Author's Note: Sorry, I missed yesterday. Well, here's the goodbyes, a key chapter. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 5 - Pearls and Promises

The Justice Building is the most fancy thing I've ever seen, but not the most beautiful. Man, forcing nature to do its bidding, to form these cold stone walls is not beautiful, at least, not in the way my ocean is. The ocean. I remind myself I must get a glimpse of it, of my home, before I leave. I may never see the water again.

I still can't believe all this is happening. I was never meant to be in the Games. In District Four, the games were done by choice, not force. Of course I had to be the exception to that, like most things. Thanks a lot, Volunteers.

I collapse onto the red couch and immediately feel drowsy; this is the softest thing I've ever felt. It feels like hours later that the door bursts open and Brooke flies in to find me still there, petting the soft fabric.

She frowns at the couch. "It's nice, isn't it? Velvet. Expensive stuff. We've got some back home."

Yes. Back home. Now that I think of it, that must be why Brooke's looking around this place as if it's going to collapse on her; it reminds her of home.

Okay, well, not exactly home. But of what her parents have done to get her the house she lives in, and what they expect her to do in the near future; volunteer and win the Games.

I bring my thoughts back to the present just as Brooke clears the rest of the space between us and wraps me in a huge bear hug. I can now see that she's shaking more than I am.

Brooke pulls back, wiping tears from her face and sighing. "You're being so strong about this." Brooke says, "I really think you can do it, you know."

I don't want to hurt her, but I also don't want to get her hopes up. "What about Cassius, Brooke? What about the other tributes? How can I kill innocent kids?"

She sits upright, a little bit stronger, and wipes the tears from her face. "Those are Volunteers you're talking about Alex. They'll kill everyone else for the fun of it. Is that really innocent?" I see the pain in her eyes as she says all this, probably quite strongly directly at her parents, but what she says gives me hope. And maybe a bit of anger.

"And Cass? What does that make Cass, Brooke? Or your parents?"

She sighs, "Let's not fight now, Lex. I don't want to leave you like that. But you're going to need to sort out your feelings for Cassius before you get into that arena. Speaking of which," she says, perking up a bit. "Did you see the way Cassius was looking at you when you were shaking hands? You look at him and he blushed. He blushed, Alex! And I think you did too! You don't like him, do you? Do you?" She grins and then goes on, as if I answered her question. "You do! Ha! Knew it! Wooooow, who would've thought Lexie Lace would have a crush…" She wiggles her eyebrows at me and I can't help but start laughing with her. She's kidding of course. She knows Cass is like a brother to me.

We laugh for a while and it takes me a long time to realize what's really happening. I look over at Brooke's laughing face, trying to memorize every detail of her happiness. Her smile starts to fade as she too, comes back to reality. I go to give her a hug, but suddenly the Peacekeepers are there, hauling Brooke out of the room while she kicks and screams to get back. I jump to my feet and yell, "WAIT!", knowing it's useless. I'll never see my best friend again.

I slump back on the couch and return to the velvet, petting the velvet. Only this time, I see what Brooke saw in it, and I'm angry at the thought of her. Brooke, my wonderful, crazy best friend, yanked from my arms in the middle of a laugh that should've never ended. I begin to stroke the velvet backwards, making odd, angry patterns in the fabric.

Just then, my parents walk through the door. I take a deep breath and try to control my emotions. If anyone, I need to be strong for them, but when I look over at their faces, my parents' faces, my dad's weak smile, and my mom's uncontrolled sobbing and know that my own tears will soon follow.

And they do.

They're there, holding me together on the velvet couch, telling me lies like that I'm okay, and it will all be okay, and that nothing's wrong. It's not very convincing, but I'm running out of tears near the part where my mom grabs one of my shoulders and turns me to face her with her one arm.

"Listen to me Alexis, you can do this." she says. "Really. I'm not kidding or trying to make you feel better, I really think you can. You've taken care of me, dad, and yourself for, how many years now? Eight years? If you can take care of three people for eight years, I think you can manage to take care of yourself for, what, three weeks? Three weeks in the Capitol and you'll be right back in District Four, in a beautiful Victor's Village house. With us."

"We're so proud of you, Alexis." she continues, "Just know that we're thinking of you, whatever happens, we're with you."

And then Peacekeepers lead them quietly, without protest, from the room.

I turn from the door and close my eyes. I don't think I can take much more, and the Games haven't even started yet.

I laugh darkly to myself. What am I saying? The Games began the moment my name was pulled from the bowl. I wonder which name was the one picked. Which name was too many? How many tesserae was too many? If I had been less careless, and taken one tesserae less, would I still be here?

The door creaks open and a sobbing Annie interrupts my thoughts. I turn, expecting her to run over, but she stays just in front of the doorframe. Her hands are clenched, her tiny fists are shaking at her sides. She looks up, I see that the redness in the green eyes doesn't make them any less pretty. I wish mine would look that pretty.

"I'm so sorry." she whispered. "but you have to help."

"Sure, Annie. Anything." I reply immediately.

"Please, help Cassius get out of the Games."

I curse under my breath. Note to self, I think, never promise to do "anything" in the Hunger Games.

"Annie…" I start.

"Please, Alexis." she says. "I heard his parents coming out of his room across the hall. I don't know if they'll make it if he doesn't come back. He didn't tell them he was volunteering."

I stare at her, understanding what she's implying. What she says next confirms it.

"You might save more than one life, which is more than we can ask for from the Hunger Games."

I keep watching her, and before I can really think about it, the words that might kill me slip out of my mouth.

"Okay, Annie. I promise."

She walks toward me, avoiding my eyes, and unclenches her fist, holding out the thing concealed inside to me. A pearl.

"Here. A token. I found it in one of the oysters we collected. Here," she explains, pulling out her necklace, which I hadn't noticed she was wearing. It's a long, plain braided piece of string. She tears it off her neck and helps me string the pearl and tie the necklace around my neck. "There." She gives me a hug and whispers, "Good luck, Alexis."

And then she leaves, leaving me with one final glance at the last of my friends and feeling more hurt and confused than I've ever felt around Annie.