Brooke Langston, a determined and resourceful young woman, volunteers as tribute to spare a sickly little girl who holds a special place in her heart. Little does she anticipate that her closest friend, Ray Adhira, would also be chosen, forcing them...
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After dinner, the five of them moved into the very last room at one end of the train to watch the recap of the reapings across Panem. The room had a turquoise-like theme to it, with white sofas and chairs facing a large TV. The entire back wall was all windows, showing the train rolling into the evening.
Brooke found herself seated next to Ray and Finnick, who spread out one arm behind her head, leaving it to rest on the back of the couch. Ray lounged a few spaces away from her, looking content from the meal, but slightly anxious to find out who their competitors would be. Maddox sat in a chair away from them all in order to not breathe in the same tainted air as the district scum, and Mags sat in another chair, humming to herself and gently closing her eyes, she must have been exhausted.
Flipping on the TV Maddox controlled the volume as the Capitol anthem and emblem blared out from the glowing rectangle and eventually faded to two presenters sitting before a green screen at a glass desk. Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith, the two longtime hosts of the Hunger Games.
This year Caesar Flickerman, who not only appeared on TV but was also the showrunner for the interviews of the tributes done right before the games each year, had once again changed his hair color and was trying out a bright pastel pink look.
"Well that hair's something," Ray mumbled from beside her.
The footage of the reapings soon began after a few introductory words from Caesar and Claudius, and as Brooke watched the footage play, her heart seemed to sink lower on each one.
District one tributes, the first pick of the careers, did not volunteer this year but looked happy to be on stage either way. The boy was tall and muscled, not overly built, but certainly sturdy. His name appeared at the bottom of the screen, Velvet Laurier.
Ray snickered beside her, "Stupid name."
Brooke agreed that the luxury District did name their children interesting things.
Velvet seemed to roar at the crowd, smirking with a handsome confidence that held no charm, he seemed to be like a crueler, more egotistical Finnick. Brooke glanced at the blonde sitting next to her and had to force herself from looking away from his side profile as the next tribute came on screen.
Gem Walford, a wiry-looking girl who held a sense of viciousness to her. She seemed to be around Brooke and Ray's age, with Velvet being eighteen, and Brooke felt no comfort in looking at them as opponents.
District two seemed to be even worse, and Brooke knew the career pack would be terrible this year, bloodthirsty and brutal, sometimes District four would be part of the group, but Brooke already knew she wanted nothing to do with these people.
Axton Whitlock and Jade Elrod were the boy and girl from Two. Unlike Velvet and Gem from one, they held no beauty to the eye and definitely wouldn't be using their looks to appeal to the Capitol. Axton was large and bulky, he seemed to be like a well-muscled truck, and his hair was shaved down to a buzz cut. He didn't speak much, and he looked quite stupid, but Brooke knew it would be over if he got one hand on her.
