Marion brushed her short reddish brown hair and pushed the bangs to the left of her forehead. She stared at the mirror, her body dressed in a white dress. She sighed unhappily and tried to adjust the violet ribbon tied around her waist.
"Why do I have to dress so nicely for the reaping?" she complained to herself. "The Hunger Games are so barbaric." She plucked a loose white string off of her dress. She only had three slips in the raffle amongst thousands of the other teenage girls' slips in District 4. That lowered her chances of getting chosen. She also didn't need to take a tesserae. Her father Flynn Larklow had left her mother, Mayle, when Marion was two weeks old. Her mother had discovered that Flynn was cheating on her and banished Flynn from the household.
"Marion?" a small knock came from her door.
"Come in." Marion replied softly. Her brother's black hair and pale skin peaked in from behind her door.
"Mother's going to throw a fit if you don't hurry." Torren said warningly.
"Alright, alright." Marion said huffily and slipped on the violet shoes. She hurried out the door with Torren and met up with her mother in the courtyard.
"Why do you take so long to dress up?" Mayle grumbled. "I chose the simplest dress for you from my old wardrobe."
"Sorry," Marion groaned. She looked up attentively as a plump lady strolled onto a large platform. Her hair was a brilliant shade of pink and her skin was a faint color of blue.
"Good morning District 4," the District 4 escort, Selia Shelmon, announced. "It is time to choose the tributes for the 5th Hunger Games!" She plunged her fat hand into the girls' box and rustled through the slips of paper. Marion knew she had very slim chances of getting chosen. She only had three slips in there mixed with the slips of others. "And our lucky tribute…" Selia cried.
"I don't think a tribute is considered 'lucky'." Marion whispered to Torren. He chuckled faintly and grew silent as Selia took out one slip.
"Marion Larklow." Marion's heart literally stopped beating. Torren looked at her, his eyes widened in shock. Mayle gasped in horror and dropped her purse. Marion suddenly felt lightheaded and felt as if she were about to puke. She stepped towards the platform, her skinny legs trembling. "Any volunteers?" Selia asked. Marion looked beseechingly to the crowds, hoping that miraculously, a girl would step up and take her place. But no one did.
"And now for our boy tribute!" Selia rummaged through a different box and pulled out another slip. "Zephyr Thorson." Marion felt as if her heart had stopped beating again. Zephyr, a skinny boy with light brown skin and brown hair, made his way through the crowd.
"Not Zephyr…" Marion gasped. Marion had a crush on Zephyr. How could she possibly fight against him in the Hunger Games? She hoped someone would volunteer, anyone.
"Volunteers?" Selia called. The crowd remained silent, until one voice spoke up. Marion looked at who volunteered to save Zephyr's life and nearly fainted when she saw that her own brother was coming towards the platform. Mayle gasped again and started sobbing. Torren walked up to his sister, grasped her hand, and squeezed it lovingly.
"Why?" Marion could barely let the word come out her throat. Before her brother could answer, her knees buckled weakly and she collapsed to the ground unconscious.