Chapter 1: Fishing
"Psst…Psst…Tiger…Tigress!" I know that voice.
I peeled my eyes open, and saw the dazzling smile I never get tired of seeing.
"Hey Ty" I replied, sitting up and hugging him
"Nice hair" he snickered, running a hand through my bushy-morning hair, his fingers getting caught in the knots at the ends
"Shut up" I smiled, pushing him lightly as I stood up and headed to my small Chester drawers "What time is it?"
"5am, ready to go fishing. Spokes will be there at 7 so we have to hurry" Ty explained, pointing to one of the two outfits I held up and turning around so I could get changed in private.
Spokes is the owner of the fishing lake we work at. Work starts at 7:30am, but all the fish we catch goes to the market so Ty and I sneak in extra early to catch some fish for our families. The two of us live on the outskirts of District 4, with our families and other fishermen.
Ty and I have been best friends since the day the both of us started working for Spokes. We were the only newbies so we stuck together, and we've been close ever since.
"Finished" I assured him, allowing him to turn back around as I brushed out my hair and tied it up into a basic ponytail "Ready?"
"Ready"
The two of us snuck out of my bedroom window and down the same path we travel every morning and night. It was unusually cold this morning so we decided to run most of the way to keep ourselves warm. When we reached the entrance to the lake, we climbed over the closed metal gate, and continued down the small path till we reached the fishing lake. The two of us walked over to the small shed, embedded in the trees and opened the door.
"Ladies first" Ty said, standing to one side, allowing me to get first pick on the fishing tools.
"Thanks" I looked at the shelves of tools and went with a spear and a small net
"Not very lady-like Miss Sparrow" Ty smirked, taking two spears for himself and leading us back to the lake
"Whatever" I smiled, taking off my shoes and socks, then rolling my trousers up to my knees then wading into the knee-height water.
I looked down at the crystal blue water, burying my toes into the golden-brown mud, searching for the small schools of fish the usually swim by.
"See anything?" Ty wondered
"Not yet, they're probably all hiding" I said
"I wonder if they can sense that it's the day of the reaping"
The Reaping happens once a year, every year. It's when one boy and one girl from each of the 12 districts are chosen to compete for survival in the Hunger Games. It's a fight to the death. Only one person can leave the games alive, the others must die. And all of this…everything, every moment, every second…Is televised worldwide. Everyone sees everything.
"Maybe" I sighed, spotting a hint of colour out of the corner of my eye "Fish" I tip-toed as close as I could then waited for the right moment before throwing the net; capturing half a dozen fish, the rest managing to escape.
I walked over to the net and scooped up the corners, holding it like a sack.
"Here" Ty shouted, standing with his palms out in front of him, so I threw the new, letting him knock the fish unconscious against a nearby rock.
We caught several more fish then put our tools away.
"We still have an hour left before Spokes arrives; fancy a dip in the lake?" Ty asked, looking up at the sun's position
"Sure" I smiled, watching him walk to the edge; his back towards me.
Just as he was pulling his boots off, I crept up behind him and pushed his lower back, making him topple forward, head-first into the water. I waited for him to resurface but he never came up.
"Ty?" I asked, watching for air bubbles "Ty! Ty!" I ran to the edge of the lake, pulling my top, bottoms and boots off before diving into the spine-chilling water.
I swam deeper and deeper, allowing my eyes to adjust to the dark depths. Then I saw a hint of dark brown, the same as Ty's hair colour. I carried on swimming until I reached the bed of the lake, seeing Ty sitting on the dirt, legs and arms crossed, a smile on his face when he noticed me. I sighed with relief even though I had the urge to slap him right now. My eyebrows scrunched up as bubbles began floating from Ty's mouth. He was laughing. Laughing at me.
I huffed, which forced bubbles to fly out of my nose, then begun swimming to the surface, Ty following behind me. As my head appeared above the surface of the water, I flung back my wet hair and pulled myself onto the edge of the lake, folding my arms and legs.
"You should have seen you face!" Ty laughed, floating on his back clutching his stomach
"Not funny, I'd thought you'd drowned" I scowled, pouting a little as my face flushed red with anger
"Aw, I'm sorry kitty" he smiled softly, knowing that if he called me that, I'd let him off the hook. That's what I hate most about him. I can't stay mad at him and he knows that and takes full advantage of it.
He pulled himself up beside me, and wrapped an arm around me.
"Come on, forgive me" he pouted, looking at me with those big brown eyes
"No" I insisted, looking away from him
"Kitty…look at me" Ty said. I know he's smiling by the ring in his voice.
"No" I said, but with less anger
"…Kitty…" he whispered in my ear. I slowly turned my head, my eyes instantly looking into his "Forgive me" he said, sticking his bottom his bottom out and fluttering his eyelashes.
"…Fine…" I sighed "I forgive you"
"Yey!" Ty squealed, standing up and holding out a hand "You coming for a swim or not?"
"Yeah" I smiled, taking his hand and standing up.
I stepped back for a sec, as Ty pulled his soaking wet shirt over his head. Mother of God. I've never seen anybody so muscular. His abs were so defined you could grate cheese on them.
"Like what you see?" Ty asked, suddenly facing me; a smirk on his face
"Huh…oh what…no" I lied, snapping back to reality
"Mmhmm, yeah alright then" he chuckled, taking a running start and executing a perfect dive into the lake
"Show off!" I shouted, running to the edge and cannon-balling in, landing beside Ty
"You know…Most girls would try and do a perfect dive but the smarter girl knows that the cannonball is so much more fun" Ty smiled, turning to look at me just as my cheeks flushed pink "So…" he paused, leaning back onto the surface of the water so he floated on his back, his hands behind his head "You nervous?"
"About the reaping? Most definitely" I confessed
"Don't be" Ty ordered
"I'll try, but…I don't feel like fighting for my life. Knowing me, I'd probably die in the bloodbath right at the start"
"No you wouldn't"
"Yeah I would, then who would provide for my family, they'd die without me"
"Stop it will you!" Ty snapped, dropping his legs and coming to stand in front of me, taking hold of my wrists "First of all, I've seen the way you can handle a spear, you'd kill anyone within fifty-metres of you, second of all, even if you didn't win I'd provide for your family, and three, you haven't even been picked yet so quit worrying, there's a million-to-one chances of your name coming out of that glass bowl"
"…" I was purely stunned. Ty had never said anything like that to me before. I was trying to reply but the words just wouldn't come out. I looked at my wrists, his hands still firmly clasped around them, his knuckles turning white from the strain. I tried to move my hands away but he wouldn't let me move; instead he pulled our hands closer to his heaving chest. I wanted to look away from his piercing brown eyes, but I just couldn't bring myself to it. If this is the last time that the two of us would be together, then I'd want to spend every last second of it like this. This was perfect. His shaggy chocolate brown hair, clinging to his forehead. His golden-brown skin, glistening from the water-residue. Water droplets hanging from the tips of his eyelashes. His muscles bulging and in full view.
"Oi!"
The two of us instantly turned our heads towards the voice. It was Spokes, our boss.
"What are you two doing here; you're not supposed to be here before working hours!"
The two of us didn't think twice before running out of the lake, and quickly getting redressed; Ty tying the bag of fish to his belt strap.
"Sorry Spokes" we apologised, sprinting back down the path we'd arrived on, until we reached our town square