"Ema! Ema!", I scream while I hunt down my eight-year-old sister through the clean streets of District 1.
"Hey! Sheath!", I turn to see Ema yelling and walking towards me carrying her mangy terrier, Blaire. I could see exhaustion taking over her body. Sweat beading every inch of her body from her practice run.
"Look! Look! Look!", Ema said as she held up Blaire. "I found A new collar for Blaire!"
"Yeah its nice c'mon, were gonna be late for the reaping."
"Can't we skip it? I mean, what's the difference of two less kids?"
I clap my hand over her mouth, "Shh! A peacemaker might hear you stupid! And it makes a huge difference, one of our names might get called!"
"Ok…", is all she mumbles as we walk home.
_____
I brush through my soft wavy blonde hair while I wait for my mom to be done doing my sisters hair. I sit in only the top part of my dress and my underpants. My gaze drifts to the left, to the last two layers of my dress, the armbands, choker, and black shoes.
"Sheath Look! Look!", I turn to see Ema run in spinning around in her frilly pink dress, her hair falling down to her shoulders in layers. "Look what Mom did! Isn't it pretty!"
"Very…where's mom?", I say as she turns again.
"Here I am Sheath,", my mother says as she enters my now cramped bathroom. "Ema, why don't you wait outside?"
"Kay!", came her enthusiastic reply. And she was gone in a flash.
"Here Sheath relax,", my mom says as she separates my hair into sections. Before I know it she's pulling two clumps of hair to the back of my head, and its braided perfectly and tied with a pin that belonged to my deceased grandmother. "here," she helped me pull on the last two layers of my white dress. "All done. Lets get to the reaping." I slip on my shoes and we leave
____
"Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor!", is what our escort, Puffie Florite. "Ladies first!"
Picks up a slip of paper out of the girl's glass ball on the stage. Smoothes it out on the podium.
"Sheath Esmrose!"