Hello and welcome to the 73rd Annual Hunger Games! This is just an idea that popped into my head, so I decided to just go with it. As you probably already knew, this story with be focusing on Meliah, a twelve year old girl from District 4 who is forced to compete in the 73rd Hunger Games: exactly one year before Katniss Everdeen faces the arena. Enjoy!
Coral and I stare at our reflections in the mirror. Today is our first reaping. Coral wears a white, lacy dress with matching gloves and shoes, while I wear a simple blue dress with plain white flats. Other than our clothes, few people could tell us apart. Being twins, we had the same long, strawberry blonde hair, tan skin, and ocean blue eyes.
"Meliah, what if one of us gets chosen?" Coral asks.
"We won't be," I respond. "This is our first year, and neither of us have taken any tesserae."
We turn around when we hear our father and grandmother walk into the small bedroom that we share.
"We need to leave now," our father tells us. "The reaping starts in less than an hour."
"You girls look beautiful," Grandma compliments, smiling at us, even though there's no reason to smile. The four of us walk towards the town square: my father in front, I follow behind, looking around the beautiful beaches of District 4, and Coral and Grandma trail behind us, having a conversation of their own.
We check in and stand with the other twelve year old girls near the back, and I spot my best friend, Liam, standing closer to the stage with the other fourteen year old boys. Coral's best friend, Pearl, stands next to us. Too soon, the mayor steps forward and reads a long speech about why 23 innocent children have to be slaughtered in the Hunger Games.
After that, our district escort from the Capitol, Erika Rosegold, comes on stage. She is a very short woman- I would probably be an inch taller than her if it weren't for her giant high heels- with short blue hair, pale skin that has a blue tint to it, and eyes that are so dark it's almost creepy. She wears a sea green dress that has way too many fake sea creatures attached to it. I think she did that because District 4 is fishing, but I will never understand Capitol fashion.
"Welcome to the reaping of the 73rd Annual Hunger Games! May the odds be ever in your favor! As usual, ladies first!" She bounces across the stage and reaches into one of the glass balls with thousands of slips of paper.
I silently pray it won't be me. And my prayer is answered, but not in the way I had hoped. The District 4 girl chosen to be in the Hunger Games isn't me.
"Coral Odair!"
No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no!
I freeze, full of shock and terror. Coral's face is pale, and she slowly walks up onto the stage. When Erika asks for volunteers, before I know what I'm doing, I yell, "I volunteer as tribute!" Coral's eyes widen as I run up to the stage.
"Liah, no! Please!" Coral pleads.
"I have to," I insist. I hug her before she is dragged off of the stage, still kicking and screaming.
"Excellent! A volunteer! What's your name, dear?" Erika asks.
"Meliah," I say. "Meliah Odair."
Erika Rosegold clears her throat and asks, "Are you two related to Finnick Odair?"
I nod my head. "Finnick is my cousin. Our fathers were brothers."
"Alrighty, now for the boys!" Erika beams. I don't hear the name she calls, as I lock eyes with my older cousin, who I haven't seen in years.
"I volunteer!" I hear a confident voice say. "I volunteer as tribute!"
I watch a tall boy with light hair and sea green eyes walk up onstage. He looks around eighteen, and I know right away that he thinks he can win with the Careers.
"And what is your name, young man?" Erika asks.
"Adrian Markus!" the boy says.
"Well, it appears we have our District 4 tributes!" Erika announces. I don't listen to the mayor when he reads the Treaty of Treason. I only think if the next couple of weeks ahead. I'll surely be dead by then, I think. I only pay attention when Erika's high pitched Capitol accent says, "both of you, shake hands." We do as she says, and shake hands. "Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor!"
Soon, Adrian and I are escorted to the Justice Building, and we both wait in two large, elaborate rooms. The next hour will be my last one in District 4 before I'm forced to go to the Capitol. I'm glad that I get that time to say goodbye to my friends and family.
Coral, my father and my grandmother come in first. For a while, we all hug each other and cry. I know my time with them is nearly over so I say, "I love you all so much."
"You're strong, Liah," Coral tells me. "Don't count yourself out yet. You can win this."
"Coral-"
"Meliah, please! Just try to win! Promise me you won't go down without a fight!" Coral orders.
"Alright, I promise!" I say, hugging her even tighter. "You'll be okay without me. If I don't make it back home, you all will be okay."
Suddenly, a Peacekeeper enters. "Time's up! Get out!" He barks, already dragging them out of the room.
"No! Liah, don't go! Please! Liah!" Coral screams, making me start crying again. But they're gone. And I'll never see them again.
The next person to visit me is Liam. He sits next to me without a word. Finally, I speak. "I'm going to miss you a lot, Liam."
"I'll make sure that nothing happens to your family," Liam promises.
"Thanks," I say. "I- I just wanted to say that you're the best friend I've ever had. And-"
"Meliah, I believe in you," Liam says. "You need to believe in yourself. You may be small, but you're smarter and faster than most of the others. I know you can do this."
"Thanks, Liam," I say.
"Just try to enjoy the Capitol, okay? I hear that the food is great," Liam jokes.
I smiled. We sit in silence until the Peacekeeper orders Liam to leave. My next visitor is a bit of a surprise.
"Eight years, huh?" Finnick asks.
"Yeah," I say. "Time flies, I guess."
"Meliah, I wanted to come back and stay with you, Coral, and Grandma, you know," Finnick tells me.
"Then why didn't you?" I ask.
Finnick sighs. "It was for your own safety."
"Well, it's too late now," I say.
"Maybe it isn't," Finnick says.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that I'm going to do everything I can to keep you alive in the arena," Finnick replies.
"Well, you're my mentor. Isn't that your job?"
Finnick rolls his eyes. I wish he could stay longer, but a Peacekeeper appears at the door and he leaves without argument. At least I'll see him on the train soon. I don't get any visitors after that. Adrian and I are led to the train station. When the doors close behind us, watching District 4 get further and further away feels like a punch to the stomach.
At dinner, I ask, "So what's the plan?"
"Alright, first of all, do you want to be trained separately or together?" Finnick asks.
"Together," Adrian answers. "If that's okay with Meliah."
"It's better to be a team than to be enemies," I say.
"Okay, then both Mags and I will be your mentors," Finnick says.
Erika loudly clears her throat. "And I'll be helping too. The Reapings were so exciting! The twelve year old cousin of Finnick Odair volunteers for her sister! I'm sure the Capitol will love that!"
I want to tell her that I couldn't care less what the Capitol thinks, but I know I need sponsors to stay alive, so I keep my mouth shut.
"Alright, so Adrian, I heard you trained at the academy for a while. What are your skills?" Finnick asks.
"I can use most weapons pretty well, but I'm best with a trident or a sword," Adrian replies. "I can make a fire and find shelter, but I don't have many other survival skills."
"Okay. Meliah, I know you haven't been trained, but is there anything that could help you survive?" Finnick says.
"Throwing knives," I say. "I practiced with them in case I ever had to go into the Games. I also know how to swim well, and I'm a pretty fast runner."
Finnick thinks about it for a minute. I notice how he bites his lip when he's thinking just like I do- we're more alike in small ways like this than most people realize. "Adrian, you shouldn't have much trouble becoming allies with tributes from 1 and 2. Meliah, you'll have to work extra hard to join them."
"What? I don't want to join them!" I say. "They hunt down the weaker tributes and enjoy killing!"
"I know, but joining their alliance gives you a bigger chance of getting into the final few tributes," Finnick points out.
"Yeah, and it'll give me a bigger chance of being stabbed in the back or killed in my sleep!" I say.
"Well, do you have a better idea?" Finnick asks.
"How about anything but joining the Careers," I say, annoyed.
"Enough!" Mags says suddenly. Finnick and I go silent. "You," she points at me. "Join the Careers. And you," she points to Adrian. "Protect her."
"Mags is right," Adrian says. "If they know I'm protecting her, they'll be less likely to try attacking her."
I look out the window and see the huge Capitol of Panem. "Woah. It's even more beautiful than I imagined."
"I can't believe people actually live here," Adrian says. District 4 is one of the nicer districts, but the Capitol makes it look like nothing.
We drive through the Capitol and people are crowded around the train station, waving at us and cheering. Even though I despise these people for enjoying watching innocent children die, I wave back and put on a fake smile.
Everything in the Capitol is amazing, beautiful, and most of it is completely pointless and impractical. Adrian and I get to stay on the fourth floor of an enormous building that was built just for the tributes. I wake up the next morning and have about an hour of free time before my prep team comes and gets me. I lose track of how much time they spend making me look perfect. And the Capitol standard of perfect is completely ridiculous.
When they finally finish, my stylist, a man in his mid forties with pale purple hair named Kurt, comes in. He looks at me thoughtfully. "Meliah, how would you describe yourself?"
I'm a little bit surprised by the question, but I try to answer. "I don't really know. Antisocial? Prickly?"
"No, that's not what I'm thinking of," Kurt says. "I'm thinking of a girl that was brave enough to volunteer to save her sister, but I'm also thinking of a cute and innocent little girl who would do anything for her family."
"I think cute and innocent is a bit of a stretch," I say.
Kurt gives me an amused smile. "Maybe. But we might as well try something that the audience will like."
"So you want me to pretend to be an innocent little girl?" I ask.
"Exactly. When the Capitol looks at you, I want them to see a cute kid, but also a fighter. I want them to see the real Meliah Odair," Kurt says.
A few hours later, I'm standing next to a chariot the color of the ocean with fake nets decorating it. I wear a long dress with hundreds of shades of blue and green. Adrian wears a similar outfit, but his makes him look taller and more intimidating.
"Alright, when your chariot comes out, I want to see big smiles," Adrian's stylist, Neptune, says. Neptune is worse than Erika- he is even more bubbly and he's happier about the Games than anybody I've ever met. "And can you two please look happy to be here? It isn't every day that you get the honor of competing in the Hunger Games!"
Adrian and I step inside the chariot when we see District 1's going out. It looks like they're covered in... peacock feathers? District 1 is almost as bad as the Capitol. District 2 and 3's chariots start moving, and then ours does.
The crowd cheers even louder when they see Adrian and I. I do my best to smile and wave, and I think I'm convincing enough. Finally, it's over and President Snow gives us a welcome speech. How does he live with himself?
The tributes from Districts 1 and 2 approach Adrian as we get out of the chariot.
"We formed an alliance," the District 2 girl says. "I think you would be useful. So, what do you say?"
"Yeah, we'd both be happy to join you guys," Adrian says.
"Not the kid," the boy from 1 sneers.
His district partner, a girl with blonde hair and icy blue eyes giggles. "We don't let bratty kids into the alliance."
"Well, it's either both of us or neither of us," Adrian says.
"Adrian, really, it's fine," I start to say.
"No, it's not," Adrian says. "Meliah is useful. She's small, but fast. And she's great at knife throwing."
The four of them seems to consider this for a minute. "Fine," the girl from 2 says. "We'll watch her during training and then decide. Fair enough?"
Adrian looks like he wants to protest, but he just sighs. "That's fair."
"Oh, I'm Juniper, by the way," she says, and then points to her district partner. "And that's Victor."
"I'm Diamond," the girl from District 1 says, and winks at Adrian before giggling again.
"Prince," the District 1 boy says.
"My name is Adrian, and this is Meliah." I wave awkwardly, and all of them except Juniper glare at me. At least she seems okay. Not that that's going to matter much when they kill me.
"See you both at training tomorrow," Juniper says, and the four of them walk away.
"Well, they were pleasant," I say when they're gone.
Adrian snorts. "Yeah, right."
"Thanks for convincing them to give me a chance," I say, actually meaning it. "You didn't have to do it."
"We're district partners, right?"
"I know, but why are you being so nice to me?" I ask.
"You're a lot like my little sister," Adrian says thoughtfully. "She was twelve when she was reaped two years ago. I want to win for her. But I want to help you too."
"Well, I think you can either do one or the other," I say.
"I'll know what to do when the time comes," Adrian says. He seems so sure that I decide not to argue. "Well, you'd better get some sleep. Training starts tomorrow."
Please review and tell me what you think. Thank you for reading and have an awesome day!