AN: Hey! This is my story, and.. yeah. I'll try to post like every other day/every three days, PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE review! Thankssss 3
"ASHHHH!" I wake up to hear my younger sister, Araxie, screaming my name. Running over to her bed, I brush her hair away from her forehead.
"Calm down, baby," I murmur quietly. "I'm right here, everything's fine." Her light green eyes open slowly, calming down once she sees me.
"I- I had a dream," her voice, usually so vibrant and loud, is quiet and meek. "You were reaped, and you went away, and—and—" she cuts off, burying her head against my shoulder.
"It's okay, hun," I say, rocking her back and forth. "I'm right here, and everything's going to be fine"
I rock her until she falls back asleep, and get up, dressing quickly. Since it's the reaping day, I pull on a short, light pink dress, and pull my dirty-blonde hair back with a ribbon. My one pair of shoes, black dance flats, complete my outfit, and I lay out breakfast for the others, toast and jam, and just grab some water. I'm too nervous to eat anyway.
At 16, I'm the only person in my family to be eligible for the reaping. Araxie, at 9, is too young, and my brother, Paul, is now 19, safe for the first year. My other sister, Morgan, is now 21, and pregnant, living with her boyfriend. My parents were crushed when she moved out so young, but she's a whore. I don't miss her.
I leave the house quietly, heading over to the beach. It's only 6, but it's already sunny and humid out. Most days, I'd be at Jace's already, or he'd be at mine, and we'd be going off to the beach by 7. He, at 17, works on the boats, fishing. I spend my working days painting and preparing the boats. On our days off, we like to go fishing and swim. We're all water babies-the ocean is our home, not this land we're near.
Jogging over to the beach, I'm interrupted by my friend, Rylla, jumping on my back.
"AIIIISSSLIIIN!" She shrieks, pulling me down onto the sand-covered floor. Giggling hysterically, she pokes my stomach. "Hi!"
I laugh with her, surprised at her joy. Since she has to take tesserae, usually on reaping day she's more withdrawn. Everyone changes, though.
"Are you ready for today?" I ask without thinking, and she withdraws a bit.
"Yeah, I guess so. Nervous, of course. Are you?"
"Well of course I am, it's the reaping. But everything will be fine, you'll see. Hey, do you want to come over for dinner tonight? We're having salmon. Your favorite" I poke her stomach, hoping it'll be okay with Mom and Dad. Jace is coming over, and so are Morgan and her boyfriend. We're one of the better off families in the district, so we aren't hungry, but we do ration our food. That's all Dad's fault, though- he grew up poor, and only by luck ended up running a large group of fishing boats. Mom works in a fancy boutique, and was raised by shopkeepers, so she's more used to luxury.
"Will Paul be there?" she asks, blushing slightly.
"Why? Are you gonna FINALLY ask him out?" I tease, watching her turn redder by the minute, starting to match her hair. She's had a crush on my brother for as long as I can remember, despite the fact that I've never even seen him notice her. Sucks for her, but it would be so awkward if they started dating.
"No, just…curious" she starts to defend, then sighs. "Sure, I'll come. Now get up, we're going SHOPPING!"
I stare at her, dumbfounded. Shopping? What?
She giggles again. "Yeah, I know. But I want to, so lets go!"
I give up, and walk with her to the antique store. Run by a past victor, Jessyca, it's a nice place. It's also not expensive—it's not like she needs the money!
"Hello, girls!" She says brightly. "What brings you here…today?" She falters a bit, remembering how, a long time ago, she was once our age, and reaped.
"Just wanted to look around, maybe get a little toy for my brother-it's his first reaping," Rylla explains, smiling at her.
"Oh, that's sweet," Jessyca smiles at Rylla. "Toys are over in the left room," she adds on, then turns to me. "And you? What're you looking for?"
"Nothing specific, just looking really," I smile at her. "Maybe if I can find something for my little sister- she's worried about me"
"Ah, for the reaping. Well, toys are over there… and I think I have a very nice ring, you might like it," she hesitates for a second, and then pulls over a little green box. Opening it, she shows me what's inside- a ring, made of what looked like sea glass. It was dark greenish-blue, and had a small pearl attached at the top.
When I see it, I can't help myself. A little gasp comes out of my throat, and Jessyca smiles knowingly. "I thought so. Here you go," she passes it over to me, and I hold it carefully.
"How-how much is it?" I ask, turning it over in my hands.
"Free. A present," she smiles again at me, before noticing the time. "Now you girls must get going, the reaping starts in half an hour!"
Thanking her profusely, I grab Rylla and we run out, down to the middle of the town. Being in District 4, we have plenty of money, and we live in quite a nice place. Many of us secretly train for the games, and if we don't, well we're still fit.
We run into the square, registering quickly and joining our age group. I see Jace for a second, with the 17-year-old boys. I raise a hand at him, and he grins back at me. We're both interrupted, however, by Volumnia Thorne, our escort.
She toddles over to the front of the stage, wearing a bright blue mini dress that poofs out at the waist, ending only a few inches lower. Leopard print, magenta leggings that match her magenta hair offset the dress. Her makeup is bright blue, with red lips, and she's teetering in 8-inch gold heels. You can see some of the people in the town noticeably gag at her appearance—I mean, she looks like a nut.
"Hello Ladies and Gentleman!" She squeaks in her silly accent. "And welcome to the 38th Annual Hunger Games! And may the odds be EVER in your favor!"