The 70th Hunger Games

Chapter Two

Second Chapter. Hope you enjoyed the first. Yes the reaping. I like this chapter alot. Definatly better than the first but what do you think? Please let me know. Thank you and enjoy chapter two :)

Chapter Two

I stand in the roped off section near the front, waiting, watching. The stage has been built, the screens set up, and now all we need is an escort to arrive ready for the reaping. As we wait the square gets more and more full, the heat rising as we are pressed against each other with the new arrivals. I'm standing among girls that I recognise from school. Some of them have tried to be my friend due to my connections with Finnick, but after he saw how much his flirting with them hurt me he barely looked at them again. He's not interested in anyone but me, yet when he flirts I can't help but get jealous. The women of the Capital are different. He has to do that otherwise gran and I die, but at home no one is forcing him. I eventually decided to stay away from them. All of us were happier when they stay away. That includes Chris. Girls become friends with him to get to Finnick too, which probably hurts him even more than me.

I look to the right of the stage, where Finnick and my grandmother stand with one other victor. Their faces are emotionless, staring above the crowd of people towards the ocean that lies beyond. They are trying to forget the day they were reaped.

Suddenly a figure struts to centre stage. My mouth drops. This time it's a different escort, this one sillier than the last. He has blue hair, green skin, purple lips, red tattoos and yellow eyes. He wears orange clothes, looking like a walking rainbow. A ridicules one too. And his name is Stan Lockersmith.

"Welcome all to District 4," he bellows, in a voice that doesn't in anyway match his looks. I've always thought it strange that they welcome us to our own district, but I guess they're just doing their jobs.

After the usual speech about the honour and sacrifice of a tribute, he gets down to business. "Of course, first the girls." He waddles over to the plastic ball to his right, which of course if filled with millions of paper slips with everyone's name on. Will it be me? I doubt it. There are poorer kids with their name many more times than me. And there are the Careers.

The Careers are kids that have trained all their lives for this. They come from District 1, 2 and 4, although not everyone from those Districts are like them. Those people, the ones who have trained, are dangerous, likely winners and often too eager to go in, volunteering for the chosen kids. I often hope it's one of them rather than a small twelve year old. They have so much more chance.

Please be a Career, please please please be a Career.

But it's not.

"And the girl is... Annie Cresta."

It's me.

My heart stops. People all round me turn and stare. I look at Chris, his mouth wide open, a look of shock all over his face. I look at my Grandmother, then Finnick and watch as their faces' pale, my Grandmother becoming a shaking wreck. Then I look from the ground to the man at the front.

"Come on up, Miss Cresta," he calls.

I swallow hard, trying to stop myself from being sick, from running away. I force myself to walk forward and climb the steps, ignoring the whispers of 'that's Mags's granddaughter'. As I am pulled to the left of Stan I let reality sink in. This is it. I am District 4's female tribute. I have no volunteers. This is it.

Stan walks to the other plastic ball. "Now for the boys..."

I am still letting the reality of it all sink in as my grandmother's prediction echoes in my mind. She was wrong. I have no siblings, no cousins. Or had I been wrong? Mr Rif is like a father to me, Dekklan and Chris like my brothers. Oh god. The idea makes me want to vomit, but my grandmother is rarely wrong. 'Siblings or something like it'.