Chapter 1
"C'mon, Isabella, wake up. Do you want the Peacekeepers to forcefully bring is to the Reaping? It won't be pretty if they have to come just because you're too lazy to get out of bed." I tried to pull the sheets over my head again, covering myself from the outside world." Your father is off of work for this, and your sister and you have missed school. Come on. Come on." I pulled the sheets even higher, but my mom ripped them of my tired body." Okay, I'm coming. Just leave my room please?" She walked out of my small space that was free of my family, most of the time, and I almost had the urge to flop down on my small bed. Screw the Peacekeepers. But I didn't want my family, especially my dad, who had been out of work because of a mining accident, and had just returned to the coal pits to be on the other end of the Peacekeepers weapons. I forced myself to walk over to my dresser and get some nice clothes on. I didn't want anyone to think that we were so poor we couldn't afford any nice clothes. The reaping was a special time, a celebration, and I needed to look nice for it. Not that I wanted to celebrate. If I didn't come to the Reaping, I would be forcefully brought by the Peacekeepers. My dress felt a little small for me, and I knew I was outgrowing it. Since my family had enough money to feed me and my sister, I had grown incredibly fast. But I didn't want to tell my mom. She already spent enough money as it was on me, and I knew she would go out and by a new dress without a second thought.
I walked into what counted as our living room, and saw my sister and mother were already dressed, their bronze hair pulled into a tight bun. My sister had always wanted to be like my mother ever since she was little, copying her hair style, what she ate and how she did things. My mom pretended not to notice, but I know she thought it was really cute. My mother and father had come from District 4, although I never knew why they gave up the good life they had their. They had the usual hair and eye colour from the fishing district, so me and my sister were an oddity here, where the norm was black hair and olive toned skin. My father came out of the room he shared with my mom, dressed in his nicest clothes. Since everyone was ready, and we were almost late, because of me, we had to jog to the town square, and stand at the back of the crowd that usually formed there. But as we turned the corner, people were being guided to the Tribute Train, which is odd, since only tributes are able to ride the sleek train. We were also put in a seat there, and the train started. Everyone was in. It started to move, slow at first, but then faster until it was at top speed. I realized we were being taken to the Capitol, the huge city were President Snow ruled over Panem from the Capitol Building. I was a little excited, because the Capitol was the one place in Panem I had always wanted to see, my entire life. The buildings and houses that looked brand new, the people with strange makeup and animal parts attached to them. In all the sixteen years of my life, I had never seen the huge city up close. The people from District 12 were not allowed to touch the food, but I saw some people sneak some bread and cake from the carts guarded by the Avoxes, the silent prisoners of the Capitol who were servants to the tributes. The train came to a stop, and we were guided off the train by the Peacekeepers, and walked to the Capitol Building. A huge crowd of people, it looked like they had brought all the districts to the city to participate in the Reaping. A huge glass bowl sat in front of Effie Trinket, the escort for District 12 tributes. After waiting for everyone to settle down, Effie started to talk." We have brought all of you here because of the 125th Hunger games, because of the 5th Quarter Quell. The Quell card we have drawn for this year has been to bring all of the people of Panem to the Capitol, and put the names of every potential tribute in this bowl. 21 names will be drawn, and some districts may be left out, while other may get more than two tributes. They will then be put in seven teams of three, and fight to see which team will win. The team that wins will bring victory to all the districts that are represented on that team." Effie plunged her hand into the large bowl, her arm almost swallowed by the sea of paper slips. I had four slips of paper in that bowl, one for every tear since I became twelve. My sister had just turned the required minimum age, so she had one in it. This was always a suspense full time for my family, because a few years ago, when I was about twelve, my older sister, who had been eighteen at the time, was picked to participate in the Games. She hadn't survived. My parents were always afraid of our names being pulled out, and losing another daughter to the Hunger Games, and, by extension, the Capitol.
Effie pulled out a slip of paper, and opened it." Glitz Handier." A girl, about my age, with long blonde hair, walked up to the stage. She looked extremely happy, and I glared at her. I hated the Careers, who trained for the Games and tried their hardest to win them. They usually teamed up, and swept the arena with their skill." Glam Handier. Rue Bluebottom. Annabelle Chase. Musik Dornier." The names went on and on, and I started to tune out. But the crowd fell silent as the names went along, and I had no choice but to listen to what happened next." Isabella Blackwell." I looked up at the stage at the sound of my name, thinking someone had called me. Then I realized my name was pulled out of the bowl, the last name to be pulled, and I stood there, my legs frozen to the ground." I'll volunteer for her!" A voice yelled. I turned around and saw one of my friends, Johanna Darkthorn, was walking up to the stage." I'm sorry, but another condition of the Quell is that only boys from the ages twelve to eighteen can volunteer." She stopped in her tracks, and backed up, the crowd swallowing her up. I waited for someone, anyone to take my place, but not a voice spoke up. I knew my father would go into the Games in a heartbeat, but he was too old for them. I started to become desperate. My mind racing for a solution. It was a stupid move, but I started to run, completely forgetting about the huge crowd and the Peacekeepers. I elbowed my way through the people, and got to the end of the crowd, surprisingly, before the Peacekeepers grabbed my arms and brought me to the stage. When I got up there, I was crying, knowing I would most likely never see my family again.