Normally, I'm not this scared to wake up in the morning. Normally, I'm optimistic that the current day will be a good day. But "normally" does not mean "always".
Why, you may ask, am I so depressed this morning? It's simple: today is Reaping Day for the 66th Hunger Games.
My name is Alla Silicon. I am 15, making me eligible for the Games. Lucky me. You see, 67 years ago, the 13 districts of Panem rebelled against the Capitol, and the latter won the war. Twelve districts were only defeated, and the thirteenth was bombed to nothing. So to punish us, 24 kids nationwide—two from each district—compete in a fight to the death. The winner lives in fame and fortune for the rest of their life.
I am a proud Threetonian. That's the unofficial name for someone who lives in District 3. I love my district. We may not be the richest, but we don't live in poverty, like the people who live in District 11 or 12. And we're all very intelligent. Each district provides something for the Capitol, which is the principal industry as well. Here in 3, we produce electronics and technology.
Knowing that I won't be able to go back to sleep, I get up and leave the house quietly. My parents and three brothers are still sleeping, so I need to make breakfast. Because it's reaping day, I decide to get some fresh bread and cheese for breakfast. A reaping treat.
I stroll through the streets of District 3. My family lives in the richer part of town because my dad is a co-manager of a factory downtown. Which means that we can afford food that the kids who live around the smaller factories can't.
After walking down many streets and rounding corners, I finally reach the bakery. The door opens with a cheerful jingle from the bell above the door, and the smell of fresh bread and cakes overwhelms me. Sometimes I'm here for the cakes, but only once or twice a year. Usually, I'm here for a tub of cheese and a box of our official bread: wheat bite-size rolls.
The owner of the bakery, Mr. Gigabyte, smiles at me as I walk across the bakery, towards the counter. "Hey there, Li'l Al! How's it going?"
I smile back at him. "A little scared for the reaping, but generally pretty good! I'm starving though," I respond. I love Mr. Gigabyte. He's very kind, but his wife works for my dad, so he has a glowing passion for our family. Also, he is one of the only people districtwide who pronounces my name correctly. It's pronounced awl-la, not aal-la.
"I mean, aren't we all today?" he says. Then he places a box on the counter, filled with the rolls. "Do you want another box, too? It's part of our Reaping Day Special—buy one box of any bread, get one free."
"Okay," I say. "And don't forget the cheese with it." He grabs another box and a tub of cheese, and places the cheese inside the box. Then he puts the second box in a bag.
I pay for the meal, and smile at Mr. Gigabyte. "Thanks! This looks delicious!"
"You're welcome, Al! Good luck at the reaping!"
Even though his last comment feels harmless, it hits me like a ton of bricks. I'm pretty safe, as far as the reaping goes. Because I'm only 15, and because I have only needed tesserae one year (when my dad lost his first job), I only have 6 slips in that reaping ball (because the tesserae year, I got the grain and oil for both me and my dad). But my older brother, Enbo, is at a greater risk of being chosen than me. He's 18, which means he had 6 slips to start with this year. But that tesserae year, he got 4 for himself, my two little brothers Thomas and Kayse, and my mom. Plus he's gotten tesserae for two of his poorer friends in the past. That adds up to about 16 slips.
In other words: I have 6 slips, Thomas has 2 (he's 13), Kayse has 0 (he's 10, so he isn't eligible for the reaping yet), and Enbo has 16. The odds aren't in favor for the Silicon family this year.
At least Enbo and I have experience with ninja stars, plus we're smart. Thomas is just smart, not a fighter like his older brother and sister.
I wave at Mr. Gigabyte and exit the bakery. I'm gonna be stopping at my best friend Nina Strober's house to drop off the second box of rolls, so I walk about two blocks until I reach her house. She comes to the door, smiling. "Hey, Alla!"
"Hi, Nina!" I bubble. I give her the bag. "It's a reaping treat. Open it up already. There was a special at the bakery today."
She takes a whiff and instinctively opens the box. "The district bread! Yum! Thanks, Alla!" She runs inside, puts the box on the kitchen table, and comes back with something wrapped in tissue paper. "Here's a gift to you. Happy Hunger Games..."
"...and may the odds be ever in your favor!" I finish. Inside the tissue paper is an adorable little necklace. It's made with silver and lavender wire, and a large, silvery and sparkly oval bead in the middle. "This is beautiful! Thank you!"
"You're welcome!" she says with a huge grin. "Good luck to you and your brothers." Then she waves and closes the door, still smiling.
The thing is, we have slightly better odds than her family does. She's a little poor, so she's needed tesserae more times than we have. I just hope that she, my brothers, and I are safe this year.
A few minutes later, I arrive at home. My younger brothers are just waking up when I return, but my parents and Enbo seem to have been awake longer. "Hi, Al," says Mom, smiling. "Nice necklace!"
I'm just opening my mouth to say thank you when Thomas interrupts me. "I think it looks like junk picked up off the street."
I slug him in the arm and set the food down on the counter. Immediately, my brothers all reach for a roll. Mom is able to get everyone seated at the table before they dig in, somehow.
Dad starts a cheerful conversation about some new invention his coworker recently patented. I concentrate on the food. The rolls are still warm, and the cheese tastes great with the bread.
After breakfast, I put on a short light purple dress for the reaping, and work on my newest creation. It's a small, portable lightbulb that changes its lighting by will. It's coming along pretty well. I'm about halfway done. After the reaping, I'm going to work immensely on it. That is, if I'm not chosen. Or Thomas or Enbo.
Dad has to practically drag me away from it when we have to leave. He and my brothers look very mature wearing their reaping clothes. My mom wears a beautiful gold dress. We then head to the square for the reaping.
We arrive at the square with about ten minutes to spare. Enbo, Thomas, and I head to our sections, separated by age: Enbo in the 18s, Thomas in the 13s, and me in the 15s. Then my parents wave at us one last time, and they take Kayse with them into the crowd.
More and more people arrive. I spot Nina and her twin sister, Electra, and wave them over. We talk about how scared we are until our escort climbs the stage.
The escort, Aphrodite Rollins, chirps out words meant to be cheerful and engaging, but, like always, falls flat for the people of 3. I just know she wishes she were an escort for District 1 or 2.
"Isn't it a glorious day for a reaping?" she says, smiling her perfectly whitened teeth at us. She then flips her long, deep purple hair over her shoulder as District 3's five victors mount the stage. Among them are my idols, Beetee Latier and Wiress Carpenter, Victors of the 35th and 47th Hunger Games, respectively.
"Alla," says Electra, grinning mischievously. "If you get reaped, at least you'll get to hang out with them every waking moment. The Games aren't horrible in that way."
"Oh, be quiet," I say, laughing a little. She has a point, though: if I'm chosen, they'll be my mentors during my stay in the Capitol. They can be your very lifeline in the Games. In fact, just six years ago, the victor, a boy from District 11, was clinging to life, waiting to bleed out. But then his mentor was able to send in some medicine, healing him. That just shows how special the mentors can be.
"Now, let's get started!" says Aphrodite, walking over to the girls' reaping ball. "Ladies first!" She reaches her pale hand into the ball and pulls out a slip. All the while my stomach is churning the rolls and cheese from earlier.
Then she reads the name.
"Alla Silicon!"
A/N: Hey y'all! This is my first ever story on , so I would appreciate it if you don't berate me for it. XD
So, how did you enjoy the first chapter? Please comment via the reviews. Or, hit that follow or favorite button. Or you can read and enjoy. Whichever way works for you. XD
~SapphireMoon4