okay before you read this i just want to say this is my first ever time at this and it won't be great so just keep that in mind.

I have the basics of each chapter so you wont have to wait for ages for me to upload chapters, please review as i like hearing feedback

CHAPTER 1: TWINS

Every morning I wake up with the sun shining through my bedroom then I would wake up smiling and get dressed ready for the day but today I didn't want to wake up, I wanted to stay asleep, I could not face it today like every year I would stay in bed and pretend to be asleep because today was reaping day. I turned my head and saw my hair spread all over the pillow, the scent of rosemary always made me smile. We weren't allowed but my brother would sometimes sneak into the forest and find me the right plants to make my own shampoo, yes I had to live in district 12 but by hell I tried my hardest to look nice, well as nice as you can look here. I sat up in bed and set my hair around my shoulders. I had long brown hair with a tint of red in and I always wore it down. I looked out the window and saw little children running around and mothers going about their day, no work for anyone today. I frowned and closed my curtains, every year since I was 12 I got a sick feeling in my stomach and always the tears threatened.

My brother Phoenix rushed into my room like he new I was about to cry, it was weird but he did, we were both twins and connected in some weird twin way. We were both 17, mum and dad didn't want children, they could not face one of their children going into the hunger games but we happened, my brother looked just like me well as much as a boy can look like a girl. He had the same brown hair with a tint of red but it was short, he had the same bluish green eyes as me and a crease appeared between his eyes when he was angry and sad like I did. But he was nothing like me, he was strong, he could look after himself but not me I was weak and kind of shallow but I am kind of caring like my brother.

"Pandora mum said you have to get up" he said then left the room like he did every year, we had a unspoken ritual, we didn't really face each other till after the reaping, it was silly really but we were both scared we would lose each other that we just didn't say "good luck" or "goodbye". It was stupid I mean what if one of us did get picked and we said nothing to each other I started to cry, I hated this why did the capital have to do this every year why could they not have just done something else anything but this it was cruel, I closed my eyes then opened them again, I got up and put on some cloths an old brown top and a black skirt then I went out into the kitchen.

"Pandora what are you wearing? You have such pretty cloths and every year you chose to wear old and ugly looking cloths" my mum said to me while making breakfast. My mum was 47 years old but it didn't show, she was taller than most the mums I knew, she had long brown thick hair but always wore it in a bun. Today she was wearing a long plain green dress she still looked pretty in it, I looked at her and frowned, she was right I did do this every year and we would also argue and in the end she would send me back into my bedroom to change but still I dressed like this.

"Because I don't want to look pretty. I want to wear dark colours. it's my mourning period" I told her and sat myself down at the table next to my brother, I saw him smile but didn't say anything, I tried to eat my breakfast but I felt sick, I looked at my brother watching him eat his toast. There was only me and him we didn't have any other brothers or sisters so we were close, as close as you can be to your brother so to lose him would be like losing half of me.

"Are you going to eat that or just stare at me like your scared I'm going to disappear" Phoenix reached other and took my toast but I didn't really care I was not hungry but I didn't want to let him think he could just take my food he needed to know I was in charge, I stood up and hit him on the back of the head.

"You could have at least waited for me to answer" muttering under my breath I went to the sink and made a glass of water, I tried to catch my mums eye she was pretending to be busy "I'll make soup for supper tonight" she said wiping down the work tops "and Pandora you get in that room and change this minute and do your hair" my mum said getting me out my chair, I sighed and went into my room. My room was small but nice and bright, apart from the mayor we were kind of rich we lived in the merchant section. My family owned two shops, my mum the fabric shop and my dad the general store. We didn't have much but we had more than some families round here. I didn't like to think about the way we lived or other people lived and my brother said I lived in fairy tale land but I liked being like that. I sometimes liked to think this is all a dream that I am not really this poor that I didn't really see a man die from starving. When I was younger and I saw little children going hungry I would give them our food but my farther found out one day and went crazy I thought he was going to hit me but he didn't and I didn't do it again, I had never seen him so angry but after a couple of hours he hugged me and said "I know you only did it because you wanted to help but we can't feed everyone" but sometimes if I see a kid going without lunch at school I'll give them some of mine. I found a nice white and red dress it was old but it was still kind of pretty. I looked in the mirror and started to brush my hair, as I did the tears poured down my face, I would not stop crying till after the reaping.

Ouch even if it was a little prick it still hurt, I looked down at my finger but didn't see any blood. This was to sign in for the reaping; I don't know what was wrong with just asking our names I moved away and stood in the crowd. I should be ok I thought to myself I have never taken Tessera, I have never needed it, neither has my brother and we didn't have any other brothers or sisters so no one else I had to worry about but I was still worried still feeling sick, scared I looked for my brother and saw that he was stood right next to me.

"Don't worry" he mouthed, like that was going to help, I saw the worry in his eyes and it makes mine worse.

A woman walks up onto the stage, she is wearing a yellow and white wig and a bright yellow silk dress that in my opinion looked horrible but they all dressed in bright colours in the capital they actually think they look nice, the woman's name is Effie Trinket and she is an escort for district 12 her job is to take the girl and boy tributes back to the capital for the games. This is Effie Trinkets first year as an escort. The woman before her was just the same.

"happy hunger games and may the odds be ever in your favour" she said in a sing song voice, it really made me feel sick to see how happy she was about all this but everyone from the capital loved the hunger games, only because none of their children had to enter the games. Next Haymitch who as always was drunk staggered onto the stage; he did a sort of wave and sat down. Haymitch was district 12s only victor well apart from some other guy but he was dead.

"Ladies first" she said and walked over to the bowel with the girls names and got out a piece of paper and walked back to the microphone "Pandora Thomas" she said. Just like everyone else I was looking for Pandora it took me a moment to realise that she had actually call my name, I stood not wanting to move if I didn't move then I would be ok ye just stand still.

"Pandora Thomas" she said again this time a little louder, I tried to move but something was holding me back, it was my brother Phoenix, he was holding my arm, holding me back.

"NO!" he shouted "no no not my sister" he kept on shouted, I tried to tell him with my eyes it was ok that he needed to let go or he will be killed but he didn't see he just carried on shouting, his friends rushed over and calmed him down enough to let me go, I walked up to the stage with every eye of me, I knew what them eyes said, they said poor Pandora she was such a sweet girl, they knew I was going to die, heck I knew I was going to die I could do nothing, I was not a fighter, hunter or killer I was me weak and scared, people had to look after me. I was like a kitten. In what seemed like years I was on the stage stood next to Effie. I looked out at the crowd and saw my dad crying but my mum was stone faced she was crying inside she was a really strong woman and never showed any emotion and right now I loved her for it if I saw her crying I don't think I could stand here without shaking.

Effie cleared her throat "time for the boys" she said and went to the right bowl and picked out a piece of paper she walked back, she gave me a quick glance then said "Phoenix Thomas"

I staged back like I had just been punched in the stomach, that's how it felt and Effie had just delivered that blow, I forgot how to breath, my eyes were open but I couldn't see I so wanted to walk over to miss capital woman and punch her to make her feel my pain I wanted to scratch her eyes out for saying not my name but my brother's name, I wanted to hurt her I just wanted to do something, I could have forgiven her for picking my name out but my brother's this had to be some cruel trick. I envisioned Effie turning my way and saying "got ya" but she didn't and my brother was walking up on the stage, this was really happening but my brother? Really? The odds were so not in our favour, I must have looked like I was going to fall down as I could see the mayor getting ready to catch me if I fell.

I hear a sound behind me and turn to hear the drunken words of Haymitch he really is a bit pathetic the only victor in district 12 and he is always drunk. He stands up and walks to the podium then says "Not my kind of twins" scratch that he is so pathetic. Of course no one laughs but he found it funny he goes back and sits down this is the man that will help me try and win the hunger games.

The mayor stands back up and walks over to the podium and starts to talk but I don't listen I don't want to, instead I look up at my parents but I could not make out there faces, my mum was being hugged by loria our neighbour and my dad had his head in his hands another blow to the stomach my parents were crying both of them, this had to be a nightmare it just had to be, I closed my eyes and counted to 3 but when I opened my eyes I was still here, I looked up on the big screen and I saw how scared I looked and that scared me even more but I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself funny enough but that's what seemed most important to me right now I stole a look at my brother and saw that his face didn't show how worried he really was I knew what he was feeling because I felt the same, scared, angry, upset the list went on, he turned and looked at me we both did a weird nod then looked away. Were we enemy's now? No of course not I loved my brother, could I kill him? No how could I kill my own brother it was stupid to think I had to kill over people but absurd to think I would kill my brother. The mayor finished talking to told me and my brother to shake hands but I didn't want to move I was too scared to move, I took a deep breath and turned to shake my brothers hand he gave me hand a squeeze witch was comforting, I gave a squeeze back then walked away from him.