We walk to the Hall of Justice, and Van walks toward the rest of the twelve-year-old kids. Scottlynn follows my parents, and I walk to the crowd of 16 year old teenagers. The woman from the Capitol, Zenia walks out in a red dress, covered in roses that seemingly pop off her dress. Her hair is pulled up into numerous buns that are a garnet shade of red. "Hello citizens of District 12!" she says, voice bursting with happiness. They show the history of how Panem began on the big screen. "And now, on with the reaping!!"
Zenia swirls her hand around the bowl, and pulls out a piece of paper. "Our male tribute of District 12 for the 98th Hunger Games is... Van Burns!!"
I feel my face pale to a snow white. I must've fallen over, because a girl lifted me back to my feet. My heart stops beating, and my body turns completely rigid. I watch him walk up stage, and cower beside Zenia.
Zenia digs around in the bowl, before pulling out a piece of paper. "Our female tribute of District 12 for the 98th Hunger Games is... Paige Smith!"
I knew the girl. She's from the merchant section. We are close friends. She's only 14. I watch her take small, baby-like steps toward the stage, hands clenched in fists. "Here's my chance." I think. I run toward Paige. "I volunteer!" I cry, voice barely audible.
Zenia clearly doesn't hear my cry. "Its okay! Come on!" she says to Paige.
I clear my throat as loud as I can. "I SAID.. I VOLUNTEER AS A TRIBUTE!!"
"Oh!" Zenia says. "It looks like we have a volunteer! Come on up miss!" I hug Paige tightly, before striding up to the stage. "What is your name?" Zenia asks me. "Haylynn," I say curtly. "Haylynn Burns."
"Oh!" Zenia says excitedly. "We have a sister-brother duo this year I see!"
I stand beside Van, and I grasp his hand. He squeezes my palm, and we rise our interlocked hands to the sky.
Our mentor, Serena Diaz, walks out in a sequin-covered magenta dress. "I like this girl!" she says, pointing to me with her open hand, as her other hand was holding onto a glass of champagne. "Very...brave. Loyal."
Zenia leads Van and I offstage. We sit down on a chair, as she instructed us to do so, as our family was supposed to be coming in soon. I look into Van's eyes for the first time since we arrived at the Hall, and immediately see fear. Worry.
Everyone begins piling in. Scottlynn rushes to me and pulls me into a hug. "Hey sweetie! Calm down- you're fine!" I say, in an attempt to soothe her.
Her sassy side comes out. "How am I supposed to calm down when my siblings are going out to the Hunger Games to fight to the death!?" she retorts.
Her sassiness always managed to bring smiles to everyone's faces, like it just did. "I've been fighting for our family, heck, for our entire district since I was 13. Think of me as a career who started training late. I'm great with knives and bows. I could write a book about survival if I had the time. You're going to be a narcissist and fear my death?" I ask.
"But there's big, strong tributes out there Haylynn. You might be quick and sly, but they're brawnier, and more well-fed." Scottlynn goes on.
"You know what? I need you to believe. Show confidence and pride. Give us luck. Okay?" I tell her.
"Okay. I promise I won't give up on you." she says. Scottlynn pulls away from the hug and fumbles for something in her pocket. She hands me a mockingjay ring. I delicately twirl it around my finger. "Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful." I tell her, gratefully. The ring is silver and the mockingjay is bronze. I slip it onto my finger. "I have one of my own," Scottlynn says. "We're twinning. The mockingjay pin will be our way of being together without really being together." 245Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoS2bmaPFKH
If I hadn't already been on the verge of tears, I certainly was now. I lay a kiss on her forehead. "This isn't goodbye." I tell her.
"It may as well be." I tousle her hair, possibly for the last time. I hug mom and dad, and reassure them just as I had done for Scottlynn. I see Paige walking up behind them. I embrace her tightly. "Why?!" she asks. I can hear a tone of anger in her voice. "Why did you volunteer Haylynn?!"
"I wanted to save you and Van." I say simply.
"You're going to die because of your reckless decision!" Paige scolds, pulling out of the hug.
"You don't believe in me?" I ask in disbelief. "You think I'm going to die!?"
Paige and I barely ever argued, but when we did, her big blue eyes nearly pop out of her skull, and her hair frizzes. She begins to retort, but I cut her off. "Look Paige, I don't want our last conversation to be an argument."
"Neither do I but you just don't understand-" I grip her hand and look her in the eye.
"I do understand Paige. I know its hard, I know its tough. I just want you to know- I love you. You were more than a friend to me. Just believe in me, okay?" Those are the last words I tell to her, as the Peacekeepers begin to drag everyone away. "I LOVE YOU ALL!!" Van and I shout at them.
I look at Van again, and I see tears in his eyes. He bursts into sobs and collapses onto me. I stroke his hair, refusing to speak. The lump in my throat was preventing any words coming out. I try to swallow it, but I can't.
I hope those words aren't the last of mine they hear.
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