Innocent Girl - A Hunger Games Fanfiction

Chapter 2: Goodbyes

I wait quietly in by myself in the Justice Building, hugging my knees on the velvet red couch. It's all starting to hit me now. I'm going to the Capitol. I'm going to have to kill other children, only a few years older than me, or else be killed. Which is the more likely fate for me. My head snaps up as the door opens, and Julien walks in. He runs over to me and hugs me, tears still streaming down his face.

"I'm so sorry... I couldn't volunteer..." he trails off. I can't speak. I guess I am still in shock.

"You have to try, ok? Don't give up, just because you are little."

"But what about Alek?" I whisper. Julien doesn't reply.

"Will you be ok? With mother?" I ask, changing the topic. I really don't want the last time I speak to my brother to be about the next few weeks.

"Yeah," he says, but I can tell he doesn't really mean it.

"Is she... will she come...?" Julien just shakes his head. For the first time today, tears start to well up in my eyes. I'm going to die, be sent to the games like a lamb to the slaughter, and she can't even take three minutes out of her day to say bye to me? I guess she really does hate me. Julien and I just stand there for the rest of the three minutes, not really sure what to say. Much too soon, peacekeepers come and take Julien out.

"I love you Almond... be brave, ok?" He says. I just nod. The defeated look on his face is the last I see of him before the door closes. I wait again, by myself one more. After about a minute, Willow bursts in and clings to me. She is sobbing, and I think she trys to say something but I can't really hear her. After a while, I awkwardly hug her back andsay, "It'll be ok, I'll..." after that I don't really know what to say.

"I just can't... both of you..." Willow blubbers, and buries her face in her hands, "I'll miss you," she finally whispers. And with that, the peacekeepers come and take her out, leaving me in the silence of the room. I wait, but nobody else comes. Not that I expected them to, but...

After about five minutes, peacekeepers come in yet again and drag me out. By now, I have managed to make sure no evidence of me crying is left. I am glad I had this time to do this, because outside the train station (if you can even call it that) there are cameras everywhere. Since I'm only twelve, all the other tributes will think that I am weak. They don't need to know I was crying; that only gives them more of a reason to think I am an easy target. The peacekeepers usher Alek and me onto the train, shove us into the seats and step back off. Before long, the train starts to move.

"Well hello, children," Lara-Rose' bubbly voice cuts through the tension as she walks into the train car, her obnoxiously tall heels making as click-clack sond on the floor, "erm... Alekzander and... Ally, wasn't it?"

"I prefer to be called Alek, and, her name is Almond," Alek tells her curtly. He is obviously pissed off by the fact we are here. However, Lara-Rose ignores him.

"Well, how old are you, Alekzander? And you, Ally?" I am about to reply, just to be polite, but then a very drunk Haymitch with Katniss holding him up and Dean following awkwardly behind them, enter the carrige.

"So you two are our tributes?" Haymitch slurs. Honestly, I am surprised he is still alive, in his 60's and having drinken for the past four decades very heavily, it seems.

"Yes," answers Alek, clearly trying to make more of an effort to be polite, considering they will be our mentors. Haymitch looks pointedly at me.

"You... look awfully young. You sure you're supposed to be here?" He has clearly forgotten everything about the Reaping just 15 minutes ago.

"I'm twelve years old," I tell him.

"Oh." We all just stand/sit there awkwardly , until Dean breaks the silence.