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ARTEMIS SIGHED IN RELIEF as she finally rested her back against the base of the tree. she was about forty feet up, give or take, but she needed to think. there were a lot of things to think about, considering it was reaping day.
the brunette loved climbing trees, always had. she was from district seven after all; lumber. the district was planted in the middle of the woods, and all they did was sing songs while cutting trees. it was a fine life, for a male anyways. there wasn't much you could do if you were the opposite sex besides climb trees. or maybe swim in the lake, it was freezing. but they were at the base of the rocky mountains, the cold never bothered them.
"artemis, someone is here to see you!" her mother called from their house, knowing that her message would echo until it reached her daughter.
artemis sighed before beginning her ascent down, and jumping off the tree at the last few feet. she patted the tree before whispering to it, "i will be back piney, i promise." she skipped back to the house, which took about five minutes.
"i'm home!" artemis yelled even though they knew it was her, "who wanted to see me?" she slipped off her brown boots before continuing into the house. it was sort of a family rule: don't track messes into the house.
"missy!" a frail voice called from the kitchen. artemis smiled brightly before running into the kitchen to find her childhood best friend, allison.
"hey cutie!" she exclaimed before running and tackling the girl into a hug. she had to be careful with allison though. she wasn't exactly normal, allison was born with down syndrome and on top of that had extreme growing problems, creating immensely frail bones for the girl. allison was intelligent though, and sometimes it took her awhile to process things but when she processed it, she was a fast talker. "what are you doing here?" she asked when they released their hug. artemis took note of the small backpack in her hand and knew where it was leading.
"i want to get ready with you! you never know.." allison trailed off suggesting being reaped in the games. artemis knew neither of them would ever get reaped. it was simply impossible. allison had a disability. and there were so many people in their district, it was just unlikely artemis would get picked.
"whatever you say ally. let's go get ready." Artemis said as she grabbed an apple from the fruit bin in their kitchen before taking a chunk out. "i love you mom!" she exclaimed as the pair climbed up the stairs to artemis' room. her mother chuckled at her abruptness from her office and continued to do her work.
___
artemis smiled at ally through the vanity mirror as she did her her hair. ally was wearing a cute light pink dress with white flats. artemis let her use her shower and get ready before her since ally was quick. she never spent too long in the water, she always hated it which amused artemis. artemis was the opposite, they used to spend their summer afternoons at the lake, artemis treading water while ally read books to her on the dock. it was just a fun tradition the girls had together.
"you look beautiful, allison." artemis told the shorter girl when she finished. allison shushed her immediately and told her to get in the shower.
the water felt incredibly warm as it rolled down the brunettes back. she closed her eyes and just stood under the water. her family was lucky, being fortunate enough to have a decent pay in the district due to the mother's intense working. she was in charge of trade between other districts with theirs, so she was very well off. artemis always felt guilty when she was younger, it was never her fault that they had money. but sometimes people made it seem that way.
she wrapped a towel around her before exiting the bathroom to put on the dress that her mother had laid out for her. she smiled before putting it on and brushing her hair. she didn't bother putting any makeup on because she knew she would be back. it was just a fact to her.
"now you're the one that looks beautiful." ally said from behind her. artemis grabbed a pillow before throwing it at her, making the pair erupt in laughter.
"let's go terdbrain, i want to get this over with."
___
artemis had to fight back the urge to roll her eyes as district sevens escort, zeela..., walked on the stage. she was already bored because ally was in the sixteen year old section, and artemis was in the fifteen year old section for girls. she wouldn't turn sixteen for another three months, so there wasn't anything to do about it.
"welcome, welcome." zeela's high pitched voice called out, "i am so excited to be here with my favorite district. but before we get to the fun part, we have a message from the capitol!" as the video played artemis noticed zeela lipping the words, she knew it by memory. it was sad because the video played pivotal moments from the past couple years games. children killing eachother. when the video ended artemis had to resist clapping from it being over with, but she wasn't that mean.
"now, like usual, ladies first!" zeela walked over the large bowl and twirled her fingers around. she took a minute before finally picking one, and walking over to the microphone and unfolding it. "allison bales."
artemis' heart stopped. there was no way. this couldn't happen, it just couldn't! everything happened in slow motion as allison started walking towards that stage and artemis knew. allison would never be able to defend herself.
artemis rammed herself through the crowd and screamed out. "i volunteer! i volunteer!" this caught allison's attention as she turned toward artemis with tears streaming down her face. ally kept shaking her head and artemis ran forward to her and held her in a hug, "i love you."
"artemis, no!" ally yelled at her but artemis was already walking up the stairs as someone pulled ally away. probably ally's older brother, field.
the while districts eyes were on her as she made her way across the stage. her mother must be heartbroken, she's an only child. her father was probably comforting her mother during this. she couldn't help but feel guilty.
"well, hello!" zella chirped as artemis stood on the left side of her artemis smiled at zella, trying to assert politeness. she had a plan now, a plan for how she was going to win. and this was part of it. "my dear aren't you beautiful? what's your name?"
"hello, zella. i'm artemis wood, and thank you for the compliment." she said smoothly into the microphone. artemis was always good with crowds, helping her during this. zella looked shocked at artemis, considering most tributes never bothered being so polite.
"of course my dear, now we must find out our male tribute." zeela announced as she walked over and drew a name from the bowl on the right side of the stage. she strutted back to the mic before speaking in it, "steel mathig!"
a tall boy who looked to be around seventeen or so walked up to the stage. he was very handsome, but held a kind twinkle in his eyes. he looked like someone artemis wanted to be friends with.
"go ahead, shake hands." the pair did as they were told, and they both smiled at eachother. artemis noticed that steel had prominent dimples. he definitely would be a heartthrob this year. "there you have it, the tributes from district seven for the 71st hunger games!"
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authors note
i'm so excited for this story! i have big plans for it! :)))
