I walk forward as the line moves on. I reach out my hand to the lady at the desk and she quickly pricks my finger, then tells me to move on. I look around and find that the kids are in order of age. I find the fifteen year old group and stand there. I look over at the twelve year old group and see Beth, who is shaking uncontrollably. I want to go over and hug her, tell her everything will be alright, but I know I can't.
Once every kid is in their age group, a Capitol woman (with very high heels) walks onto the stage.
"Welcome, welcome," she says, smiling ridiculously at all of us. "Before I pick the names, the Capitol has made a lovely film for us to see."
On cue, the film starts playing. It says a bunch of stuff about sacrifice and how we almost destroyed ourselves, how Panem rose out of the ashes, etc. It is boring in my opinion, but I don't say a word.
"Now," the woman says after the video finishes. "The time has come to select one young man and woman to compete in The Hunger Games."
She walked over to a bowl and sticks her hand in. She pulls out a slip of paper and waddles over to the microphone. She squints at the piece of paper and tries to read out the name.
"Sef- Seffrie? No, Seffrine?" she stumbles, trying to read out the name. I know it's mine. Who else has a name like Seffrine?
"Seffie?" someone calls out.
"Yes!" the Capitol woman exclaims. "That's it! Seffie Zefrine!"
I don't know what to do, so I just stay where I am. The Capitol woman smiles hesitantly.
"Seffie Zefrine?" she asks.
I look around at all the other kids, who are looking at me. They shrug their soldiers, as if unsure what I should do as well.
"Oh!" the Capitol woman says, as if sensing the problem. "Come up to the stage, wherever you are."
I slowly maneuver around the kids and walk up onto the stage.
"Ah, there you are," the Capitol woman says, smiling and patting my head. "Now, the time has come for volunteers. Volunteers are someone who decides to take the place of a tribute. But it has to be a girl for a girl or a boy for a boy."
Nobody says anything. The Capitol woman clears her throat, but there's still no movement. After all, who would want to go to a game where you have to kill kids? The Capitol woman smiles ridiculously again and heads over to the boy's reaping bowl. She pulls out the slip of paper and walks over to the microphone.
"Mike Rolint," she speaks out in a clear voice.
The boy walks up onto the stage. The Capitol woman calls out for volunteers, but there are none.
"District 7, your tributes!" the Capitol woman says, putting a hand on our shoulders. Nobody does anything. They don't applaud, they don't cheer. They stare. The Capitol woman smiles hesitantly and then motions us into the Justice Building. She leads me into a separate room and shuts the door.
I poise myself, just in case the games start as soon as the door closes behind me. But no one attacks me. There's a knock on the door and I quickly whirl around, fist raised, ready to defend myself. But the only one who comes in is my mom and Beth. Beth runs to me and hugs me. I quickly put my fist down and hug her back.
"They're not going to make you do it, right?" she whispers. "They're not going to make you guys kill each other?"
"I don't know," I whisper back. "I hope they don't make us. I hope this is all just something to scare us. Maybe it's like an April Fool's day joke."
"You think?" Beth says, pulling away from me and staring up at me with her big eyes.
"Maybe," I said, trying to smile convincingly. Then I turn to my mom and give her a hug.
"I'll be back," I say. "I promise."
"Will you do it?" she whispers, not wanting Beth to hear. "Will you really kill other children?"
"Only if you want me to," I whisper back. "I have to kill them to come back, though. You know that, right?"
My mother says nothing. I hug her tightly once more, and then the door opens and Beth and my mom are taken away. Beth screams hysterically as the peacekeepers drag her out of the room.
"Seffie! Seffie!" she screams. "Promise to come back! Promise!"
"I promise!" I shout, just as the door slams shut. I don't know if Beth hears me or not, but I try not to dwell on it. I already feel tears welling up in my eyes but I won't cry. I know I can't. If I really do have to go out and kill children, then I'll have to be as strong as I possibly can be. For Beth.