I was taking orders at the front desk of my dad's butchery. It was a really slow day. I assumed that everyone was getting ready for the reaping in a couple of
days. My mother surely was. She was running all around trying to get together the outfits for my three little brothers and yelling at my sister and I to pick out
our clothes so we wouldn't have to rush in the morning. In two days my name would be in the reaping bowl 15 times. I took some tesserae our for some of the
kids in the poorer parts of the district that doesn't have any older siblings -or lost them- and/or are too young. Only my sister, Dixie, and I have to worry about
getting picked, since my three brothers, Moss, Trex, and Basil, are under the age of twelve.
I thought it would be a good idea to play a few strings on my guitar because it usually calms me down. I'm in the middle of playing two chords when the door
to the shop opens. I see a pair of beautiful blue eyes look at me and my anxiousness about the reaping gets pushed aside.
"You look so cute when you play your guitar." Mink says as she gives me a big smile. Even when I am in a horrible mood, Mink's perfect smile always makes me
smile back.
I stand up and lean over the counter to plant a kiss on her lips. Her lips are incredibly soft and she grabs the side of my face as she kisses me back
passionately. I pull away and brush the hair out of her face.
"So where is everybody? I've never seen this place so empty." She asks as she glances around the shop. Her long black hair sways from side to side as she
moves her head around.
" Getting ready for the reaping." I answer back. She walks around the counter and sits on my lap. I continue "My mom has been nagging everyone to pick out
their reaping outfits. It's way too much chaos going on up there."
Mink looks at me a bit confused, "But you love chaos."
We both chuckle a bit. It's true I love chaos. I like it when everyone is running around in a rush. It makes me less noticeable and creates an alternate universe
when I'm not being lectured about rules or being told how bad of an influence I am. But in my house chaos just means everyone getting cranky and upset at
one another.
"Horn?" Mink snaps me out of my thoughts. "I'm really scared. What if my name is picked?"
"Your name is not going to get picked Mink." I say reassuringly. I am so positive Mink wouldn't be getting picked because she is the mayor's daughter. She has
a better chance of getting struck by lightning. Just then my sister walks in and Mink jumps up from my lap.
"Horn, daddy needs your help with the deer. It doesn't seem to want to die." She laughs as she finishes the sentence. As she laughed strings of her long
blonde hair fell to her face. People say we look exactly alike. People even ask if we are twins sometimes. We both have wavy blonde hair and shiny green eyes,
but we are obviously not twins. I always wonder how she could be so relaxed when it's time for the reaping. Dixie is always optimistic and happy even if that's
not her actual emotions. She is totally the opposite of me in that regard. I always have a hard time keeping to myself. It's not that I am not a good actor, it's
just that I always voice my opinion. A lot of people claim that I have no filter.
I get up and tell Mink I'll be right back as I walk into the field behind the shop. I see my dad struggling to keep a huge deer still. When he sees me his eyes
light up. He has eyes just like mine. But his hair is jet black and full of sweat. He has been in the field all day taking care of the livestock, District 10's
contribution to the capitol.
"Gimme a hand here son." He said as if he was asking a question. But I knew it was a demand.
"Why can't you just kill him?" I asked while walking over to help him with the huge buck. I knew that since it lived this long my father had a purpose for it.
"It's going to make me some babies. Remember that female deer Dixie caught in the woods a couple of weeks ago?" I do. Dixie begged and begged my father
to let her keep it as a pet. My dad agreed since the deer was so small and he could fatten her up and get really good money for a healthy deer at the town
trading spot. Dixie got so attached to her she even named it after an old movie from before the rebellion over sixty decades ago. She said the movie was about
a deer whose mother dies and has to fend for himself in the forest. I don't know who she heard about this movie from, but she was very detailed in her
explanation of it. She named the deer Bambi.
" So what do you want me to do with him?" I ask my dad while pointing to the deer.
"Just tie him up and put him in the barn for me." I grabbed the deer by the antlers and I started to lead him into the barn when my dad calls me again.
"No more guitar playing in the store. It drives customers away. No one wants to go in a place of business and here all that noise." I roll my eyes as I but the
deer in the barn. My father has never really cared about anything but meat and butchering. He believes that I have no future in the music career. It's not that
he doesn't think I can do it, he just doesn't think it's practical. My mother though, would send me into town with my guitar to play on the street. Sometimes
random people would join in and sing or play other instruments along with my guitar. The first day I played my guitar for the town people I came home with a
lot of extra money but gave some to the kids in the poorer part of the District. My mother used to play the guitar when she was younger. She was the reason I
got into music in the first place. She taught me how to play her guitar and I became pretty good at it.
My father says that one day the butchery would be mine. But I'm not too thrilled about it. Maybe he should give it to Trex. After all, he is always the most
excited to be in the butchery and kill random animals. After I finish dragging the buck to the barn my mind suddenly remembers Mink. I walk back into the
butcher shop and notice that she is behind the counter taking orders. I immediately become infuriated. Where was Dixie? Why is my girlfriend taking orders?
"What are you doing?" I ask her and she can hear the annoyance in my voice. Mink was always able to read my mind without me saying much.
"What do I look like I'm doing? I'm taking orders." I was about to speak when she continues. "Dixie went out with a friend and I told her that I'd take over."
Her comment makes me even more upset. Where did my sister go? Who was she with? Was it a boy? All of these questions came rushing into my head. Mink
must see the panic in my eyes because she again speaks before I am unable to.
"She's not with a boy so relax. She's with Erial." She says while writing down the order of another customer.
"Who's Erial?" I ask looking clueless.
She rolls her eyes and replies " A girl from school. Dixie does have friends besides you, you know." I do know but she's never really been out with any of them
before. She's never really been out with anyone before. When I think about it the only time she actually goes outside is if she's hunting or needs to go to town
to buy some things for the shop.
The next couple of days go past pretty fast and the next thing I know it is the day of the reaping. As my family walks into the town square I notice Mink. She
looks really scared. All I want to do right now is hold her tight and kiss her and tell her it'll be alright. But I know I can't say that because it might not be alright.
I have no idea who's going to get picked, but I'm just hoping it'll neither be her nor my sister and when a girl's name is picked out of the bowl I relax. It's not
either one of them. It's a girl named Kersa Grask. I recognize her long dirty blonde hair and piercing hazel eyes from school. I've never talked to her before but
we have exchanged glances in the hallway.
Suddenly when the cheerful voice of Wylee Starks continues "Now for the gentlemen" I tense up again. She reaches into the bowl and pulls out a small piece of
paper. She unfolds it and reads the name.
"Horn Selkirk." My body freezes and I am unable to move. I hear a scream and automatically recognize it as my mother's. That's when it hits me. I'm entering
the 67th Annual Hunger Games.