Chapter Three:
District Three's Reaping
~~Leven Aster's Point of View~~
"Leven, wake UP!" Leven's younger sister Spark yelled. Leven opened her eyes to a small red-headed girl leaning over her. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up, her little sister moving out of the way. "Wow, that was way more effective than I thought it would be!"
"Well, it was better than last time…" Leven mumbled, remembering when Spark woke her up the year before on Reaping day. Spark had rubbed her socks on the carpet all the way to Leven's room and zapped her with a finger of static electricity.
"That way was so much fun!" Spark said. She had always had a great love of electricity. Her real name was Sophia, but Leven and their mother had decided early on to call her Spark, because it fit her way more than Sophia did.
"For you…" Leven stumbled out of her tangled bed covers and approached the mirror in the corner of the room. She wasn't too surprised or impressed with what she saw: long blonde hair that was always wavy, pale blue eyes that she was told she got from her father, and flawless but pale skin. When she was younger, she was ashamed of her unimpressive blue eyes, and her pale skin, but as she grew older, she began to love the things that set her apart from the rest of the brunettes in District Three. Her sister was also different looking than the rest of the district: Spark had bright red hair and beautiful emerald eyes that stood out, as compared to the average brown hair and brown eyes of the rest of the District.
Leven reached down and grabbed the hairbrush that she shared with Spark. She brought it to her head and began brushing through her thick wavy locks. She gently but effectively brushed through all of the morning's snarls and knots until her hair was smooth and silky.
"What time is it, Sparks?" Leven asked as she grabbed her favorite Reaping outfit: a simple but revealing sundress. She pulled off her plaid pajama shorts and red tank top and threw them into the clothes hamper carelessly. She slipped on her normal underclothes, then slid on the sundress. It was low cut, and trimmed with an orange silk trim on the neckline. The dress was made to look like a tunic from the Ancient Days in Greece, a majestic place that Leven read about when she was younger. She had always had her head in a book when she was younger, and had become very interested in Ancient Greece. She also slid a gold headband around her forehead.
"It's 11:15. You slept in REALLY late this time!" Spark said loudly.
"Is it really 11:15?" Leven asked, afraid of the response Spark was going to give. She had this annoying habit of always saying a rounded time and then the exact-
"Got you! It's really 11:17!" Spark threw her head back and laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world. Leven thought Spark's maturity level and what she thought to be funny made sense since she was only eleven, but she had used the same "joke" so many times, Leven was starting to wonder…
"Oh, Sparkie…." Leven said. "Are you dressed yet?"
"You didn't notice yet? It's the same dress you wore on your first Reaping! Only it's not my first Reaping, so the sentimental value decreases a little there, but whatever!" Spark frowned for only a second, but then stepped out from behind the bed, and showed off the simple yellow silk dress that Leven had worn when she was twelve. It was hard to believe that was only four years ago. Four years ago, Leven's father was still alive. Four years ago, Leven had an older brother…
"Breakfast!" their mother yelled from the kitchen, pulling Leven from her memories. Stop thinking about that. It's done, it's already over. You can't change what's already happened, Leven scolded herself.
"Leven, come on!" Spark yelled, then stopped. "Leve, stop thinking about that! The past is gone." That was the first time that Leven had heard Spark be serious. And even though Spark was only seven when IT happened, she knew that Leven was thinking about it when she saw the face.
"It smells like bacon!" Leven said, cheering herself up. She didn't want Spark to think about that dark day, so she cleared her mind of all dark things, completely forgetting about the Reaping and that her name was in there four times, and skipped down the stairs with Spark's hand in hers to the smell of bacon.
~~Cres Ebyaz Point of View~~
"Cres!" his mother called. His head snapped up to the window of her bedroom that was located on the second floor. "Cres, help us!" He couldn't figure out why they needed help until he saw the orange flames, smelled the musky and sickening scent of the toxic gray smoke. She was flailing around, freaking out.
"How do I help you?" he yelled up to her. She couldn't hear him apparently, so he yelled again: "Mom, how can I help you?" Cres didn't want to run into the burning building, but he knew that if he wanted to save them, he would have to. She still couldn't hear him. He decided to take action. Cres knew that it was a very stupid thing, and that he would get himself killed, but he ran into the house that would no longer be a home.
He could barely make it up the stairs. The smoke filled air combined with the searing licks of the flame made his journey upstairs excruciatingly painful, but he was determined to find his mother, father, and grandmother. His feet finally hit flat ground and he dropped to his knees. Cres crawled forward. His eyes were squinted to keep the amount of smoke in his eyes minimal. So, he was very surprised when he ran into a lump as he was crawling. He rolled the lump to reveal it and found his grandmother. She was severely burned, the skin swollen and red. There were rashes snaking up her arms, and Cres found a spot on her face that was completely burned to the bone.
"Ahhhhh! Grandma!" he yelled, uncovering his mouth that had previously been cpvered by a crude shirt sleeve. Suddenly, he heard a piercing scream and felt a searing, intense pain run up his back and through his left arm. He screamed and yelled in agony.
"Oh, God! Help me! Ah-"
"Cres, wake up. It's just a dream. You're okay," Cres' grandmother, Whip, cooed softly into his ear. His eyes fluttered open and were met with the sight of his frail grandmother.
"Oh, Grandma, you're still alive!" he said in a relieved voice. He sat up and hugged her softly, careful not to hurt her eighty-eight year old body. Even though he was fourteen, he still loved his grandmother with all of his heart and showed affection towards her.
"Don't worry, my sweet Cres. You saved me last year, remember?" she whispered into his deep black hair. His eyes filled with tears as he remembered that terrible day.
"But- but- but… I didn't save them," he whispered. "I couldn't save them…"
"Cres, you're not perfect, okay? You're not a super hero, you can't save every one. You did save me, though." Cres loked up at her through his blurry eyes, and saw her icy blue ones were sparkling.
He nodded silently. She let him go, and slowly maneuvered her way off of the creaky old bed. Cres watched her hobble to the door, and fumble to get a grip on the knob. He was tired, and did not feel like getting up, but he didn't want her going down the stairs alone. He nimbly ran to the door, and she moved to the side. Cres pushed open the door, and held it open for her. She slowly made her way out of the doorway, and he took her leathery, wrinkled hand in his. They carefully the steps down the stairs, and finally found themselves in the grimy kitchen. Ever since Cres' parents had died, Whip had been getting more forgetful, and Cres was too lazy to clean. So the house was slowly getting dirtier. And Cres had began to realize that pretty soon he would be all alone. She would be dead… gone.
"Hungry?" he asked as he rummaged through the cupboard. She nodded. All he could find was a can of dusty oats and a small bag of brown sugar.
"We'll have to wait and see how this goes…" he murmured to himself.
About a half hour later, Cres and his frail grandmother were eating mushy and oversweet oatmeal. It wasn't the best food that they had ever had, but it certainly was better than nothing.
"So, today's the Reaping," Cres said grimly.
"It is, is it?" she replied.
"Yeah. I'm in there five times now, not three. Do you think I'll get Reaped?" he asked. It hadn't really been on his mind recently, what with her deteriorating health and all. But now it felt like it was all coming down on him. Would she be able to live if he weren't there to help her? He didn't want to think about what would happen to her if he died.
"Oh, son. You can never be sure. Some say everything happens for a reason, like fate, and others just believe in random events that cannot be avoided or altered. It's all what you believe in. Your beliefs are powerful enough to change your future. It was scientifically proven a while back," she said with a smile. "Go get dressed now."
He ran upstairs and threw on his slightly fancy black dress pants and his dressy white shirt. He took a quick look in the mirror, and combed his crazy black down hair down a bit. Then he raced back downstairs to the kitchen. Cres took stole a quick glance at the old clock on the wall and it read 11:45. Perfect timing, he thought to himself.
"Let's go to the Reaping, Grandma," he said. She scooted out of her chair, grabbed her cane, and together they wobbled out the front door to the District Three town center.
~~Leven's Point of View~~
After a delicious meal of bacon, eggs, and waffles, a very rare and fluffy treat, Spark and Leven made their way to the brightly lit district square, passing the district's well-known power tower that had a huge LCD screen that read "Happy Hunger Games, District Three!"
Once they arrived in the town square, Leven and Spark split up, Leven to the Reaping section, and Spark to the Watcher's section. Leven got her finger pricked quickly, wincing slightly at the sharp pierce. She headed towards the sixteen year olds' section where she found her friends Circuit, Thimble, and Astrid waiting for her.
"Hey, Leve!" they all called to her. She nodded to them and smiled as she arrived.
"Looking down-to-earth as always, eh?" Astrid said. Leven grinned lopsidedly and spun around.
"Yea-" The rest of Leven's sentence was cut off by the shrill voice of their district escort, Rainestar DeFawn.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Reaping for the 32nd Annual Hunger Games! A Woop-Woop!" she said then paused, waiting for applause that never greeted her. "Nothing? Okay, that's fine! I present you, your mayor Elise Rathebone!" Mayor Elise walked up to the microphone calmly and smiled warmly.
"Welcome, citizens. I have an announcement before we begin the Reaping and the speech: a certain individual was not able to make it to our Reaping today. We have been informed that someone is currently caring for her, but that she is in a critical condition. My condolences go to her and her family," Mayor Elise said. Oh, that poor woman! Leven thought.
~~Cres Point of View~~
Oh my God! Oh no… It's her. It's Grandma! Cres thought. He looked out into the somber crowd of Watchers, but didn't see her leathery, wrinkled face in there. Oh no.
"Anyway, we must talk about our past. The Hunger Games were started as a way to show the Districts that…" Elise continued, but Cres tuned it all out. He was thinking about his grandmother. How he hoped that the ill woman was not his wonderful grandmother. Cres was staring out into space, drifting away from the world when a familiar voice brought him back.
"Cres?" Dahra, Cres' friend, asked. He snapped his head toward her and smiled. He took in her long wavy brown hair and her chocolate brown eyes, much like those of the other district citizens. But there was something about her eyes that he really liked. Maybe the way they glinted when she saw him, or the way they sparkled when she got a great idea.
"Yeah?" he asked in response.
"What's wrong? You seem a little off today."
"It's just…" He hesitated, unsure if he should tell her personal things. He decided to. "It's my grandmother. I think it was her that Elise was talking about."
"Oh, Cres!" she said. She suddenly took him into a big hug, wrapping her slender arms around him. He stood there awkwardly for a second, but hugged her back. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, and they broke apart.
"It's… It's fine," he said with a deep breath. "I just… I just don't know what I'll do when she's gone, you know?"
"I'll ask my parents if you can come live with us! Those Community Centers are just awful!" Dahra said. Cres felt a little better but not by much.
"Okay! Now for the exciting part of the Reaping ceremony: the actual Reaping!" Rainestar squealed. She strutted over to the crystal bowl on the left side, the female bowl. She reached in a grabbed a slip of paper. Rainestar came back to the microphone and read the name.
"Leven Aster!"
~~Leven's Point of View~~
Oh my… I guess I have to go… Leven thought to herself. Leven's friends looked shocked and scared after her name was called. Thimble was shaking her head, but Astrid gently touched her wrist and she relaxed. Leven was confused at Thimble and Astrid's actions, but didn't spend time thinking about it. She slowly walked up to the makeshift stage and was greeted by Rainestar and the one mentor, Electrus Blade. They both smiled at her as she walked onstage. She smiled back out of politeness, not happiness. She came and stood next to Rainestar by the microphone.
"Oh! What a pretty name for such a pretty young girl!" Rainestar said. "Now for the boys…" She went to the other crystal bowl and grabbed the boys slip of paper and returned to the microphone. Her head came back and she twisted up her face. "What a strange name…" she muttered, then, louder, she said, "Cres Ebyaz!"
Leven looked out into the crowd and saw a young boy with dark black hair and fairly dark skin approach the stage. He walked up the crappy stairs and stood next to Leven. He looked up at her with dark brown eyes that were filled with tears.
"Ladies and gentlemen of District Three, I present you with the tributes for the 32nd Annual Hunger Games, Cres Ebyaz and Leven Aster!" She grabbed each of them by the wrists and thrust their wrists in the air. "You may shake hands now!" Leven looked kindly down at the fourteen year-old boy and offered her hand. He looked shocked at her friendly gesture, but returned it.
Eventually, two Peacekeepers came up the stage and took the young tributes to separate rooms in the shiny Justice Building. Leven waited in her room on the plush couch for a little bit. She took in deep breaths to keep herself calm. Her fingers entwined and untangled themselves again and again.
Finally, her mother and Spark burst into the room. Leven was overjoyed to see them. Spark threw herself into Leven's open arms. She ran her fingers through Leven's long wavy hair.
"Leve, please come back! How long will you be gone?" Spark asked, still clinging to her big sister.
"I can't necessarily give a definite answer to either of your questions, Sparkie. I can't tell you I will come back, because I have no idea if I will. I'm sorry. I also have no way of knowing how long the games will last. I'm so, so sorry," Leven said. She felt bad for being so to-the-point, but it was pretty damn hard to sugar-coat anything having to do with The Hunger Games.
"Oh. Okay," Spark said, devastated.
"Honey, this is for you," Leven's mother leaned across the table and put a bracelet into Leven's hand.
"What is it?" Leven asked.
"It's part of the wire that… lead to the accident. It gives me the feeling of being near them," she replied. Leven nodded and wrapped the bracelet around her wrist.
"Thank you guys so much. I love you so, so much. I want you to know that if I die, okay?"
They both nodded and Leven felt like what she needed to get across was across.
Two gigantic Peacekeepers came in and hauled Spark and their mother out of the room, and final goodbyes were said.
No one else visited Leven in the Justice Building, which surprised her because she thought that her friends from the Reaping would come. They had been acting a little weird at the Reaping… Leven sighed and realized that it was a fact that she was never going to see her home district again. Ever.
~~Cres' Point of View~~
Cres sat in the luxurious room, waiting for someone, anyone, to walk into it. He sat and waited, patiently at first, but then he began to realize what was going to happen to him soon. He was going to leave his home, most likely forever, and die. He started to weep and sob, the loud sound shaking the huge room. He cried until his throat hurt and until his nose was stuffed all the way. Then, finally, someone came in and saw him. Cres didn't recognize the woman who came in.
"Hello, Cres. My name is Diana, and I'm a representative of Caring and Sharing. I'm here to inform you of the most unfortunate thing: your grandmother Whip Ebyaz passed away today at 12:16. I'm so sorry to have to tell you this," the woman, Diana, said in a calm and soft voice. Cres sat and stared at her in disbelief. He ahd already kind of knew this was coming, but the words she spoke were certain. There was no "maybe" or "but". It was totally true. And now Cres was an orphan.
"Oh, God. I can't believe this…" he whispered into his hands.
"Cres, I know that this is hard to get by, but you will have to. If you win and return, we have you signed up for sessions with a psychologist to help you cope with your losses, alright?" Diana asked kindly. He nodded his head, and shrugged off her attempt at an awkward hug. He barely noticed that she had left him. He was an orphan now… He had nobody.
None of Cres' friends visited him either. He truly did have nobody who cared for him anymore.
A/N: And another chapter bites the dust! If that really makes any sense… Anyway, this chapter is a lot shorter, I know, but it was WAY easier to write. Faster, smoother, and all that jazz! (wow…I make song references A LOT!)
Shoutouts:
CaptainCherryBlossom- Thank you for your PM's and your awesome tribute: Leven!
The Peacekeeper- Thank you for sending in another amazing tribute: Cres!
Potterheaded-mockingjay-fly-on- For your interesting PM convos and constant support!
Innocent Primrose Everdeen- Thank you SO, SO much for all of your reviews, conversations and tributes that are yet to come! Woohoo!
GleeTheaterHorseNerd-Thank you for your reviews and conversations! (Check out her story guys: she's a really great writer:D)
Ummm… That's all that I can think of. I'm pretty tired right now, and I have ABSOLUTELY no idea why, but I always update at around midnight. And I'm not really that much of a night person! Weird…
Okay, so here are the trivia answers from last week:
Suzanne Collins
Ryan
Grain/Wheat
The rose-scented lizards (no one said those ones…), Traker-Jackers, the Wolf mutts of book one, jabberjays, and mockingjays
Left ear
About six inches
Great job to everybody who answered those questions! And here are this week's questions:
Who plays Cinna in the Hunger Games movie?
What is the name of the girl who spoke to Cres at the Reaping?
What District is Johanna Mason from?
Same points system again here… Easier questions I think! Just to clear up any confusion: there's only three questions here as compared to six from last time because last time I was making up for the lack of questions in chapter one. From now on, there will only be three questions, unless otherwise stated by me!
My friend Kaitlandia 101 is making an SYOT, and she needs some tributes! Now! Go to her profile and enter a tribute! She will definitely love a review and a tribute!
Next update will not be until I get seven reviews guys! Okay? I want SEVEN! Is it that hard? Remember the reviews save lives lesson from last time? :D
Also: if you would like to, and if you have any free time, please check out my other stories, Unbreakable and Anything For You, Katniss. Yay! I think this is all that I need to cover here… I will also be starting a playlist for the chapters if I don't feel lazy.
Read, love, and review!
