𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 · 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐈

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞

~"now you have to come back."~

Shorlan and I wait in line to sign in. He rests a hand on my shoulder.

"Remember, I'll come get you once they reap the tributes," Shorlan says. My other brother, Finnick, is a mentor this year, so he'll be going to the Capitol after the reaping. We get to say goodbye to him before he leaves.

"Yes, Shorlan, I know." This is my third year in the reaping. I know the drill. Kian, my second-oldest brother, turned nineteen this year, so he's no longer in the reaping. He'll meet us at the Justice Building to say goodbye to Finnick.

After we sign in, I go to the area marked off for fourteen-year-olds. Shorlan gives me a quick, one armed hug before heading for the seventeen-year-old area. I begin to move my way through the crowd, towards where I've already spotted my best friends. People recognize me and move out of the way,

"Hey," Jake says once I reach them. He and his twin brother, Colven, have been my best friends since as long as I can remember. Before we moved to the Victor's Village when I was seven, they were our neighbors.

"Hey," I say back, craning my neck, trying to see over the tall blonde boy in front of me. "Ugh, I can't see."

"You're so short," Colven comments, switching spots with me since basically everyone is shorter than him and Jake. He and Jake both hit growth spurts recently, leaving them a couple inches north of six feet. They're even giving Finnick a run for his six-foot-six money, which he doesn't appreciate.

The blonde boy turns around and smiles at me. "I can lift you on my shoulders if you want," he teases.

"Shut up, Arion," I say, rolling my eyes.

"Just trying to help," Arion says, grinning carelessly.

Jake and Colven both laugh.

"I'm not even short," I argue. I'm 5' 8"-one of the tallest girls in my grade.

The girl in front of me turns around, too. "She really isn't," Shealyn says. But coming from her, it doesn't exactly mean much. She barely hits five feet.

"Or maybe she's short, and you're just extra short," Jake suggests.

Shealyn rolls her eyes. "Or, maybe, you're just freakishly tall."

Just as she finishes saying this, our mayor, Pearl Shoshone, steps up to the podium and begins talking. Mayor Shoshone goes through the history of Panem, our country, and explains the Hunger Games and its origins. I mostly tune it out. I've heard it all before. It doesn't get less stupid each time.

Finally, the mayor reads the list of Victors. We've had 6 in total, and 4 are still alive. As each name is read, the Victor called rises. Matthew Aokey and Mags Flannagan, who are both just under 80, take a second to rise. Finnick, my brother stands next, followed by our most recent victor, Linden Williamson, who won the 69th games 3 years back at 17 years old. My brother mentored him, and afterwards, Linden was sort of initiated into the family.

After the mayor finishes reading, the Victors all sit down. Next, the mayor introduces our escor, Andi Witek.

Andi Witek skips over to the podium, his spiky, bright pink hair burning my eyes as he begins talking about how excited he is to be here. Then he moves on to the drawing. Girls traditionally go first in 4, although it varies depending on the district.

"Oh, and also, the Capitol had decided that for this year, we won't be doing any volunteers for District Four!" Andi exclaims brightly.

What?