Sea Green Cove

Anger, Laughter and Gifts

I try to look for my mom and brother in the crowd but they're nowhere to be found.
"Congratulations to the both of you!" Syriol says. "Now shake hands."
I look over at Mandy. Her eyes burns a hole inside me. Instead of a forceful squeeze, she gives me a firm shake. Syriol pats us on the back which signals for us to let go.
"Ladies and gentlemen, District Four's tributes for the 73th annual Hunger Games!" Out of nowhere, two peacekeepers force us into the Justice Building. We walk down a hallway full of paintings and empty flowerpots. There are peacekeepers on every side of us. Mandy is in front of me. Her hair sways side to side on every step she takes. We approach the end of the hall where Mandy and I are split into separate rooms. Her's to the right, mine to the left. As I enter the room, my nose wrinkles to the smell of mold. The peacekeeper hisses at me then slams the door. 'Geez' I think to myself.
The floor is the same ugly mix of blue and green just like in every other district office. I try not to complain because soon I will be pampered like royal in the Capitol. Well only for a few weeks. Awful thoughts surround my head but there's a knock on the wooden door. I step back as my mother burst into the room. She hugs me even harder than before. The peacekeeper reminds us that we have only five minutes.
"You can win!" She whispers in my ear. She's most likely just saying that to make me feel better. I know better. How could I win? My only skill is throwing a net. Nets are rarely even in the Games. Even if they were, it wouldn't kill anyone. I just nod. "Ok mom" I say with a smile. She's kisses me on my head. "Your brother couldn't come, he's busy with work."
I don't really care that he's not here to be honest. Out of nowhere, the peacekeeper opens the door and signals my mom to leave. She hesitates. That's when the peacekeeper grabs her by her arm and drags her out of the room. I shout at the guard but he ignores me and slams the door.
That's it. That's the last time I see my mom. Ever.
It feels like hours before Syriol knocks on my door. "Come on! We're going to be late!"
"I really doubt that the train would leave us." I snap at Syriol. It's his fault that I'm in this dilemma.
"Hush child" Syriol hisses. He knocks on Mandy's door.
"No one's here! Go away."
"Young lady, lying is disrespectful."
"But watching kid die is ok?" Mandy yells back.
Syriol lets out a sigh of frustration but he collects himself back together. "I didn't want to do this." Syriol calls two peacekeepers over. They barge into the room and carry her outside. Syriol and I follow behind. I'm embarrassed for her but I doubt that she cares. It might just be a strategy to stay alive longer. To make her seem like a threat. Or maybe it's just to get attention. Whatever it is, I don't like it because it'll probably make me a threat too and maybe get mysef killed. There will be a ferry waiting to take us to the train station neat the waterfront. There will be a crowd watching us sail off. I only watched the tributes leave once. That was the year that Annie won. We are loaded onto the ferry. I feel a pit of sadness in my heart because even if I win or not, home will never be the same. That could be a good thing or bad. Right now, I'm not very fond of it.
We leave the train station around 4 that evening. Syriol is blabbing about some bizarre new color they just created in the Capitol. Finnick takes notes as he looks at the rest of the tributes that have been reaped on TV. I feel unwelcomed or a little left out on what my role is supposed to be.
"Hey," Finnick whispers to be, "watch this!" He has a wide smirk on his face. The video replays on Capitol TV. In District Twelve, the escort holds a name slip in her hand. "Rebecca Neil!" Caesar Flickerman's voice blocks out the girl's swears as she is forcefully carried over to the stage. She runs up the stairs and slaps the escort.
"OOOOO! It gets me every time!" Caesar's commentary comes back as two Peacekeepers pin the girl to the ground.
"DON'T EVER CALL ME THAT! MY NAME IS BECCA." She hisses at the escort.
Finnick's hysterical laugh makes Syriol drop his tea. Now both Finnick and I are laughing. The way Syriol reacts to his stained shirt is priceless. This without a doubt is the highlight of my day. Then the thoughts come back. I just got reaped. I'm going to die in a week. Would I have the balls to kill anyone? I'll probably just let them kill me instead. Mandy would probably be the one who kills me. Mandy. I haven't seen her since we boarded the train.
I approach the hallway where our rooms are. I hear Syriol swearing in his room. I smirk as I pass him door. Then there's our two rooms. Mine to the right and Mandy's to the left like in the Justice Building. I knock on her door but I don't get an answer. I knock again. "You just can't ignore everyone!" Still no answer. I easily give up and enter my room.
The pajamas they provide us with is on my bed. I get ready for bed when I notice a box wrapped in a bow on the dresser. I slowly open the box. Inside is a sweet grass bracelet. The ones my brother used to make. Maybe my brother does care. I slide the bracelet around my wrist and drift off to sleep.
The purring of the train engine wakes me. Fear hits in when I look out my window. Mountains. District 2. Which means that we're almost near the Capitol. When I enter the dinning area, I see everyone eating. Even Mandy. I pull out the seat next to Finnick because we both bonded a little last night. "What's for breakfast?" I ask.
"Toast and a lecture from Finnick." Mandy replied. Her voice isn't as harsh as yesterday, but she still has a bit of sarcasm left in her.
"She's right. Now, last night I watched all of the reaping and by far I'm not very impressed. 1 and 2 are always a threat. Stay away from them. 3,5 and 6 aren't a threat. The boy from 7 was the head in the youth tree climbers committee."
Mandy smirks,"Are you fricking serious?"
"Yes very serious." Finnick cuts back
"And what about the girl?" I pretend to be interested.
"Abby, yes. She's a little bit older than you both. I couldn't get any other information." Finnick flips through his notes until he gets to the last page. "Ah. Twelve! Jerry and I had a ball talking about her last night."
"More laughing than talking." I add.
"Did you see the look on her face?" He begins to laugh again but collects his seriousness back. "The boy, Justin.16. Fairly tall and muscular. But a minor threat." Finnick slaps his notepad down on the table. "Who knows, maybe you two might have an easy way out." He chuckles. "Be ready in an hour."
I don't want to be rude so I force smile back at him. Finnick exits the room and the room falls silent.
"That Justin kid sounds really hot." Mandy blushes.
I laugh. It's good to see the real Mandy. I think. I don't know her. "See ya in an hour." I say as I get up.
Caesar Flickerman's perky voice makes me jump as I pass the TV. "In an hour, we will meet our tributes. The lineup starts with District One through Twelve. I'M SO EXCITED!!!" Caesar clears his throat. "I'm sorry. Roads within a 3 mile radius of the train station are closed. Thank you and Happy Hunger Games!"