Chapter 9: District 9 Reaping
Alice woke up and swung gracefully out of her tree. She knocked on the door of her community home and Ms. Terry let her in, a frown on her face.
"Alice are you sure you wouldn't like a room?" She asked her cautiously. Alice shook her head daintily back and forth, her long black hair gracefully rippling as she did so. Ms. Terry sighed and nodded, she was worried about Alice who had slept in the tree in the front yard for the last five years. Alice's parents and little brother had all died in a mad rampage a few years back, they were killed by peacekeepers. Alice dressed in her traditional reaping outfit: A cream colored dress with gold trimmings that tied in the back and hugged her slim figure, she also tied her long sleek hair back with a peace of lace that matched her dress.
Ms. Terry had to almost force feed her; she ate maybe two bites of her porridge and then walked outside. Ms. Terry sighed deeply as she readied the other children and missed Alice's silence as the rest of them talked loudly of the reaping.
Harlin awoke to her a hushed argument above him. He stood on his bed and listened intently.
"We can't afford to keep them all, maybe Chloe could…" Evelyn began
"Not Chloe, she couldn't deal with the community homes, maybe Harlin?" Lucas suggested. Evelyn sat down loudly on the bed which groaned in protest. Harlin sat back on his bed and put his head in his hands, he had known there were money problems going on but he had never imagined they were this bad. He tried to figure out just how he would fix this, could he get a job? No he was only fourteen; no one in their right minds would hire him. District nine was very strict about…everything.
Harlin sighed deeply and dressed before getting his sisters ready for the day. They walked down the hallway to the breakfast table and he made sure they were all busy eating and talking before slipping out the back door. He ran to his friend Anna's house and knocked on the door, breathless.
Anna opened it, and looked around quickly before pulling Harlin in, her dad was the mayor so her of course was at the town hall going over last preparations for the reapings and Anna's mom was baking down at the soup kitchen.
"What is it?" She asked immediately, she had been Harlin's best friend since they could talk and could tell that something was troubling him.
"Evelyn and Lucas can't afford to keep us; they want to send one of us to the community home. I need your help to sneak my name in more, get the wheat and oil, but put my name in to THIS reaping. Anna nodded her eyes and nose red from holding back tears.
"I don't want you to leave Harlin." She told him. He hugged her awkwardly and pets her back.
"I know Anna, and I'm sorry but it's the only way, either way it makes things…easier for them. Anna looked at her feet and bit her lip, thinking deeply.
"What is it?" He asked her, she threw her arms around him again and pulled him into sobbing.
"I love you Harlin, you are like my big brother." She told him through her tears, he started to cry too. They snuck to the town hall and found the thick stack of reaping slips; Harlin wrote on about half the stack and took the rest of the oil and wheat, using a nearby cart to take it to his house. He threw it in the front door and then walked back and watched as Anna's father half carried, half dragged the baskets to the town center, then Anna and Harlin followed him, their eyes were red and puffy but both of them had a sad smile on their lips.
They arrived at the town square and stood, holding each other for support as a capitol woman with orange hair read a little speech. She looked bubbly as she pulled out a small slip of white paper.
"Alice Victoria Moore." She read, a girl of about fourteen, and everyone remembered the riot a few years ago that had killed her parents. They felt sympathetic for her but her face held no emotion, then the lady reached her hand into the over stuffed boys basket and called out.
"Harlin Swe." He walked calmly to the stage and shook her hand, keeping his face completely blank and hoping the redness had disappeared. The lady announced them and then they were led to the justice building.
guys please I really want at least one review, I'm begging :/
