Okay, this is my first shot at a hunger games fanfic. Reviews are encouraged. If you're going to criticize, please be constructive, but good reviews are appreciated. ;) My punctuations are probably off. Sorry about that. But yeah, I hope you enjoy. I only own the idea for this story.

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All eyes were on me, but I couldn't remember how to move. Had that really been my name or had I just imagined it? Was it even MY name at all? 'Annie Cresta.' It sounded like it was a phrase spoken in tongue I wasn't familiar with, but I knew deep down exactly what it meant. Like I said, all eyes were on me.

Each step I took seemed like an eternity. Every time I lifted one of my feet, it felt like lifting a thousand pounds, but eventually I reached the top of the platform. I knew people were speaking, but my brain didn't take the time to comprehend what was being said. What little awareness I had left in me was drawn to the crowd.

I saw Kendrick Prisnee, a boy a year above me in school, step out from crowd and make his way to the top to join me. On the surface, he didn't seem quite as frightened as I was. In fact, he seemed rather cool and collected, even smiling toward the camera. I must have looked like a mess standing next to him. I tried to smile too, but it was as if all the muscles in my face had frozen in place.

I couldn't bring myself to believe that this was really happening. Of course, I always knew there was the possibility that it could happen, but the thought had only been a fleeting one, passing in and out of my mind without sticking. It never seemed likely that I would be picked. District Four was a one of the biggest districts. When the Reapings took place every year, tens of thousands of children gathered to participate. I was just a drop in a huge ocean, but fate, as it happened, picked me, and as I shook Kendrick's hand, I started to realize that there was no going back. I was now a just another player in a game everyone would forget about just in time for the next Reaping.

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The train whistle screamed in my ears as I took in what would most likely be the last moments I ever spent in District Four. The sun was hot, and the breeze carried the scent of the ocean. That was the one thing I was going to miss the most: the ocean breeze. I had no family to lose. I was an only child, and both my parents had passed when the influenza epidemic came to our district. I had no real friends to speak of. The only thing I had ever been able to depend on to be there when I needed it was the ocean breeze. And in my last moments it was there for me still. A lot of the anxiety I had felt on that stage blew away with the breeze. But all good things must end eventually.

Mags, the women who was in charge of 'handling' me squeezed my shoulder. "Let's go," she sighed, stepping onto the train. I took one last look at the only home I had ever known before stepping onto the train, and into what was most likely going to be the rest of my life.

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I spent the first few hours on the train in my room, opening and closing my eyes thinking that, if I did it enough times, I would open my eyes to find myself woken from a dream. As time went by I began to realize that what I was doing was stupid and there was no waking up for me, but that didn't seem to stop me, so I continued.

I don't know how long I was in there before I heard a knock at my door. "Annie?... Annie, it's Mags. It's time for dinner. When you're ready, we're four cars to the left." I didn't think I was hungry, which is strange, because it seemed like before the Reaping, I was always hungry. But I knew I needed to eat something, so I made my way to the dinner car.

When I walked into the room, I was met by four faces: my handler Mags, Kendrick, our district's most recent and most famous winner Finnick Odair, and District Four's Hunger Games representative Myana Trianu. Finnick and Kendrick both seemed deeply engrossed in a conversation about something I hadn't heard and didn't seem to notice my presence but Mags and Myana both smiled at me warmly. Mags pushed the seat next to her out with her foot, nodding her head as if to say she wanted me to sit there, so I took the hint.

For the whole meal she didn't say a word to me, nor did anybody else. I was left completely alone with my thoughts, and as the minutes passed, and the Finnick and Kendrick continued discussing what I now understood to be survival tips, I began to realize that I knew nothing about surviving, in any setting. Without knowing it, I was slowly coming to the understanding that I wasn't going to survive. I didn't know how to hunt, or use a weapon. I had no measurable upper or lower body strength and would be less than useless in a fight. What I did know was how to identify plant life.

When I was still living at the orphanage, I was assigned to work in the library, which excused me from the labors of fishing which was the profession of most of the inhabitants of District Four. When I had down time, I would immerse myself in books about plants. It had started as merely a fascination with flowers, but over time I had expanded my interest to other types of vegetation. I wasn't an expert by any means, but I did have a decent understanding of what I could and could not eat. But that was all I had. That wasn't going to save me in the long run.

"…Annie? Annie?" I snapped back into reality as I heard my name. Mags, who had been the one speaking to me was looking at me with concern in her eyes. Realizing that everyone was staring at me expectantly, I spoke.

"I'm sorry? I was somewhere else. What did you say?" my voice came out scratchy. It suddenly dawned on me that that had been the first time I had spoken since before the Reaping.

"Are you alright?" she said. I knew this was not the question she had asked before, but she was probably completely justified in asking.

"I'm fine," I assured her, and the funny part was that I wasn't lying. I did feel fine. Now that I had come the terms with the fact that I was most definitely going to die, I felt absolutely…fine. But that didn't seem right. Shouldn't I be crying? Screaming? Throwing some sort of Tantrum? I was going to die in just matter of weeks, optimistically. I should feel something, but all I felt was fine.

"Are you sure?" She asked, and I nodded. She seemed skeptical, but continued on, "Finnick and I just went over all the particulars of what is going to happen once we reach the capital. I asked if you had any questions, but I see that I'll have to go over everything again."

I felt bad for not listening. While she was sitting there trying to help me, I was sitting back and throwing myself a little pity party. "I'm sorry," I said, "I'll try to pay better attention." She gave me a small lopsided smile that made the corners of her eyes crinkle in a comforting way, but Finnick gave me a look that said I was a waste of time and energy. I couldn't blame him. Kendrick was tall, handsome, healthy, and strong. He knew how to work with his hands. Cleaning fish had taught him how to handle a knife, and years of fishing had sculpted him into an ideal tribute. He had a face Finnick could sell to an audience like his handler had sold his.

I on the other hand was gangly and pale by comparison. My hair had never seen a comb, and I had no useful skills to offer. All I could do now was get as much information out of Mags and our instructors as I could before being sent to my death. If I were Finnick, I would have looked at me that way as well. Mags leaned in toward me and began to repeat everything she had said before. This time I listened. When she finished she asked me if I understood. When I nodded she smiled again, but as I looked over to Finnick I caught him giving me that look again before turning back to Kendrick. 'Well,' I thought, 'at least I have Mags… for now.'

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Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I intend to tell this as her whole Hunger Games story while incorporating her relationship with Finnick into it probably starting next chapter. Once again, reviews are encouraged. I don't know how you feel about where this story is going unless you talk to me. ;) REVIEW!

-MmeCrazyHorse