Moonlight
I feel several girls shove at my side, and turn to see Shine and Belle pushing through the crowd. She steps right in front of me, knocking over a few other girls in the way.
"Watch it!" Calls out a girl.
Shine ignores her and stands in place right in front of the stage. It will be all too easy for me to take her down. Belle stands directly next to her, a protector. Belle is wiry and fragile and has never trained a day in her life. She isn't a threat at all, and Shine must just keep her around for extra caution. That's how Shine thinks; people are only worthwhile if they were useful to her. Ever since I could remember, Shine always had clouds of friends, people that she would use so they she could get something out of them. Over time, people must have realized what she was doing, and now it seemed that Belle was the only one left. The only one still loyal to Queen Shine.
Clarissa tapped the microphone as the music began to play around her, "Is this thing on?" she asked.
Of course it was on. Her voiced boomed over the entire square, especially loud to me in almost the front row. The sound was almost deafening.
"District 1!" She began, "I am so very proud to be here today to represent your district in the 99th Hunger Games!"
There were some applauds throughout the square, mostly from adults and young children, watching. Those of us waiting for the reaping were silent, either nervous or preparing.
"This is one of the finest Districts in Panem, having the second highest amount of victors, you should all be very proud of yourselves, and your children of course."
Clarissa had been our escort for as long as I could remember. She said the exact same thing every year. She was probably glad that she worked for us instead of some outlier district like 12. I can't imagine the escort from 12 would be very proud of their job; coming from a district with the most uprisings and being extremely poor in general. 12 hadn't had a winner in years, not since the last quarter quell.
"First, of course, we have a video to see, straight from the Capitol! Let us begin."
Behind year, the video screen showed the movie that they put on every year.
War, terrible war-
I yawned. Shine sharply turned her head and sent a glare back at me, staring her blue eyes into mine and pushing her lips together. She then turned her head back to the movie, being the attentive little student she is.
The video showed footage of the war the created Panem in the first place, and then showed the districts first rebelling against the government. About 25 years ago, they added a new clip at the end, one showing the latest rebellion, and how it failed so miserably, and how again, the districts had to pay for it. My parents had only been babies during the last rebellion, and didn't remember any part of it. I knew that I didn't want to be a part of a world as warn torn as that. My life now was good, so I wouldn't do anything to risk that. Besides, after I won the Hunger Games, my family would stay safe and rich for generations. Panem had paved a perfect life for me, and I just had to comply.
The video ended showing Capitol citizens standing together in peace, something we could achieve if we refused to rebel once again.
"I absolutely love that video," Clarissa beamed. This close up, I could see the unnatural way the skin on her face was stretched, presumably to hide wrinkles. Today she was wearing a red and white striped pantsuit, with a blue blouse underneath. Her hair was tied into several different knots all over her head, all of the knots different shades of red, white, and blue. Even her shoes were a bright red. She looked like some festive candy, flavored cherry, blue raspberry, and white lemonade, something you would get in the hot days in the summer. A child's favorite flavors of Popsicle.
I clenched my knuckles shut. It was almost time, almost time for me to take my rightful place. There were beads of sweat beginning to form on my forehead. I shouldn't be sweating, should I? I had nothing to worry about, my parents assured me. I had been working too hard for this, and I was better than everyone else, I knew this. Starlight was counting on me.
Glow, sitting in one of the chairs on the stage, checks a watch on his arm. He's obviously getting bored, and Clarissa keeps droning on and on about rules of games that we already know. Glow won one of the first Hunger Games after the last rebellion. I'm pretty sure he locked about ten tributes in a burning cave and waited for them to be burned to death. Pearl is more attentive. She won only a few years ago, a pathetic win. She should have never been in the games in the first place. She hid in the trees, and didn't even fight with the other careers.
Clarissa starts going over our rules for volunteering. In districts 1 and 2, we have different rules for volunteering than the rest of the districts, since we always have so many. There's a lot in district 4 as well, but not nearly as much as us. The other districts volunteer just by someone raising their hand after the reaped tribute is brought up. Here, it's a race to the stage. The first person to make it to the stage after Clarissa asks for tributes will represent the district. That is why I have to be as close to the stage as possible; I need to make sure that nobody gets there before me, or my chance at the Hunger Games is over.
"Well, I suppose it's time-" Clarissa began.
I froze.
"To pick our one lady and one gentleman that will represent District 1 in the 99th annual Hunger Games!" she exclaimed, smiling. Her lips were stretched far too thin; a smile that almost went up to her ears. It was extremely frightening.
"We'll choose the girls first," she said, walking over to the bowl on her left, as if that was some brand new information.
I changed my stance, like a lioness, waiting to pounce. I had to be ready.
Clarissa let her hand swim around in the bowl, as if she thought it would really matter who got picked. She knew as well of the rest of us that the District 1 tribute would come from a swarm of fighting volunteers, rushing to get to the stage.
She picks a piece of paper then, and pulls it out. I tense. If the piece of paper happens to be me, all of my dreams will shatter. It will not matter how hard I have trained and how ready I am to win, another volunteer will take my place, and I won't even have a chance to fight them for my rightful place.
"Diamond Clearwater!" she calls out, reading the paper.
A fourteen year old steps out into the aisle. I don't recognize her; she might attend the training center, she might not. She doesn't look too upset, so she couldn't have been planning on volunteering. She also looks a bit nervous, but she shouldn't have anything to worry about if she doesn't want to enter the games. I will take her place. Maybe she just didn't like the attention, and the nerves were getting to her. That must explain her stumble as she made her way up the steps.
"Diamond," Clarissa said, shaking her hand. She then steps to the microphone.
This is it. The time has come. Every single moment of my life ever since I was a little kid has been waiting up to this. For every person who bullied me and tried to injure me, this would be my reward. This is what I would get for all of the year of hard work I put in in my basement. This is for the proud look on my sister's face that I will see when I return home, a victor. For the way my brother will start talking to us again once he is the brother of a victor.
"If there is anyone wishing to volunteer," Clarissa said, a strain in her voice. I guess this part of the ceremony scared her. Tribute kids, all running up to the stage like savages, all looking for their place. She looked waveringly at several of the peacekeepers that were stationed around the stage, as if pleading for her safety. She didn't have anything to worry about. None of us would run into her, all we wanted to do was to get on the stage. What happened after that was destiny.
"May come up," she stuttered, "Now."
A rush.
That's all I can describe it as. A complete rush. I can feel the air around me being thrown back, and I am thrust into open space. The girls around me are running, and I'm running too, but I can't feel my feet. I can't feel anything. I see Shine's arm in front of me, and I try to grab her and pull her back, but it doesn't work. She shrugs me off and keeps running. Why wasn't I strong enough to stop her? I should have been. I see that Belle has been knocked down by someone, but I don't pay attention. I try to run faster, to catch up with Shine and some other girls, but I can't. Why am I not running faster? I should be faster than all of these girls. I was faster than them back at the training camps, why aren't I faster than them now? It can't be the heels; I've practiced running in them so many times, they're basically sneakers to me. Maybe I'm just out of it. I try to use my brain, make my legs move faster, to jumps farther, but it doesn't work. I step on another fallen girl's hand with my heel, and I hear her shriek, but I don't dare to look back and see who it was. Up above, I see that Shine has knocked some other girls down, and she is the only one left in front of me. Why has nobody bothered to knock me down? Don't they know what a threat I am? I guess I should be lucky, maybe they forgot about the strength I have after all of the years I spent out of the training center. And then Shine starts to slow down. She's almost to the stage now, and I'm still behind her. She think she's won.
Nope.
I force myself into her with all the strength I have, forcing my body onto hers. I may have not had the strength to pull her down before, but my body weight slamming into hers should do something, no matter what state of mind I'm in. I'm right, and she falls to the ground, not unconscious, but clearly startled. I'm shocked and in enormous pain as well, but I saw it coming. She didn't. I stumble for a second, but am able to step over her, and I limp the last few steps to the stage.
Until Shine grabs my leg.
I try to shake her off, but she has a grip so strong, I can't. I have to get her off of me if I want to move forward, so I use my other leg, guess where her is, and strongly kick the underside of her chin.
She shrieks and releases her grip, and I'm able to make those last few strides to the stage. As I walk up the steps, I turn around and see that Shine and I had been the last ones still standing in the aisle. I have won.
Peacekeepers take away Shine, who is bleeding and holding her jaw. She doesn't look at me.
"What is your name dear?" Clarissa asks me, her voice shaking.
I can't answer for a moment. I'm up here, on the stage. I've done it, I'm going to the Hunger Games.
"Moonlight Perionx," I whisper, looking over the crowd. At my district.
"Well, you have it!" Clarissa chimes, the nerves still apparent in her voice. "Moonlight Perionx, your District 1 female tribute!"
There is applaud from the crowd, but mostly whispers from my peers.
"Now for the boys," Clarissa eyes the other bowl and walks over to it, "Let's just get this over with," I can hear her mutter under her breath.
She takes out a piece of paper, and calls the name. I don't remember what it was, it doesn't matter anyway. As soon as the boy climbs the stage and stands next to me, a swarm of boys come running down the aisle. It's not as bloody as our volunteering was, because there is one boy who is clearly ahead of the rest. I recognize him, but I can't quite place his name. He ascends the stage, and tells his name to Clarissa.
"May I present to you Prize Devans! District 1, please applaud for your tributes, Moonlight Perionx and Prize Devans!"
Coda
I don't recognize our escort. He's wearing a gold suit with some ridiculous shoulder pads, and his curly mustache goes off about six inches off his face. He says his name, but I don't bother to remember it. I try not to think about what he's saying. I don't pay attention to the video or the speech. I just don't care.
I'm think about Anna again, about the day she broke up with me. Two months ago, I had just gotten out of training. That was the day the head trainer told me I was definitely his pick to volunteer, and he would discourage all of the boys from trying. I was so excited, and was going home to tell dad and uncle Devin that I was definitely going to volunteer, when I decided that Anna should be the first to know.
I called her, and she told me that I could meet her in her room. Her home was not far from the training center, so I didn't need to walk far. I let myself into her home; after years of dating, I had basically become like family there. Her parents and siblings weren't home anyway. When I got to Anna's room, she was sitting on her bed, doing some homework. Both of her parents were doctors, and she was planning to be one too. I always told her that after I won the games she wouldn't need to study or do anything to more, and she had always laughed. I didn't realize then that she was laughing because to her, the thought of me going into the arena was ridiculous.
"Coda," she said, getting up from the bed and hugging me, "What is it you have to tell me?"
There was a hint of concern in her voice. "Don't worry," I said, sitting us both down on her bed, "This is good news. I promise."
"Well what is it?" a smile formed on her face now.
"Rictor talked to me today," I said proudly, eyeing one of Anna's plants. She had kept plants growing all around her room, I had noticed when we started dating, and I imagined she started when she was younger. Ivy hung from her windows and there was a pink cactus next to her closet, which I've pricked myself on more times than I am willing to commit. Today there is a new one next to her bed. There are so many plants in her room I wouldn't have noticed, but this is one of the only plants with flowers on it. Blue forget-me-nots, I noted, sitting in a little brown pot. I had just been here a couple of days ago, they must be brand new. These flowers would probably die in a couple of months, I didn't know why she would have them.
I focused my attention back to her, "Well, anyway, Rictor says that I'm the best candidate to volunteer in the training center. He believes I clearly have the best shot, and he's gonna discourage everyone else from volunteering."
The smile dropped from her face, and my stomach went with it. "Well, what did you say?" she asked, the words spitting from her mouth.
"What do you mean what did I say?"
"I mean you said no, right? Like-"
"Like what?" I stood up from the bed, "Why would I say no? You know that I've been training every day of my life for this, and this is the confirmation I need to know that I was right all along."
"I know, but I always thought you would change your mind. There are so many other people in District 2 that could play, and you have such a good life here. Your day has a lot of money, you have your uncle's money too, and plus, I'm here, and I thought you wouldn't want to leave you."
"Well, I am going to miss you, Anna. You know I will. I love you. But this is something I have to do. It's something I want to do. Today is such a great day for me, don't you get that? This is the way I can make my family proud."
"There are so many other ways to make your family proud, Coda."
"But this, this is my destiny. I always thought you would support me."
"I thought I could get through to you," she whispered to herself. She then stood up, and her voice grew louder. "Coda, you can't do this. I thought you would give up or something, or I was praying that somebody would eat you."
My mind immediately went back to every awkward conversation with Anna I've had before. Where she'd made sly comments making fun of the game, making fun of my peers, but I thought I was getting through to her, making her understand why I did what I did. Turns out she'd been trying to change me.
I was livid, and if I'd had anything in my hands, I would have thrown it at the ground. "What the hell! You can't be serious right now, you can't be."
She was starting to cry, but I didn't care. "I should have said something, but Coda, these games destroyed my family. Can't you see how wrong they are, you can't go in there, Coda, what if you die? What if-"
"What if what, Anna? What if I die? I won't die, Anna, I'm ready for this! You've seen me in training, you know I'm the most qualified."
"That's what I'm afraid of! You'll kill people!"
"That's how the game works!"
"Yes, and you want to do it anyways! You want to kill them."
The room went silent then, and she sat back down on her bed. "I think you should go."
It wasn't exactly a break up, but we didn't speak after that. When I told my Dad, he said it was a good thing, that she was distracting me.
Now, as I look up at the escort, his stretched words reciting a speech about love of our country or something, I couldn't help but think about how I would love a distraction right about now. I couldn't help it, but I felt nervous. What if for some reason, somebody else beat me up to the stage? What if I wasn't as good as I thought I was?
"We'll start with the women," said the escort, reaching his hand into one of the bowls.
I didn't even realize the reaping was starting, I had been zoning out for too long. The escort made a dramatic gesture of reaching his hand all of the way inside of the bowl, and then letting his arm float around the bowl. Whoever was picked wouldn't be the actual tribute anyway. There would be a battle of the girls trying to get to the front.
He slowly pulls open the piece of paper, "Trazor Klin," he calls out.
I watch a young girl make her way to the stage. She looks more annoyed than scared. She's probably mad that she has to walk all the way up to the stage just to walk down, or maybe she wanted to volunteer and now wouldn't get the chance.
"I don't even know why we reap anymore," muttered a boy near me. I didn't recognize him. "They should just ask for volunteers upfront."
He was probably right. Districts 1, 2 and 4 hadn't had problems with volunteers in years, especially Districts 1 and 2. They should keep the reaping for the other districts, ones that can't afford to train their children, where people likely won't volunteer for the games. It's a waste to have it here; it just wastes time.
Once Trazor gets to the stage, the escort takes her by the shoulder and says, "Now, any volunteers may come to the stage now."
It's almost like something has exploded in the square. At least 40 girls step out of line and into the aisle, all of them running and shoving each other around. I look at the escorts face, and his eyes are wide open. Obviously he's never seen volunteering like this in person before.
Several girls fall to the ground, many of them bleeding. In volunteering, you can't kill the other people, that's reserved for the games. However, there's no rule against injuring them.
I know the girl who makes it to the stage first. She probably personally knocked out half of the other girls on her way to the stage. Her name was Brin, and she was 18, like I was. We had fought a couple of times before, and she was one of the few people that could actually stand a chance against me. I remember she was especially adept at hand to hand combat and strength. One could tell by looking at her; her legs were beefy and her arms were large and toned. Not only that, but she was over six feet tall.
He whispers to her, and then speaks into the microphone: "Brin Pastele, your female tribute, District 2!"
There are applauds while the girls in the aisle stand up and brush the dirt off of themselves. Some of them are more seriously injured and need to be taken out on a stretcher. Once the aisle is clear, the escort makes his way back to the microphone.
I only now look at the victors behind him. Draco and Lutra, same as last year. A good bunch, I could work well with both of them. Both won their games fairly recently.
"Now for the men," the escort steps over to the other bowl. Now it's my turn. I brace myself, and get ready to run. Since Rictor discouraged other people from volunteering, there likely wouldn't be as much competition with me as there was with the girls. Nevertheless, I can't be cocky and assume victory is mine. That is when I surely will be bit in the ass. I have fight to get to the stage with everything I have in me. I owe that to my father.
He is faster picking the name out of the men's bowl. He calls out a name, I don't pay attention to who it is, but I see a guy from behind me move out and walk up to the stage.
The escort grabs his shoulders the same way he grabbed Trazor's. God, I hoped he didn't grab me like that. His fingers looked like they had been sharpened into points of some sort, and I was already nervous enough. Why did Capitol people do these horrible things to themselves?
"Any volunteers?" he asked, more apprehension in his voice this time.
I'm sprinting before I can actually think. Before I know it, I'm halfway done the aisle, with only one person in front of me. I don't know him, but he's so much smaller than I am. With one hand, I lightly brush him aside, and he falls to the ground.
Behind me, I feel someone try to grab the back of my shirt, but I reach back and squeeze his arm. He immediately lets go due to the pain.
I don't stop running until I'm at the top of the stage. I don't realize for a few seconds that I've actually done it, I keep thinking that I have to go farther and do more, but I'm already here.
I look back at the aisle. It looks like only a handful of people tried to challenge my place, and none of them were even close to successful.
"What is your name?" the escort asks me. I tell him, and he turns back to the microphone. He doesn't put his hands on my shoulders, and I'm grateful.
"District 2, please put your hands together for your tributes," he pauses for a moment, "Brin Pastele and Coda Fredericks!"
Emerald
My mother loved her trees.
I guess you have to, if you live around here you have to be. Her parents were lumberjacks too. So she married another lumberjack, and had more children that would become lumberjacks. Everyone needed wood, and everyone always needed more lumberjacks. I learned how to swing an axe before I even knew how to walk.
She thought that the leaves on the trees all looked like jewels. That's why we're all named after green gems. I think she saw the world in a better place than the rest of us did. My dad said that she used to see an ocean in the sky, too. An ocean where she would scoop us all up and take us away. Dad said once she wanted us to all get away once, and would imagine ways for us all to get out of here.
We have to start work when we're very young. We cut down trees for firewood, for furniture building, and our very own house was built from the trees. We live in the middle of one of District 7's many forests, and we cut down the land that surrounds us. It's a long walk even to the shuttles, but I love living out here. I'm not scared of the animals, and I think the trees understand why we have to cut them down.
Something went wrong when she gave birth to Peri. We couldn't afford to go to a hospital, so she gave birth to us all at home. Peri was okay. But there was nobody to save her. Maybe that's why Jade wanted to be a doctor so much. Something bad had happened inside of her, that's all I ever understood. To this day, that's all I've ever been told. I was only three years old, but I can still hear her screaming.
Dad was never okay after that. My older sisters had to teach us how to use an axe because our father couldn't. I think that whenever he looked at us, he saw the green jewels that my mother loved so much.
I try to look back and see my father in the crowd today. He's back there somewhere; he has to be, or he'll be in a lot of trouble. I imagine him curled up in his bed in the basement, refusing to get up.
Peri squeezes my hand as the ceremony begins, and the escort begins to speak. She greats us a happy hunger games, and then shows the video from the Capitol that's shown every year. I've seen it so many times I can practically recite it from word. Peri squeezes her face into my side. This is becoming too real for her, and it will only become worse once she's older, once she has to accept Tessera and her name has to be put in more times. Everyone is nervous during their first reaping, but Peri is special. She'd grown up with no real parents. Our Dad was only really happy a few days of the year, one being the second half of the reaping when he knew that none of us would be going into the games. I think the other half of the time, he forgot we were there, and we always worked separately. I took Peri to school every day, not him, and we made her lunches.
The Games were especially hard for him. One of his friends got reaped and was killed when he was a child. Sometimes, I think he wishes to leave in that ocean in the sky my mom talked about.
The escort was just about to pick from the girl's bowl of names when I heard a loud shrieking noise behind me.
I turned my head to see a woman running out in the aisle, screaming a name.
"IDA!" She screamed, "IDA, WHAT ABOUT IDA?"
A couple of peacekeepers tried to take her down, but she kept fighting them, pushing them off. I recognized who she was. Her daughter, Ida, had been reaped last year. Ida had then killed herself by stepping off her plate early. She had never even given herself a chance at the games.
Watching someone, especially someone from your own district, take their life like that was horrific. We had all been watching then, it was the beginning of the Games after all. I can't imagine how this woman watched, how she watched her own 12 year old daughter decide that choosing death now was better than fighting. I knew then that if I were to ever be picked for the games, I wouldn't do that. I would fight, so that they would know how much I wanted to get home.
I shuddered as I watched her mother scream, obviously trying to make a scene, trying to get in front of the cameras, but many of the cameras had turned off as soon as they heard her screaming. There was pain in her face, and her words got caught on her throat. She was crying, I could see the tears from here. She must have known there was no chance that this would make it onto the TV. There was no reason to get the Capitol or the other districts in a turmoil. They didn't need to see this.
The entire square was silent except for her screams for a while, and I made sure that Peri had her face still tucked into my side. I covered both of her ears with my hands. She didn't need to see this. Especially not today. I knew what would happen next.
Finally, one of the peacekeepers got the mother into a position where she was kneeling on the ground, but she was still screaming, screaming, despite their protests.
"MY GIRL DID NOTHING," she hollered, "NOTHING."
Those were her final words before she was shot in the head.
The sound rang throughout the square, and I could feel wetness at my side. Peri was starting to cry. We had seen executions before, everyone had, but today everyone was worked up enough already. Peri started to shake, and I tried to stabilize her, keep her standing. Only a few more minutes, and this would all be over. We would go home and Dad would be happy.
The Cameras went back up as soon as they took her body up. The escort looked a little shaken up, but they still kept talking as if nothing had ever happened.
That's how we were supposed to go on. As if nothing had ever happened. I thought of my Dad, all the way back with the other adults and young children. I hoped he wasn't looking.
The escort doesn't go right back to the bowl, and instead starts talking about loyalty to the Capitol and to the country or something like that. I don't think anyone's paying attention. I think she's half trying to get herself out of the shock of what just happened before continuing on with the reaping, and half trying to rub in a lesson against rebellion and how grateful we should be. What would she know. She grew up in the Capitol. We couldn't help where we were born as much as she could.
Finally, she steps back over to the girl's bowl. She reaches her hand in, and takes a name right off the top. Slowly, she opens the paper and begins to read. Everything is so. God. Damn. Slow.
I hold Peri tighter. She's started to calm down a bit; maybe the escort's speech did help a bit. Maybe we'll be okay, if just for a little bit. I want her to pick the name. I want her to read it. I just want this to be over.
Careful what you wish for.
"Emerald Oceans!"
My voice carries on throughout the entire square, and I don't realize what just happened. This must be some sort of dream, a nightmare, and my mind isn't processing. But Peri's mind sure is. She starts screaming, just like the woman did before, and tightens her grip on my waist, not letting go, no matter how much the other girls tried. When I came to my senses, I tried to unclench her hands from my skin, but it was no use. Jade and Alexandra came over and helped, pulling Peri off of me. Jade held her in her arms as Peri kicked and screamed. I didn't look at any of their faces. I couldn't. I didn't dare to think of my father.
I made my way down the aisle, forcing my feet to walk. I can feel the eyes of everyone on me; our district isn't that big, I know most of them. I see peacekeepers urging me along, but I couldn't move faster even if I wanted to. I can't think straight, all I can see in my head is trees and the sky, the leaves like green jewels. They really were beautiful.
I eventually make it to the stage, and the escort is waiting at the steps. What is her name again? I can't remember. She's been here for years, but I've never bothered to learn her name. Aggie? I don't know. I think it starts with an A. She grabs my hand and guides me up the steps, moving me much faster than I would like to go. Obviously she doesn't have time for my slow and small steps.
"Here we go dear," she stammered, "We don't have all day. Come along, now. Only one more step. There you go, Emerald."
I stare out in the crowd. I see my sisters and Peri, still screaming. I look away. I don't look for my Dad. I don't know exactly what he is feeling right now, but whatever it is will destroy me. Whatever look I see on his face will tear me apart.
"Your female tribute, District 7, Emerald Oceans!"
There is no applause, and I stare out into the blank abyss. Was it only this morning I was eating at my table, only this morning that I got woken up by my dog. I realize that I never really said goodbye to him. I know it seems silly, since he really is just a dog, but in a lot of ways, he was everything to me. I wish I could say goodbye. I didn't really say it this morning.
Will he notice when they all go home without me? Will he notice when I never return? Will he miss me, or will he forget me forever?
I couldn't believe I was getting this worked up about a dog, when I could worry about so many other things.
Like the fact that there was still another person to be reaped, and that I would have to see my family after this.
"Are there any volunteers?" she asks the crowd, and there is nothing. I know that my sisters won't volunteer for me, and I wouldn't volunteer for them. Any one of us leaving would be detrimental to the family; it didn't matter which one of us it was.
She steps over to the other bowl now. I think her name is Athena. Yes, I think that's right. She's wearing a blue jumpsuit with shoulder pads and a yellow belt. I can't even laugh at how ridiculous it is. I just feel empty.
Again, she picks a name that is directly on top of the pile. I guess there's no need for the dramatics. We've already had enough of that for one day. Her hair has cotton balls stuck in it. They don't even match her outfit. I don't understand. She looks like a circus clown.
She reads the name from the slip of paper, "Pine Pentago!"
Pine Pentago. I don't know him personally, but I've heard of him. I think his parents make furniture or something. He might be year above me, I'm not sure. A boy with brown hair and freckles makes his way to the stage, and I recognize him, but only from passing him in the halls at school and in the streets of the main part of town. I've never exactly had a conversation with him.
He eyes me with trepidation. He doesn't look nervous, which is odd. Maybe he thinks he can take me. I don't want to think about that. I don't want to think about killing him or anyone. When Athena asks for volunteers, the crowd again stays silent.
Lilith
District 1 is probably my second favorite district. It's most people's favorite district, and for good reason. Much like here, the people of District 1 care about how they look.
Everything is made of glass there. They have several skyscrapers, and I can see inside of every one. My mother says this district is her favorite of hers to visit, and I don't blame her. It's so much like home. The buildings glittered like the diamonds this district was known for, and their streets were always so white and clean. District 1 had such a close relationship with us, some thought that the Capitol should just annex them, but this would never work. District 1 had been a part of the rebellion all of those years ago, and they needed to face their punishment, just like everyone else.
Their escort's name is Clarissa. I know all of the escorts by name; it's kind of a dream job for a lot of the little kids around here. Cas still wants to be an escort, she never quite grew out of that faze. It's a difficult job to get though, you have to spend a lot of time modeling and you're picked out of thousands of others that are all trying for the same job. Personally, I think it would be boring having to stay with the same district every year. What if you wanted to root for a district that wasn't yours?
Clarissa is wearing one of the newest designer outfits, and my mother recognizes it immediately. Cas is probably taking notes, wherever she is. She starts making her speech and my heart stops. This is it. This is the beginning.
She plays the video, the video we've seen a million times before, and we'll see eleven more times today. But I don't care. I can recite it word for word, and I love it. Our history, all of it, wrapped up in a little bow.
I run to the closet to grab a notebook then. I almost forgot about it. I find an old yellow notebook, grab a pen, and sit back down in my seat. I need to make sure I have information on all of tributes so that I can remember them and place my bets. For me, bets are just for fun. But after I graduate school and move on into the real world, bets will hold more, and because of my family, people will pay attention to my decisions. I've gotten pretty used to figuring out who had the best chances, and District 1 was one of the most powerful districts.
A name is reaped, but I ignore it. District 1 will have volunteers. Sure enough, as soon as the reaped girl gets to the stage, there is a stampede of girls running down the center aisle.
"I remember the District 1 girl from last year," my mother said, unimpressed. She crossed her legs, "I liked her. Shame. She almost made it."
I nodded. Last year's tribute was Jewel. Third place.
Something interesting happens on the screen; the one girl in front starts to slow down as she nears the stage, thinking she's won. That was her first mistake. There is only one girl still standing behind her, going considerably slower. She's clearly not as powerful or fast, and she's wearing heels and a dress. But she slams herself into the girl in front, and she falls.
"Never get too cocky," my father warned, shaking his finger.
The slower girl is able to make it to the stage, having to kick the other girl in the face once.
"She's lucky," my father said, "She would have never made it, people just didn't bother with her because she thought she wouldn't make it," he shook his head, "A shame. She won't be able to keep up with the other career tributes."
I nodded. The girl on stage was smiling, but she wouldn't make it far. As Clarissa announced her name, I wrote down in my notebook:
District 1 - Moonlight Perionx - Not Likely.
The boy picked was named Prize Devans, and he had a much better chance in my book. After a moment of applause, the screen switched back to Caesar.
I couldn't imagine anyone living in District 2.
Everyting was so gray and black, it looked more like a military base than a place to live. How could someone raise children in a place like this? Apparently those children grew up to be victors. District 2 tributes were always people you had to keep your eye on.
The girl, Brin, who is reaped, looks pretty strong. I say she'll be a tough contender, and my Dad agrees. I know he rooted for the girl from this district last year, Ellia. She ended up placing fourth, after being killed by Jewel. The boy has little to no trouble getting to the stage, and he's even taller than Brin.
"Looks like district 2 has a tough bunch this year," my mother comments.
The first part of district three goes normally, with a girl being reaped and there being no volunteers. Besides District 4, the volunteering basically stopped after District 2. However, when a boy is reaped, someone immediately starts yelling. I think it may be the boy or one of their family members, this happens occasionally, but instead it's another boy. He's about the same age as the boy who was reaped, 18, but that's where the similarities stopped. They looked absolutely nothing alike, so they were not likely related. He ends up volunteering in the other boys place.
I write:
District 3 - Flash Inkard - ?
I started to get a bit sad around District 4. The girl I rooted for last year came from this district. Lottie.
She had been a small twelve year old, and nobody quite knew why she volunteered. Everybody said that she took away from a District 4 Tribute that would have actually done well. Even the rest of the careers and her own district partner rejected her. Her training score was abysmal, but there was something about her that I loved; the way she volunteered with determination. And she ended up proving everyone wrong in the arena. Turns out she knew how to hide pretty well and she was pretty handy with a spear. She actually killed the District 1 tribute, one of the tributes that had rejected her from the beginning. In the end...
Well..
In the end she ended up placing second. I was heartbroken, especially about the way it happened.
Anyway, the District 4 Tributes this year are nothing like her. A girl named Odessa volunteers, and though she looks young, there's fire in her eyes, and she has developed muscles around her arms and legs. Her hair is a red color that couldn't possibly be natural, and the camera zooms in on her green eyes, which surveys the crowd in front of her. I think she's about fifteen. The boy is named Titan, and he looks a lot like the tribute from last year, Rone, that everyone bet on.
Districts 5 and 6 pass through normally, both of them putting up normal Tributes. I didn't think it was likely that any of them would survive the bloodbath; none of them wanted to be there. I thought District 7 would be something similar.
Just about as the escort in District 7, Athena, was about to put her hand into the bowl, the footage cut to Caesar again, who started talking about technical difficulties. I saw my mother's shoulders tense up. There weren't technical difficulties anymore; the Capitol had perfected their technique of broadcasting over the years. Something had happened in District 7.
Immediately my mother started typing something on her portable screen, and I knew better than to ask questions. When anything anywhere went wrong, it always worried my mother. Her father was the former president and her brother is the current president. She is always in danger from rebellious people. I just hoped that whatever was happening in District 7, that it wasn't too big of a deal. Caesar didn't seem to waver; he was still smiling and talking about camera troubles. He asked what we thought of the Tributes so far, and he talked about how strong the career tributes looked. Of course, that was obvious. A toddler could have made a similar observation. He was trying to stall, to do something to fill in the time.
After my mother received a message, her back eased, and soon Caesar was gone again with District 7 back in the picture. Athena was smiling and talking as if nothing had happened, but obviously something had. She wasn't at the bowl anymore, and nobody had been reaped. There were some whimpers from the crowd, and I noticed that there were more peacekeepers crowded around the aisle than there were before. I looked closely at Athena, and I noticed that there was a slight edge to her words, like she was nervous about something. She was going on and on about loyalty to the Capitol, a speech that the other escorts hadn't made. Finally, she picked a name from the girl's bowl: Emerald Oceans.
A girl, about 15, walked down the aisle. They had to tear a small girl off of her. She walked slowly, like she was walking down the aisle at her wedding. She wasn't dressed nicely, even though she wasn't a career tribute and wouldn't need to fight to volunteer. Cas would not approve. I would normally brush her off, but you had to be wary with District 7 tributes. They were good with weapons. The boy is picked, his name is Pine, and he doesn't look very nervous. I think that's odd, since he didn't volunteer, but maybe he just knows he's prepared. I write:
District 7 - Emerald Oceans - Neutral
District 7 - Pine Pentago - Confident, could do well
Nothing about the rest of the ceremonies are abnormal. I noticed Silver Winnings sitting at the back of the stage during the ceremony at district 10. She was the winner of the last Hunger Games, beating Jewel and Ellia and Rone and Lottie. She must be the mentor for her district now. The girl reaped there struck out to me too, her name was Normandy, and she refused to shake her escort's hand.
District 10 - Normandy Jester - Stubborn
District 12 came last, and both of my parents rolled their eyes. This was the smallest district, but it was also the district that give us the most trouble. They had started training tributes for the games a few years ago, presumably to try and have more winners and more power. It didn't work well. They were poor, and didn't have a lot of money for training. They hadn't had a winner since the 74th Hunger Games, and currently, they were the only district to not have any victors that were still alive.
I get a message then, as the screen turns back to Caesar. It's Abel; I hadn't expected him to message me today.
Abel: Can we meet up?
Lilith: Sure. In a few minutes. Where?
Abel: The Bench.
The bench was a place in the woods behind my house where we found an old park bench one day. It was a place, that to our knowledge, only me, him, and Cas knew about.
Lilith: I'll be there soon.
I tell my parents I want to go on a walk, and they tell me I have five minutes or they will send out guards looking for me. They want to discuss the Tributes together.
I walk out the back yard and head straight toward the woods. It takes a few minutes to even get to the bench, so Abel and I won't have much time to talk.
When I get to the bench, he's already there, leaning against a tree.
"What's up?" I ask, "Why didn't you just come to our house? You know my parents wouldn't turn you away-"
"I needed to see you," he said.
"Why?" I asked, smiling, "You'll see me tomorrow. At school. Remember-"
"I'm not coming back to school."
The words hung in the hair for a moment before I realized what happened.
"What, why? Is everything alright? We only have a few months left, Abel-"
"I know, but this is important. And something has come up. I...I have other things to do."
"What types of things? Does this have something to do with your brother? Abel, please-"
"No, no it has nothing to do with him," I could tell in his voice that he was lying, "I...I just figured a few things out. You wouldn't understand."
"What makes you think I won't understand?"
"You're too far gone," he mumbled, and walked away. I yelled a few times, but he didn't answer, and just kept walking. I would have chased after him, but I needed to get back to the house before my parents sent the entire Presidential Guard after me.
When I return home, I see my uncle sitting at our dining room table.
"What are you doing here, Uncle Posy?" I smile, trying to forget my conversation with Abel. To everyone else, the man I just called Uncle Posy is President Snow. "Isn't it a big day? Shouldn't you be home?"
"Well that's precisely why I'm here," he stands up and gives me a hug. It takes him effort to stand up, he actually has to press his arm down on the table to help him.
"Your parents and brother are upstairs, I told them I wanted to speak to you alone."
My face fell, "Is everything alright?"
"Oh yes, it's quite fine, I was just watching the reapings today, and a thought came over me, a thought I cannot ignore. Can we sit down?"
I nodded, and sat down on the chair next to his.
"Anyway," he went on, "As you can see, my...condition...it's slowly getting worse, I'm afraid. And I realized today that when it gets the best of me, I will have nobody to take my place."
"Don't think like that," I put a hand on his arm, "I'm sure the doctors will find something. You're the best President we've ever had."
"I know the doctors are doing their best," he went on, "But I need to make sure I have a back up plan. Your cousin, Miranda, she wants nothing to do with the Presidency or politics. And I want to make sure the Presidency stays inside the Snow family where it belongs. And I've seen your reports from school, Lilith. You make top marks, and you're the captain of debate team.
"What are you saying?" I asked.
"I'm asking you," he said, "If you would be willing to be my candidate for the Presidency after me."