Love is not a game (Hunger Games Fan Fiction)

Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a dining tray made out of gold. I reached for it and pulled it up in front of my face just in time to shield my facef rom the incoming knife.  

"Very good reflexes!" Avalius commented with a smile. I just stood there, looking shocked as I stared at the crazy mentor in front of me. Had this guy seriously once won the Games? I turn to Clove to see her with her jaw agape and heard Avalius chuckle beside me. 

"You're going to catch flies with your mouth open like that." He teased, laughing heartily at his own joke. I shook my head in disbelief, we are so dead. This guy had already tried to kill me once, there's no way he's ever going to protect me when I'm in the arena. 'If I even make it to the arena,' I think to myself with a sigh. I shake my head quickly, clearing my thoughts. No, I must try and win for my brother and mother and Rico! That thought is the only think that made me snap out of my shock. 

"Avalius, are you going to actually mentor us? All you're doing now is cracking jokes and attempting to murder us with flying knives. That isn't going to help us in the arena." I say, impatiently tapping my foot for his response. 

"I know, I know!" He sighs, losing his goofy grin for a look of complete seriousness. "I was just seeing what you've got." He glanced down at his watch briefly, swore and then began leading us out of the room and through the many carriages, each one as beautiful as the last. Eventually we came to a cart that had a giant flat screen television with a large lounge placed in front of it. Avalius motioned for us to sit and turned to Blueberry as she entered. I really should learn her name; it would be very awkward if I were to accidently call her 'Blueberry'. 

"Ah, Lorielle! Are the reaping videos airing soon?" Avalius asked 'Lorielle'. At least I know her name now. 

"They happen to be airing right at this moment!" She responded urgently, attempting to reach for the remote. Avalius beat her to it and turned the television on. Clove, Avalius and I all took a seat on the couch whereas Lorielle chose to stand. I'm pretty sure her dress would rip if she sat down anyway. We turned on the television just in time to see the ending of District 1's reaping. 

"Great! Now we don't know who the District 1 tributes are!" Lorielle complained. We turned to look at the look of pure anger on her face and tried to hide our laughter. 

Next up was our District. Our District that contained all my loved ones. I watched as Lorielle greeted everyone chirpily. 

"Ugh! I look so fat!" Lorielle complained in distaste, "They could've at least tried to get a better angle on me." She muttered more to herself than to us.  

I continued to watch as Cloves name was called and she made her way to the stage, looking brave as ever. The cameras zoomed up on Xavier and Gemma as Gemma cried her eyes out onto my brother's shoulder. I felt Clove stiffen beside me and wrapped a reassuring arm around her shoulders. She smiled at me, though she looked distracted. 

My name was called next and I walked up to the stage with a confident and determined look on my face. Funny, I didn't feel confident and determined. I stood in front of Clove as we shook hands and turned to wave to the cheering crowd. That was all the footage for our District and Avalius and Lorielle turned to Clove and I with proud looks on their faces. I couldn't concentrate on what they were saying though; I assumed that Clove couldn't either. I was too busy remembering the events that had taken place just a few hours ago and how much of an impact that event had on my life. I knew that I should have more faith in myself if I wanted to win but I just couldn't imagine myself surviving for even a day in the arena. 

I turned my attention back to the television and realised that I had missed a lot of the Districts and their tributes. I was now watching the girl from District 5, though I wasn't listening. Just watching. I couldn't concentrate properly at a time like this, in a situation like this. The girl from 5 was called Nadia Duce and she had red hair. That's all I noticed about her appearance, she didn't look too threatening. 'Dead in a day,' I thought to myself,' Just like me.' 

Most of the other Districts didn't spark an interest in me, they seemed like they'd be dead in the bloodbath. By the time District 11 rolled up, I was practically asleep. Suddenly I heard a large crowd of cries coming from the television. I opened my eyes and sat up to see a young girl, around the age of twelve, walking up to the podium. The District was deadly silent apart from the cries of five young children calling her name.  

"Rue! Rue!" They yelled desperately, trying to run after her. The other members of the District watched in pity as the twelve year old with dark hair and dark skin, climbed onto the stage and stood there shakily. I could tell that she was trying to keep her cool. The Capitol lady then made her way over to the boys bowl and pulled out a slip.  

"Thresh Rosewood!" Her voice rang through the small crowding area. A giant dark skinned, dark haired, muscly guy rose from the crowd. Easily towering above everyone else. He was by far the biggest person in the District. 'Well, we know who the winner's going to be' I admitted sadly to myself. As Rue and Thresh stood next to each other you could easily see the difference between their sizes. Rue was the smallest of the tributes and Thresh was obviously the largest. Size can sometimes be a weakness, I told myself in order to get my hopes up. 

Lastly, District 12's tributes were called. The freaky pink lady called out a name from the slip in her hands.  

"Primrose Everdeen!" She yelled in a deep Capitol accent. A small girl with blonde hair that was plaited into two braids made her way to the podium. An older girl of about sixteen ran out of her place and volunteered for the girl before she had a chance to reach the stage. The older girl stepped up onto the stage shakily.  

"What's your name?" The clown lady asked her slowly. 

"Katniss Everdeen." The girl responded in a strong voice. 

"Well, I bet my buttons that was your sister wasn't it?" The clown lady asks her with excitement in her voice. 

"Yes." She responds, quietly.  

The clown lady makes her way towards the boys bowl and pulls out a slip. 

"Peeta Mellark!" She calls loudly towards the audience. Katniss's face drops even more as soon as she heard his name mentioned. They must be friends like Clove and I, I think sadly. As the two of them shake hands on stage, realisation hits me like a knife being thrown by a crazy mentor. Those are the two people from my dream.

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 Author's note:

Next chapter will be up either this afternoon or tomorrow, depends on how busy I am :)

Please vote, comment and share :)

-Emily :)