The 76th Hunger Games
When you suddenly wake up and are told that your grandfather is dead, that the rebels who have tried to take over your city have succeeded and killed your president, and that you will be part of a reaping for the 76th and final Hunger Games, you know you're going to have a bad day.
When I woke up, I was told all of this by my mother, who seemed in a rush, and was quite scared. Now, my mother was not the type of person to rush, or be scared for that matter. She, like most people of the Capitol, was a laid back, easygoing, rich woman who never needed anything in life. I was not that kind of person. I was ignored as a child. I was always alone; I never had any real friends at school, and though people seemed to throw themselves at me, all they wanted was money- to be the friend of a girl with a rich, powerful mother and father.
My mother told me to get out of bed and get dressed, then hurried out of the room. After that, I went downstairs for breakfast, but found the table was not set, the maid was not there, and my mother was crying by at the kitchen table. I walked over to her slowly. "Mother?" I asked quietly. "Protect you… only wanted to…" she sobbed. I looked outside. People were gathering in the square where parades and carnivals were held. I left my mother at the table and went to investigate, fearing it was not what I thought it was.
It was exactly as I thought it was. Huge crowds had gathered, mostly children and young adults, and were being separated boys from girls. As I walked forward into the crowd, I was ushered into the side with the girls. I recognized a few of them from school, but like I said before, I didn't really have friends.
I looked up at the stage in front of us. Standing there was Effie Trinket, Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, Haymitch Abernathy, and a few others I didn't remember. But the important thing was that these people were all part of the rebellion, which meant that what my mother had said was true. The rebels had succeeded and were holding a 76th Hunger Games, using Capitol children. It was revenge for what the Capitol had done to them. But this also meant that I was a part of this reaping.
Then I noticed the large glass balls which held small pieces of paper. There were two- one for the boys and one for the girls. My name was in one of those delicate glass orbs. Then Effie stood up.
"Welcome all to the 76th, and final, Hunger Games! These games are to be exactly the same as all previous, except this time, we will be using Capitol children. Twenty-four children will be chosen, and they must fight to the death in an arena. As you have seen this many times before, I will not go any further. Now, may the odds be ever in your favor!"
I stared. This was real- twenty four of us would be thrown into an arena and forced to kill each other. Twelve boys, twelve girls.
"Let us begin!" Effie said, and began to spin the glass ball for the boys. The small paper pieces spun and flew around inside it. Finally, she stopped, and snatched a name out of the orb. "Darren Ross!" she said with flair. I didn't know him, though I doubted it would matter anyway. She continued, and snatched another name out. "Gabe Williamson!" I recognized him- I had seen him in school a few times before.
The names went on and on. A few I recognized, a few were new to me. One name in particular stuck out when Effie drew it from the girls orb. Miranda Sumner. She had been one of the first to try to become friends with me- before they found out I was rich. She had seemed nice, and I had liked her, but when everyone else came and threw themselves at me, I guess she was scared off.
Finally we got down to the last name. I hadn't been called yet. It looked like I was safe- the odds that I would be picked now were extremely low.
"Now for the final tribute!" Effie exclaimed. She reached into the orb and picked a paper out. She slowly read it, then read it again, and again. She had a half smile on her face, but then she composed herself and looked up.
I didn't hear a name, because as soon as it was said, I heard cheering among the rebel audience. Katniss smiled. Haymitch looked like he didn't know what to do. Peeta stood up, eyes wide and began to yell. I couldn't tell what was going on, but soon I was being pushed up to the stage. I realized what happened and went pale. Then everything got quiet.
"And here is our final tribute!" Effie held up my hand.
"Tara Snow!"
My name. The odds were not in my favor. In fact, they were completely going against me. Tara Snow was my name. I was a tribute. I was President Snow's granddaughter. No, this was not going to be a good day.