Chapter one
Electric cooked orange fish
I winced as the tip of the fishhook sliced open the tip of my forefinger. The plump pink worm, destined to be eaten by a hungry fish wriggled from my hands, dropping to the deck along with fresh red blood. I grimaced, but it was no big deal. On the docks, you got cuts daily. It only mattered if your arm was gone, or something along those lines.
"Here." As I bent down to pick up with hook and my worm, Anderson took my hand, wrapping it in a set of gauze.
"You didn't have to do that." I said flatly, keeping my eyes on his pinking skin. Working in the sun all day, your going to look a little red.
"Yes I did." He taped it the gauze shut and patted my hand.
"It was just a cut." I knelt down again, picking up my worm and shoving it onto my hook. I hated how he always babied me. If Donnilson – a boy who worked along side with us on the docks – cut his finger, Anderson wouldn't jump to wrap his hand. It bugged me to no end how people always treated me different because I was a girl. What? You don't see girls working on the docks? No, people usually don't. Im an exception though.
"And?" He asked, sitting down on the tackle box and leaning back against our fishing gear. The water was dead still, the sun beating down on our necks.
"And, I can manage a tiny little cut." I say, casting my pole into the clear blue water. "Im not a child."
"I know your not, Emma." He pushed his dirty blonde hair from his eyes, looking up at me through the bright afternoon light. "I can't help my friend?"
"Not when she doesn't need it." I said, trying to calming my nerves. It was no good to yell at Anderson. Half of the time, he didn't even listen.
"Whats up with you?" He asked, shaking his head. "Getting nervous for the reaping thats coming up?"
"Are you kidding me?" I sat down on the dock, holding my pole with both hands. "I know for a fact not me, Amazon, or the twins will not be picked this year."
"Oh, so your psychic now?" Anderson questioned, play punching me on the arm.
"Definitely not." I shake my head, wiping the sweat dripping down my hair line. "My name is only in there five times, the twins are in their twice, and its unlikely an eighteen year old gets picked for the games. Amazon and his perfect little girl are fine." There was no need to stuff my name is the tesserae. There was enough food to go around.
"The mayor's daughter?" Anderson laid down in the lawn chair , pulling his shirt over his face so he wasn't staring at the sun.
"Verona Hayfield." I nodded. "Little miss 'I get everything I want'." I mimicked, her annoying giggled and the scowl she gives me when I bring up earthworms and fishing. "She thinks shes all prim and proper, because shes the mayor's daughter. Sometimes I just wish she'd be picked for the games to get a taste of what real survival feels like."
"I don't think any of us knows what real survival feels like." Anderson commented. "We're not like those starving coal monkeys like the people from district 12. Have you seen they're tributes? They're always skin, bone, and no talent."
"Thats not true." I protest "What about the Katniss girl from long ago?" I asked, finally giving up on catching anything today and reeling my line in.
"Long dead." Anderson sighed. "Her kids are still alive. I heard her grand kids are finally going into the drawing this year. Makes me wonder if they're going to pick them since they've descended from the great Katniss."
"Probably." I nod, tossing the half-dead worm im to the water. "It'll make for good entertainment, for the capital of course. Watching poor kids be slaughtered."
"Its horrible." Anderson did the same, taking my pole from me. "I hardly ever watch the games anyways."
"I watch." I say. "Just because I want to know what happens."
"Just blood, guts, and betrayal." Anderson wrinkled his nose, following me back to the tool shed.
"Ew." I said, putting the tackle box on the shelf and sticking the poles in to their assigned slots.
"Yeah, ew."
We left the docks, heading for the shady park near the school. The docks were running low key because of the reaping coming up. Most workers stayed home, cleaning up and praying that they won't get pulled. Me and Anderson volunteered to work a few days while everyone was busy, just because we had nothing better to do.
I turn and groan, shading my face from a couple sitting underneath a tree. The held hands, stroking each others cheeks, and beginning to...kiss?
"What?" He asked, turning to meet my view. "Your against couples?"
"Me? What? No." I say quickly. "Its not just any couple im against, its Amazon and Verona." You could never mistake the shiny golden blonde hair of Verona Hayfield.
I looked away from my brother and his girlfriend. Of course they had to be at the park, locking lips.
"Oh, nice." Anderson turned away, kicking a pine cone. "I think Amazon could do better anyways."
"I think the same, but mom says she the sweetest thing thats ever happened to him, and he's not leaving her for anything."
After a quick walk in the park, we headed over to the fish market. Even so close to reaping day, it was swimming with customers. People fought over the big fish while the people with little money walked away happy with packages and packages of small ones.
"Care for lunch?" Anderson snatched three oranges from a stand and two small fish from another.
"Sure, why not?" I asked, taking them from his hands. I always did a better job at cooking. We headed down south road to town square. I glanced at peacekeepers who put up white and gold ribbons, streamers, and banners. They littered the stage with white roses, and set up the podiums. District 5 liked to put on a good reaping day. Everyone in town must wear all white, hair in an up-do with at least some gold on you. Most boys wore white button-ups, white slacks and everyday shoes with a gold belt or sash. My mother made me and my sister dress in a goddess-like dress with a golden hair clip and gold sweep. I hated it.
Anderson and I walked to our usual spot, a large rock near the electric fence. It hummed annoyingly. On hot boring days when we weren't working, we'd sit on the rock, throwing all kinds of objects at the electric fence, watching them spark and shrivel up. On occasion, we'd throw raw food to cook it quickly.
Anderson unwrapped one of the two fish and threw it at the electric fence. With a crackle and a bright spark, the fish slumped to the ground, looking thoroughly cooked. He set it on the hot rock and pried open the orange, squeezing its juice onto the fish. 'Electric cooked orange fish' Anderson calls it. He threw the other one, doing the same routine. "Electric cooked orange fish?" He asked, holding out the fish.
"Don't mind if I do." I took the fish, about to take a bite when I stopped myself. "Actually, nevermind."
"Why?" He asked, biting the head off his own fish. I flinched, ready to throw up.
"Uh, Anderson." I gulp, feeling sick.
"What?" He asked, tossing the third and last orange into the air and catching it.
"I think you forgot to gut and skin our fish first." I pointed to the fish that was missing its head.
Anderson looked at me like i'd grown another head. His face turned green, eyes bulging out of his head. I began to laugh when he said – "I thought it tasted rather different."
"Thats royally disgusting." I manage through fits of laughter. "Oh my gosh." I cover my mouth, trying to keep down my breakfast.
"Uughucck." Anderson made a gagging noise, scrambling for the water bottle I had in my bag. He dumped it into his mouth, managing to spill it all down his shirt, hair and face.
I bent over, my stomach hurting from laughing so hard. "An – der – son – stop – I – can't – breathe!"
He stumbled into me, making us both topple over the rock and headfirst into grass. We both knocked our heads together pretty hard because I looked up as fireworks exploded behind my eyes.
"Ouch!" I cried out, stumbling to my feet only to end up on my butt in the grass. A large headache began to take over, making me clutch my head in my hands.
"Stupid fish." Anderson choked out, managing. "Major – headache."
I giggled when I realized we had fallen on top of each other. It didn't really click on the outside, but I knew deep inside, Anderson was smiling.