The sky is gleaming with sunlight, and it looks like a beautiful day to go out swimming or fishing. The warm radiance from the sun's rays shoot right through my window pane, as I rise up from the bed.
"Aralia!" My mother bellows from the kitchen, signalling it's time for breakfast.
I pick myself up, and to my surprise, Gavon, my little brother, is perched up at my feet.
"Morning, Ara!" He smiles, his face gleaming with joy. He has nothing, and really nothing to know about the reaping or the games. He never should.
"Morning, Gavon." I greet him back, rolling off the covers. My eyes take time to adjust to the sunlight in the room, and then I stand up to follow into the hallway, where I'll meet my breakfast.
While I walk down the house's cramped corridor, I eye a picture frame with a boy who looks exactly like me. Scruffy auburn hair, freckled skin, and the same green eyes; my brother Harlen.
He died about 4 years ago, and it pains me deep down inside. His face is full of the memories from the past, like warm summer days at the beach, playing around, fishing too. Back when I never had a clue of what the Hunger Games are.
He's banished from our sight because of those wretched Hunger Games; an 'ally' of his literally killed him in his sleep. He was a career, tall, strongly built, and witty, too. While me, on the other hand, isn't that much of a built person, but I still manage to train to be a career. I train, but I really don't like it, since even thinking of the Hunger Games makes me want to puke. Unlike the other careers, I don't even care if I get reaped or not, participate or not participate. I think different than them, and I'd be even more than smart to be alone in the games rather than team up with anybody.
I sit down on the table, and there I see the daily offer, the catch we get. Fish and some bread. I eat it all up, and as this is the day of the reaping, I need to go and get dressed.
My mother leads me into our bathtub, where I see it is filling up with water. I notice that my mother has put out some soap for me to use, but I literally don't care.
I get into the tub and soak for about 5 minutes until I'm too bored to just sit around there. I stand up and towel-dry my wet red hair, which I've been toying with in the tub. I look into the fogged mirror, and I see a face reflected into it.
Green eyes, auburn hair, a dash of freckles, peach skin, and most of all, the Fallon family smile. That smile wipes off when I think of what'll be the possibilities today. The realization that I might be drawn from that silly glass reaping bowl is what gets my head into a jumble.
What'll happen to my family? Will they manage well? How about my friend, Cole? Will he be okay? Thoughts are swimming around my head.
I get out of the washroom, and get into my bedroom. I see that my mother has laid out a good set of reaping clothes for me today. An ocean blue ruffle blouse, a white skirt painted with waves, a set of flats with a small pearl bestowed right between the toes; it screams district 4.
I slip into my undergarments and put on the set laid out for me. I stand to face my mirror, and then what greets me is the other half of the reflection I saw in the bathroom.
Slightly broad shoulders, medium build, standing up as straight as she can. That's me.
I walk outside, and sit down with my mother; awaiting what'll she do with my hair. We've been close, very close, since she's been raising me up ever since I can remember. My father passed, so clearly, my mother is whom I've shared a bond with, though I had a pretty strong one with my dad, too.
All my mother does is comb my hair back, and pinning it down with a blue bobby pin. She smiles at me, though you could see the worry in her eyes. Does she think I'll get reaped? I think so. But what are the odds? Careers are desperate enough to go into these games by volunteering for a random person they don't have any connection with.
I've woken up a little bit too late today, seeing as the reaping starts at noon, and its 11:30. We have to be a little early there, but I know excited careers who've been training for their whole lives are already piled into our district's place to do the reaping, eager to get picked out from thousands, or volunteer.
Gavon and Reema, both my younger siblings, Gavon is 10 and Reema is 6, both too young to be entered into the reaping, are going to be standing behind, in the sea of families of the teens who are waiting for their sealed faith.
We walk out, in silence, until a special someone greets me. Cole, my you could say, 'best-friend' pops out of the corner. He wields the same green eyes as mine, though obtaining brown hair. He's tall, strong, and a serious career. We met at career training one day, when the trainer asked us to take a random weapon, and try to use it with the dummies. Since it was both our first years in weapon wielding, the only one I knew about was the spear. I immediately reach my hand out for it, until another hand reaches its way. It was Cole's. We battled over it, bickering like fools. It made me laugh. Our trainer broke it up by lending a spare spear to him, while I got a better one. I stuck a tongue out at him. After training, we both went out and talked about how we fought over the measly weapon. We laughed it out, and spent the entire day at the beach. Friendship began ever since. We've been friends for over 4 years now, both of us being fourteen.
Even though he's fourteen in age, he's like a skyscraper against me. He's a real career, while I'm a joke. He'd probably win any hunger games in a snap.
"Hey, Ara," He comes along, tagging alongside us.
"Where you heading?" He asks. This is by far the dumbest question to ask on reaping day.
"The reaping, of course," I tell him, with a roll of my eyes. "You?" I look up at him.
"Same place as you." He says. He greets my mother, Gavon, and Reema, treating them like his family. Of course he has one, but he never had a sister. Well, both our siblings shared the same faith, both obliterated by the Hunger Games.
We walk along, and he leaves to go to the boy's side of the line. I nod goodbye, and then I freeze where I am. The stage is adorned with a banner that reads, '63rd Hunger Games, reaping day'.
The mayor comes along with a speech, and then the escort shows up on stage. Pretty normal, from the past years' ones. Overdone make-up, eyes looking like they're cats, very strange choices. This year, she's pretty lessened from the make-up, only wearing a bit to match district 4's themes.
She squashes her hand into the boys' reaping ball, and I'm praying silently it's not Cole's.
"Costello Farr!" She bellows, searching the crowd. No volunteers. The boy comes up, he's relatively skinny, and looks so afraid. He's our neighbour, but I don't really bother with him.
My heart starts beating fast when she digs through the girl's ball.
A hush falls over when she pulls it out.
"Aralia Fallon!"
My name.