It's today. The day that every teenager, parents, sibling dreads. Everybody dreads. It's reaping day, which of course means that the odds are not in the favour of 12 boys and 12 girls across Panem. The reaping is for the 12th Annual Hunger Games. Despite the uproar when they were first introduced when I was the age of five, they've become, frighteningly quickly, a tradition of Panem. I drag myself out of bed, knowing that in an hour or two I would hear the siren that tells us to go to the reaping. I rip myself some bread to wake me up a bit, and go to find myself some smart clothes. As smart as you can get when you live in district 12, a district that mines cole, leaving a constant black cloud, that settles on almost everything. I find a long sleeved, blue shirt and some beige trousers. These will do. I go and sit back in the kitchen where there is a nervous and awkward silence. This is the first time I am the only one of my siblings in the reaping. My brother James, now 19, is now exempt, and my little sister, Ellie, is not yet old enough.
The horn sounds and that is my call to go along now to the reaping. My head raises for the first time where I make eye contact with my mother. She's calm, the first time I've seen her like this on reaping day, and this reassures me. We embrace, and I slowly walk over to sign in, where I have blood taken to prove that I am present. Everyone is in their friendship group, but its bizarre as no-body is talking, there's too much anxiety for people to have a normal conversation. My name is in the bowl six times. I refuse to take food from the Capitol as I do not wish to endanger my life more by having my name submitted more times to be reaped. I am nervous, but at the same time I realise the odds are in my favour. I have some friends who would accept food and grain off the Capitol every year. For my friends who come from larger families, they may have their name in submitted more than 40 times already.
The escort gets up onto the stage. Her name is Esme Flandoret. Every year I'm baffled by how positive she is about the games. How can anyone be positive about a television programme that allows children to fight to the death? Its completely beyond me. Her Capitol accent takes the sinister edge away from the games, and for the moments when she discusses the games, you forget that it is actually a fight to the death.
None-the-less, after watching the same film we do year on year as to why the hunger games exist, its time to find out who will have 'the honour' of representing District 12 in the 12th Hunger Games. The 'Honour' of being forced into an untimely death.
On the stage are two huge gold fish tank shaped bowls. In there are thousands of names. One bowl is for the girls, one bowl is for the boys, and from there, those in Panem who do not have the odds in their favour are selected.
Esme sticks her hand into the bowl containing girl's names. One a piece of paper is selected, she waddles over to the microphone stand. A lack of food clearly is not the problem in the capitol. Nor is a lack of blue hair dye and ball dresses. She opens the piece of paper and after a short pause, gleefully announces 'Sadie Hardihood'. You can always tell where that person is stood. They're stood with their group of friends. You just need to look out for the group of people that turn their heads at the same time in the same direction, and follow that crowd. This is no exception, however, this time my heart sinks. She really is just a child. Small, slim, very pretty, and has her milk chocolate brown hair tied into a french platt. She looks absolutely terrified. She walked upon the stage, heavily surrounded by peace keepers, where Esme welcomes and congratulates her. Yes, congratulations on receiving your death sentence. She looks like she wants to cry but its an unwritten rule that you don't. Other tributes, children you are selected for the games, see weakness in people who cry and they are often the first to be killed in the Arena.
Esme then moves onto the boys. Im nervous, and my stomach is going like mad, but for some reason, I'm more worried about my friends. Esme waddles over to the bowl with the boy's names in, then waddles back. She opens up the piece of paper and after a silence that feels like forever. I shut my eyes and shut them tight. It won't make a difference now the name has been the selected but it keeps me calm. Not me, it won't be me, It can't be me. I wait for what feels like hours, hours and hours. I take in one final breath as I hear Esme cough a little to make sure her voice is perfectly Crystal clear. And then she announces the name of the unlucky boy.
'Oliver Kreber'. It's me. Oh my God. I've actually been selected. How am I supposed to win the games? I'm 5 foot 10, and there is no substance to me. When people use the phrase 'skin and bones', I think the image of me is what they use. The crowd parts, my friends look stunned. One of my closest female friends, Carolina, gasps and bursts into tears. She grabs my arm and shouts my name but I cruelly rip it away as I can't be dealing with dramatics right now. I don't want to walk up on stage, I hate fighting, I hate the Hunger games, I hate seeing people in pain. I get to the front of the crowd where the stage suddenly seems massive. I'm surrounded by an envelope of peace keepers and if it wasn't for them and the scrutinising attention I would have ran away by now. Ran away into the woods, trying to escape the undignified death that awaits me.
I trudge up onto the stage, my head goes light and dizzy as I reach the final step. Esme waddles over to greet me, filled with joy. That's the last thing I need right now. I stop where she tells me to and there I see 8000 pairs of eyes, staring at me in pity. This wasn't mean to happen, not just to me, but the games in general. I glance to my left and for the first time in person, I see Sadie. She's so innocent and petite. Seeing her makes me feel even more sickeningly upset. She's just a little girl, why should she have to be punished? I give her a rye smile but then I get filled with anger that District 12 have no objections to her being sent as a tribute.
'Why is no one volunteering for her' I murmur to Esme
'Do we have any volunteers?' Esme asks.
District 12 remains silent. I feel sick. Why would a district allow this to happen to a 12 year old girl? They won't volunteer now yet they'll cry for her if she dies. I feel embarrassed by my district for the first time ever.
We are ushered into waiting rooms where one by one loved ones visit us. I'm feeling fairly empty right now, so empty that I don't even think I could cry. The feeling of being sat in the waiting room is bizarre. Like being informed of the death of a loved one, it doesn't seem to be sinking in. I keep telling myself over and over again that I am a tribute, but it just doesnt go in, I can't accept it.
My mum enters the room and I hug her, but remain silent. I tell her I love her and I'm sorry that she's going to have to watch this, but it's hardly my fault. She is then ordered to leave by the peace keepers before Ellie and James walk in. Seeing my little sister and knowing that I probably won't see her grow up finally allows me to cry. I hug both James and Ellie at the same time, sobbing, all three of us. They say nothing other than 'you can do this, please do this, we love you'. Its heart breaking. Finally, they are told to leave and me and Sadie are taken to the train which transports us to the capitol. I've never actually seen Sadie before, let alone spoken to her, but the first thing I do is give her a massive hug. I'm finding this unbearable so I have no idea how she could possibly feel.
The train is luxury like I have never seen before, mountains of food, clean water, even alcohol. Despite the initial amazement it then annoys me when I realize that I, along with most of the other districts, live in poverty, yet there is far too much food on this train.
Esme introduces us to our mentor. Mentors are here to guide us and give us life saving advice, and decide how to spend money given to us my sponsors in order to help keep us alive in the Arena. The only districts ever to have one the hunger games have been Districts one, two and four. They're known as the career districts, and the children of these districts have been training for the games ever since the first one 12 years ago. They're quite lucky with mentors, as their mentors have all previously won the games. Our mentor is called Spike. Spike is mid 30s perhaps, auburn hair, dark skin, fairly tall, and whilst nice enough, he hasn't experienced this, and his lack of empathy really shows.
'if you make it out of the bloodbath, then I'm the one who will win this for you' he boasts, Sadie, who admitted she has never watched the games, understandably, is confused.
'Why' she asks sheepishly
'Because when you can't find that lake, when you can't find that deer, I'm the one to send you that water, and I'm the one to send you that deer'. Spike explains 'but in order for me to do that, you need to put in your half of the bargain. You need to be likeable. If you aren't liked, then I don't get money, to buy the things that will save you'.
It's good to have an optimist as a mentor, but I'm a realist. Sponsors have never helped District 12 win before. Never. In fact, they haven't even helped them into the top 10. The best position a tribute from District 12 has finished is 12th, it's an amazing achievement if they escape the Bloodbath at the start of the games. We're clueless, our district don't prepare for this. We wait to be sent into the mines, forced to leave a life of chronic lung illness. Even if District 12 was well off, I doubt that the money would be wasted on the Hunger Games.
I grab a bread roll and some jam. I haven't had jam in years, it's a real luxury at home. It tastes amazing. I joke with Sadie that all this food is almost worth being selected. I'm surprised at how chatty she is being with me. We're both scared, its written all over our faces, but there's a connection. She's very much like Ellie, and I think that's why I can relate and feel for her.