Aubrey Coach, District Six Female, 16
It has been almost a year since my brother was killed. His empty room lays as a reminder, everything untouched and beginning to gain a layer of dust. The door stays closed most of the time, but sometimes I go in there to try to feel him. Today I am standing in his room, before my parents have woken. I brush my delicate fingertips over his old baseballs, with his name written in black pen above the red stitching. There are also dates written on them, of when they were written. September 25-First Home Run. February 7-Home Run in Championship. There are also photos in brass frames of him with his friends or him and me. I grab the nearest photo, on a rusty frame, and hold it against my chest. It was taken about a week before the devastating accident, and it shows us in our Reaping clothes. It was after the Reaping, and we were celebrating not he chosen once again. We were hanging out on…on the railroad track. I don't go there anymore. It brings back more awful memories. Flashing lights, screaming, tripping, loud noises, my brother's hand reaching out for me, and my blood soaked
I set the photo back on his dresser and wipe away the tears starting to form. I close the door to my brothers room and go back into the hall. I check my watch. It's only 6:24. The Reaping doesn't start until 11:00, so I could sleep in, but I don't think I could close my eyes again. The thought of my brother will be back in my mind, and most of my dreams these days make me relive the awful tragedy. I walk downstairs, my hand sliding down the railing. This is the railing my brother and I used to slide
I make it to the kitchen, and as I expected, no one else is here. I decide to make breakfast for the whole family, which is now just my parents and I. In the fridge I find the eggs Mom reserved for the Reaping, and I also find a small back of cheap bacon. This will do. I light up the stove and throw in firewood. I get out a metal pan and crack three eggs over it. They fry, and I scrape each of them onto a different plate. I then cook the bacon, a piece per person, and place them with an egg each. I turn off the stove and clean off the pan, then set out a bowl of fruit on the table. I put a plate in each spot, besides my brothers spot. I get to work on my
I hear the sound of feet clambering down the stairs. I check my watch. 7:49. My parents must be up. I politely nibble on my egg, and wait for my parents to come into the kitchen. My mother walks in, and sees me
"Aubrey!" She exclaims. "What are you doing
"I couldn't sleep. I made everyone breakfast." I say, gesturing at the plates of
"That's nice honey. Did you have Reaping day jitters?" She asks, taking a seat. I hesitate before
"Kind of." The real reason I couldn't sleep was because of my brother, but I don't want to worry my mom. She takes a bite of the bacon and
"Sweetie, how are things going with Logan?" My body stiffens and my fists tighten. My brother. Logan. My brother Logan. I want to say that everything is awful, my heart aches whenever I thighs about him, and I'm having a terrible time coping, but my mom has enough on her plate to worry about, since our wealth is slowly
"Everything is nice. I miss him, but I barely think about him anymore. The best thing for me to do is to get on with my life because crying won't bring him back." I say, easily lying through my
"That's a nice philosophy." Mom says. I KNOW it's a good philosophy, but I can't bring myself to follow it, even though I know it's true and the best thing to do. We're silent for a moment. "Do you want to play chess after you get dressed? It'll pass time before the
"Of course!" I say, and honestly, I mean it. It will be nice to do something that takes my mind off Logan. I clear my plate to the sink, and walk past my Mom and back upstairs. "I'll go get ready for the Reaping!" I tell her, and race
Most kids in our District take a shower before the Reaping, but I prefer to take night showers to calm my mind before I go to bed. It helps to keep away the nightmares. I reach my room, and look in the closet for the dress I mentally picked out last night. I find it in the back, and pull it out. It's my favorite dress, it's gray with black trimming and the skirt has black elegant and detailed designs. I shed my pajamas and pull the dress over my head. This would be Logan's last Reaping, and since he was twelve he was planning to wear his gray suit that he assumed he would finally fit into by
I sit at my vanity table and start brushing my wavy brown hair. I see my reflexion. I have a small nose, green eyes, and dark brown hair that stands out against my pale skin. I don't put my hair into any style, even though it long enough to do most styles. I prefer to leave it plain, so I don't stand out in the crowd. I slip my feet into nice black shoes and walk downstairs. Mom is waiting in the living room, setting up the expensive chess board with black and white
"Aubrey, do you want black or white?" My mom asks, though she knows what I'll choose. I always choose black. I take a seat across from her and look at my watch. 9:12. Just enough time. She starts as usual, and then I move. I am an expert at this game, and in almost no time at all I have taken her king. We agree on another round, and this time I beat her even
"Checkmate." I smile, just as the doorbell
"I'll get it!" My father shouts, and rushes to the front door as if someone is trying to beat him there. I can see the front door from where we sit, and when it opens it is Jackson at the other end. Jackson was Logan's best friend, and the only other person with me the night Logan was
"Hi, Aubrey!" He shouts at me, and I wave at him, smiling. I never told him, but I've always had a crush on him, with his nice blue eyes and brown hair. It's his last Reaping, so he wears his black suit. I walk up over to them. "I brought you those car plans, I thought maybe you could use them or get inspiration from them. They're not my best, but they're practical and would be better for families with less
"Good, I've been stumped for awhile." My dad says, gladly taking the papers. Jackson works for my Dad's business, where he has been trying to design a car for years. Jackson occasionally brings him new ideas, which cures him of his inventor's
"Hey Aubrey, you look ready for the Reaping. That's a nice dress." Jackson
"Thanks, its one of my favorites." I say. Normally I would blush at a comment from Jackson, but I'm not focused on my silly love life
"Do you want to walk to the Reaping with me? I'm going there right now." Jackson offers, and my father nods his head. He's very overprotective of me, since he doesn't want to lose his other child. Having Jackson, a trustworthy and hardworking man escort me into town would let him breathe a sigh of relief. Also, I'm pretty sure he would love it if I married
"Sure!" I say, maybe a little too enthusiastically. I follow him out the door and to the street I have walked many times. As soon as we are out of view from my house, I gain the nerve to speak to him. "Did you have a nice
"Kind of. My Mom is currently ill, so my Dad had to cook, and let's just say he burns water." We laugh, and I feel a weight lifted off my shoulders. Jackson is so easy to talk to, and he was always the one who let me play with my brother and his friends when we were younger. For some reason, little boys aren't too enthusiastic about a baby sister playing with them. "How about
"I woke up before everyone else, so I cooked. It didn't taste too bad, but the bacon was cheap and gross." I say, fiddling with my locket necklace. He
"Why couldn't you sleep? Were you scared about the
"No, I just was missing Logan. I went and hung out in his room." I say, sadly. Jackson is the only person I can talk to about Logan because he doesn't try to make me feel better. We're in equal
"Yeah, I took a walk in town when I started feeling depressed. You know, District Six actually is nice in the morning. You almost can't smell the factory smoke." We stay silent for a
"Can you really not smell the factory smoke in early morning?" I ask quietly. Jackson nods. "I should try that sometime." We approach the town square, where cameramen are perched on rooftops like buzzards and rope separates the eligible children from the adults and babies. We get in the shortest line for the Peacekeepers checking us in. We came slightly early, so the line isn't too long. We scuttle forwards until we are at the front of the line. The Peacekeeper roughly grabs my finger and pricks it. I don't flinch, Logan's end taught me that there is much more
"Aubrey Coach" An automated voice announces when the Peacekeeper scans my blood. "Next." I walk over to the sixteen year old section, and stand by myself. I've never been good at making friends, most of my friends were Logan's friends or someone I met through them. One of my only female friends was the girlfriend of one of Logan's friends, Jason. "Jackson Auto" The automated voice says
"That's Mister Auto to you." I hear Jackson say, and I turn my laugh into a cough. Jackson smiles at me as he passes me, and the girl next to me starts freaking out because she thinks Jackson was smiling at
"Oh my gosh, Mercedes, did you see that cute boy smile at me?" She asks her friend, and I roll my eyes. This is why I don't have a lot of female friends. So many of these District Six girls are so shallow. I watch as our escort, Vanity Fairbanks, takes the stage. She is sporting a curly purple wig this year, and a poofy purple dress. She holds the microphone so close to her lips that I think her purple lipstick will smear on
"Welcome District Six. The wonderful TRANSPORTATION District. The District of trains, cars, and boats! Now, we will start with the wonderful video from the Capitol!" She shows us a video about the Great War, and I find myself almost dozing off. The mayor then gives a speech, which no one listens to, and finally we get to the Names. "As usual, ladies first!" She clumps to the girls bowl, and reaches inside. "I feel the name of a winner!" She plucks out the name and merrily walks back to the microphone. She unravels the piece of paper, and reads the name. "The wonderful female tribute of District Six will be… Aubrey
My heart slows as everyone around me looks at me. They all know me from the accident. Bloody hands… puddles of crimson… stained clothes… Logan's cries of
"Come on up, dear!" Vanity says, much to happily. I make my short trek up to the stage that felt like a million miles. I didn't expect this to happen. I thought the worst had happened when I lost Logan, but now my parents will lose both children. I stare at the people I pass by, some look sorry for me and others pretend to look apologetic, but I can see through their act-they're just glad it wasn't them. I take my place next to Vanity, and she holds her microphone much too close to my face. "How are you feeling right now,
"First of all, it's Aubrey, and second of all, I feel like I want to punch you in the face." I give a snarky smile to the cameras, but my heart is beating extremely fast in my
"Wonderful! Now for the boys!" She shuffles over to the boys bowl and digs her hand around. "Oh, this is a good one! You know what, that one sucks. Um… here it is! Our next
"I thought you said I was our next victor." I mumble under my breath, and she plucks up a slip of paper. Strutting back over to the microphone, she unrolls the paper. She reaches the microphone just as she finishes unraveling it. "Now, the male tribute for the wonderful District Six! Martin
A boy trembles from the fourteen year old section and starts making his way up to the stage. His lip is pouted, and he is on the verge of tears. He's taken his spot next to me when a hand raises from the eighteen year old
"I volunteer" a cool and collected voice says, and emerging from the crowd is Jackson. No! He can't volunteer! Neither of us will make it out alive! Martin Hearse finally lets out a cry of relief, and rushes back to his friends. Jackson quickly rushes next to me, and I see his trembling hands.
"Ooh, a volunteer! Isn't this a game changer? What's your name, young man?" Vanity asks.
"Jackson Auto." Jackson gruffly
"What a handsome name! Now shake hands, you two!" I turn to Jackson and his extended hand. I shake it, looking him in the eyes. Why would he do this. "DISTRICT SIX, MAY I ANNOUNCE YOU YOUR TRIBUTES FOR THE THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY SIXTH HUNGER GAMES!" The District slowly
I feel hands grasping my arms, and my head yanks around to see two Peacekeepers pulling me to the Justice Building. I let them drag me, it's no use to provoke trained men with guns. I am pushed into the building, where my family will wait for me. They'll just tell me to live, but it's no use. This being the forty sixth year with District Thirteen competing as well, I'll have even smaller odds. There is no way I'll survive, so this will be our final goodbye.
Opal Platinum, District One Female, 17
It was all Attie's fault. About a year ago, I said that I was volunteering this year, and Attie could volunteer next year, but then about a week ago Attie announced that HE was volunteering. I got super angry, and reminded my parents that I had already called volunteering. My Mom specifically said that she didn't remember me saying I would volunteer, my Dad said that he remembered me volunteering and thought it would be better if we had a male volunteer this year. I got annoyed, so my Grandma butted in and came up with the "brilliant" solution that Attie and I could BOTH volunteer. That's not a great compromise when it means that one of us will have to
I slam my fist on my makeup table and look in the mirror. My long golden blonde hair is tied back behind my head in a loop. My Grandma's signature hairstyle, which she insisted I wear on this special Reaping. I don't mind, I was only planning to wear my hair down or in a simple ponytail. My Mom finally let me wear a decent amount of makeup. I used to only be able to wear lipstick or blush, but now I have on all. I have on some foundation, light pink blush, mascara, purple eye shadow, eye liner, and lilac lipstick which doesn't look as strange as I thought it would. It compliments my bluish lilac
My dress is a nice silk one, one of the most expensive dresses we own. It's lilac and starts ruffling down by my knees. It goes down to my shins, and it has no sleeves. My shoes are nice purple heels. I wear golden bangles around my wrists and golden necklaces around my neck. One of these necklaces will be my token, but the Gamemaker may say it could be used for choking, in which case I would bring my golden ring, a gift from my boyfriend,
Frou is really sweet. He has this wavy copper hair that is always super messy. He has freckles all over his body, especially on his face. His eyes are big and blue, and he always either acts like a little kid or is a total romantic. We met a couple of years ago at this restaurant in town called the Victor's Crown because it's owned by a few elderly Victors who don't mentor
I flip my hair over my shoulder and smirk at my reflection. This will be the face of District One's next tribute. I don't want to say Victor yet, because there's no knowing for sure. At first I thought I would be, but with my brother being one of my opponents, it can't be safe to bet myself as a winner
"Opal! Mom says dinner is ready!" Attie yells at me from the
"One moment!" I yell, mentally cursing my sibling. I grab my wallet and start slowly walking downstairs just to annoy my family. I reach the kitchen and see everyone but my mother (who takes hour long baths before the Reaping) around the dining table. My father is very organized, and every meal he puts seating cards on the plates with our names on them, so we all sit where he wants us to. Today I am sitting between my Mom's empty chair and my younger sister, Ruby. Ruby is always a pain in the butt, and always tries to make us angrier when we are already
"Opal, do you remember who are volunteering today?" Attie smirks from the other side of Ruby. I take a sip of my orange
"Of course, I'm not an idiot" I say defensively with a hard glare at him. His easy going personality always gets on my nerves, because only a few people can see through his act, and to adults he's just being
"Are you sure about that?" Ruby asks me with a wide smile. I groan at her insult and kick her under the table. She just kicks me back with much more power. Not that she's stronger than me, I just can't hurt her because she's younger. She just turned ten and started training about a year ago. Her specialty is hand to hand combat, which doesn't fare well for me in our occasional fist fights over the TV remote. I'm more of a distance combat kind of
"I still don't like how we're both volunteering" I complain to no one in particular. "That means one of us must die" I eat my small serving of
"If we're lucky, you'll BOTH die!" Ruby says cheerfully. Attie groans along with me again, and we both kick Ruby at the same
"If it makes you feel better, Opal, I won't be the one killing you." Attie says, giving me a grin as I pass by him to clear my
"You wish. You'll be dead before you get the chance." I say, and rush outside. Normally, I would need Attie or Frou to escort me to the Reaping as a tradition, but since I'm volunteering, I'm allowed to walk by myself. We are one of the richer families, so it's a short walk, and I barely have to walk at all. I'm easily one of the first people there. The Peacekeeper politely takes my finger and pricks
"Opal Platinum" an automated voice announces and I walk into the roped off area. The older you are, the closer you are to the front, so I pass by all the little kids on my way to the seventeen year old section. I flash smiles at several little kids, who all seem way too small to me. None of these kids are nervous. In the Career districts, you basically choose whether you go into the Games or
I find my place next to my friend China in the seventeen year old section. She is wearing a sweet jade green dress, and I compliment it easily. We chat for a bit about Frou, and her latest love interests, until our escort taps the mic. We look up, not to see, our usual escort, Brittany Glass, but a man wearing no wig and black lipstick and eye shadow. He also has fake eyelashes, which you can easily tell after living in District One all your life, and a suit made of
"Hello, District One!" He shouts. "I am your new escort, Romulus Alabaster! I used to be the escort for District Ten, so this is a big step up for me! I am very honored to be your new escort. I am certain I will be the best escort you've had ever! Now, your beloved mayor will like to give you all a speech, and then we will watch a fun, Fun, FUN, video! After that, we will find out your lovely tributes! Now, may I introduce to you, your Mayor, Charisma French!" He waves in the direction of our mayor, who holds his microphone. He talks about the Great War, and how wonderful the Hunger Games are to our culture. They then project a video about the Great War, which no one watches because we see it every year. "Now ''tis the time to choose two heave tributes for the 346th Hunger Games! As usual, ladies first!" He reaches into the bowl and fishes around for a girl no one will care about, because there is always a Volunteer. "Jazzmyn Foster!" No one moves, because we all know there will be a volunteer. "Any
"I VOLUNTEER!" I raise my hand in the air, and strut up to the stage. Romulus's face is in pure happiness. He's so used to a District that volunteers once every century only to save a sibling. I reach for his microphone and hold it to my mouth. "My name is Opal
"Wonderful, wonderful! Now for the boys!" Romulus walks over to the boys bowl and reaches in. He extracts a name, and I'm hoping it says Atticus Platinum, because then he can't volunteer and someone else will. "Calico Luxe! Any
"I volunteer!" Attie shouts. He runs up to the stage, and grabs the microphone. "My name is Atticus Platinum!" Romulus gives out a shriek of joy. Two volunteer siblings. He couldn't have asked for
"Are you two twins?" He asks
"Unfortunately, yes." I reply before Attie can say something all the female sponsors will suck
"Shake hands, you two." I quickly shake Attie's hand, and we are escorted into the Justice Building. You know what? I bet that our family will see Atticus first. They always favor him.
Susan "Susie" Soya, District Eleven Female, 12
There's nowhere left to run. The Capitol have been chasing us for days now. I was born into a rebel group against the Hunger Games, and for the past six years I have been posing as a weak little girl working in the orchards, smuggling apples each day so our group hidden in the woods can eat. A couple of other kids do this job, too, three in the fields, one in the packaging station, and another girl about nine in the orchards with me. Her name is Maizie and we get along pretty well, even if I'm three years
My hands grasp the trunk of the apple tree and reach out for the ripe red apples. I always snag this for our group, and I put the bruised purple and brown ones for the Capitol and the rest of District Eleven. My hand grabs a ripe apple, and when no one is looking I tuck it into my dress. The fourteen year old boy below me, my picking partner, doesn't notice. Every person has a picking partner. One person goes up into the branches and pick the apples, and the other person catches the apples in the woven basket. He's ignorant, which is fortunate for me. Maizie's picking partner is very attentive, so she normally gets less than me. I can only hold so many apples in my dress. We wear one extra pair of undergarments so we can slip the fruit in without it falling or touching our
As I said before, I was born into this group. My parents were caught, and shot on the spot. There wasn't even a public execution or whipping, which the Peacekeepers love to do. District Eleven is one of the worst places for a rebel organization. It's packed with Peacekeepers and it's very safely guarded. A few people have managed to make it to either District Twelve or District Ten, which have much lower security, but a lot of people (including my parents) were killed in this one escape attempt, where they hung onto the back of a train during either a Reaping or Victory Tour. I was only three when it happened, so I don't remember, and I've never
My long straw blonde hair is in two braids so it doesn't snag onto the tree branches. I'm currently wearing overalls, because when I am in the tree I don't like my picking partner to have a nice view of my undergarments. Maizie wears a dress though, because she's more girly than I
"Hey, Millard!" I yell down to my picking partner. "Catch!" I throw him an armful of apples, which he easily catches in his basket. I must admit, he's pretty good at
"It's Milo." He reminds me. I roll my eyes. That's just like him. He doesn't get the fact that no one cares what his name is. He should be glad I remember the first three letters. I pick a few more apples that I tuck back into my
"Susan, it's time to get dismissed." Millard says. I have no idea why. We just started working a few hours ago. Normally we work from dawn to dusk. It's only
"Are you sure?" I
"Yeah, it's Reaping day." Ah, that must be why. We get out early on Reapings since they start at half past one. I scuttle down the tree. It's time to find Maizie, she doesn't like walking to the forest alone. "Maizie?!"
"Hi Susie!" Maizie yells. My head jerks up. She's in a tree. What's she doing in a tree? I climb up the branches so I can join her.
"What're you doing in a tree?" I ask impatiently, "It's Reaping day, we need to get back to base before going to town, and it's a long trek." I keep my voice down, especially on the word 'base' since it may make some people suspicious, and report it, because if you catch a thief or rebel you get extra food and that's something everybody wants.
"I don't like all those people." She frowns. "They give me strange looks when I walk the opposite way, towards the forests."
"Just tell them we live in a shack at the end of the forest because we're poor little kids and our parents don't make a ton of money. Come on down." I beckon her to follow me, as I scale down the tree. She follows.
We reach the ground and start walking to the forest. We reach the forest, and from here it's a short hike to the base. There's a rumor District Twelve gets the whole day off. They're lucky. One of the other kids, one of the ones who works at the fields, runs up to us.
"Susie! Maizie! How ya doing?" He says. He has dark skin and black hair, like most people in this District. His name is Sparrow. He smiles at me. Maizie tells me that he has a crush on me, but I don't think so. "Did you get me an apple, Susie?"
"You know that you only get a quarter of an apple. If you got a whole apple, three people would miss out" I say, smartly.
"That three people could be David, Daniel, and Devon!" He smiles, referencing the three Spud teenagers we don't like. They are sixteen, and are always super annoying and stupid. We quickly reach the base where we are greeted by the leader of our rebellion group, Don.
"Why aren't you wearing your dress, Susie?" Don demands. I look around. Everyone else is ready to go.
"Um, because I just got back from work?" I reply. Don groans. "Can't I just wear this? Come on, Don, some kids wear their rags to the Reaping, are some overalls going to ruin everything?" Don sighs again.
"I guess not. Just take your hair out of those braids." He demands. I brush my fingers through my hair to take out the tight blonde braids. I don't think they look too bad, but they must be clotted with dirt and Don must think it makes me look ragged and dirty.
We rush to the Reaping in groups, because if all of the rebels are seen together, that wouldn't fare well for us. I am unfortunately in a group with Sparrow, Devon, Candor, Alicia, and Rosa. Sparrow and I hang near the back, talking. This is both our first year eligible, and we're not really worried, because their are much worse fates than being chosen for the Hunger Games. Devon is bugging everyone and asking strange and philosophical questions, which everyone is ignoring. Candor is talking with his girlfriend, Rosa, and Alicia is inspecting everyone's outfits. Alicia is a fashion geek, and is extremely interested in clothes. She was born in District Eight, and moved here (sorry, escaped here) with her family when she was ten. They were trying to go for District Twelve, but the Peacekeepers almost caught them, so they jumped off here. Alicia is now maybe thirty or thirty five, and her parents live in the base and hardly ever move out. They're getting old.
"Hey Alicia! Do ya like Susie's outfit?" Sparrow asks, teasing her. Alicia squints her eyes at my outfit, and I can tell she doesn't appreciate my fashion sense. "They're in STYLE." Sparrow nods his head, as I do a spin. "Voila!" Alicia's lips are pursed, because she knows we're teasing her, but my lacking fashion is still getting on her nerves. We were the third group to leave, and I can just barely see the second group with Maizie, almost hidden by the crowd. My legs are getting sore, it's a long walk. To take the direct route to town would be to go through the orchards, which are patrolled by Peacekeepers. That meaning, we would need to go AROUND the orchards, which are already huge.
We just about reach the Reaping check-in when two Peacekeepers walk in front of us. They cross their guns so we can't cross.
"Who are you?" The Peacekeeper on the right asks in a gruff voice. Sparrow and I look at each other, scared. We don't want to end up like our parents, or even worse, publicly whipped or executed. Behind her back, Alicia gives us the secret hand symbol for be quiet. Candor steps forward.
"Look, we're just going to the Reaping. My name is Canwen Sprig, this is Alma Crestor, Raylin Grengras, Diego Master, Spain Francas, and Sally-Sue Bellbrass." Candor says. The Peacekeepers continue to hold their guns at us.
"Why are you coming from the forest?" They demand.
"We were coming from our jobs. We were working in the orchards, but on the way back I realized I dropped my good luck charm, so we all looked for it. We were just coming back for the Reaping. Now, we don't want to be late…" Alicia says.
"Fine. On your way. These kids look like they may be eligible for the Hunger Games." Sparrow and I nod. "Stay out of trouble." We all nod, and continue on our way. My palms are sweating fiercely. We part ways when we come to the check-in. Sparrow and I get in line, and another Peacekeeper takes our blood. They push that needle in far. We walk together to the twelve year old section, where we stand next to Fiona, who works in the fruit packaging department, and is another rebel. We stay silent, because we have been told not to draw attention to ourselves.
On the stage are our very few victors, mostly male. There is also our mayor and our escort, seated in chairs in the back. Finally they project a video about the Great War, which is stupid because it's basically gloating to us about how great the Capitol is and how we deserve the Hunger Games. Then our mayor takes the stage.
"Hello, District Eleven. As you know, I am your mayor, Estella Connor. It's been three centuries, four decades, and six years since the Great War. Us Districts fought against the Capitol, only for it to end in terrible suffering. They created the Hunger Games, to remind us of the awful deaths that happened because of our idiotic idea to fight against the Capitol. Every twenty five years, we create a "Quarter Quell" to punish us District even more by adding a twist to the Games. The first Quell, the tributes were voted for from the District citizens. The second Quell, twice as many tributes were added. The third year, the tributes were reaped from the existing pool of Victors. The fourth year, the tributes were of various ages, including adults and young children, and so on. We meet here today to decide the tribute for…" Our mayor drones on and on. All she talks about is how great the Capitol is and how awful we are, and that the Great War was all our fault. I don't blame her, she's required by law to say that type of thing. She eventually finishes her speech, and our escort, Blair Magesti, steps up to the microphone. As usual, she is all blue, her signature color. Her skin is light blue, her hair is a shaggy navy blue, her dress is a turquoise ensemble, and so on. The only things not blue are the whites of her eyes and the pink of her inner mouth.
"It is now time to choose the two grave tributes for the 346th Hunger Games! As we always do, because we are a SPECIAL District, gentleman first!" She elegantly glides over to the boys bowl where she fishes for a name. She chooses one very carefully and walks back to the microphone. "Wren Farmer!" A collection of "oohs" and chuckles comes from the sixteen year old section, telling me Wren isn't popular. I don't know him, after all. I strong looking boy lumbers out of the sixteen year old section, and his ears are bright red. He yells some curse words at the people laughing and making rude noises and gestures. You can clearly tell he is embarrassed and not comfortable being in this fatal and weak position. He takes his place beside Blair. "Now for the girls!" Blair only has to walk a short way to find a slip of paper. She fishes it out and walks back to the microphone so everyone can hear her. "Susan Soya!" She reads, and my legs feel weak. I wipe the palms of my hands on my overalls and start making the long journey to the stage. Everyone moves out of the way when they see me coming, and they all give me sorry glances. One older girl pats my head as I walk by. I want to yell curse words at the TV screens, but then I realize. I can use my sweet and cute and weak physique to send sponsors my way and make myself less of a threat. I start shaking, and don't hold myself together anymore. I start silently crying as I stand next to Blair on the stage. "Shake hands you too!" Blair says, much too happily, and I take Wrens hand.
We walk into the Justice Building, and I let go of my act for a minute. This could work. It's worked before. This can be my one way ticket to the Victor's Village.