1
They say, when you go into shock, you go completely numb. I've watched earlier tributes on the giant screen in the square, and they recount the situation with quiet disregard; that they don't really remember the second their name was called – as if the death wish had the same priority in their mind as what they'd had for breakfast a week ago. But there is always one common denominator. They always forget how to breathe.
They gasp for air, mouth opening and closing, like a fish out of water. Some even collapse. But my experience was completely different, the day my name was pulled out of that ball.
I felt as though I was being shot by one of Katniss' arrows, or mauled by a wolf. The pain was all over the surface of my body – like I was allergic to oxygen. But I didn't forget how to breathe.
I clenched my fists until I could feel my nails digging into the skin of my palm. My jaw locked, my teeth grinding, yet my hearing was crystal clear. So I heard my name. Crystal clear.
With a gentle nudge from someone standing behind me, I made my way up, stiffly, slowly, towards the stage, keeping my eyes locked on Effie Trinket's fake pink hair, as if I was hunting a squirrel – as ironic as it is. I always thought Effie Trinket looked a bit like a squirrel; if a squirrel wore rather ostentatious wigs.
As I clambered onto the stage – skipping the steps and making Effie jump as I landed near her shoes which probably cost more than my house. She asked me questions. I made acknowledgeable grunts in return. When she finally got the message, she straightened her wig and crosses the podium to where the ball with the girls' names is set.
She dipped in her hand, rustling around through the scraps of paper, building up tension so one of the kids fainted in the middle of the square. Others didn't help him up or check to see if she was alright. It's every kid for themself now. I'm on my own.
The pink hair brute finally picks a piece of paper and smoothes the creases out of it and reads the name clearly.
"Primrose Everdeen"
That's when I forget how to breathe.
