Jack Clyde, the boy that needed no one. That's how he thought of himself, Jack; The one who'd refuse even the wealthiest and generous person's offers with a shrug and a wave of his pale, bony hand. Though, of course, it wasn't like the mere thought of sharing with the poorer folk had ever once crossed any of the District commoner's minds. Generosity was a rare sight around District one, as was any form of kindness, and it didn't exactly matter, since there weren't many poor citizens in the particular District. In fact, District One was the most opulent of all the Districts. They were obviously favored by the Capitol, seeing that their resource was the oh-so-precious diamond. They loved how the Capitol gawked at their precious jewels, glorifying every one of the gleaming thing's edges with their sickly-dyed fingers. Their eye's lusted after the clear gemstones, knowing they'd never find one anywhere else, not forgetting that if they wanted them, they'd get them; more and more until their fancy drawers over-flowed with them. The Diamond-District's Residents clearly enjoyed the attention they received, hoping, nevertheless knowing, that the Capitol's fascination with the jewels would never wane.
"I hate them," Jack muttered to no one in particular as he passed by yet another diamond shop. He gazed through the shop's window in agitation, watching as a man behind the counter chatted comically to a customer, who's eyes unblinkingly lye on the diamonds underneath the glass case before her. Jack almost laughed, puzzled at why the diamonds had such a hypnotizing effect on people. Diamonds were simply possessions; what could they do for District one, for Panem? All the large, clear things could do was give someone the feeling of rich-pleasure as it pressed against their necks, or hung around their fingers. What was the use of devoting your life to finding and selling useless items? Here in District One, where beauty ranks higher in importance then all-else, what was pleasing to the eye was definitely important, thought Jack. And of course, he added, almost as a side thought, it's what the Capitol wants.
Jack's thoughts on the subject somewhat diminished as his eyes fell upon a girl making her way down the road next to him. He watched her intently as she slid past him, her face lit up in a bright smile, every step she took filled with a spring of obvious joy. Jack eyed the girl suspiciously, wondering what could have caused a single person to be so happy; especially on a day like this. Seeming to notice Jack's eyes boring into her back, she abruptly stopped and turned to face him. Her blonde hair swung heavily at her waist, while the sun's rays took hold of her exasperatingly gorgeous face. The girl's eyes shone brightly as she looked Jack up and down. Her eyes found a resting spot on his face, and she began to speak.
"Hello," Her voice sounded musical and song-like, leaving Jack in a sort of hypnotic daze. "I'm Glitter," She continued, "I don't think we've met." Still smiling, she put out her dainty, pale hand, waiting for Jack to slip his into hers and shake it in return. Jack eyed the girl's offer, but reluctantly accepted her greeting. After Jack had quickly let go, Glitter began again, "What's your name?" She said, her arms dropping to her side, beginning to toy with the hem of her short dress.
"Jack." He replied plainly. Glitter nodded, her shimmering eyes not moving from the place they had settled.
"I haven't seen you around school, and you don't look like you've graduated... Do you attend?" She leaned her bare shoulder against the concrete wall beside them. Jack merely shook his head, not daring to say a word. Glitter's eyes questioned him.
"Why is that?" She pressed. Jack suddenly became uncomfortable. This was the most human contact he'd had in a while. He shrugged, hoping she hadn't noticed that he took a step back. "I don't know." He said menacingly, glowering down at the petite girl before him.
"Oh," Glitter said, breaking their gaze for no longer then a second, her full pink lips widening once more into a large, bright-toothed grin. Jack pressed his lips together; forming a somewhat forced smile, hoping it looked that way. Glitter stepped back a few feet, tilting her head cutely at him. She winked, turning then, breaking off into a sprint in the other direction.
Jack Shook his head, laughing inwardly. "That was weird," He mused, looking towards the bright sky. He thought about the girl he'd just met, still stunned by her uncommon joy. He'd only ever seen the look that she'd had on her face on the people who were admiring or purchasing diamonds…
"Jack!" He heard someone call his name from behind him. He recognized the voice immediately, turning to the direction in which the voice had come. He saw a tall, pale boy with white-blonde hair and pale blue eyes run up to him. Zeak; the only person he'd considered a friend.
"Hey, man! On your way to the reaping?" The boy chimed in, slapping Jack on the back heartily. Jack looked over at his friend, glad that he'd caught up with him. "Sure am." He sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets. Zeak nodded, crossing his pale arms over his chest, "Good thing were not Careers, isn't it?" He said, nudging his friend with his elbow.
Jack smiled, letting out a breathy laugh, "Hell yeah. The chances of us getting chosen are slim."
"Very slim, my friend, Very slim." Zeak interlaced his fingers and pressed them behind his neck, his elbows sticking out to the left and right. "What nice weather for such a terrible day." Jack agreed whole-heartedly. What a waste, he thought.
The two boys walked side-by-side in silence for the next twenty minutes, attempting and failing at topics for conversation. How could they 'chat' as if it were a normal day, when it was anything but? In the silence, the girl Jack had met earlier drifted back into his thoughts. He couldn't seem to push her image out of his head. Her sing-song voice slid in and out of his mind, lulling him quietly…
He shook his head violently, forcing him to think of things other then her, and so he did. Soon they reached the District's Centre. Gathered there was a large crowd, most likely the entire district. In front of the crowd stood a tall, decorated stage. That was where the names of the tributes were to be drawn. Zeak and Jack made their way, difficultly, if I might add, over to the section that held the boy's their year. They sat in seemingly vacant chairs, waiting silently for the Reaping to begin, the crowd surrounding them buzzing with loud voices. The air was filled with chaos as people struggled to their seats.
"Ahem!" A woman's voice rang from atop the stage. The voices of the crowd settled a bit as they found their way to their spots. "Please, everyone sit down! The Reaping is about to begin!" The woman was Arta Maysel; District One's maniacal Reaping's host for the past twenty years. She, obviously, was a resident of the capitol. Arta quickly yanked on her long, puffy blue hair, making sure the wig would stay put. Clearing her voice for the second time, completely shushing the once-roaring crowd, she began her speech.
"Hello, all! And welcome to the Twentieth annual Hunger Games!" Jack knew she'd been expecting whoops and cheers from the audience, but none came. Silence fell over the residents as they knowingly informed Arta of their unhappiness. She shifted on her feet uncomfortably, looking down at her podium and shuffling through papers. She looked over her shoulder at a fancily dressed man sitting behind her on a tall wooden chair. The man wore a scowl on his face as he looked out at the group of District one-errs before him. "Er, Mr. Mayor? Would you like to come present your speech?" Arta whispered, failing an attempt to cover the microphone and block out the sound of her voice through the speakers. The mayor's emotionless eyes looked up to her. He shrugged grunting loudly. "No, the speech isn't important. Just get to drawing the names." He waved his hand boredly, looking back out that the crowd. Arta turned back to the podium, realigning her wig.
"Well," She said awkwardly, "It looks like we'll be getting straight to drawing this year's tributes!" She quickly placed a large smile on her face and made her way over to the large glass bowls toward the back of the stage.
"Here we go." Muttered Zeak, bumping his shoulder into Jack's.
"I wish you all luck, and let the odds be ever in your favor!" Arta added, as if she was reading the line off of a script. "Ladies first!" And at that, she dug her pink-dyed hand into the bowl full of female names. After digging around a bit, her hand submerged. She unraveled the paper and then looked up at the audience, smiling. "Glitter Reuba!"
Oh god, Jack thought. What are the chances? He asked himself, a feeling of frustration and sorrow sweeping over him. Glitter looked to be no older then fourteen! How was she going to survive in the games? Jack watched, a pit forming at the bottom of his stomach, as the kind girl he'd met earlier made her way onto the stage. Her face was masked in fear; although it was obvious she was giving her all to hide it.
"Congratulations!" Arta said, squealing while shaking the new tribute's hand roughly. Glitter forced a smile upon her full lips, letting her eyes drop to the ground fearfully. "Alright!" Arta continued, leaving Glitter to stand awkwardly on the stage, fiddling with her dress' hem , just as she'd done whilst talking to Jack. "Time for our male tribute!" She bounced over to the glass bowl that held the boy's names. Picking one quickly off the top, she read it aloud. "Kurt Brooks!" Jack heard sobbing erupt from the left side of the audience almost immediately, as a small boy, face wet with tears, stood shakily and sulked up onto the stage. Jack felt a pang of guilt as he watched the small boy, who looked to be about twelve, stand next to Glitter. Kurt wiped at his eyes, his thin shoulders rising and falling from the impact of the cries of pain and fear. Jack knew he couldn't let the boy die. It wasn't right. Panem may be cruel, but this was just not acceptable-
"I volunteer as tribute! For Kurt, I volunteer!" Jack shot into a standing position before he knew what he was doing. Kurt, who'd had his face in his hands, looked up, shock laced in his eyes. Jack couldn't believe what he'd just done. He reminded himself over and over that it was the right thing. He'd saved the kid's life. He had to do it.