The First Quarter Quell
Chapter 1: Quality Times with Friends
"Sky, it's going to be alright. They are not going to choose you, you have done no wrong and everyone that has met you has loved your smile and loved your spectacular attitude in the worst of times. Trust me, Sky; you're not going to be chosen." My mother walked soullessly and broken over to her threads and finished stitching the last bits of my reaping dress. With each stitch the dress looked more and more beautiful. I started to tie my hair up in a bun with a violet ribbon that my friend had given me for my birthday. She told me it wasn't much a present, but I didn't mind. I knew that she was not wealthy, and to tell you the truth, I'm not either.
"It's done. It looks beautiful, Sky, it's the most magnificent and vibrant of violet, just like your eyes. Come now, put it on and we will see if we need to make some last minute adjustments." I slipped it on. It felt like silk on my skin. The sleeves flowed like water on my skin. The first quarter quell was coming up, that meant that the people of all of the districts would have to choose their tributes. I am so scared for my mother's sake that I don't get chosen. She had already lost my father in a lumbering accident; I prefer not to get into the details. Anyway, I could not imagine the grief she would go through seeing me slaughtered, so for her sake I hope I don't get chosen, for my sake too. I am only twelve, and therefore I would be the youngest and most disadvantaged.
"It fits perfectly!" I exclaimed, "It's not too big in the back or anything!" I looked down and smiled. It was beautiful. The stitch work was spectacular and I was amazed by how it lay on my body. "I'm going to go change so I don't get it ruined when I go out with my friends and hunt tonight okay, Mom?"
"Okay, good idea." My mom praised. I sauntered up the creaky stairs feeling like a princess because of my beautiful gown and stripped myself of it. I grabbed my only hanger from my closet and hung it up. I forced my hundred year old looking drawer open and took out my short pants and short sleeves. It was very hot during the night, especially if you are hunting. I picked up my knife that my dad had given me before he died and I hit the target on my wall right in the center.
"Spot on as always," I thought. "now time for the real thing." I raced down the stairs of the puny house and bid my mother farewell. The door slammed and I was off to hunt. How else would my Mom and I survive? We would have no food to trade or butcher. I went out with my friends, Iris and Helios every night and hunted in the deep woods. Today though, I felt funny. I felt like I was being watched. I looked around frantically.
"Sky, are you okay? You seem nervous. Have you done something wrong?" Iris inquired with worry in her voice. I turned back at her and looked at her like she was crazy. I didn't want her to worry about me, so I acted like nothing was wrong.
"No, I'm perfectly fine. Let's try to find something. Shush." I heard rustling in the bushes about 30 yards from me. I clutched my knife and readied myself. It was a deer! I looked over at my friends who stepped back with fear. It wasn't a female. It had antlers. I stared at it in horror. Then I remembered my mother and how she needed the game. I stubbornly took a step forward and the buck stepped back. I clutched my knife and threw it at its head. It struggled and whipped its head as it got weaker and weaker. I said a prayer and the fresh meat fell to the ground. My friends looked at me like I had six heads.
"Are you insane?" Helios chanted, "That THING could have killed you!" I peered back at him with confusion. He still doesn't get it? We need to hunt in order to survive!
"I'm doing it for us! Are you blind? We are doing this to protect our families from starving. Now let's continue. We need more." My friends gave me worried looks but I pushed them on. I climbed up a red oak tree to get a better view of things. I saw movement a little ways from me. I had superior vision and hearing like a cat. I could also climb trees fifty feet high in minutes. I leapt from branch to branch and soon enough fell to the ground with a thud. "Over there." I pointed to the direction of the movement. Iris raised her bow and arrow. I got this one. It's a bit further than the last one. She aimed with caution and released her grasp on the silver headed arrow. We ran towards where the arrow landed and she had shot a groundhog. She picked it up and tried to figure its weight.
"About nine pounds. Good enough." Iris explained. We searched through the forest a bit more. I didn't hear any more animals. Helios sighed in disbelief.
"I didn't get any game! That isn't very" He was interrupted by an airship flying overhead. "Get down!" Helios ordered. We crouched in our places. Helios gripped his axe and soon anger flushed through him. "They won't let us hunt in peace." A rat scurried by my side and I threw a knife at it. I picked up the knife with the mouse squared on it and gave it to Helios. "Thanks."
"No problem. We will all split the things that the butcher gives us for the deer." I announced. "We better get out of here now." We crept out of the woods step by step. We slipped through the electric fences that were never on and made our way over to the butcher. Helios in front of me and Iris walked behind me. I watched Helios' golden hair flow behind him. It was a bright as the sun, after which he was named. Helios is the Greek god of the sun. "He is so handsome!" I thought to myself. "But if I ask him out and he says no or we break up, our friendship will be over!"
The door jingled as we walked in. "You kids want to sell that game?" I lugged the deer inside and heaved it onto the counter where the butcher stood behind.
"How much for this?" I asked. He examined the buck and weighed it.
"Forty pounds. This is enough for nine pieces of bread." He brought it to the back of his shop and brought out our bread. "Anything else? He asked in his grim voice. Iris put her groundhog on the counter and the butcher did the same thing as he did with the deer. "Nine pounds." I can give you one piece of bread. Iris sighed as he took it to the back.
"Okay, we will each get 3 ½ pieces of bread. Is everyone okay with that?" I inquired. They nodded in approval. The butcher gave us a bag of bread and we split it up. We said our farewells and headed back to our homes. I handed my mother the bag full of bread and my mother was surprised by how much was in there. Usually it was only one or two pieces. "Mom! I caught a deer!" I told her.
"Oh my! Let Iris take care of that. She has a bow and arrow and it's safer. You will get too close one day and I will lose you, just like I lost your father!" She told me. I sighed in disbelief. I thought she would be proud! Although, I have to admit, it was a bit risky.
"I'm going to bed." I said. "You eat as much as you want." Before she could reply, I was already up stairs and in my pajamas. I lie down in my bed staring at the ceiling and soon fell in a deep sleep.
I woke up the next morning remembering my father. I believe that I had dreamt of him. His emerald green eyes and his bronze hair made him look so handsome. Of course I had said that about two people in the last day or so but still. I'm going through my crush stage, I can't help it. Then I remembered. Today was the reaping! My heart skipped a beat. What if people voted for me and I had to go in the arena? I started to shake and my stomach flipped over.
"Good morning sleepy head." My mother greeted. "Your dress is waiting for you. And the people of district seven are not going to vote for you. I know you're nervous, but it's okay. Nobody is going to vote for you because they have no reason to. You are an angel of a child and I see no reason why god or anyone else would make you go into the hunger games."
"Mom, I know not to worry, but I can't help it, it's in my nature. I'm going to get dressed." She sat on my bed as I dressed myself. I tied my hair up with my ribbon and told my mom I was ready to go.
We stepped out of the house and made our way over to the center of town where the reaping was held. The peacekeepers pricked my finger. "Ouch." I whispered. They stubbornly took the tip of my finger where blood was dripping and placed it on a sheet of paper or something.
"You may go." He said hoarsely. I stepped into the crowd and tried to find my mother. I spotted her and ran. She hugged me when I got over there.
"Welcome, welcome everyone to the 25th annual hunger games, or as most like to call it, the first quarter quell. Now, before we begin I would like to show you a video." A woman with extremely over the top makeup and super long eye lashes announced. It looked a lot like she was wearing a wig, especially because it moved around a lot on her head. Since the video is all boring and all I heard was blah, blah, blah, war, blah, blah, blah, I'm going to leave that out of my story.
"Mom, why do they play this? We already know what happened back then. Our parents had told us." I asked.
"I'm not sure. They play it every year though. It's been the same video for the last twenty five years." I looked down at my feet waiting for the reaping. The video was taking forever and I was about to burst with anticipation.
"Now for the actual reaping. As you all know, the first quarter quell is not like any other hunger game. For the reaping your district, district seven, had to vote for the tributes. It is traditional for the ladies to go first."
When I heard who it was, I stood frozen as if I had just gotten shocked with 1000 bolts of electricity.