彡 Annie Lue- a district girl becomes friends with someone that is too much like herself. When the plinth prize is announced to be awarded a different way than before, Annie starts to wonder. Is she gonna make her tribute survive, or is she gonna mak...
chapter two; BUNS AND BRACELETS 22nd december 2023
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Annie rushed inside her home, slamming the door. Her step-mother stuck her head out from the kitchen and watched Annie with sympathy. Darlene knew how hard it was for Annie to watch the reaping. But this time she seemed even sadder. "Are you okay Ann?" Darlene asked softly, holding a tray full of buns.
"No! This reaping is completely barbaric! Not only do we have to watch it, but now we have to mentor the poor kids! I can't mentor someone when I already know their fate..." Annie cried out, her hands flying everywhere. Darlene put away her tray and rushed over to her step-daughter. She hugged her tightly while Annie sobbed.
"I know it's hard Annie," she went on her knees and placed both hands on the sides of her face. "But just try your best to take care of them. All of them. I'm baking some buns right now. Why don't you, tomorrow morning, go to the train station and give them food and water once they arrive? Maybe you could give out those bracelets you made as a lucky charm?" Darlene smiled carefully while wiping Annie's tears.
Annie nodded and walked to her room. She shut her door much more carefully than she did to the front door. "I'll pack it so it's ready for you." Darlene said through the closed door. Annie listened to her heels clicking the floor fade.
She sat at her messy desk and opened the drawer. Out of it she pulled thirty bracelets. She picked out twenty-four of them, all had different designs and colors. She placed them all in a pocket in a bag. Annie seemed startled as the door opened. Her brother— Aden came in. He slumped down on his side of the room. "I can't believe it," he said covering his face. Annie wasn't sure what emotion he had. But when he showed his face, Annie could see the excitement. How ironic she thought. He was happy on such a horrible day.
"I'm gonna be a peacekeeper." he told his sister. Annie stared back, unsure what to say. "Congrats..." she muttered, trying her best to put on a smile. "Will you be leaving to the districts?" she asked. "Not yet, at least. I'm getting trained in the capitol first." he replied, getting comfortable in his bed.
"You know the reaping was today right?"Annie asked carefully. He nodded, but his smile slowly faded."Mizzen, you know the sweet boy from our district. He got picked." Annie could feel herself begin to cry again. Aden frowned, remembering the boy who offered his apple to him when he hadn't eaten in days.
Aden went quiet. So did Annie. The house became silent. Only sounds that could be heard came from Darlene humming a song to herself in the kitchen. That was until their father came home. He announced that it was dinner. Everyone met at the kitchen table. Not a soul said anything during dinner. They never did when it was reaping day. Annie finished up quickly so she could sleep. "Good night." she said and went to her shared bedroom.
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Annie watched Darlene pack the bag for her. There was buns for all of the tributes. But also water, and bracelets. Darlene hung the bag on Annie's shoulder before starting to fix on her uniform. "Good luck," she smiled as she left. Annie walked fast to the train station. When she arrived she was surprised to see a familiar face.
Coriolanus stood there waiting for his own tribute. With a rose in his hand. Annie called out and smiled. He greeted back but he seemed disappointed. Annie assumed he probably wanted to be the only mentor to greet his tribute the moment they enter the capitol. The loud screeching sound almost deafened the two academy students standing there. Annie walked over about to start handing out things, but before even opening the bag so were the kids dragged away and into a van.
Once they were all dragged away Annie rushed over to Coriolanus's side. "Where are they taking them?" she asked. "Don't know. But we're about to find out." he replied dragging the girl by the hand. They jumped into the van and ran to the front. Their faces turned to the wall, none of them daring to face the tributes. But Coriolanus soon did. His curly blond hair was messy and he looked skeptical when looking at the tributes.
"Hi." he spoke, noticing twenty-four sets of eyes looking at him. He jabbed Annie's side, making her turn around as well. "What's the matter, pretty boy? You in the wrong cage?" one of the tributes— Reaper asked rather threateningly. "No, this cage is delightful." Annie watched her own tribute drop his arm from where he was holding it to steady himself. His eyes narrowed at Coriolanus. Everyone had noticed his false confidence.
Reaper shot forward, pinning Coriolanus to the wall. "Get him, Reaper!" Tanner couraged. Annie flinched. "Don't!" she interjected. They all looked at her for a split second until Reaper grabbed her as well. Both the academy students were gripped by the collar of their uniforms. Annie desperately caught Mizzen's eye. He looked at her scared but soon tried putting on a tougher expression.
"I'll kill you both right now." Reaper yelled in their faces. "He'll do it too," Dill spoke up. "He killed a peacekeeper back in eleven." Annie's eyes widened. Both Brandy and Bobbin raised from their seats, coming closer. "Nothing to lose now," one of them stated.
"Y'all got family back home?" Lucy Gray asked nonchalantly. "They'll kill them if you kill him. Then you. Besides, he's my mentor, I might need him."
The girl from four scowled, her annoyance towards Lucy Gray was only growing bigger. "How come you get a mender?" she bent down in front of Lucy Gray, coming all up in her face. "Mentor." Coriolanus corrected. "You each get one," Annie stated. Them speaking angered Reaper even more and he slammed them once again.
"Who are you mender to?" Coral asked, now coming up all in her face. "I think his name is T- Treech," Annie swore in her head for stuttering. The worst she could do is to show fear. Treech's attention was turned to the black haired girl in red clothes. He folded his arms and furrowed his brows.
Coral scoffed, "Oh, and we'll all just trust you on that? Why does rainbow girl here, and lumberjack get special treatment, hmm? Why aren't our menders here?" the girl refused to correct the word. "Just not inspired, I guess," Lucy Gray looked anywhere besides Coral, hoping to make her mad by not giving her attention.
Reaper never let go of the two, he stood there scanning their faces. Everyone stumbled as the truck stopped arubtly. A beeping sound could be heard. The doors opened and the kids were dropped out of the truck. A lot of them yelped as they rolled down on rocks. Annie felt the air getting hit out of her as someone's weight dropped on her. The person groaned and rolled of the girl. "Sorry..." Treech muttered an apology to her. She propped herself up on her elbows and tried to smile but it came more out like a grimace.
They were in the zoo cage. Both Annie's and Coriolanus's stomach dropped when they saw Lucky Flickerman and the camera crew.
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୨୧AUTHORS NOTE୨୧ I want this to be a slowburn so hopefully it will be! I am actually thinking about making another Treech fanfic where the oc is a tribute! Not gonna start on it before i'm done with this of course!!
