AN: Here's the next chapter and by the way this is my first fanfiction so any reviews are appreciated! Since we don't know a lot about the Capitol I just made a lot of the names of places up based on screencaps and stills from the movie. I don't own THG. I hope you like it!
"Vita! Hurry up we're gonna be late! And I don't want to miss District 4!" Satine yells at me from the bottom of the staircase. It's 7:00AM and I was still attempting to fix an enormous gold flower in my bright white hair that threw in some color to my almost completely white ensemble.
When the flower finally cooperated, I gave a small cheer, rushed past the mirror, and flew down the stairs and practically ran Satine over.
"Ah! You know when I said 'hurry up' that didn't require you to flatten everyone in your way!" She turned to the stairs once more. "Bye Mother, we're leaving!" Then she took my arm with her as she walked out the door, and started for the sidewalk "But if we miss Four, I'm going to rip your flower right out of your hair!"
I threw my head back and laughed. "I'd like to see you try!" And soon, our arms linked, we were on the Glassway heading over to our friend's building.
Taking the Glassway was one on my favorite methods of transportation in the Capitol. It's a giant, glass, tube-like subway, that goes 50 miles per hour (and it's somehow safe), and everyone who's anyone rides it.
We were going to Stellan Matrin's house; well, not really "house". He lived in one of the high rise buildings right off the Avenue of the Tributes and had a fantastic view of the Tribute Parade as well. Our little group of friends has started the tradition of watching the Reapings on his screen. His mother is Dolly Matrin, the District 1 escort so they had great connections that got them a screen so big, it rivaled the Commons. He honestly needed to throw more parties. He has that kind of place.
And for reasons beyond me Satine was obsessed with District Four. I personally liked Five and Eleven the best. They churned out the best underdogs.
On the Glassway, Satine turned to me. "I hear Raedon Rancoff is gonna be there," she said in a hushed, giddy tone while poking me with her finger and playfully raising her eyebrows.
"Shut up," I said. "I'm not into him… anymore. And nothing you can say will make me change my mind." The glass subway pulled up and we boarded.
"What if I told you that I saw him last week and he looks like the younger version of Finnick Odair?" she teased. I glared at her. She knew my weak spot but I would not budge. "And he dyed his hair black so now you guys could be black and white! Ugh, perfection!" she said in a sing-song voice. At this my heart betrayed me and I got little butterflies.
Come to think of it, the contrast would be pretty cute. With my dark golden skin and white hair and his porcelain coloring and stark black hair…
Right after snapping out of my small daydream, I struck back. "I hear Henson Haydin is going to be there," I said casually, turning the tables. Everyone and the Gamemakers knew that Satine was virtually in love with Henson and she wasn't the only one who knew how to use weak spots.
Her eyes widened a little and she fixed her hair. "Fine. Truce." she said. The Glassway pulled up to the stop the street right next to Stellan's building. We walked into the building's lobby, told the hologram who we were seeing and shot up the elevator to the penthouse. There, we were greeted by colorful, smiling faces.
"Vita! Satine! You're just in time! District 1 hasn't even started yet," Stellan chirped happily and I could hear Satine let out a sigh of relief. After mingling with friends and getting some finger food, I found a nice spot on the (equally large) plush couch next to Aelia and Nova, my best friends outside of the family. We tittered away for about a minute until the giant screen shone brightly with the flag of the Capitol and then cut to old Caesar Flickerman looking blue as ever.
"Greetings, citizens of Panem! And welcome to the Reaping Day of the 74th Annual Hunger Games!" Everyone in the room cheered, but immediately turned our attentions back to the screen. "Our first on the list: District 1!"
The screen flashed to the town center of District 1, which produced luxury items for us. It was remarkable how similar it looked to the Capitol; alright, maybe not as glitzy as the Capitol, but certainly close. Dolly Matrin appeared on the screen all smiles and waves and asked the crowd, "Should we do girls or boys first?"With the shouts of the citizens of One combined with the shouts of us here in the room, I thought I would go deaf and have to get a new set of ears!
"Boys it is!" Dolly exclaimed and dug her glittery hand deep into the glass bowl. She pulled out the name of a fifteen year old. Who reluctantly walked up until-
"I volunteer!"Out of the crowd walked a boy of 17. He swaggered down to the stage accompanied by great applause. "What is your name?" Dolly asked. "Marvel Gaius," he announced. "Well it looks like we have a volunteer from District 1!" she said and the crowd mindlessly cheered some more as he gave a big "whoop" as if he was already the Victor.
Then she bounced over the other side of the stage and chose the girl. This time, it was a 16-year old who was reaped and we heard another, quieter "I volunteer." She bounced down to the stage and gave a dazzling smile to Marvel, who she must've known before. After all, Districts One, Two and Four all trained their kids for the Games.
"What is your name?" Dolly asked the bubbly blonde who, at this point, was radiating effortless beauty and danger at the same time.
"Glimmer Trapp," she said. The boys in our room all whistled and I could already tell she was going to get lots and lots of sponsors.
Dolly, almost a little jealous of the girl, cut the applause a bit short and said, "Well everyone give a big hand for your District 1 tributes: Glimmer Trapp and Marvel Gaius!" They all were beaming as they each gave one final wave and pranced into the building.
Then the screen went to District Two, where a 15-year-old girl was reaped and although she was small, she looked like she could kill someone in 100 different ways. Her name was Clove. But the boy was what people were talking about. The 16-year old was all confidence as he volunteered in place of an 18-year-old boy, which astounded us here in the viewing room, but everyone in Two seemed to exchange knowing glances with one another.
He walked up to the stage with a wave of whispers and cheers following him. The escort didn't seem to know him but, I honestly don't think he wanted to. Even from here, the tribute scared me.
"I wouldn't want to be in the arena with him!" said one of the boys in the room which broke our silent awe. Slowly, we all laughed and nodded in agreement. The Reapings continued..
In the middle of Four, Raedon showed up. He came in unheard mostly because of Satine's complaints over the fact that the boy from Four was soo not her type and she can't believe someone more attractive didn't volunteer. I don't think Raedon noticed me but I sure noticed him. He was only a couple inches taller than me now (I had always teased him about his height. Guess I can't do that anymore), and had these striking purple contacts on that really stood out from his dark hair and outfit and made him look mysterious…
I must've been staring at him because Raedon looked over and smiled and gave a small wave. I immediately whipped my head back to screen simultaneously cursing myself for not smiling back.
No one was overly memorable except for the tributes from Eleven. The boy – Tess? Resh?- was going to give Cato some competition seeing as he was also a massive, strong-looking boy. On the other hand, the girl was small, delicate and looked as though she'd never hurt a fly. She was the youngest tribute in the games and her name was Rue. I was definitely going to try to sponsor her, she was so cute! Although we were all a little surprised that no one volunteered for her…
But the most dramatic Reaping by far was District Twelve. At first, another twelve-year-old was reaped but then we all heard frantic shrieking and Katniss Everdeen, who must have been the girl's sister, volunteered in her place. Boy, did she cause riot.
Everyone in Twelve was shocked.
Everyone in here was shocked.
Why? Because no one and I mean no one volunteered in Twelve. It was just unheard of.
The boy was much less emotional. His name was Peeta Mellark.
"He's a cutie!" Aelia whispered to me. I nodded in agreement.
After the Reapings were over, we placed bets. Stellan led us to a big table that displayed holograms of each of the tributes that rotated around the table. Each person could bet on four people: two boys, two girls. When the tributes you wish to bet on come around, you tap the "Bet" button below their hologram and a little congratulations screen appears.
I bet on Clove, Cato, Thresh, and Fawn, the girl from Five. The tributes from Two were a popular bet among all. Only Raedon and Nova bet on Katniss Everdeen.
After betting, we all ate a little more finger food, mingled a little more, and then we bid our goodbyes and left.
On our way back, Satine complained a little more about neither of Four's tributes being as hot as Finnick. "But the boy from Twelve...uh… Pete or something. He's hot!" I laughed and agreed as the glass Glassway pulled up to our stop.