I wake up to the sound of my little brother, Luis, snoring on the couch. The sky is still dark, it's before dawn, but I have an annoying habit of waking up earlier than I like on Reaping days.
On the night before the Reaping, my cousin, Frederick, would bring home all kinds of sweets we would never be able to eat on any other night, or at least not in that amount, or my mom would have a cardiac arrest, and we would watch old movies while we eat. Most of them are from before the Dark Days, as I've noticed people taken to calling the war.
Anyway, the whole sweets and movies thing is kind of our family tradition to calm our nerves before the "big day." We especially need it this year, because my younger sister, Lilac, turned twelve last month. I remember the night before my twelfth birthday, I cried myself sick. I wouldn't recommend it.
Apparently, these "Games" are a huge hit in the Capitol, that big place filled with strange people that I hope I never have to go to, so they continue every year. They don't have any ideas of it stopping anytime soon; last year, the tenth Hunger Games, Julius Flickerman, the Master of Ceremonies, was saying something about a "Quarter Quell" that would occur every twenty-five years and have a "special twist." They sound sick. But how is that different from everything else about the Hunger Games? They call it the Hunger Games, but I think a more accurate name would be the Death Games. How incredibly creative, I know.
Well, I guess I should back up and introduce myself. My name is Magdalena Oceanus, but everyone calls me Mags. My cousin Frederick started calling me Mags a while ago, and it stuck. I liked it too; at least a lot better than Magdalena. No offense Mom, but Magdalena?! Really?! I'm fifteen years old, so I was around during the Dark Days, but I don't really remember a whole lot about it, I was only four or five years old.
I do remember gathering in the town square one day very soon after the war was over, and a very... colorful person with a strange accent took away two kids and brought them to the Capitol. I didn't realize the significance then, but of course I know now that I was witnessing the very first District 4 Reaping.
Then I noticed something was off. It took a couple seconds to place it, but I realized that it was that Luis wasn't snoring anymore. He rolls over on the couch, looks at me with his scared-little-boy expression, and whispers, "Do you think it'll be me?"
"No, I don't," I lie through my teeth. Luis is fourteen, only a year younger than me, but sometimes it's like he's still a twelve year old about to go to his first reaping. I don't mind it a whole lot. Having someone to protect and comfort takes my mind off my own problems, mainly: What about me? Will I get picked?
Now the first rays of sunlight are filtering in through the window. I look around our fairly large basement, the walls made of rock and shell. I like it, it makes it feel more like home. I glance over at Lilac, who is still sleeping, for which I'm very glad. When she did wake up she would be scared too, and then I would have to lie some more about how she's safe, about how the threat of her getting reaped is nonexistent.
It's not like someone from District 4 has no shot at winning. We're actually better off than most, we even have two Victors. One of them, Nathan Alanson, won the very first Hunger Games, which gave District 4 a huge advantage over the others in the 2nd Hunger Games. He was a big guy even when he won his Games at age eighteen, and it was actually his idea that a group of tributes could live at the Cornucopia, a tradition that continues every year. The most powerful alliance gets the Cornucopia, no second thoughts. He's almost thirty now, and he's married and has two little kids. I see them playing on the beach behind the Victors Village when I walk to school. I sometimes wish my life could be like that: playing on the beach without a care in the world.
The other Victor, Kai Saro, won the 7th Hunger Games, four years ago at the age of thirteen. He was kind of a huge mystery to everyone, about halfway through his Games he went totally berserk and killed off his whole alliance in one night. Then he ran off, and no one really knows what he did for the remaining five days of his Games, because they never showed him on TV after that, which I found kind of odd. In the end, the tributes from 1 and 2 decided to team up and kill everyone else, but they couldn't ever find Kai. So they were at a stalemate with the Capitol. They refused to kill each other, and they knew they wouldn't be able to find Kai if he didn't want to be found, so they just sat around at the Cornucopia for four days until finally, the Head Gamemaker decided to end it by sending a nasty fire their way. All four of them died and Kai won.
After he won and came back to District 4, he became a hermit. Literally. Even now, he stays in his big house with the shutters in the windows closed. If he has a family, they never come to see him. He doesn't even mentor, he always leaves that to Nathan. The paparazzi hates him. After a couple years of knocking at his door incessantly, they decided to forget about him.
I was jolted out of my memories of past Games by a knock at the door. I dashed up the stairs, taking them two at a time, to see Frederick standing there with a big box. Frederick turned nineteen about six months ago, so he's out of the Reaping now, and he works at the bakery and occasionally brings us treats like a loaf of raisin bread or some muffins for Luis and Lilac.
"Hey, you already brought us goodies last night," I said, but I let him in anyway.
"Good morning to you too Mags, sorry I'm here so early. Everyone still asleep?"
"No, Luis is awake downstairs and you know Mom, she's probably sitting at the table sipping her morning coffee."
Right on cue, my mom calls from the kitchen, "Fred! Is that you?"
"Yeah, and I brought some more goodies for the kids. Boss was feeling generous today, what with the Reaping and all."
"Come over to the kitchen then, and I'll get you something to eat."
After Frederick's parents, my aunt and uncle, died a couple years ago from a boating accident, my mom has taken it upon herself to take care of her sister's son. He's perfectly capable of doing that himself, of course, and he has his own small flat that he rents, but he's still like an older brother to Luis, Lilac, and me.
Like I predicted, my mom is sipping coffee at the kitchen table, and she immediately starts to get a cup ready for Frederick, but he shakes his head and says, "No thanks. I've got some other stuff to do before the Reaping and I'm just stopping by." He sets the box down on the table, and I lifted the lid slightly. The smell of fresh bakery bread assaults my senses, and I can't wait to start eating.
"Are you going to meet your girlfriend again, Fred?" I ask mischievously.
"Girlfriend! Frederick Brine, you never told me anything about a girlfriend!" Mom says indignantly.
"Mags..." Frederick groans. I just grin mischievously and yell down the stairs, "Luis! Wake Lilac up and get up here! Fred brought breakfast from the bakery!"
"Uhh... I don't now if I'll ever be able to eat again after last night..." Luis moans.
Mom is in the middle of grilling Frederick about his girlfriend ("Yes, she's my age. Her name is Talia Allardyce. She works at the bakery with me. She decorates the cakes.") when Luis bounds up the stairs with Lilac in tow.
"Hey, Fred!" Luis yells excitedly.
"Hey, buddy," Frederick replies. "Well, I better go now, Talia's expecting me at the south beach any minute now." He's out the door before Luis can say goodbye.
"That's good, Frederick, never leave a date waiting!" my mom yells after him. I wonder what Mom would say if I told her Frederick is thinking of proposing, but I decide that can wait for another time as I eagerly cut myself a slice of bread. It's just as delicious as it looks.
"The Reaping starts in half an hour," Mom says as she rinses out her cup of coffee. "You kids had better get ready. Don't be scared, none of you will be picked. There are thousands of kids in District 4, and thanks to Frederick, none of you have to take out tesserae!" This is true, but still, we aren't the richest family in District 4. "And before I forget, Mags, I put out a dress for you. It's in my room."
"Thanks Mom," I say, suddenly not hungry enough to finish my fourth slice of bread. "I'll go try it on now." I throw my plate in the sink and go down the hall to my mom's room. The dress is on her bed. At first I don't realize it's for me, because it's a lot prettier than anything I have. It's bright green, and when I brush my hand across the fabric, it feels like... well, the softest thing you can think of. A puppy? No, that makes it sound like the puppy had to suffer.
"I thought you would like it," Mom says, looking at it like it brings back bittersweet memories. "I wore it on my first date with your father."
I looked up at her in surprise. My father died in the war when I was too young to remember. He was on the rebels' side, I can never imagine him as anything but a rebel, and I hardly ever got to see him because he was always in District 13. My only memories of him are one from when I was about three years old, with him coming home from 13 for a few days. He would take me to the beach, and Luis and I would play in the sand and collect shells all day.
The other is his funeral. It happened when I was four, and I didn't have a clue what was going on. We sat in church for a long time, and once we were finally out of there people kept telling me they were sorry for something. Well, unless THEY were the one who stole my stuffed goldfish, I didn't think they had anything to be sorry for.
Then Mom took Luis, me, and baby Lilac to the side and told us that Dad was never coming back from District 13 again. I understand now that he is dead, but I was four years old, you can't expect me to digest all that in my toddler brain.
Mom leaves the room, and I shut the door and put on the dress. When I'm done I stand in front of her mirror in disbelief. The dress is beautiful. It doesn't fit with plain, ugly me with my nose too big and my eyes too close together. Maybe some makeup would help? I'm usually not one for cosmetics, but this is a special occasion and I know Mom has some in her bathroom cupboard, so I run in there and do whatever I can without making myself look like a clown, which is my past experience with makeup. I decide to wear my hair down, because Mom tells me that makes me look more mature, and then I'm done.
"Hey, you look like a girl," Luis says jokingly as I come out. I slap him on the arm, but I wonder if he has a point. Then I worry about this all the way to the town square. Do I really not look like a girl, usually? I picture me in my jeans and random T-shirt or sweatshirt, and with a sinking feeling I start to think he might be right.
The day is cloudy, and salty wind coming from the direction of the sea whips my newly brushed hair all over as I stand in line for the reaping. Lilac clutches my hand tightly. I can see Luis in the other line, trembling all over and not just because of the slightly chilly wind.
Lilac let the Peacekeepers take her blood without much of a problem. I prepared her for that beforehand, telling her if was the scariest part of the whole reaping and if she could get past it then she would be fine. Then she had to go stand with all the other little kids, and I went with the fifteen-year-olds, but I kept sneaking glances over at her to make sure she was okay.
District 4's escort, Eustacia Lickprivick, had her skin dyed completely ocean blue. She happily explains to the crowd that she had done it a couple months ago in honor of this beautiful and majestic and wonderful District that she had the amazing honor of escorting to the Hunger Games every year.
The video plays. This is a new addition only added in the last year or so, it's about how the evil Districts rebelled and the kind and generous Capitol made 24 kids kill each other every year to make up for it. Woohoo. The voice-over was the voice of Scorpious Burns, our "generous" President, and that made my blood boil with anger, because after all this was the man who killed my father, but then it was over and it was time for the reading of the Treaty of the Treason.
In the middle of the Treaty, Eustacia interrupts the mayor and said, "Umm... Mr. Mayor? Where's that other guy? You know... the handsome one? The mentor?"
The mayor frowns. "Hmm... where is Nathan? I spoke to him just yesterday..."
Then a voice from the side of the stage speaks up, and It sounds out of breath. "He's... his wife went into labor this morning... he's at the hospital... won't be able to mentor this year."
Everyone looks at the source of the voice. The guy who said it is standing apart from everyone else, and it takes me a few seconds to realize that this is Kai Saro. I never see him, except on TV, so it's weird to be looking at him in person.
"So you'll be mentoring in his place this year, Mr. Saro? Lovely!" Eustacia trills.
The mayor decides to skip the rest of the Treaty of the Treason, probably because he can't find where he was when Kai interrupted, but as boring as that is, I wish he wouldn't have done that. Because now it's time for the main event: the reaping.
I see Eustacia already unfolding a piece of paper, and right there I want to freeze time forever. I look over at Lilac, who is looking as though she might puke, but all other thoughts are cast to the winds as I hear,
"Your girl tribute for this year... Magdalena Oceanus! Come on up!"
Every muscle in my body is tensed. I'd spent so much time worrying about what I'd do if Luis or Lilac was picked that I hadn't had time to worry about myself. I had the greatest possibility of being picked out of all the kids in my family, but I never thought in a million years that I would be the one to get picked. In my nightmares it had always been Luis or Lilac.
Luis and Lilac. I have to be brave for them. If they saw me scared, they would be scared too. But if they saw me cool and in control (nothing could be farther from the truth) they might be comforted too. I step up to the stage cautiously, trying not to notice everyone staring at me. Eustacia, Kai, everyone else in District 4... No, everyone else in all of Panem! No no no, don't think like that...
"And the boy tribute for this year is Hadrian Scrulls! Congratulations!"
A boy I recognize from school comes up to stand next to me. He's a year above me, but we're in Art class together. We never really talked to each other that much though. All I know about him is that he's 16, and on just about every sports team imaginable. He has spiky blond hair and he's very tanned from all the sports and fishing he does outside. I know a lot of girls like him, even some of my friends. I never found him very attractive, I don't know why. I guess he is, in a way. I just don't know him that well. Because what would an athletic, popular boy like him be doing talking to a quiet, shy girl like me?
"So District 4, here are your tributes! Wish them luck!" She turns to Hadrian and me and whispers, "Okay. We're going to go to the Justice Building so you can say good-bye to your families and friends, and then we'll take a train all the way to the Capitol for the opening ceremonies! Doesn't that sound fun!"
Hadrian and I both nod, and I notice that he paled slightly. It's hard to tell because of his tan, though, and his grey eyes are slightly widened. I'm probably white as a ghost right now, but at least I know that he thinks this is about as much fun as I do.