if we all are silently hating her.
"Well, well!" She says, catching the attention of most of the younger kids that started day dreaming. "How about we begin?"
She walks over to one of the glass bowls, her heels going tap tap tap along the stage. Her long nails go around and around through the thousands of names. Finally, she picks one out. I notice she hasn't said whether its the girls or boys, and I bet she's forgot which bowl is which.
The silence is deafening. I want to scream at her to get on with it. But then, eventually, Tizzy clears her throat and reads out the name in her rich Capitol accent.
"Avia Pines!"
No. It's the only word I seem to remember. No, no, no, no!
"Avia Pines?" Tizzy repeats uncertainly. Suddenly I realize everyone's staring at me. I want to rewind back to - well I don't care where to. I just can't go into the Games. I can't! They've been in my nightmares each night since I was 10 years old. I'm surprised when I start moving. I think I almost forgot how. Step by step, my feet make their way to the stage. It's a dream. It has to be.
"Lovely! Now for the boy tribute,"
Somewhere among the crowd, I spot Nooks face. His eyes are cold and sad and I choke back a sob, not wanting to be seen as weak on national television.
"Nook Pines!"
I slowly turn to face Tizzy. This is impossible. It's some sick joke and any second now she'll start laughing in her arrogant way and tell us it was a silly prank. But she doesn't. Nook makes his way to the stage in an even slower way than I did, and then somewhere among the parents and family members, I hear a cry, a scream.
Mother.
I feel like any second now I'll just break down and cry in front of everyone. But thankfully I don't since Tizzy has the ignorance to carry on with the reaping. She makes us shake hands, unaware of the glares we keep throwing her way.
Next thing I know, we're both taken into custody. In the Justice Building, the peacekeepers lead me into a room and wait outside. The room its self is three times bigger than my own bedroom.
The bedroom you'll never see again...
And though it's dusty, it's very well decorated. The floral wallpaper is almost identical to the ones on my walls expect the color is lighter. I sit carefully on a expensive sofa that's made of a dark red materiel. I like the feel of it on my hands so for the next few minutes, I'm just running my hands back and forth through it. Then I hear heavy footsteps before Mother bursts through the door.
"Avia!" She cries, and I'm up on my feet again. "Oh Avia!"
"It's okay mother, it's okay." I repeat this over and over as she weeps into my hair. Tears start falling from own eyes and soon we're both hugging each other and crying like there's no tomorrow. Then, I remember, we only have so long together so I push her away and look her in the eyes. I open my mouth to speak but no words come out. That's when the peacekeeper comes and forces her out the room. She screaming at me but I can't understand a word she says. Just before the door slams shut, Mother throws something to me but it ends up bouncing off the wall and landing a little way in front of me.
Once she's left, I feel empty. I kept staring at the object before I finally reached for it. It feels rough in my hands and smells like fresh wood. It's a necklace. My district token, no doubt. The string is thin but strong and the pendent is made of wood and is the shape of a circle. On the circle, a symbol is carved in and I remember it immediately from an old game me and Nook used to play.
In the game we used to take turns carving a line onto wood till it started to create a picture. Often, the picture would end up as a somewhat lanky wolf. I love wolves. I've only seen one in person but often they can be heard in the woods surrounding the district. They are dangerous but most of them are smart enough to stay away from the villages and towns. Sometimes I wonder if it's us or them that's more afraid of the peacekeepers.
The door opens and brings me back to reality. Zoe Thistle, my best friend since primary, comes in. Her long ebony hair is tied in plaits that rest on the front of her shoulders. It makes her look so much younger than she is. As soon as she sees me on the floor, she shakes her head and embraces me in a hug.
"Zoe?" I ask slowly, but then continue without waiting for her to speak. "What happens if I die?"
"Die?" Zoe gasps, her hand shooting up to cover her mouth. "You mustn't think like that!"
"But I will!"
"You're clever and fast and... and quick though!" She says in a rush. "You can definitely survive if you tried!"
"Oh Zoe, you know I can't. Not with people who's been trained their entire lives. I can do what? Wave a dagger around? Run for cover? Those things won't save me."
"But they will! You just have to use your wits. And make allies. Then you won't be alone. They can watch your back for you and help you survive."
"And then?" I'm shouting now and as much as I want to, I can't stop."Then what? Stab them in the back when they need me most? Or just let them kill me so I can die knowing I suffered for nothing?"
A peacekeeper enters the room now and pulls Zoe away. Probably thought Zoe was attacking me with all the shouting or something. They wouldn't want that to happen. Then they'd have to go to the trouble of reaping another girl.
That's all the visitors I get. I only see Nook again when we're in a posh Capitol car driving to the train station. The journey is silent and even Tizzy manages to not annoy me too much. I play over the events of everything that will happen over the next few weeks, trying to make a plan. I try to conjure up an image of the arena but fail. I don't think I'd like to start imagine the horrors it holds yet anyway.
Stab them in the back when they need me most?
For some reason that seems to just keeps whizzing around my mind. I promise my self I won't do that to anyone though. I'm not a killer and I never will be.
At least I hope so anyway. The arena changes people.