I wake up like it's another normal day, like we will go to the orchards, pick fruit, and return home to eat a meal before doing it all again. But today is not a normal day. Today is the day of the reaping, the day I might become yet another piece in the Capitol's sickening game. I may be only twelve but I'm not stupid.
"Rue!" my mother calls, her voice echoing through the house and interrupting my thoughts. I sigh and drag myself out of bed, plodding to the table where my meager breakfast, if you can call it that, sits waiting for me to eat it. I eat part of it and give the rest to my littlest sister because I am too nerved up to eat. My mother gives me a knowing look and puts a soothing hand on my shoulder. "You'll be okay, little Rue," she whispers. I manage a shaky smile and stand up to push my chair in. I start for the orchards, walking silently, lost in thought.
The day whirls by in a dizzying rush of picking fruit, laughing and talking with Thresh, and finally heading home with Thresh personally escorting me. I grin at him when he opens the door, bowing like a fancy doorman would at the Capitol. "May the odds be ever in your favor, little Rue," he says in an over exaggerated Capitol accent. I wave good-bye, giggling, and walk inside where my mother and sisters are waiting.
"I have a surprise for you, Rue," my mother says, smiling. She pulls out a lacy, light blue silk dress. I gasp.
"That's...that's for me?" I stutter. The dress is brand new and it must have cost my parents a fortune. "But...how?" I whisper. My mother just smiles and gestures for me to try it on. I pull it on and stare into the mirror where a girl I have never seen stands. Her dark skin, wild shoulder length hair, and brown eyes match mine but the dress she is wearing is a foreign object. I stare at the girl in the mirror, at the girl that is dazzling and beautiful.
"You're so pretty, Rue!" my sister Teri exclaims. I agree with her but I don't want to appear prideful so I smile at her.
All too soon it's time to go to the reaping. All of my sisters and my mother file in and watch tearfully as I take my place among the other possible twelve year old tributes. I glance ahead of me and catch Thresh' s eye. He winks at me and turns to face the stage where the mayor of 11 stands, yammering away. Then the mayor introduces our escort, Reyna Terrei, who prances up onto the stage.
"Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor!" she chirps. But the odds aren't in my favor. My name is in the glass bowl 26 times. My mother looks at me with a stricken look, pleading me to not get picked. I'm thinking about this as Reyna continues her speech and then announces, "Now it's time to pick our female tribute from District 11!" she pauses as if she's waiting for applause. No one obliges and she gives the crowd a disappointed look. Reyna strides over to the large glass bowl and delicately plucks a slip of paper from the bowl as if it could break at any moment. I wish it would, but unfortunately, it doesn't. She unfolds it, and, pausing for suspense, announces the female tribute for District 11. "Rue Avali!"
Suddenly, the world starts to spin as I make my way to the stairs. I almost fall over, but someone grabs my arm. I look over and see that the person that caught me is Thresh. I look desperately into his eyes, searching for an answer that isn't there. "Little Rue, you can do it," he says, trying to keep his voice strong. He pushes me towards the steps. The small hope I have is that I know that Thresh will protect and comfort my family as I walk into a horrific death trap. And then it disappears as Reyna announces that the male tribute for 11 is Thresh.