'And the female tribute is...' She slowly opened the card containing the name of the person that would become the tribute for this year's Hunger Games.
'Maggie Halmet! Congratulations! Are there any volunteers?'
'Me! I volunteer,' my voice sounded strange in the crowded theatre where district one held their reapings.
'Ok honey, come up here!' Our district escort was weird. She was a small skinny lady with orange hair and a light pink shaded skin. People patted me on the back or whispered 'congrats' as I made my way to the stage, where the lady was holding out her hand. It was normal for children in district one to volunteer at reapings to participate in the Hunger Games. We were trained for this moment from the age of six, until we turned eighteen. Here, it was seen as an honor; it would bring peace to your family. My dad told me that this year was my year, so I volunteered, without protesting. My name is Glimmer, and I'm district's one career tribute.
A boy's name was called, but my friend Marvel volunteered in his place. We had discussed this a long time ago; I volunteer, he volunteers. District one roared as we were hoarded to the quarters behind the stage. We had three minutes time to say goodbye to visitors. The first visitors were Marvel's parents and his little sister. She bounced up and down, tears streaming down her cheeks as she sat down on my lap and hugged me. His parents wished me good luck and handed me a bouquet with lavender and roses; my favourites! I hugged them tightly and the three minutes were over. My next visitor was my best friend Maggie, who I'd volunteered for. She had red puffy eyes and she started tearing up again when she saw me. I had a hard time trying not to cry. Eventually, I just let the tears flow. We cried and hugged until she was taken away by the peacekeepers.
Next came my boyfriend Tyler. I had already prepared what to say to him. He sat down next to me and wrapped his arm around me.
'Tyler,' I whispered in his ear, 'maybe we should break up.' He nodded.
'I think you're right, Glim.'
'Don't get me wrong or anything, I love you, but maybe this is for the best.' He nodded again and I spent the other two minutes crying and hugging him. When they came to take him away, he kissed me and whispered 'you'll win this. For sure.' Then he left.
For two minutes, the room was silent and I got scared that my family wasn't coming anymore. I got up, wiped my eyes and walked to the mirror on the wall. My face looked hideous! I had red blotchy spots around my eyes and my elegant hairstyle was completly ruined. I splashed some cold water in my face and rubbed my eyes until most spots had faded. I glanced in the mirror once more and sighed. I heard a knock on the door and turned around. My mom and dad were standing in the doorway. My brother had died two years ago, when he was eighteen, in the Hunger Games. hr volunteered too. My mother, being completely hystirical and all, ran too me and started crying like crazy, which made me tear up again, which resulted in me looking ugly. Again. I hugged her and she said to me, 'win this for your brother.'
My dad awkwardly hugged me. The relationship between me and my dad was never that strong. He worked day in, day out, so I barely saw him.
'Good luck,' he said.
Then they left and the door opened for the last time. The district escort, who had introduced herself as Margrienta earlier on, gestured for me to leave the room. I grabbed Marvel's hand as soon as I saw him, and we slowly left the theatre behind us.
It was busy at the train station. As soon as we got out of the car, we were overwhelmed by camera's and screaming citizens. I still hadn't let go of Marvel's hand, and I wasn't planning too, until we were all settled in the train. As we slowly made our way to the train, I caught a glimpse of myself on one of the big screens, set up for the reaping. I didn't look like a proud, strong career tribute... Instead, I looked like a really scared girl. My face had gone completely pale and my eyes were still a bit red from crying. I desperately needed an attitude change. I decided to put up my most brilliant smile, which I knew people adored, from previous experiences, and started waving. I heard soft sounds of excitement and astonishment rippling through the crowd. I felt a nudge from my mentor on my left and he nodded in approval. On my right side, Marvel had decided to copy my idea and he was enthusiastically waving at the crowd.
Once in the train, I let go of his hand and relaxed my now painful jaws. We were ushered into the viewing room, where we had to wave and smile for a few more seconds before the train sped off, heading for the Capitol. I sighed and fell back into a soft chair.
'Oh my god,' I murmured, 'what was that?' No one replied, but we were all grinning.
The journey to the Capitol would only take five hours, seeing as district one was the closest district to the Capitol. When everyone was settled down, our mentor, who's name was Laurentz, started telling us about his experience in the Hunger Games. It was interesting, but scary too.
'In the end,' he said, ' Only I and the female from our district were left alive. I eventually hit her in the head with an axe while she was sleeping, and she died.' I shivered and Laurentz smirked.
'You're freaked out already, honey? You'll experience a lot more horrible things once you're in the arena yourself'. I looked at Marvel who regarded me with a sad smile. A worker from the Capitol came in and told us that the television room was ready. We got up, and I frowned at Margrienta, who clapped her hands and exclaimed, 'we're going to watch the recaps of the reapings in the other districts!' She sounded so enthusiastic that I had to bite my lips to keep from laughing. From the corner of my eye, I caught Marvel grinning, and suddenly we were both laughing hysterically.
'I'm sorry,' Marvel chocked, 'but that was the funniest thing I've heard in a while!' I was laughing so bad, that Laurentz had to hold my arm to keep me from falling. He grinned,'we're gonna have so much fun with the two of you!'
We were gestured to sit down on a big soft couch, and Marvel and I ended up sitting next to each other. He wrapped his arm around me and I snuggled up against his chest. Margrienta and Laurentz both shot me a weird look.
'Oh, no, no, no! It's not what you're thinking!' I exclaimed, 'We're not together, but we've just know each other for a very long time! He's my best friend!'
'That's too bad,' Laurentz said. I glared at him. 'We could've build an amazing story around that to get you more sponsors!' Before I had time to respond, Margrienta switched on the television and the Capitol anthem filled the room. Everyone grew silent as Ceasar Flickerman's face filled the screen. He dyes his hair a different colour every Hunger Games, and this year he had coloured his hair blue. It looked hideous, but I stayed silent.
'Good evening ladies and gentleman! My name is Ceasar Flickerman and I'll be your host for the 74th Hunger Games. Tonight, a recap of the reapings in all districts.' Of course, being district one, we were up first. Nothing really special, just me taking over Maggie's place, me looking scared and Marvel volunteering. Then it was district two's turn.
'Guys,' Laurentz said, 'this is important. You want these people on your side. As your allies.' A pretty girl with dark hair, named Clove took a young girl's place. My eyes were literally glued to the screen when the close-up of district two's male tribute showed up. CATO. Four letters burned into my mind.
