"Good morning, everyone! Welcome back to Fangirl School! Please find your fandom's bus and take it to your school building. Have a great day!"

"You'd think they'd learn to stop playing that every single dam morning," Delphine said, shaking her head as we made our way to one of the Percy Jackson buses.

"Who do you think's going to get picked for the reenactment thingy?" I asked.

"Well, let's see. 125 girls and 175 boys in the year. It's a 1/125 chance to get picked. Even lower for the boys. I don't want to get picked," Fiona said.

"I do," Delphine said. Clearly, Fiona had not changed her mind since two days ago.

"Whatever you say, Del," Fiona said, seemingly not in the mood to argue.

We boarded the bus. I'd always loved the bus ride into the school; we got to see the nature, the swimming pool they had for optional lessons, and the make-believe Camp Half-Blood they had put together for third years and above to play Capture The Flag after school every Friday.

But today, we took an unusual turn where the entrance to the Camp Half-Blood replica was on our right. Instead of going straight and seeing the Hogwarts castle replica in the distance, we took a sharp left and went on a road I didn't recognize.

"Hello, demigods," said Mrs. Golde, our homeroom teacher's voice over the PA. "Today we're going to be going to the Hunger Games branch of Fangirl School for the reaping."

Murmurs filled the bus.

"I didn't know they were doing that today," Fiona whispered. "It's only the first day!"

"I think it's because they don't know how long it'll last," I said.

"I think you're right," Fiona said, gazing out the window as the bus pulled to a stop at what we guessed was the Hunger Games building.

The doors opened and Mrs. Golde stepped in. "Alright guys, we're going to be really quiet, okay? You're representing District Twelve, apparently the worst one. Good luck, kiddos. Follow me."

We followed her out of the bus and into the building. It was so similar yet so different from the one I was used to; our walls were varying shades of blue, and some teachers liked to decorate them with bubbles and fish, but theirs were gray and worn down. I guessed they were meant to represent the districts.

"Welcome, everybody," a teacher I didn't know said. She wasn't from the Percy Jackson department, that I knew. "Each one of you has your name put in here once. Let's start with the gentlemen!"

She walked over to a big glass ball with a bunch of slips of paper, reached in, and grabbed one.

"Walker Norman," the teacher said.

I heard Lucas, Xavier, and Giovanni, along with many other boys, give a sigh of relief as the brown-eyed ginger boy (he's on the cover by the way) who must've been Walker went to stand next to the woman.

"Now for the ladies," the teacher said, walking over to another ball and pulling out a slip.

"Ah, let's see... Y/N L/N!"

Dead silence. Several other girls gave sighs of relief like the boys had. But I was still processing it.

Fiona's hand had found mine. She gave it a squeeze.

"Y/N L/N!" the woman repeated, sounding slightly annoyed. "Come up here, please."

I could see Janet in front of me smiling evilly as I made my way to the teacher.

"Shake hands, please," she said. "And no," she added, looking at Fiona, who's hand was raised, "you can't volunteer. Only Hunger Games fandom kids get to."

I shook Walker's hand. He seemed about as nervous and shocked as I was.

"You'll be sent to the vice principal's office, where your friends can say goodbye," she said. "Take them there, Aisha."

Aisha was a short, tanned woman with curly hair. She led us to the vice principal's office and told us to wait. Thirty seconds later Fiona, Delphine, Jeveskia, Brandon, Giovanni, and Lucas had burst into the room, followed by a bunch of boys I assumed were Walker's friends.

Fiona wrapped her arms around me the moment she saw me. I could tell she was trying not to cry, but I didn't realize why.

"Fiona, it's okay," I said, patting her back. "I'm not going to-"

"Y/N, they never tested the technology!" she exclaimed. "What happens if it doesn't work? You can't be the first one to go, Y/N, you can't!"

"I won't be," I assured her as she let go. "How did you say Catpiss survived?"

"She didn't grab anything except for what was in her path," she told me, not even bothering to correct me. "Get as far away from everyone else as possible, then find a water source."

"I'll do that then," I said calmly.

"But the Hunger Games fans would already know that trick," Brandon said.

"Then hide inside it," Giovanni said. "Or near it. Once the coast is clear, grab whatever you can."

It seemed I wasn't the only one shocked by how smart that actually was. Jeveskia patted his back.

"Giovanni's right. Y/N, you have to win."

"I'll try my best," I said.

Just then, the woman named Aisha told them that time was up. Fiona argued ferociously, but she wouldn't let them stay. They all left, but Lucas stayed behind.

"If it becomes too much for you," he said in a soft voice so Walker wouldn't hear,, "they attach the thing that respawns you in the middle of your head while you're asleep." He touched the part in the middle of my hair to show me. "You can rip it out and they'll take you out of the arena straight away. Step on it, maybe, to make sure they get the idea."

"Thanks, Lucas," I said, actually feeling relieved knowing that.

"I thought I said time was up!" Aisha said, now back at the doorway. "You have to catch the bus back to your school!"

"Alright, I'm going," he said. "Good luck," he whispered to me as he left."

Once Lucas and Aisha were gone, the same lady who had picked out the names came to stand at the doorway.

"Hello, Y/N and Walker," she said, smiling a smile that should've been sweet but was obviously fake. "I'm Ms. Tudor, and I'm the principal of the Hunger Games branch of Fangirl School. We're going to go onto the tribute bus. You're the last stop, so it should be here in about ten minutes. They're going to take you to the building that will be like your home until the actual Games reenactment. If you would please follow me."

Walker and I followed silently. Then out of nowhere he said, "Hi." His voice was soft, just a little bit shy, but really kind.

"Hey," I responded.

"I'm Walker, but you probably already know that."

"I do know that," I said, thinking about my awkward first conversation with Fiona.

"You know, my last name should actually be Norman-Lee, but I didn't want to go by that."

"Norman-Lee... why does that ring a bell?"

"Probably because of Janet Lee," he said miserably. "She's my cousin."

"Oh," I said, not knowing what else to say. Janet had probably told Walker all about me.

"She told me you guys had a fight," he said, as if he'd read my mind. I looked at him, and it struck me just how tall he was.

"Yeah, we did," I said slowly.

"I think it's cool," he said, shrugging and giving me a smile. "Janet acts like she owns the world, but everyone thinks she's so amazing. That's why I don't want to go by Norman-Lee like I used to. I don't want to be known as her cousin here, too."

"You guys went to the same school before FS, then?"

"It was my idea to get out," he said. "I pitched it to Janet, then she acted like it was all her."

"That's horrible," I said.

"Janet's horrible," he said, coming to a halt behind Ms. Tudor. We had reached the bus stop, and I could see one of the Hunger Games fandom busses coming our way.

"You two're sitting all the way in the back," Ms. Tudor said. "You'll see someone from your branch, they'll be your mentor, okay?"

Walker and I nodded as the bus rounded the corner and the doors opened.