Tom Fletcher stands stock still, waiting for the name to be called out while he stands in the crowd of boys section. The girls are all in a pen to the right, and they all stand facing a stage in front of the justice building in the square. On the stage is a ridiculous man with half his body tattooed in swirling orange designs, and he is putting his hand into a large glass bowl full of boy's names. The girl tribute has already been chosen, and stands trembling on the stage, as the man with the tattoos unfolds the piece of paper theatrically.

"And the male tribute for District 11 is..." he begins, and all Tom can do is squeeze his eyes shut and think 'Please not me, please not me, please not me'.

But he hears his name, sort of fuzzy, like someone covered the microphone in cotton wool. And then he looks up and starts walking forward when someone shoves his shoulder to get to the stage, so even though he feels numb, he starts moving forward, because he knows he has to. he has no choice.

No one will volunteer. They are so poor here no one can train, and because their district is only really agriculture, there isn't much useful knowledge he can take into the games.

It takes an age to get to the stage, but he's finally there, with everyone looking at him and the ridiculous capitol man jabbering away into the microphone as if this is all fun and great news.

And the it's over, and he's bundled into a room where he talks to his little sister, and his parents, and says he'll do his best not to be killed, but doesn't think he has the stomach to say that he can't kill anyone, that it would just be wrong. He'd rather die than take someone's life: someone who hadn't asked for this any more than he had.

But then his family are gone, and he's left alone before the peacekeepers take him to the train that will take him to the capitol, and then after that, into the hunger games.