I am at the the reaping. The Capitol lady introduces herself as Matoya. I swear under my breath. She would be the one to cause havoc on two innocent children. "Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor!"
"The odds are never in our favor," I say quietly to myself. Matoya then shows us a film. It is basically about the revolution and how we, the rebels, were defeated by the Capitol. The narrator said started explaining the origins of the Games and why we have. "Just pick someone and be over with it." I say once again to myself.
The film is finally over and Matoya says, "It is time to pick! Ladies will be first!"
The lady walks over to the huge bowl. She slowly puts her hand in and gently picks the top slip of paper. I hope it's not me. Please, don't be me. It wasn't me. It was my sister.
I turn my neck to see Iris crying into my mom's shoulder. Mom was as shock as I was. She is only six. How can that be. I started screaming. "That is impossible! She is six!" I yelled. Then everything went black. I open my eyes to see Iris looking down on me. "Mommy told me to wake you up!" Iris then runs out of my room
I realized that it was only a dream. They can't pick Iris since she is six. You are eligible for the Hunger Games when you turn twelve. She has six more years. What I am worried about the most are my brothers, Terrence and Matty. They are eligible.
I force myself out of my uncomfortable bed. It is the only one we could afford. We are one of the poorer families in District 6. We own barely anything. It is lucky that we have enough food to feed five mouths.
I sit down at the table, across from Terrence. "Hello sister." he says.
"Hello brother." I reply back.
Mom puts a plate with two eggs. I look at her surprised. "Two?!" I said in surprise. I usually get one or sometimes half of an egg.
"You deserve it. Anyways, I want to make your last meal special." Mom says. She has a feeling that I am going to get picked. She has been having dreams of me being forced into the arena and kill innocent kids just to get home.
"Mom, I'm not going to get picked. My name is only in there twenty-four times. Twenty-four out of thousands. I think my chances are good."
Mom shakes her head. "Remember the dream about your father? I begged him not to go to work that day. He didn't listen and went to work. He died. He is gone. He is gone!" Mom starts crying. She kneels on the floor and sobs. I pat her back and whisper, "Everything will be okay."
My dad did die at a young age. He passed away when I was fourteen. He wasn't in the war, but he was in the war effort. Mom was having dreams that Dad will die at work. She begged Dad that he stay at home for the day, but he said that he was needed for the war. He went to work where he was blown to pieces when he accidentally stepped on a land mine that was planted by the Capitol somehow.
"I just can't lose you or Terrence to these Games. I need you. Iris needs you." Mom whispers quietly.
"You aren't going to lose any of us. We are safe. We are protected." I reply.
She nods and picks herself up. "You better get ready. The reaping is soon."
I put my plate in the sink and get dress in my finest clothes. It is ordered by the Capitol to dress up. I don't know why. I rather wear my normal clothes. It is basically the same.
The dress I am wearing is a light blue with pleats in the front. The skirt is simple yet elegant. It was my mother's. I french braid my hair like always. I take a look at myself in the mirror. I look decent.
Iris then barges into my room. "Azy!" she yells as she jumps onto my lap. Azeilia is my real name, but Iris could never pronounce it so she calls me Azy.
"What you little goofball!" I tease with her.
"Mommy told me to give you a giant bear hug!" she says. She wraps her frail hands around me and squeezes the air out of me. I try to breathe the air back, but Iris lets go. My lungs does a sigh of relief.
"Thanks, Iris. Now go hug, Terrence!" I say.
"Okay!" Iris runs out of the room. I start laughing my head off. Terrence and I have a great relationship. We always use Iris to torment each other. Terrence would tell Iris to kick me in the shin while I would tell her to play tea with him. We both end up laughing in the end.
Then, a siren signals the reaping. Ten more minutes. I see Mom in the doorway with Terrence. He is wearing a white dress shirt with a red tie. He is also wearing black pants with a buckle resting on his stomach. "It's time," he says wearily.
We head to the square. A bunch of people are already there. Most don't know what to do. It is the first reaping ever, so what do you expect?
I get in line to get my finger pricked. Terrence is ahead of me in a different line. He gets his finger pricked and joins the fourteen year-olds.
I reach the table with the peacekeepers pricking our fingers for blood. It is finally my turn. The man sticks a device with a meter on it into my finger. I wince from the slight pain it gave me. I look down to see my finger. There was only a hole in it with blood coming out. All was good.
I then join the sixteen-year-olds. I look for Terrence while a colorful Capitol lady introduces herself. "I'm Natasha and I am here to select two lucky people to be in the first Hunger Games!"
"Lucky?!" I say under my breathe. "You call putting a defenseless child into an arena where twenty-three other children try to kill you lucky?!"
I spot Terrence while the film starts. He is with his friend, Wayden. I'm glad he has friends unlike me. I am friendless. All the other girls in my grade are snobs. They look down to me since I own nothing.
"Now, I will select one lucky young woman for the honor of representing District 6 in the first ever Hunger Games!" Natasha exclaims. She seems excited for these Games. Why would someone be excited for kids killing kids?
She walks over to the bowl that holds thousands of names. Twenty-four of them have my name, Azeilia Rosenbloom, written on it. I watch as Natasha carefully selects a slip of paper. She walks over to the microphone and opens it gently. She reads it first before announcing it, probably trying to get the name right.
I close my eyes shut. I pray in my head that it is not me. It can't be me. It can't be Iris like my dream was. It can't be anyone I love.
The name is finally said and my stomach drops. My heart starts beating rapidly. My brain finally functions properly and creates the words in my mouth. She said Azeilia Rosenbloom. She said my name. My name.
I open my eyes to see everyone's eyes on me. I look at Terrence again. I see tears in his eyes. He knows he can't volunteer for me. We aren't the same gender. I somehow managed to work my legs. "One step in front of the other," I say to myself. Natasha meets me at the stage. She helps me help and brings me to the spot I was suppose to stand.
I look for Mom and Iris. I see Mom holding Iris. She was bawling. Mom was too. I make eyes contact with. I mouth, "Everything will be okay."
"Now for the boys!" Natasha says energetically. She sticks her hand into the bowl. I cross my fingers, hoping it isn't Terrence. Mom can't live knowing that her babies are going to be murdered.
"Quentin Ardeni!" I look for Quentin. He emerges out of the sixteen-year-old section. Same age as me. He is very muscular and tall. He had chocolate brown hair and beautiful dark blue eyes. His skin is very pale, though like he never seen the light of day.
Quentin was smirking like he was happy to be chosen. Who is happy to be thrown into an arena to the death? Especially not me. Natasha makes us shake hands. Quentin squeezes my hand tightly and nearly tears my arm off. "Better watch your back," he says as we enter the doors of the Justice Building.
The peacekeepers push me to a room where I can see my family. They shove me into the room and slam the door. I fall onto the floor, scraping my knee. I slowly get up, straighten my skirt, and sit down in the expensive leather chair.
The door creaks open. My head jerks up and see Iris trying to open the heavy door. I laugh and help her open it. The peacekeepers then pushes me back into the room. They them take Iris away from the door. "Wait! I get to say goodbye. That is what Snow said when he introduce these Games! I want to say goodbye!" I scream
"Azy! Azy! Azy!" Iris' high voice screeches.
"Iris! I will see you soon!" I try to say. I doubt she heard me. There is no reply. "I hate you! I hate you! I hate what you have done to us! You took away our peace of mind. We have to fear for our lives every single day. We can't do anything!" I yell at the peacekeepers.
I sit back down in the leather chair. I gaze out the hazy window. There aren't any trees in District 6. The main industry is transportation, so most of our district is polluted. Few people have died due to the high pollution levels.
I try to think how I am going to go home. I have no skills. I am petite, so I am quicker than most tributes. But I don't what weapon will be my main killing device. A knife? Maybe. A sword? Probably not. Bow and arrow? Doubt it.
The sound of the door opening knocks me out of my deep thinking. I look up to see if someone is visiting me. Bailey McNamon. What is she doing here. Bailey is one of the girls that have no friends, like me. She is super smart and loves to read. Her blond hair tumbles to her waist. Glasses are on the tip of her nose, covering her dull grey eyes. The dress she is wearing is a floral print that falls to her thighs. "Bailey? What are you doing here?" I ask.
"I'm here to say goodbye." She say quietly.
"But I don't know you. I don't know anything about you."
"We are the same. No friends, smart, an outsider. I think we know more about each other than we think."
Bailey looks back at the door. She is making sure the peacekeepers aren't coming for her. "I wanted to give you this." Bailey hands me a necklace. It is a blue and green beaded necklace with a train as its charm. "Thank you." I hug Bailey tight. "I'm scared." I say in a whisper.
"I know, but you can do it. I know you can." The peacekeepers then barge in and pull Bailey out. I watch as she is fights the hold. For once, I think I actually have a friend. Too bad I am going to die very soon.
