.:.:Jenifry 'Jen' Tranen, 13:.:.
I stay still as Lilly coats my lips with the palest pink lipstick she could find.
"You look perfect now," she says, pulling away and grinning at her masterpiece.
I smile like a fool back at her. "This is going to be the best year ever."
Everyone in the district knows I'm volunteering. I don't want to, of course, but my parents say that I'll have to participate for the Hunger Games while I'm able to if I want the Tranen family fortune passed down to me. Lilly doesn't want it. She wants to get married and have a family. I don't, because my kids would have a chance to get reaped and killed. I want to live alone in my little – no, huge – Victor's Village house without worrying about losing one of my children to the Capitol.
Sitting up, I straighten the hem of my sky blue dress. "I'm going now. I'll meet you at the square."
Lilly nods and sits down on the makeup table herself. She's not volunteering, but she always wants to look her best, even when she's watching her sister volunteer for her own death sentence.
Of course, I'm not going to die. I'm a guaranteed victor.
I slip on a pair of sandals and walk out of the room Lilly and I share. There're lots of rooms in our house, but me and Lilly share one room because Lilly loves doing my makeup in the mornings. My father is reading the newspaper in the kitchen while eating his breakfast, which my mother made. He looks up and smiles at me.
"There's my beautiful victor," he says. My mother looks up from her frying pan as well and beams at me.
"You look amazing, darling," she says while flipping a pancake. "Do you want breakfast?"
"Sure," I say and take a seat at the counter.
I don't know why, but despite how much I hate the fact that my parents, I can never really bring myself to hate them. Oh well. I guess that's just the way the world goes round.
.:.:Onyx Ruber, 15:.:.
To be honest, I think I hate the Capitol a little less this year.
Well, to begin with, I never actually hated the Capitol. I just disliked them with a passion.
This year, there could be two victors in the Hunger Games. There's a possibility that Jenifry, the girl who is volunteering, and I will make it out of the arena together alive and not have to face each other's families who hate us when we get back. But then again, we'll have to face the parents of the other tributes and that will not be pretty.
Not that I'm actually going to volunteer or anything. Well, I think I'm not volunteering. I'm only fifteen and I don't think I'm exactly ready yet for the Games. Maybe when I'm eighteen or seventeen I will, but not now. Still, if I get reaped, that would be pretty cool. I would be able to go to the games and die without regretting volunteering. Not that I'm going to die.
"ONYX!"
"Beautiful morning, isn't it, Mother?" I smile as my mother walked up to me with a frown of disapproval on her face.
"Don't you mother me," she says, wagging her finger at my direction. "What are you doing here? The reaping's in less than an hour!"
I roll my eyes. I'm under the old oak tree growing in my backyard. Yes, our yard is big enough for an oak tree. My father works for the Mayor and my mother is s jewellery designer. "Mother, I don't see what you're trying to tell me."
She groans and puts her hand on her forehead. "Just get ready, Onyx. I don't want you missing the reaping this year. There's actually a chance someone like you can win the Games this year."
Ouch. That hurt, Mother. But it's true. I'm too nice to kill twenty-three people in the arena. I guess twenty-two isn't much better, but at least I can have an ally with me.
"Now, now, calm down, Mother," I say, standing up and brushing the grass from my jeans. "I'm going, I'm going."
"Good," she says. "I prepared your suit for you. You better not be late, mister."
.:.:Jenifry 'Jen' Tranen:.:.
Ah, the reapings. The terror of some people. The joy of some others. The only of escape for the rest.
I'm not sure what it is to me. My parents would shun me if I didn't volunteer, so that's why I'm volunteering. But deep down inside, I'm wondering, would I volunteer if my parents didn't tell me to?
Well, it's hard to imagine, really. I've been told by my parents since I began training at nine years old that I'll have to volunteer at some time. They wanted me to volunteer when I'm already seventeen or eighteen, but I don't want to miss the Quarter Quell this year. I like the Quarter Quell this time. It's the first one since the rebellion, so everyone's pretty excited. Especially when they announced the two victors thing a few weeks back.
Lilly is a few people from me and I wave at her. She waves back, mouthing good luck to me as the Mayor walks onstage.
He does his yearly speech for us, which no-one really listens to. He steps back to let room for the escort, Manderin Hensra.
"Happy Hunger Games, District 1! I take it you're all excited for the reaping?" she perks up, doing a little jump on her toes after each sentence. I think it's a habit for her, because she's done that a lot of times before.
Manderin is answered by a few cheers from the crowd, mainly from me. Everyone knows I'm volunteering, and unless they haven't seen me training, their tiny little heads will try to volunteer against me.
She does her own little speech about the Dark Days and how the Hunger Games have come to. Also, there's an extra part on the Quarter Quell and the two victors. Everyone excitedly chatters about it.
"Now for the reapings! Ladies first!" She fixes her green wig as she walks over to the glass ball containing the names of every child in the district. She circles her hand over the bowl, creating a thick layer of tension in the air, and finally her perfectly manicured finger dived in and pulled a name out.
.:.:Onyx Ruber, 15:.:.
"Savannah Lusatia!"
Three… two… one… "I VOLUNTEER!"
There she is, in the thirteen year olds' section, shining ever so brightly. Jenifry Tranen. I remember seeing her from training before, but never really noticed how beautiful she is. Golden blonde curls tumble down her back and a pair of determined sky blue eyes match the dress she's wearing. "I volunteer as tribute!"
I notice a girl with black hair and purple dress run over to Jenifry, give her a brief hug and scurry back to her place in the sixteen year olds' section. Wow. A kid three years younger than the reaped one volunteers for them. That must be a first.
The golden-haired beauty walks on stage with pride. Yes, she's beautiful, and her personality traits suit my taste perfectly. I might get to know her in the arena.
Manderin Hensra asks for her name. "Jenifry Tranen. Please, everyone, call me Jen." She waves at everyone in the crowd as the clap for her (they don't actually want to clap for her, they're forced by Manderin to do so).
"Alright then! That was just splendid, Jennifer!"'
"It's Jenifry," Jenifry says. "And you can just call me Jen."
"Of course," the escort says. She saunters over to the next glass bowl. "Now, for all you gentlemen!"
Manderin does the same thing with us to build tension. She circles her hand over the glass bowl, and after what seems like forever, her small hand digs into the pile and pulls out a name. She reads it out.
"Onyx Ruber!"
Yes! I'm reaped! I was reaped!
I do a little fist punch and march onstage, all the way with a big grin on my face.
"You seem very happy to have been reaped," Manderin points out, and a few forced chuckles (literally forced, because Manderin give this look to the crowd saying, "If you don't think this is funny, I just might pick another name from that glass bowl." Not that that's allowed) run through the lines of people, even the parents.
"Now, may I present you, the 100th Annual Hunger Games' District One tributes, Jennifer Tranen and Onyx Ruber!"
She tells us to shake hands, and as I do so, I notice the twinge of annoyance in Jenifry's eyes for the mispronouncing of her name.
I smirk.
.:.:Jenifry 'Jen' Tranen, 13:.:.
"We're so proud of you, our little girl!"
This is incredibly untrue. Lilly has always been their 'little girl'. I don't know how. She never trained for the Hunger Games, yet they still loved her more than me. But, oh well. At least now I have a good chance of getting them to like me more.
I let my parents hug me and give me kisses and all that. This carries on for a while, until they finally let me go and let Lilly give me a hug. Hers was the most comforting.
"I'm going to miss you," she says, and I can feel the moisture running down my shirt coming from her eyes. Lilly is the only one who cried. I take note of this.
I hug her back. "I'll miss you too, Lil."
A peacekeeper comes in and tells my family to leave. They do so, but Lilly gives me one last peck on the cheek and jogs off to join my parents. Then, Jayleen comes in and engulfs me in a bone-crushing hug.
She doesn't try to hold in her sobs. She's choking on her own tears. I feel sorry for her immediately. My best friend has never had siblings before, and she treats me and Lilly as her own sisters. Especially me. Well, at least, if I die, which I'm not going to, Jayleen will have Lilly and won't be completely alone.
"You idiot," she says, but I know she doesn't mean it. "How could you? You could've at least told me so I had a heads-up on your volunteering."
"I'm sorry, I didn't know you didn't know," I whisper, rubbing my hand up and down her back. "I thought I made sure everyone did."
She pulls away. "It's… it's okay. I know your parents must've forced you to."
We stay there like that for a while. Sitting on the sofa in the crying room, with our best friends opposite of us.
The same peacekeeper comes in and tells Jayleen she has to go.
"I promise I'll see you soon," I say at her. "You know I mean it." She smiles as she's taken out of the room.
But, truth is, I'm not exactly that sure I mean it.
.:.:Onyx Ruber, 15:.:.
The goodbyes went by pretty fast. My parents were oh-so proud of me, but my brother wasn't. He was angry that I was going to leave him here. I know that he hates being alone, and even if I do come home, which I will, he'll have to wait alone at home while my parents work.
When they leave, I feel the weight of guilt rest on my shoulders.
A different peacekeeper comes in and ushers me out of the room to the train. On the train is Jenifry, whose eyes seem a bit puffy.
"I thought it was you who wanted to volunteer," I say to her.
"I… don't think I wanted to." I raise an eyebrow at her. "My parents pressured me into doing it. It's… it's their fault my best friend and sister are going to only have each other if I die."
"You're not going to die," I tell her and give her what was supposed to be a reassuring pat on the back. I sit down next to her on the velvet couch. "I've seen you training. You've got a pretty high chance of winning."
I smile at her, and she smiles back. "Of course, you're going to need a man's protection while you're out there…"
"Oh, please, I could take down all twenty-three tributes down single-handedly, including you," she says, but she laughs as well. "It's nice meeting you, Onyx."
"My pleasure."
