37th hunger games
Carries POV)
I Woke and looked around my little home in district 10. The light brown curtains drawn around the windows and the smell of eggs and bacon cooking in the frying pan. I knew then Mia must be up and making breakfast, I get up and pull on some blue pants and a white ruffle shirt and walk into the kitchen. Morning Mia I say to my sweet 12 year old sister she the youngest of 3 I'm the middle at age 14 and my older sister Ashley is 18. We all live on a small farm with our dad after our mother died of a heart disease the same one that's killing our dad now. Mia slides one egg sun side up and two strips of fried bacon onto my plate. Thanks Mia is Ash up yet? I ask usually on a day like this she would be up extra early. No she replies with a sigh Today's the day of the reaping the day one boy and one girl from each of the 12 districts will be chosen to fight to the death in a arena and only one can win. Yea sounds fun right? I decide to go outside and see if my best friend Blake wanted to go horseback riding before two o'clock when we have to be in the square for the reaping. I tell Mia to wake Ash up and run out the back door toward the woods where Blake found the horses and showed me them together we tamed them and now they're pretty ride able. When I reach the spot where the gate had been cut I carefully hear the hum that lets me know the power is on and it is on. I know exactly what to do I quickly back up and get my rope out I lasso the top of the gate where the shock doesn't reach and swing thought the hole I see exactly 50 feet down footprints and I know Blake is waiting for me. I walk about a mile following the sounds of the small waterfall that surround by apple trees. As soon as I see the old torn down barn that we tie the horse up in to keep them safe and in place. I walk over and run my fingers threw my horse Dust mane and feed him a carrot dust is gray with white ears and bright brown eyes. As I'm petting and talking to Dust Blake walks up and scares me to death. We laugh as we ride our horses across the long plain of grass and weeds. Finally we come to a rest at a little creek and I pull out four sausage links. On the day of the reaping we usually have a nice meal of some sort and usually Blake and I share a snack after riding our horses. After I show my links he pulls out a small jug and I know its fresh cold milk from his cow Bessie. Before we dine on our little feast we say in those ever so dumb capitol accents 'Happy Hunger Games And May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor' the trade mark saying of Starr Clark our district Escort to the capitol.
I'm in the middle of my first link when Blake says we could ride off Blake I say we couldn't what about our families he has one brother whose 5 and a sister who's 18 She raises her family after their mom and dad died from tick bites when she was 15. She been the head ever since. Blake eyes watch the endless prairie for awhile then fine their way back to me they could come we could make a wagon. Pull them with us while we ride on the horses. I know it's a good idea to run away live like they did long before the dark days. Back when this place was somewhere called South Dakota that was in a nation called North America. But instead of telling Blake I just sigh Blake I say If neither of us or our family members are chosen for the reaping we can run away. He smiles at the idea we better get back he says and I know he's right so I get back on my horse and ride back home. As soon as I reach my house I know im late Mia already bathed and dressing and Ash is sitting at the table in a short white lace grown and her leather boots. I take a cup and put some water from the jug in it I sit beside Ash at the table. It's your last reaping you don't need to be so scared. She really doesn't it's not like our family needed the oil and tesserae so none of us enter our names in more than needed. I count in my head Mia in there one whole time for her first reaping I'm in there four times and Ash is in there seven, seven times. It's just 7 out of like 10,000 Ash you won't be picked. By the time I look up Mia is smiling at me with her wet hair pulled into a ponytail and she's wearing my last reaping outfit a white shirt and brown skirt with her sandals she got for her birthday. I smiles and walk toward the wash room I slip out of my riding clothes and into the cool water which feels great on my skin I soak for about 5 minutes then wash my body down with the cheap soap I got by selling some of my cows hotdogs. I got out and dressed in my outfit I picked a light baby pink dress that comes to my knees with off the shoulder sleeves and my brown worn boots I take the medal rod I had been keeping hot all day on coals and curl my brown hair and Mia's to I offer to do Ashley's but she declines. Before we go our father joins us for a meal of chicken legs and veggies for dinner then head to the square for the reaping. Ashley leads us down as me and Mia follow our father to sick to walk with us so its just us three My father will be watching the reaping live. I get my finger pricked and walk over to the roped off area for females I stand next to a few friends of mine Amber and Kelly and hold their hands tighter as Starr Clark walks onto the stage. Shes wearing a light green wig and a puffy short red dress with high heels that are blacker then night. Welcome! To the 34th hunger games! She says in the dumb accent all capitol people have I hardly listen as she explains why we are here and about the dark days. Then the mayor appears with our victors we have had 1 she's is a young spunky female who's about 24 and won 10 years ago at the 24th hunger games her name is Kayla she's wearing a pink dress with pink shoes and a brown cowgirl hat like mine Ashley's and Mia's
Finally Starr says its time to pick the lucky boy and girl who will fight in the arena. She walks over to the bowl and says Ladies First! And dips her hand in. I watch her pink nail go around and around in the bowl into they grasp onto a slip of paper. Everyone holds their breath and waits she reads the paper and speaks loud and clear into the microphone its not Ashley or Mia or me its Blake's sister Ivy. I look into the crowd and see Ashley standing still that's her best friend. I see Blake trying not to cry I look into the crowd and see little Debby Blake and Ivy's 5 year old sister holding onto the shoe makers wife crying. I see Ashley mouth the words to me im volunteering and she starts forming the words but before she gets them out I scream I VOLUNTEER! LET ME TAKE HER PLACE! I push my way threw the crowd where Ivy was standing about to go on stage I meet her eyes and hug her. I whispers you have a family to take care of and I run onstage. I take my place beside Starr as she says Well My my we have a volunteer! Lets have a hand for her! I look into the crowd speechless as Mia is holding onto Ashley crying. They don't clap they know where I come from they know I'm the girl whose father is dying who's mother died who runs the little country store downtown who before didn't have even a flower to eat. They all just stare speechless watching. Finally after what seems like forever of watching them and meeting everyone's eyes Starr says now for the gentlemen! I don't think for Blake safety I don't wish for anyone's I'm deep in thought lost in my own mind but I hear the name and I know I'm doomed because the name is my long time crush Jason Bayle. He looks into my eyes watching for my tears which are going to come but not here not in front of everyone. He comes and sits beside me and does something unexpected he takes my hands and kisses it then holds it the whole speech the Mayor and other people give we sit there hand-in-hand watching everyone else watching us and I realize something he volunteered I see 4 slips of paper out and then I see the down in part of the stage who he did it for. He did it for Blake.
Blakes eyes whispers I should have been watching what happened when he was picked. I sit there holding Jason hand smiling at everyone and finally Starr, Kayla and a few peacekeepers lead us off stage to a section of the courthouse where I'll say my goodbyes to the ones I love. Thought flicker threw my head of what Mia and Ash will say and Blake and all these other people I realize Im gripping Jason hand very tight now and I let go and blush he blushes to and then we are put in different rooms. The next two hours of my life are going to be the worst of my life. I sit on the leather couch much like the one at home and wait for my sisters to come in. I sit there for what seems like forever and finally their allowed in tears roll from everyone's eyes as we talk. Mia is to help run the store Ash to cook and clean and no one is to cry for me. As they are pulled from the room I yell to Mia I'm going to win for our family! She stops dead in her steps and turns around as if to say you can or something but instead she throws something at me and threw her already teary eyes I can she doesn't know what to make of this all I catch it in mid air and open my hands to see a small horse shoe charm that's on a string of a leather a lucky bracelet I hug her one last time and Ash kisses my forehead and that's the last time I feel in my gut I'm going to see them ever. Next to come in is Blake and I'm sitting there looking at him. Carrie you're going to be ok, ok? I look him in the eyes No I wont. I have no training nothing I couldn't even kill a fly Blake! He looks upset that I just snapped at him but instead of snapping back he opens his arms and I fall into them the only true place I felt safe was with him I never ever thought twice about hugging him he's my best friend nothing more. He stood there holding me the whole time. Finally a peacekeeper came and said time was up before he left he kissed my check and without a word left the room. I stood there breathless wordless finally the next person was brought in and it was Ivy. She walked across the room her footsteps echoing off the wooden floor until she face-to-face with me. She looks me dead in the eye you didn't have to do it! I can fight my own battles she says in a somewhat mad somewhat ok with the fact I'm dying for her voice. I didn't do it for you I snap back I did it because Ash was going to volunteer her face goes from mad to worried. She was? Her voice is sad and worried Yes I reply couldn't let her she's still so unstable from momma death that it just wouldn't have been right. Ivy whispers she's sorry to me and I accept then it's time to leave she's pulled from the room and I'm rushed to the train to go to the capital. As I board the train cameras flash on my face and I duck inside so I don't have to deal with the bight lights anymore. Starr shows me my room and I take my reaping outfit off and lay it on the bed I slip into the shower and I swear to you there are a million buttons on the shower door for different kinds of soaps, shampoos, bubble baths, Ect. I get just regular soap and a shampoo that holds curls in place hoping my curls will stay until were in the capitol right as I'm about to crawl into bed there's a knock on my door and when I open it there stands Jason his dark brown eyes twinkling in the lights of the train Hi he says and he leans against my doorframe Hi I say back want to come in? sure he says and follows me into my house size room. I sit down on the coach and he sits down next to me putting his arm around me. He whispers into my ear I know you had a crush on me I smile and try not to blush I know he knows he's known for awhile that I like him. Then he leans in and kisses me like lip-on-lip kiss I jerked back after a couple of seconds. What? He looked at me like he was confused. Was it that bad? He asked in a hushed voice No I whisper back its just that I cant kiss someone I have to kill. He leans in close his brethe tickling my neck you wont have to kill me he says loud enough to wake Star in the next room then he gets up and walks out back to his room.
well thats the end of that chapter! More to come!