Reapings - Part 2:
Melantha Elvane (16), District 12 Female
As the ball hits the wall, there's a muffled thud before it bounces against the ground and into my hands. Mechanically, I chuck it against the brick wall of the house again, not caring that it almost hits the windows where one woman and her nephew are prancing around in their oh-so-happy lives, oblivious and uncaring to the fact that I'm just metres away from them.
Just look at them, acting as if their lives are so perfect.
Any normal person in District Twelve would be happy with the life that they have, what with the plentiful amount of food they have, a quaint little cottage and an obedient child that can continue the family name. Apparently, that's not enough for this family though. In fact, I'm standing outside the house of the most high-handed, spoiled residents of District Twelve.
I look down at the dirty jumper and trousers I have, which are the only clothes I have to speak of until I grow out of them and decide to steal another pair. My hands clench into fists; why do they get to have a house and money and everything that I can't have?
It's been two years, give or take a couple of months, yet I'm still crawling back to haunt here like a ghost, observing what remains of my family as they continue with their lives. You'd think that losing my parents to the war would have made my aunt more protective of me, but the moment she realised that I'm not so willing to conform to the life she had set out for me and Uriel, she had kicked me out. The moment I had rejected the husband she had chosen for me, the job she had wanted me to take over from her and the life she was trying to force me into, she had disowned me.
Aren't families meant to have a special bond between each other? That's the myth that's shoved down our throats from birth, isn't it?
Homelessness is hardly a rare occurrence around here; it happens to children born to large families all the time or if their families generally can't afford to feed them. Nobody has any sympathy for the girl who comes from a family that can actually feed themselves, not that it would do me any good if I did.
My aunt has left to go upstairs, but downstairs, I can make out a figure sitting at a table. The kitchen table, to be precise. Two years ago, that had been me sitting there, happily eating the meat from the butchers' while watching the sun rise. How oblivious I had been back then.
Now my obnoxious brother sits there, right where I had once been. It's like he's trying to replace me, except for the fact that I won't allow it. Uriel's nothing but a gullible, pathetic little kid. He can't complain when I come back with a reality check that our dearest aunt had neglected to give to him. Honestly, I'm doing my brother a favour.
Throwing the ball at the window, I smirk when the sound of the ball hitting the glass makes Uriel jump in his seat. When he turns around and sees me, his face lights up with recognition and pales slightly. I beckon him outside with my hand, making sure to smile so that he doesn't have any reason to be alarmed just yet. His eyebrows furrow with confusion, no doubt deciding if he should alert our aunt to the fact that her not-so-perfect niece is here, but he eventually decides that I can't mean any harm as he walks over and opens the back door.
"Melantha?"
I nod my head at Uriel. "Hey. Long time, no see, am I right?"
He nods like the pathetic boy he is. "Yeah, you don't seem to be doing too badly."
"Isn't that a good thing for you?" I ask, inching closer to him. "I'm still alive and now you're the favourite child. You got everything you wanted without having to get your little hands dirty. Isn't that nice for you?"
Uriel looks confused; an expression that is all but rare to see on him. "I didn't want you hurt," he says. "I never hated you, Melantha."
"Oh, really? You sure didn't act like it when I used to live here. Didn't you say that I used to be the centre of attention and that you envied me?" This I accompany with a bitter laugh. "Bet our aunt's all over you now, isn't she? Well, good for you. Just don't complain when she kicks you out too."
"Why would I ever disobey my aunt?" Uriel says monotonously. "I have everything I need here. I wouldn't abandon it like you managed to."
"You make me sound selfish for doing so."
"Well, no offence, but you kind of are," he mutters. "You were one of the better-off people in this district, loads of people would have killed to be where you used to be, and you gave that up just because you didn't agree with what she wanted for you. Actually, maybe you weren't selfish, just short-sighted."
"Nice assessment there," I say scathingly. "At least I had the guts - and dignity - to not come crawling back for mercy. You won't even face what District Twelve is really like past our fence, brother."
"Yeah, about that." Uriel shuffles his feet awkwardly. "What is it like living without a home? It's not as nice as here, is it?"
I snort. "Not as nice?" I say. "Talk about an understatement! Imagine living in a world where people drop dead from starvation on a regular basis, where you have to rummage through the bins or venture into the Meadow to find some dandelions. I can't even go to school no more and I ain't old enough to work in those damned mines. There's nothing for me to do - nothing that I'm allowed to do, anyways."
There's silence for a few seconds after my outburst as Uriel takes in what I've just said. "I-I didn't know it was t-that bad," he eventually mumbles, looking at the ground shyly. "I'm surprised you've managed to cope, you know. I mean, last time I saw you, you hated the thought of even having any dirt on you."
My head snaps up to look at him. "You don't know anything about me!" I snap. "Just because you're related to me doesn't give you any right to presume that you know me."
Uriel pales even further. "I was just saying that you've changed - "
Advancing towards him, I sneer as I slam him into the wall behind him. "I beg to differ. Do you really think that I'll take well to you thinking that you know anything about me at all?" I snarl, grabbing him by the collar and slamming him into the wall of the mine shaft again. "You want to know something about the 'new' me? Do you?"
"N-no, I'm s-sorry. I didn't kn-know, t-that's all. I-I haven't s-seen you i-in a while."
"Too bad. You can't just slip up and expect everyone to ignore it. You have to pay the consequences," I inform him, turning him around and slamming his face into the wall. "I'm better than you."
I send another punch in Uriel's direction, causing his chin to knock back from the force behind the impact. Kicking out at his legs, I laugh when he ends up collapsing to the ground. I'm relentless in attacking him after he curls up in a ball, kicking and punching him without any strategy or logic used. All I know is that I'm inflicting pain on this pathetic little thing and that I'm enjoying the feeling of being on top. To think that Uriel once had the arrogance to presume he knew anything about me. Well, this would teach him to make any assumptions about me in the future - once I left him alone, that is.
I would have never considered this a few years ago. In fact, I might not have even realised how much fun it was to inflict pain on others if I hadn't been surrounded by it all the time. Injuries from mine accidents, starvation victims, people who are just down on their luck. On the streets of District Twelve, you can't escape misery, so why not revel in it? In fact, why not cause it? By being the actual cause of their misery, it elevates me above the rest of the pathetic masses that think they can be compared to me.
I'm better than all of them. I'm enlightened with how the world really works and I'm not going to let anyone else tell me otherwise.
It's only when he stops fighting back that I come to my senses, realising that - once again - I've let my emotions get the better of me. It's strange to think that I had only come here with the intention of stealing some of his food. I can't even manage that without getting sidetracked.
Quickly, I burst through the door and snatch up whatever's on the table, knowing that my aunt would soon see what the ruckus is about and try and stop me. No matter how thrilling a start to the morning beating up Uriel had been, I need food more.
Without a second glance at Uriel, I sprint away from my old house and jump over the brick wall, stuffing everything I have in my satchel. If nothing else, at least I have a decent breakfast for today. I'll be needing it for today's Reaping, especially now that I've left a great impression on my aunt. Being herded in age groups for the Reapings isn't the most practical method for remaining unnoticed by her and the last thing I really need is for her to alert the Peacekeepers about my heinous crime of stealing.
Stopping next to one of the shops, I automatically move down the alleyways, lifting the rubbish bin lids off to see if there are any scraps halfway suitable for human consumption. Aside from a burned loaf, I don't encounter much.
"Seeing you rummaging through bins never stops being funny," a familiar voice informs me and I look further down into the alleyway, trying to make out Reed's features better in the light. It must be Reed; he's one of the few people that acknowledges my existence these days. He doesn't just see me as another grubby face among the crowd.
It's rather sad that I have to actually appreciate the fact that he treats me the way that everyone else should. "Why's that?"
"Why'd you think? I remember the days when you used to be so above doing anything like that." He chuckles. "And now look where you've ended up. Poor thing."
"Oh, you pity me, do you?" A vindictive satisfaction overrides any irritation his smug tone could have mustered up in me as I take out the food I had stolen; a hunk of meat that I can't identify at first glance and some bread. "Guess you won't be needing anything from me then."
He immediately adopts a contrite expression, never once taking his eyes off the food. "Where'd you get that?"
I smirk. "My brother felt like being generous today."
Reed, knowing that I'm not the type to ask for anything, just tuts. "Melantha, not pushing around little kids again, are you? And your own brother as well." He shakes his head in mock disapproval. "I would have thought you would have grown up past that by now."
Tearing off a small piece of bread, I toss these crumbs at Reed, sneering as he picks out the pieces caught in his hair. "Oh no, this never gets old."
"See what I mean?" Reed says. "You're still as full of yourself as ever."
I decide that it's not worth denying this. "Can you blame me if I am?"
He gives me a noncommittal grunt as we start to head over to the town square. "Doesn't matter. You'll still be lumped in with them during the Reaping, won't you?"
"That doesn't mean anything."
Reed rolls his eyes. "It really does. Melantha, you're just the same as everyone else."
I am not. I'm better than them! I have to look away to hide the outrage I'm sure must be visible.
What does he know about me? The only reason he hangs around with me is because he finds me entertaining, just something he can poke fun at because of my fall from grace. Reed's never really gotten to know me better than 'that girl who used to be rich' so it's not like he'd know anything about what I can and can't do.
One day, he'll see my true potential and my abilities at their height. Everyone will, then I'll be more than the homeless reject that everyone thinks I am.
"You know what? You can have this!" I chuck the piece of bread at him before he can see it coming and it hits him on the head.
"Now you're just being petty." Despite his words, he doesn't let go of his next meal, preferring to immediately bite off a large chunk of bread.
"You're welcome to give it back if you don't want it." My voice is equally calm to match his tone, which he knows is a bad sign for him.
He has to finish chewing first, his eyes flickering over to the town square that's now in sight. "I never said that, Melantha. I'm not suicidal."
If that's the case, you shouldn't be winding me up like that, I think irritably as we join the queue. Unfortunately for me, he's not the only idiot around, if the furtive ways that everyone's behaving around the Peacekeepers are any indicators of their intelligence.
Look at them, thinking that they're so much better than the Capitol. It's pathetic.
You can tell in the sparks of joy present in their eyes that have yet to be snuffed out and in the devious ways they whisper and glance at the Peacekeepers that District Twelve are still prepared to rebel. There's not much point in telling them that judgmental beings such as they would never be capable of overcoming their prejudices to defeat the Capitol.
In any case, if District Twelve can't even unite within their own district due to the stereotypes and rift between the rich and the poor, then they're going to have a hard time working together to actually beat the Capitol. They've already failed the first time and now that the districts are already fuming over their children dying at the hands of each other, the chances of everyone working together in some idealistic, happy arrangement or whatever shrink with each passing year. I don't mind; the workings of this district are none of my concern, let alone what happened in the other districts. All of them could have been destroyed like Thirteen was and I wouldn't care. Why care for a world that's spurned you? Everyone says that they're trying to achieve worldwide peace and prosperity for everyone, but it's not like that's ever going to happen. People are just too selfish for a society like that to ever work.
When I had the backing of my parents and aunt, everyone used to crowd around me like Reed does, vying for a chance at food, but once my ability to help others had been cut off, they had all abandoned me.
I had hated them back then, but in retrospect, I'm actually grateful now. If my aunt hadn't kicked me out, I would have been stuck in the delusion that people are good at heart for longer than is healthy. At least now I know the truth: everyone is looking out for themselves and trying to change that is just setting yourself up for a fall.
"Welcome, welcome, District Twelve." The escort chosen for District Twelve all but skips to the stage, leaving a trail of rainbows and sunshine in her wake. I shudder at her optimism. Why would anyone waste so much of their time and energy in trying to look a certain way for other people? You might as well be yourself and be reassured that the people who stuck by your side aren't trying to force their ideas upon you. "As is courtesy, ladies first."
She might as well. It's not as if women have equal rights for jobs, pay or a fair trial, so why not change that by having the girls be the first to know which one of them would die in the Games? Isn't that polite?
"Melantha Elvane." The escort smiles. "Ooh, I just love your first name!"
I freeze, unable to comprehend what the Capitol girl had said. Had she actually just said my name?
Well, I shouldn't even be surprised. Knowing how corrupt everyone is, they had probably rigged the Reaping because they wanted rid of me. I wouldn't put it past the authorities - and my aunt - to ensure that only those that don't contribute anything to District Twelve are chosen. Well, only those that the authorities think don't help out District Twelve, anyway; I know far better to think that I'm useless.
It's just that nobody else is smart enough to see my potential, that's all.
Both tributes last year had definitely been the former, however; they were nothing more than scrawny orphans that did nothing but slowly starve to death. They were just another two of the hundreds that deserved everything they got for dismissing me as nothing; Quinn and Arran I believe their names were. It doesn't matter since both of them had been killed off by some crazy Six girl. I can't say it's not anything they don't deserve.
Now I'm supposed to follow in their footsteps? I think as everyone slowly makes way for me to get through. A scowl makes its way onto my face.
I'm better than those other tributes, I'm better than everyone here. A girl like me shouldn't have to share the same fate as those irrelevant brats. And now that everyone knows who I am, I'm in the perfect place to show everyone what I've really been hiding. I know it is!
That's right, a girl like me shouldn't be treated like those other brats and soon enough, I'll be treated like a victor. It's only what I deserve.
Alaric Lyptus (14), District 7 Male
"Is today really the best day to be doing this?" My friend, Kiran, asks, looking nervously at the booklet that has just been left unsupervised on the table. Well, booklet might be an overstatement; a heap of scrap paper would be a better description of it. "This is Cove here. He'll kill you for this."
"Just because he's bigger than us doesn't mean he's better," I retort with a sly grin on my face. "Besides, it's his fault if he leaves his stuff lying around like that. That's basically asking for someone to come along and sabotage it."
Kiran is clearly still worried and I can see why. Cove is sitting down at the other side of the room, laughing raucously at something one of his friends had said, and it's obvious that his presence is unnerving Kiran. I can't fault him there though; Cove is probably double my height, although that's not saying much since I'm pretty small for my age. I'm not even five feet. Kiran's not much taller; something that he gets irritated with on a regular basis. "Come on, Kiran. He'll never catch us. Seriously, have you seen him run? A falling tree has more grace than he does."
Kiran raises an eyebrow at my simile, but just shrugs. "After you then. Just don't blame me when he gets you back for this."
I roll my eyes at how stupid he thinks I am. I, Alaric Lyptus, am not one to get caught by some lumbering oaf like Cove. His idea of getting 'revenge' is getting all of his friends together to hunt down whatever unfortunate soul had pissed him off. Seeing as he's likely to forget whatever you did to him within a few hours once he's cooled down a little bit, all you really have to do is avoid him by hiding out somewhere where he can't reach you and you're good. "So you ain't coming?"
"Unlike you, I don't have a death wish," he says smugly. "Go on then, if you're so daring."
"Oh, I will." My resolve is not at all affected by Kiran's lack of faith in me. In fact, the thought of Kiran's look of awe as I prove him wrong once again makes me chuckle as I start to move away from him.
That chuckle - plus the sly grin that I can't keep off my face - alerts many of the surrounding kids around to the fact that I'm up to no good, as usual. As I stroll over to Cove's table, they give me uncertain smiles if they made eye contact with me, making sure to back away a little bit so that they aren't caught up in whatever's going to happen next. Casually, I saunter up to the table and snatch up Cove's neglected homework with a flourish, running over to the other end of the table before Cove has turned around and realised what's happened.
Waving, I open the booklet to the first page. "Well, well, well, looks like someone hasn't answered the second question. Can't fault you there though; I also struggle with figuring out who the current President of Panem is."
There's some nervous laughter at this which is quickly silenced when Cove glowers at them. I continue regardless. "And did you know that District One's industry is just jewellery, everyone? Truly, I think this deserves to be framed."
"You runt!" Cove growls, standing up and slamming his fists against the table as even more giggles rise from the audience that loosely encircled the table we were stood around. I like to think he did it because he wants to actually be interesting and dramatic in his approach to things, but knowing Cove's lack of intelligence, he had probably done it in order to try and break the table in two. "I'm gonna get you for that! Just you wait!"
"I'd be terrified but," I linger on the last word with a sly grin on my face. "Chances are that I'll be an old man by the time you're done, what with the time it takes for you to think of a plan. Actually, I think thinking at all is an achievement for you, so don't strain yourself there."
His face darkens and he starts trying to push his way through the crowd that were milling about, but nobody's particularly invested in moving out of his way fast enough. "Oh, don't you worry, old man," I say. "I'll give you three seconds head start. One. Two - "
Cove literally shoves over a kid onto the floor in his impatience and the others get the idea, hastily moving out of his way. Before I've finished, there's nothing but a few meters of thin air between us and I realise that now may be a good time to run.
"Three! Catch me if you can!" I quip, trying to sound calm and collected before I suddenly whirl around and sprint away in the opposite direction, ignoring his laughter that sounds too close for comfort behind me. It becomes amplified as the other idiots that Cove hangs around with realise that the Almighty Cove has found another way of embarrassing himself further, causing me to smirk. I'm the fastest kid in this school by far; does Cove really believe that he can still catch me after the other times in which he had failed in doing so? Well, I guess you might succeed after failing about a hundred times before.
Bursting through the double doors of the school, I veer towards the tallest tree in the 'playground', if you can call it that. It's basically an overgrown collection of wilted flowers that shake their heads morosely in the breeze, while dead leaves from the skeletal trees are tapping against the ground like fingers against a table. The entire area is fenced off with a reel of barbed wire that only remains upright due to the ivy that grasps at the metal wire.
In the center of this glorious feat of gardening is a large tree that still has a few reddish-brown leaves swinging back and forth, the tree that I plan on climbing in order to get away from Cove. I don't even care if I have to spend the entirety of my break up here; I have nothing else to do and there's only around ten minutes left until I have to go back for lessons anyway. It's entirely possible that I might not even bother doing that, I think as I shove Cove's work back in my pockets and heft myself up the first branch. At least people seem to realise that I exist when I don't bother doing what they want me to.
What's the point in behaving nicely when nobody ever noticed you? Everyone always drones on about the advantages of being well-mannered, polite and agreeable, but you're never rewarded when you follow their instructions, so what's the point? It's not as if we learn anything that would actually help us in school anyway, so I'm not harming anyone when I decide to point out how stupid the lessons actually are during classes.
Would learning about how 'great' the Capitol really help me in the future when I would - inevitably - be chopping down trees? I'm just just making the couple of hours we waste in this place slightly more entertaining for them, all for the price of being known. There's not a single person in this school who doesn't know me and my name is practically notorious around this part of the district.
"Lyptus!" Cove growls, slamming open the doors with both of his hands. "I'm gonna kill you for that."
"Well, you can go and try. Try being the main word here, since you'll fail once again." I'm now several meters from the ground, a safe enough distance that I can sit on a sturdy branch and not have to worry about Cove reaching me.
He just narrows his eyes at me. "Just give me back my fucking work already."
"You gonna make me?" I taunt, taking out his precious homework and waving it. "Come on then, it's right here."
Cove seems to be considering climbing the tree to try and catch me, but eventually, he just shrugs. You can tell that it's taking him a lot of effort, as he has to exhale heavily first before forcing the gesture. "Alright, you're welcome to it." Cove's still shooting daggers at me even as he starts to slink away from the tree. "Totally, completely and utterly welcome to it."
He snarls out the last part, but he continues to back away and I pout. It's not as if I have any further use for his work now. "That's a shame. Guess you won't mind me using this as fuel for the fire back home then. That's all it's good for."
It's almost comical how quickly he turns around to face me against, seemingly aghast at my audacity. "You wouldn't dare."
"Wouldn't I?" I retort immaturely before I become serious. "Why do you want it so bad anyway?" I ask, somewhat curious as I flick through the pages, feeling a vague sense of amusement at how ridiculous some of Cove's answers are. "Seriously, is this your attempt at pissing off the teachers or something?"
"I spent three hours on that last night," he answers quietly, his tone warning me to not pry any further. If he thought that would deter me, he's sadly mistaken. If I can't have a nice life, then why should he be entitled to one? He's not clever, witty or even attractive, yet he didn't lose a single relative to the war.
If it wasn't for Gran, I'd be wasting away in the local orphanage. It's the only thing I can thank her for.
"You actually put effort into this?" I scoff. "No wonder you're failing everything."
This is enough for Cove to lose his composure again and he slams his fists against the tree. I don't have enough time to get a firm grip on the tree, too caught up in reading his work, and I barely manage to grab onto a branch before I slide off and I'm left dangling over the ground, legs kicking the air in a vain attempt to get a good foothold.
The only thing that I achieve with that is making it marginally more difficult for Cove to grab me by the legs, but the part of the branch that I'm holding onto is too far away from the trunk for my feet to lean against. It's not long before his hands are wrapped around both of my ankles and have yanked me off the tree branch. Being the careless brute that he is, he doesn't bother making sure that I hit the ground nicely and instinctively, I make sure to fall on my forearms and roll over the moment I make contact with the hard-packed earth. The impact is still enough to knock the breath out of me and for a couple of moments, I lie there, trying to catch my breath.
The moment that I've gotten to my feet, Cove snatches the papers from my hands, but much to my surprise, he doesn't make any attempts to attack me. "Bet your family's well proud of you right now, eh, Lyptus?" The casual way he mentions my family makes my hand curl up into a fist that I send flying towards his face, but he catches my hand effortlessly before it hits him, squeezing it until he's restricting the blood flow to my fingers. Cove follows this up with a kick to my knees and they give way under me as I collapse to the floor, defeated.
"Have a nice time at the Reaping."
He backs away with a smug grin on his face before he turns around, effectively dismissing me. Scowling, I rub my hand in order to regain some circulation there. However, that's not the only thing that's left me reeling. It's his snide mention of my family that's causing the tidal wave of emotion to paralyse me here, a mixture of pain and grief threatening to burst out of me and leave me nothing but a wreck. Because he's right; they wouldn't be proud of me. There's no way that they would entirely support the boy that I am now, the boy who regularly skips school, who disrupts the lessons he does turn up to, who takes out every scrap of resentment he feels on everybody else so that they can feel what he's going through for at least a couple of seconds.
Well, I'd take doing that to putting up with everybody's fake sympathies.
Even Kiran's not really that close to me; he only started tagging alongside me after people had started to respect me for my fearless attitude in dealing with the 'teachers' in this school. If I hadn't become well-known, he wouldn't be seen within five feet of me. However, I can't bring myself to care about his attitude towards me. There'll be someone else to replace him sooner or later once the novelty of dealing with 'the Lyptus kid' has worn off for Kiran. It doesn't matter - I have better things to worry about than Kiran's lack of loyalty towards me. Like what can happen at this year's Reaping.
It's happening soon, very, very soon. It's happening today. I have to exhale heavily in order to quell the fear that's beginning to churn in my stomach. Ever since the Games had begun, I've anticipated this possibility, but that doesn't make it any easier to take on board the day that the Reaping occurs. The mere thought of spending my last hours in District Seven in somewhere as commonplace as school only makes me feel more antsy. How can I ever concentrate on being able to tell approximately when natural disasters had occurred from the rings in a tree when this will be lingering on my mind all day? I might as well head over there now. Nobody that I hang around with will be out of class, I don't have a job and going home would only provide me with another slap in the face about who had once shared the same living quarters as me.
Without a second glance at the school building, I propel myself over the fence and start walking down the hill where the school building is located to the town square. There's not much point in going back home and being lectured by Gran. I can already anticipate what she would say about the dirt matted in my hair and my ripped school uniform.
Who cares, anyway? It's not like looking like a street urchin on camera will really matter. Besides, that's what my family are, pretty much. We're only a couple of pennies off being broke, the house we reside in has two rooms and a leaky roof and Gran is in no condition to work in any of the dangerous lumber jobs that are so widespread in District Seven. The only money we can get hold of is what she makes from the occasional job that others citizens need doing.
Despite the fact that I drag my feet against the ground in an attempt to kill time, I'm still earlier than is considered acceptable for the Reapings, judging by the fact that only the racketeers are milling around, casually debating with each other over which kid would be chosen this year; if they would be wealthy, what age they would be, how they'd react and all that boring stuff. As I approach them, I can already tell that most of them are betting on someone older being selected, going by the minority of younger tributes last year.
"Excuse me," I say in the most polite tone of voice I can manage. "I would like to join you, if I may."
One of them just gives me a cursory glance before snorting rudely. "Are you even old enough for the Reaping?"
"This ain't no place for a kid like you, Lyptus," the man, Mr Elway, holding the betting cards replies. I recognise him from the local grocery that's just down the road from where I live. "You ain't allowed at yer age."
"I wasn't aware that betting is allowed for any age, adult or not." I smile innocently. "I'm sure the Peacekeepers won't mind investigating why you're all huddling around here before the Reaping like this, unless they think you're hosting a party."
Mr Elway just scowls, but he's already given me a card. However, I can tell by the poorly concealed smiles on his companions' faces that they were looking forward to seeing me fail at betting. "You'd better make this worth it."
"Oh, I will do. I'll take..." I have to pause for a moment to take out the few coins I'm supposed to be saving for lunch and figure out what odds would make investing with these guys worth it without making myself completely broke in the process. "Five to one on this kid ending up in the Games today."
Quickly, I write down the name on the card with the odds and amount of money I had originally invested before handing it over. Mr Elway gives me a suspicious look when he sees the fact that my 'guess' is so specific. He doesn't let onto this outright, preferring to sneer at me. "Have fun raking that amount over."
"I do believe you stole my line." I give him a mean smile. "See you in the Justice Building later."
With a wave, I depart before he gets the chance to react, sauntering over to the section for the fourteen year old boys. Already, I can see Kiran and a couple of his friends gawking at me and the moment that I've had my blood taken, Kiran sidles up to me.
"No, you may not find out what I did back there," I interject before he gets the chance to interrogate me.
He smirks at me. "Like I need to. Everybody knows how Mr Elway can afford to run that shop. Surprised you'd consider trading with him though."
"What can I say? I'm a man of surprises." I brush off his prying with a shrug and he laughs, although his smile doesn't reach his eyes.
"A man? You've barely grown up past being a toddler!"
"Must make me a real smart toddler if I'm in the same class as you then," I say.
Before Kiran can think of a comeback to that, the escort whirls onto the stage, looking harassed. "All-alright District Sev-Seven, let's get this, this show over and d-done with!" He's barely stammered out that much before he rushes over to the girls' bowl, almost falling straight over into the massive bowl that's required to hold all of the slips. People had made great use of the tesserae system, although since the majority of the community had decided to all take out roughly the same number of slips for each child they had, the odds of being Reaped still remained the same while granting everyone some grain and oil. It's not even illegal. "For our girl, we have April Danica!"
A squeal of surprise pierces the silence and a diminutive, wispy-haired girl is literally shoved out from her section before the escort's voice has died down. There's a comical look of shock on her face. Mouth opening and closing like a fish, she hesitantly steps forwards, as if she doesn't trust her legs to hold her upright anymore. Her brown eyes are already filling up with tears that she makes no attempts to hide as she clambers onto the stage.
The escort pays her no attention, having already announced the next name. "Alaric Lyptus."
I thought that I was prepared, that having him call out my name would be no problem because I had prepared myself for this precise moment, but the jarring sensation of having my name - any name - deformed by his accent hasn't died down since the first Reaping. My breath catches in my throat despite my best intentions, drawing the attention of those surrounding me. My head ducks down for a second to hide from all of those curious eyes before I regain my senses and look straight ahead, trying my best to blink back the tears threatening to fall. I don't want to cry, I don't want to break down now, because once I do, I have no idea when I'll stop and then it really will be over for me.
Kiran's saying something to me, but no sound reaches my ears. I can still tell what he's mouthing to me though. I'm sorry, Alaric. I'm sorry this had to happen to you.
Isn't everybody just oh-so-sorry? I don't want or need their pity; it's never helped me before and it's not going to soften the blow now.
I'm going to die. It's really as simple as that.
