I'm sorry this took so long to get out. I've been having family issues. (Both my mom and grandmother were recently diagnosed with potentially fatal diseases...) It took me a week to even sink in and I sort of went into a downward spiral. And theeeeeeen when I tried to update my iPad (which I write on in notes) to iOS 5, I lost all my notes, so I had to rewrite all that I had...
So that's that. I'm sorry readers. I'll try to get out of this slump for you.
I hope I did these characters justice. (And to the creators, just PM me if what I wrote isn't really like them. I've been trying my best.)
-Loula Sanez, District 2-
"Lou, why don't you go get some more training in today before the Reapings. You never know if it'll be you," my dad says with an elbow nudge to my side and a smirk on his relatively-young-for-a-parent-of-a-sixteen-year-old face.
"Dad," I start, annoyed, "you know I'm not volunteering for like, two years, right?"
"Of course, but you never know. No go. Off to the gym with you!"
I grumble resistantly. "You can't make me do anything! I can control myself."
"I'm your father. I have authority over you. And you're being awfully immature again, Loula. You've got to get that under control. I say you stop hanging out with your sister and her friends. Make some acquaintances of your own. Now go train!" He locks a stiff finger towards the door, hinting at my supposed exit.
"Fine, whatever."
The trip to the gym is a drag. I easily jog the whole distance, waving at people and being rather kind.
Upon entering the lovely, fancy gym, there is only one other person in and he's using a treadmill. I walk up to the one next to him, setting the machine to medium power.
"Hi. I'm Loula." I smile shyly and amicably.
"Ripp." His eyes are exploding with anger. You can practically see the smoke leaking from his ears. Standing next to him, I notice I'm taller than he is (and I'm not that tall, ha ha.)
"That's a cool name. Ripp. Sounds very...tough." His eyes temporarily light up brightly, clearly enthused, before calming them back down and continuing his jog. "You work out a lot?"
"Enough. If I'm to become a peacekeeper, I've got to, after all." His hands meddle with the settings on the machine as his feet continue the heavy run. Hazel eyes stay locked on the statistics displayed on the treadmill.
Glancing around the room, I hear a knocking at the door followed by a high-pitched male voice. "Yo, Boris, you in here? There you are man, been looking all around for ya." The guy runs up behind Ripp and gives him a pat on the back. What the heck is going on... and who's Boris?
"I think you must be confused," I initiate, "this is Ripp. He just told me so."
"Wai-what? Oh... Oh, oh I gotcha, I gotcha. Right. Ripp. Definitely." Ripp plants daggers in this boy's eyes and then receives a nudge in the stomach in return.
I'm so confused.
"I'm Nate. Nice to make your acquaintance, my dear," he jokes with obvious sarcasm. "Now...Ripp...we should probably head to the Reapings. You know the only thing worse an being reaped is the punishment after being late."
"Haha! That's a good one!" I cry out as Nate and Ripp walk out the door. You know, I should probably get going too. I need to change into appropriate attire.
-Boris Ferox, District 2-
"Come on man! Who you foolin'?" Nate cries out once we are out of earshot. He's always been one to call himself..."gangsta." I don't quite get it. The Peacekeepers would never accept someone with that sort of attitude. Sometimes it makes me question whether he really wants to be a peacekeeper at all, or is just going along for the ride.
"Clearly her," I answer.
"How do ya know she ain't foolin' you man? She could be playin' stupid. I hear girls do that a lot."
"Nate, she seemed genuinely naive. She thinks I'm Ripp, and that's all that matters." Ripp. I could get used to that. "Now, Nate, my boy, where's Erik. I don't want to go to the Reapings alone."
"Oh, yeah. You didn't notice him? He's over there." He points to Erik Lamont, one of the most popular kids still eligible for the Reapings. He's surrounded by girls and guys alike, all wanting to get to know him, or suck up to him. Too bad for them I'm number two.
"Thanks, Nate. Let's go see what Erik wants from us. I mean, we need to make sure we do what he wants. Don't want to disappoint." Nobody, especially I, don't want to let Erik down. Since he leads our group of to-be-peacekeepers, we can't allow him to give us a bad name. That's why you should always do what he says.
Finally, he separates himself from his followers and meets with his original posse, all of us that train. We split into our age groups, which are generally all the same except for a few outliers, only by a couple of years.
A raunchy, skimpily dressed young lady takes the stage. "Welcome to thissss years Reapings, District 2!" A strong, feminine voice purrs. "Who elssse is looking forward to a fantassssstic Hunger Games. She over-exaggerates and holds almost every "s" she says, like a mix of a cat and a snake. "You all know the Hunger Gamessss shpiel, you hear it every year. How about we just get sssstraight to the names."
She reaches her long-fingernail-coated claws into the glass bowl and removes a slip between two nails. The static of the unfolding paper projects over the crowd. "This year's girl is..." Two long breaths escape her mouth. "Lara Sanez." A hushed whisper spreads over the audience.
-Loula Sanez, District 2-
One slip! One slip, that's all she had! Her name was entered once and it was picked. "Lara Sanez," just what I was hoping for. Not.
"I volunteer!" I didn't know a roar so fierce and menacing could even escape my body, but I guess that's what you get for messing with my little sis.
I shove my way through the crowd, punching any bodies in the way. "That was my nose!" One calls. Like I care.
After a challenging obstacle course of people, I make my way to the stairs, and trudge up them.
"Your name?" The sex-on-a-stick escort asks.
"Loula Sanez. How dare you try to stick my sister in these games." The audience's stirring stops. I glance into the collection of my district, District 2. I watch my sister from behind as she weasels her way back to her roped off section. She turns around and looks me in the eye. She's crying.
I may never see her again.
-Boris Ferox, District 2-
"Time for the...boyssss..."
"Will you get on with it!" A man screams. That's my type of guy.
She smolders to the audience, obviously attracting the Capitol men who are probably you-know-what-ing to her on the screen. "Well then," the escort says, "our boy is Borissss Ferox."
Are you freaking kidding me? Seriously? How the hell am I going to become a peacekeeper of I don't...wait. I will live. What am I thinking?
I storm up to the stage and peel the mic out of her lightly tanned, smooth hands. Confidently, I stare out at the audience. I can do this, I'm sure I can.
Eventually, the ceremony ends and we are released to the goodbye room. My dad enters.
Wait what? My dad? "Why are you here?" My eyes glance up and down his body, eventually locking with his.
"Because you're my son and I'm going to miss you. Like any good father."
"Any good father! You scream at me every day of my life and you call yourself a 'good father'? Are you out of your mind?" The volume of my voice increases word by word. He can't be serious.
Tears start streaming down his unshaven face. "You're my son. I'm sorry for the way I've treated you and you never deserved it.
Liar! I launch out of my seat into the air. My hard fist nabs him in the cheek. Blood drips down his cheek and honestly, it's satisfying. If I can beat a grown man like this, there's no way I can't win these games.
-Loula Sanez, District 2-
Wait… I thought his name was Ripp! Oh my goodness! He lied to me! He's got another thing coming if he thinks he can mess with me like that. Better not pull something like that again.
ONE MORE GUY DISTRICT 12 SPOT. GET THAT ONE CHARACTER IN. I'LL PICK THE BEST ONE IF I GET MULTIPLE, SO MAKE IT GOOD. Thank you all! Here's to getting District 3 Reapings out sooner than this one!
