"Arianna! Arianna Burns!" My mother calls into my room. I'm awake, lying in bed so I have to get up. I get up and walk over to the tub in the only bathroom in the house. My mother drew a bath for me so I can get ready for the reaping.
The reaping is a selection process where our escort, Green Pine, he comes every year and chooses two tributes. One girl and one boy are brought to The Capital, made to be beautiful and then are put into an area with 22 other children to fight to the death. District 7's past tributes, who have won, our victors, are Johanna Mason and Troy Moon.
After I've cleaned myself and gotten dressed in my best dress. It's a dark green with lighter green accents. Wearing this dress with my wet red hair down my back I feel like I might be from The Capitol, or at least a wealthier District.
There are 12 districts. Each district becomes less wealthy the further away they are from The Capitol. The district order is how we are placed. So naturally districts 1,2,3,4 are really wealthy and 11 and 12 are the least.
I walk into the kitchen and my mother and father are sitting at the table and turn to see me enter.
"Arianna you need to eat today's the reaping so we got you something." My mother said. My father handed me a small ring box.
"It was several weeks pay but it was worth it." He said. I opened the box to see a small pin. On the pin was a music note.
I looked at my parents and made the hand sign for Thank you. The reason I'm making hand signs is that I'm mute. I was born with all my vocal cords and I can use them but I can't say words. That's why the pin is a music note. Most of the time at home, I sing my answers, like do mi is yes and do re is no. My mother is the music teacher at school and having me sing my answers was her idea and my father is learning to distinguish notes. But when I was born the doctors told my parents that they shouldn't keep me because I will never be able to talk. Probably because I never made any noise as a baby and when I cried it sounded like an avox crying. My father immediately bought a book to learn how to do sign language. My mother and father know sign language and taught it to me when I was 'learning to speak'.
"You're welcome Arianna." My mother says as I pin it to my dress, this pin will give me strength in the hours to come.
My mother brushed my hair as it dried. When it was time to line up my hair was dry and we walk to the square. After I sign in my parents can't come with me, they will be watching and hoping that I'm not picked.
My straight flat red hair at my back I walk to the 15 year old area and look t the stage. A lot of people are looking at the stage but some are looking at siblings or friends. I don't have any friends. In my first year of school a lot of girls wanted to be my friends but none of them understood that I couldn't talk. They thought I was ignoring them. At school when I am asked to answer a question, which doesn't happen often, I write it on a piece of paper and hold it up.
On stage was a podium two glass balls and four chairs, in the chairs are Green Pine, Johanna Mason, Troy Moon and Mayor Keedo. Once everyone is signed in Mayor Keedo walks to the podium and starts to explain the history of The Hunger Games.
I look at the Glass balls on stage one for the girls and one for the boys. At the age of 12 your name is put in the ball once and each year until you 18 they add one more name. But with some district don't have enough food you can add your name again and receive tesery, enough grain and oil for one person for an entire year.
I have never needed to take tesery but my name is in the girls' ball 4 times. After the Mayor is done Green Pine is up to the podium and is saying his phrase "Happy Hunger Games and May the odds be ever in my favor!" then he says "ladies first!" and he walks over to the girls' ball and picks out a name. He walks back to the microphone and says the name "Mamie Oak."
Mamie Oak she's a 12 year old, I've seen her at school she won't stand a chance. I see her walking towards the stage. And I know no one will volunteer for her because no one volunteers.
I run in front of her and look at the camera on the stage and I sign the words I was told never to sign. On the big screens it shows me signing these words. And from the audience my mother and father start crying their eyes out. Everyone is silent accept for my parents. Mamie looks at me scared and looks at the stage.
"Sorry dear but I need you to go back to your area." Green tells me through the microphone.
"She just said she wanted to volunteer." Called a voice from the boys' side of the square. I look at the boys' area but their all looking at me but none of them are moving their moths so I don't know who the speaker was but one thing's for sure they can read sign language.
"Well then come up her sweet child and introduce yourself." Green says to me. I turn to Mamie and nudge her to go back to the 12 area. And then I walk to the stage. Once I get on stage at the back of the square my mother is trying to run to me but the peace keepers are holding her back. "What's your name Child?" Green asked, he hands me the microphone and I look at the audience and can't say a word. "Child don't be shy, what's your name?" he says to me again.
My mother screams to Green "She can't tell you!" Green looks at her and asked her why. "She can't speak!" she screamed back. Green looks at me and then at my mother.
"Do you understand her?" he asked.
"Yes!" she calls. And then the peace keepers let her go and she walks up to the podium and looks at me.
"So what is her name?" Green asks her.
I sign my name to her and into the microphone she says flatly, "Arianna Burns."
"Well thank you miss." Green says to her and motions to me to sit and to my mother to stand behind me. I hold my head up high and look at a cloud in the sky. "Well now let's pick our boy tribute." Green says walking to the other ball. He picks a name and says the name of the boy that will be my enemy. "Tyler Moon"
Tyler he's the son of Troy Moon our victor. I look to see him walking up to the podium he has long brown hair and bright blue eyes he walks to the chair next to mine and sits. Green asks for volunteers and I guess as Tyler knew no one volunteered. Green has us shake hands and the stand for the anthem of Panem.
After the anthem peace keeper lead us to the justice building and Tyler and I get a half an hour to see the people we love. We each get a separate room and my mother is next to me the entire time.
First to visit me is my father and he and my mother tell me that I was stupid to do what I did and that they love and that they want me to come home. I tell them that I would try my hardest to come home and that I love them and that I wanted to protect Mamie. Then the peace keeper comes to the door and my father is asked to leave.
Second to my surprise, is Mamie and her family. Mamie has three older siblings and a mother. And they are all thanking me for saving Mamie and that they will cheer me on in the games. Mamie sits on my lap as their telling me this. I sign that I will fight to show them that I will try to come home and my mother tells them what I'm saying to them. They all give me a hug and before they leave I hug Mamie and sing her a lullaby that my mother taught me. All of them are listening to my song and look comforted. Then the peace keeper is asking them to leave and they do but they each give me a hug and say thank you.
Finally I'm waiting with my mother and she is telling me that I need to keep eating and that I need to put on a bit of weight and that I need to train a lot especially because I already know how to use an axe from work.
I work in the forest with every other person in district 7 since I'm so small I climb each tree and cut branches off the top of each tree before they are chopped down.
After our half an hour, Tyler and I are escorted to the train station and there are a lot of cameras there. I clear my face and walk into the train and wave to my family my mother and father are signing to me that they love me and I sign it back to them and the train speeds off.
At dinner Tyler and I met our mentors Tyler probably already knows them because his mentor is his dad and Johanna is his next-door-neighbour. I also meet my translator. She is from the capitol but she looks like she came from a district. She looks normal but well taken care of. She has makeup on but not anything major like some capital people. Her name is Jessica.