the hunger games revolution

chapter one: old days

As I clasp the hot drink in my hand, I could feel my body temperature instantly rising. Today is reaping day and my name is amongst thousands of slips of innocent people who may face their deaths each year. Suddenly I hear a screaming sound coming from my best friend Katie's room. I quickly dash to her room and she wraps her arms around my neck tightly, unwilling to let go. "Its okay" I say, trying my hardest to reassure her. I know what her nightmare was about. It was about her getting called out at the reaping and taking her place on the stage of the justice building. The justice building is the most sacred building we have in district 12 and also the most precious. Its where they hold the reaping every year. Katie burrows her head on my shoulder and I can feel the dampness of her tears soak into my pale green shirt. "Hey their not gonna pick you its your first year so chances are you won't get chosen" I tell her. "Can you sing to me please maddie?" Katie asks in a croaky, whispering voice. "What do you want me to sing?" I ask her softly. "The hanging tree" she replied. I pause for a minute but then I agree to sing it for her.

" are you are you coming to the tree?

I strung up a man they say who murdered three

Strange things did happen here no stranger would it be

If we met at midnight in the hanging tree".

The hanging tree song has a particularly distinctive meaning to it. It was sung by my cousin when her dad died because he got hanged for taking three loaves of bread. Her family were dead poor so that meant that they were desperate so in the end, they had no choice but to steal food. My cousin's dad was really professional at stealing so every time his family would be desperate for food, he would go out to the hob, which is the main area for trading in district 12, and just grab every piece of food he would see but he did it cautiously. But then my cousin, who's name was Alicia, volunteered for her younger sister, Megan and she was sent into the 73rd annual hunger games. She was the first volunteer of district 12 and she managed to win the games.

Katie soon fell asleep and I quietly exited her bedroom. I shuffle down the stairs and put on my black leather hunting jacket. It belonged to my dad but he gave it to me as a birthday present because whenever I saw him wearing it, I said to him that I was jealous of him. Since then, I have been wearing it for hunting. Speaking of hunting, that's when I met josh hutcherson. He's been my male best friend since I first saw him lay down his traps for food in the woods. He also works at the bakery in the rich area of district 12 and he absolutely loves making desserts like cakes and cupcakes. Josh is very professional at hunting too. For instance, I saw him using a couple of snares that even I didn't know how to work.

As I head out the door of my house, I shout down to my parents that I'm going out to the hob. They say "OK" and I calmly shut the door  me. My parents don't know that I hunt illegally and they never will. I head up the fresh green hills of grass and towards the barrier that says

' district boundary no entry'. Its an electrical fence but its hardly charged up so its easier for me to go underneath the fence. I quietly jog through the woods to the area where I hide my bow and a sheath of arrows. Since I decided to hunt in the woods, I thought it would be best if I covered up my tracks by hiding any evidence to prove that I have been hunting here by hiding my bow and arrows underneath a hidden log. I soon approach a deer eating grass and decide that I should kill it. I aim my arrow at the deer but then it spots me and runs away. I dash after it and then climb up onto a tree for a better view. Everything seems distant from up here and I can see the deer desperately searching for a safe place. I pick up a bunch of leaves and toss them out towards the deer to make it come back to where I am. Then I aim at it again and a sudden voice emerges. "What you gonna do with that big deer" says josh coming up behind me. As he asks, I shoot at the deer and miss. "Damn you josh you made me miss my kill" I say, in an annoyed tone. "I was just asking who were you going to sell it to? a peacekeeper?" Says josh In a voice that makes me want to relax. "Yes I was going to sell it to a peacekeeper until you decided to distract me" I say, trying so hard not to let a laugh escape from my mouth. "I set up a few snares want to see what's in them?" He asks, willing to show me. "OK" I say as I follow behind him obediently. In his snares, josh has managed to trap two squirrels, 4 turkeys and a rabbit. "Wow pretty impressive snare josh" I say. "Thanks it took a whole 2 hours to figure out and put together" he says. "I'm not surprised" I remark. " we should go back its the reaping in an hour" says Josh. As we walk back the main town, I stop off at the hob to trade some squirrels for two bags of roasted honey nuts. Just as I payed for the nuts, I notice a small round pin with a bird in the middle. "What's this?" I ask pointing at the pin. "Its a mockingjay" says the woman I traded the squirrel with. "How much?" I ask, wondering whether I should trade for it. "You keep it" says the woman. "Thank you" I reply. As I make my way back to my house, clenching onto the mockingjay pin, I see the world's most annoying cat, Willow. She hisses at me as I walk past. "I'll still cook you" i say as I swagger past her. When I get back in my Home, I see that Katie's hair is perfectly braided in two plaits. "Oh look at you! You look beautiful!" I say to her as she hugs me tightly. Suddenly my mum says "I picked out something for you too its on your bed". I walk into my bedroom to see that the dress my mum picked out for me was a pastel pink colour and the belt on it was embroidered with studded gems. It was the most beautiful dress I have ever seen so I'm guessing that Im wearing this for the reaping. Then my my mum comes and does my hair in a braided bun and when I

Look in my mirror, I hardely recognize myself. "I wish I look like you" says Katie as she walks into my room."oh no I wish I look like you" I say to her. Suddenly the horn goes off and its time to get to the square for the reaping. I fear that the most dangerous and scary event is just about to happen.