The 50th Quarter Quell
1: Reaping
There was a rumor in the Capitol that in District 12, the coal dust blocks out the sun: how I wish that was true. The shaft of sunlight hits my eyes, like a thrown spear, which, considering that today is the reaping day, could possibly be my fate. I groan, and rise. Considering that I am a Seam boy, the odds of getting killed by a spear, are certainly in my favor, compared to others. By midmorning, I am up, and have officially done nothing all day. There's not much to do in the Seam, anyway. I visit my girl, Ann. We don't talk about the Games; we talk about our future. How naïve. When the afternoon comes, we make our way to the square, for the reaping. I wait in the sixteen's section, while she wait's in the fifteens. The Capitol woman, a woman named Adria Maliko, who reminds me of a mound of neon fluff that has been deposited on a white ball of a head completed with a plump body that is covered in gaudy clothes. Adria, like all Capitol citizens, is relentlessly optimistic, and sunny about the Games. As she gets to the podium, she repeats President Snow's monologue about the Quell this year, and the reasons for it. The words have echoing in everybody's head, since the broadcast last night.
"Four tributes shall be reaped, for every Capitol citizen that was killed in the rebellion; two rebels were killed as well…."
Adria finishes her speech, and strides over to the glass bowls, that hold the fate of everyone in District 12. From the girl's bowl, she draws out a name, and my panicked mind is only hoping that it is not Ann, it can't be, please, no-
"Lilia Adams."
A tall girl, with red hair, strides forward. You can see from here that she is malnourished, and is a thin as a twig. I bet the Career tributes are thinking that they could break her like a twig, too. The second girl takes me by surprise; the ever-shifting odds have turned, and their favour has shifted; the girl is a merchant girl. A gasp ripples throughout the crowd, like a pebble dropped in a lake; this is a phenomenon. I hear Adria say the name 'Maysilee Donner', but now she has stepped to the orb that holds the boy's names, and my mind is consumed with the fear of being reaped. She draws out a slip of paper that will change somebody's life forever, and calls out my name. Color drains from the world, and in a trance, I walk to the stage. In a sea of grey, I spot a spark of color; Anna. And then, I know I have to win. I have to.
After the reaping, we are lead to the building where we will say our goodbyes. My mother comes in, accompanied by my younger brother. They cry, but I don't. I have to remain dry-eyed for the train ride. Already so hard Haymitch? I ask myself, cruelly. Then Ann comes, and my façade melts away. We hug, and cry, and kiss, but then se looks at me:
"There are going to be more tributes this year, Hay. More of a chance for you to not come home."
"Maybe they will all kill each other for me," I joke. "Ann, I am coming back, do you understand. I am coming back."
Her blue eyes water and she kisses me once more, before departing. I take a deep breath; I am ready.