Yay! Part two! I am warning though, I wrote this so poorly I nearly rewrote it. But it introduces Sparrow's antics. Her wits. So... here is the reaping!
Sly and Elusive
I did end up running late for the reaping, just as I figured. But not so badly that Peacekeepers came looking for me. I just happened to be one of the last people to walk forward and get a small sample of blood taken from my finger and rubbed onto a sheet of paper. Where they wrote down everything. Name, age, and if you took tesserae. I of course did, bringing my total to, if I wasn't mistaken, twelve times in the giant fishbowl all the names went in.
I was wearing an old something of my mother's, a faded green dress that brought out the redness in my hair. I tied a little bow in front, reminding myself of youth and after all, I was only fourteen. Flint was wearing a blue buttoned shirt and was standing back with my father, since of course, the seven year old boy was too young to be reaped. He had another five years. But I didn't trust my father with him, and I kept glancing back to make sure he was still there with a toothless grin.
I remembered the conversation I had with him not ten minutes ago. I hadn't said a word in nearly two days, but I broke that for Flint's sake. "If I get chosen, hide the alcohol." I had said to the little boy. He didn't exactly understand, but Flint had nodded and that was the moment when he grabbed my spindly hand. Just for a second. Just a small amount of contact, but it was enough to bring an aching in my stomach. He was so young, and so confused. But I prayed he would understand. However, I doubted I would be chosen. Other people's names were in there more than me and District 5 was a heavily populated district.
Stepping forward, I made my way to the sectioned off area where the fourteen year olds are asked to go. I threw a glance over my shoulder, but Flint and my father were too far out from my view and I was unable to see them. My head dropped, blinking softly a few times as I awaited for this to end. I wanted to get home, sit myself on my bed and be able to look to my side and see Flint sleeping softly.
I looked up and noticed that the escort of District 5, and the person who reaped the children, had arrived. His name was Favian Falsett, and he had the same job all the years I attended the reaping. He seemed to be going in the same green theme I had going. His sleek hair was gelled backwards and was dyed a color that reminded me of leaves during the spring. He wore a snazzy, tightly fitted suit that was a darker shade of green with golden buttons. His pants were white, but he sported light green boots that leveled it all out. And the worst- he had this giant grin as if it was a happy celebration we were all attending. As if.
I the noticed the mayor and a woman I didn't recognize sat themselves down in two of three chairs to the right of the stage. Favian followed, but as he sat down, the mayor rose. He was an aging man, wrinkles clearly showing as he sported salt and pepper hair. Unlike Favian, he wore a simple gray suit and for the most part appeared ordinary.
He took the stage, and instantly began to read off everything we heard every year. The reason we were in the games. It was the history of our land called Panem, and he went from life before the war, what brought us apart, all the way up to the point where he brought up the games. In the Hunger Games, it's a fight to the death. In the end, only one tribute remains and they are crowned victor. In District 5, we've had four, but only two are still alive. Their names were Cecilia and Woof, but Woof was so old he almost didn't count. And before I know it, the major starts reading off the names, but I'm distracted because two girls in front of me are babbling and have been the entire time.
Their voices aren't hard to pick up. They're your typical wealthy district girls who have never lived one day hungry in their entire lives. Their voices are high pitched, and so, so easy to hear in the silence that was going on across the stage. One of them was a tall blonde, the other a shorter girl with a plumper body who had rusty hair.
"I bet you the tailor's boy is gonna get picked this year." The short girl hissed to the blonde. "He's eighteen… and the business hasn't been doing too well, so he's got tesserae."
"Maybe." The blonde said with a shrug. "But wanna know who I hope is gonna get picked? That whore, Sparrow. She's a disgrace to District 5. She needs to get out."
The words stung me in the back of my throat, and I looked away. I was… commonly talked about from around the district. I was like some sort of disease. But people did like me when my mother was alive. Mainly because she was such a cheerful person, and lit up every room she walked into. And she had the same bright red hair that I had. But after she left, and I did what I had to do, that was when people began looking down on me.
"Let me tell you, now that she's raising her brother, he's gonna grow up just like her. Making bad decisions. I tell you…" The blonde went on again. But that was it for me.
I clenched my teeth together. I didn't lie when I said I could never hurt a fly. Instead… I prefer wits. Thinking things out. And right now, this good for nothing rich snob was annoying me. For a few seconds I pondered, but then reached a hand forward. She was wearing a tight, white dress that was held together in front by two pieces of ribbon that were tied together. Perfect.
My hands clawed air for the first few seconds, but then they closed around the ribbons. I made sure not to move in any way that would alert the girl that I was behind her, so I moved slowly. My hands worked simply for a few seconds, but then I finished it off with a sharp tug. And suddenly, the blonde was shreaking as she suddenly grabbed her dress to prevent it from falling down.
She leaped forward, voice still hissing and spitting as she suddenly whirled around. Her perfectly carved finger pointed at me, and in a raspy voice full of hatred she yelled out, "YOU!"
She suddenly leaped forward, lunging at me. I didn't exactly mean to make a scene in the middle of the reaping… especially when this was being televised. But, I did cause her harm, so I guess I deserved whatever blow she used on me. I readied myself, but suddenly the girl froze and I could hear Favian yelling in the background.
"Uhm… excuse me?" He said into the microphone. "If you are that upset about our female tribute, then volunteer, otherwise, let our tribute onto the stage."
Everyone seemed to freeze, including myself. What? Was I so captivated into the conversation on front of me that I had completely missed them reading off the female tribute for this year? I must have. But it probably wasn't me, because everyone's eyes were darting around. That is, until the blonde girl let out one more yell and everyone looked in our direction. Straight at me. My cheeks turned nearly red as my hair, and I looked back at all the people, confused.
"Excuse me…" Favian said, obviously annoyed. "Will our female tribute please make way to the stage? I don't want to call the peacekeepers. Sparrow Kenvarra. Make your way to the stage…"
No.
It was me.
I was going to die.
My first reaction was surprise. Out of all the people… I did have a decent-sized amount of slips with my name on there… But me? There were so many more. I narrowed my eyes. It didn't make sense… Now I was going to die and my family… My family! Flint! What was Flint going to do?
With forced steps, I slowly made my way up to the stage. Everyone stared at me. They all knew who I was. All the kids were probably gracious to get rid of me, but not their fathers. I had to hold back my tears. If Flint saw me crying, he would cry too. He would think something bad was going on, and he would scream and kick and then surely my father would beat the boy to shut him out. So I looked out in the direction where I knew he was, and I could actually get a glimpse of the boy. From up on the stage. He just appeared… confused. His brow was furrowed, and my father had a tight grip on his shoulder. As long as it didn't get any tighter, that was ok.
"Lovely! Lovely! Our female tribute for District 5 in the 74th annual Hunger Games is Sparrow Kenvarra!" Favian called out. Nobody clapped, even though he probably expected them to. Once he realized this, his cheeks turned red and made his way over to the bowl for the boys.
Everything else was a bit of a blur. But he read off a name, one I didn't recognize at all. But my district partner was a boy named Ryker, a tan soul with dark hair, not the typical District 5 look. But I glanced at him, and instantly could tell tears were already stinging his eyes. But I stood tall. Strong. For both Flint… and my mother.
"Alright, shake your hands!" Favian said into the microphone, motioning me towards Ryker.
Emotionlessly, I reached out a hand and weakly brought Ryker's hand up and down. His palm was sweaty, and the stickiness of it made me want to recoil mine in disgust. But I forced myself to finish, gulping as I turned away and faced the crowd. They all looked at me with smirks, and that was the moment when everything seemed to go down for me. When I realized that people weren't exactly cheering for me to win… they were cheering for me to die.
When the ceremony was done, I turned away from the giant crowd so they couldn't see my face. That was when the first and only tear fell, and also when rain started to pour down. As my tear fell, I lost track of it in the raindrops. And I looked out to my side, then up, up into the skies as if they were weeping. But I felt like I knew what it was.
"I'm so sorry, mother." I whispered, shaking my head.
Now who would care for my family?
I couldn't when I'm dead.
