“Pranet”, I said.

“Someday Du may have to fight me in an arena and I’d like to practice fight Du when we’re not trying to kill each other.”

“Do Du know the odds of us both being picked?”

“About the same as me wearing a dress.”

He smiled for a second, only a Sekunde and said, “Okay but I’m not going full force on you.”

“Good cause neither am I, you’d be dead.”

“Sure I would.”

I swung my sword and had it right on his herz and he looked down and grabbed my wrist pulled it around his head and yanked the sword away from me and throwing it to the side.

Then the horn rang, when that happened it meant everyone had to be Home to get ready for the reaping.

I pulled my wrist out of his hand and said, “See Du at the reaping.”

“See Du in a dress”, he said.

I smiled back at him and ran Home and into my room and pulled on the white sun dress my mom had laid aside yesterday.

I put it on quick, lightly curled my blonde hair, and put on eye shadow around my brilliant green eyes that I had observed as the best feature on me.

Mom starred at me as if she was surprised I had put on the dress and eye shadow and even done my hair.

Kira wore dark blue eye shadow, blush, mascara, the whole make up kit really to mask her rather plain face, her hair was a mousy brown and thick and curly, mom sagte she thought it was beautiful, I thought it looked like a bush.

Du could still see her light brown freckles and her dark blue eyes and her huge teeth that stood out, they were yellow too.

My brother had decided to get up and stand with us; he was over reaping age being twenty four now.

We walked out, dad, mom, and my brother on stage and me and Kyra into the line of people eligible for reaping.

“Hey”, sagte a whisper.

I turned and saw Pranet in a suit his sister Phen beside him holding their twelve Jahr old brothers hand.

“Chances still good?”

“You’re wearing a dress.”

That didn’t reassure me.

Dad then droned on about some capitol stier, bull crap then a capitol lady who I cared nothing about stood up and said, “lets see yes the boys fist this Jahr I believe.”

I stared as she dipped her hand into that bowl and said, “Ah how delightful a familiar name, Pranet Jolt.”

Electricity ran through my body as I turned to Pranet, his eyes bore no fear he gave sad smile and looked at Phen who had grabbed a hold of his elbow and said, and “I’ll be fine.”

I reached out and touched him and he looked at me and said, “Guess that odds weren’t in my favor today.”

I let him go on stage and climb up the stairs and watched as he shook hands with the lady and the two mentors, Zurück victors, Thayer lerche and Elisabeth Terry.

I looked away and she said, “Okay and for the ladies.”

She pulled out the slip, that dangerous slip, and sagte “ah another familiar name, Lyric Lust.”

My herz sank, the odds weren’t in my favor either I walked up there and saw my brothers eyes, stricken with grief.

He’d once been called but his best friend Austin hadn’t wanted to see him die so he volunteered and died himself, he’d already Lost one to the games.

“Any volunteers”, the lady called.

Silence, pity, nothingness.

“Well then we can just take Du to the justice building to say your goodbyes.”

I throw Pranet a look and I can read his eyes they say the odds are not in anyone’s favor.

I hate sitting there, Kyra, and mom and dad come in their sad and all that crap Schauspielen like they ever cared.

Then Marshall comes in and sits down and says, “live, fight don’t let anything get in your way, if there are trees hide in them, if there is river stay near it, team up with the strong and help the weak, Sponsoren use Du beauty Du have it, convince them, Du have talent use that too, but above all stay alive and win.”

He’s Lost to these games once he doesn’t want to lose again and I hug him and say, “Mikey, I Liebe you.”

“I Liebe Du too.”

And then the peacekeepers take him away.

I have only one friend and that’s Pranet so no one else comes and they push us onto the train as if we think we can run away, as if I’m a wimp enough to do so. But the thought runs through my head, its haunting.

I’ll have to kill Pranet to win.