Disclaimer: Hunger Games does not in any way belong to me, it's the property of Suzanne Collins, etc.
CHAPTER EIGHT
the self-conscious competitor
Iris Beakley, female tribute of District Four
Even though today's a school day, I sleep in for a few hours. It's technically a school day, but it's also the annual reaping day, Panem's one and only holiday.
My mother wakes me up around ten, to help clean up our house.
Since no one has to go to work or attend school, the richer portion of the District – the merchants, mainly – usually hold parties once the reaping is over. This year, it's going to be at our house.
Well, it's not as bad as I make it out to be, and I actually enjoy helping out around the house. My mom stays at home, does the cooking and cleaning, while my father is the one who catches and sells the fish, along with my brother Lkye. My younger sister, Liana, and I help my mother usually. I occasionally go out with Lkye and my father, but just to help with preparing the fish and such.
Despite being from District Four, I'm actually hopeless at fishing. Well, maybe with time I would get better, but the first time I ever tried, I got dragged off the boat and into the water. Lkye hauled me back in, but I ended up scraping the left side of my face really badly. I still have the scar, four years later.
Anyway, we spend a couple of hours freshening up the house – basically, it's an extra-thorough clean, because our house is already pretty clean – and preparing the food we'll be serving later. I mostly help with the food preparation, much to Liana's annoyance. But she's not as good at it as I am, so it makes sense for me to do that part.
"Well, you two should go get ready for the reaping," my mother remarks at length. "I can finish up here. Liana, let Iris go first," she adds, when it looks like Liana is going to run to hog the bathroom. "She needs to sign in, and I'm sure the line will be long."
Liana sighs in annoyance. "Fine. But hurry up, Iris," she adds.
"I'll take as long as I want," I return, grinning.
Liana rolls her eyes, but she doesn't reply. I hurry to the bathroom and take a quick shower.
It's later than I thought, so instead of putting my hair into the usual French braid, I just pull the black strands into a bun. My reaping outfit this year is a light blue sundress, the pearl bracelet that my mother gave me for my eighth birthday (which I've worn ever since) and white ballet flats. When I get to the front of the house, my six friends are waiting in the front room.
"It's about time," Percival jokes. They're all already dressed for the reaping; obviously they were just waiting for me.
Trey grins, even as Maylinn smacks Percival's shoulder.
"We barely got here, thanks to someone." She stares at him pointedly.
As they start to bicker, Lew smiles at me. "We should get going if we don't want to be late," he remarks, which seems to be our cue to leave.
"So, you're all still coming to the party tonight, right?" I question as everyone puts their shoes on.
There's a chorus of agreements, and Dell just nods.
"Bye, mom!" I call, then close the door behind myself and my friends.
We all get along really well, but the easy-going atmosphere around our little group is dampened by the fact that we're all going to the reaping. I don't think any of us have taken out tesserae, so our odds are good, but no one can be blamed for feeling nervous anyway.
The line is pretty long, since we're cutting it rather close. Still, it feels like we're signing in too soon, and then it's off to join the fifteen year old section.
We quietly discuss who will be mentoring this year. Last year's Victor, Whyte Capp, obviously, but we don't know who the male mentor will be.
Our conversation ends when the mayor starts his pre-reaping speech, although none of us are really listening. We do start paying attention when the escort's part begins.
"Excuse me, District Four," the guy calls, after clearing his throat doesn't get everybody to stop talking amongst themselves. "I'm Neptune Wintersea, your new escort! You see, after Miss Whyte-" he pauses to give her a little bow, and she smiles back but is obviously nervous, "-won the Hunger Games last year, Pompei got promoted." Pompei was our old escort, for anyone who might not know this.
"Ahem, anyway..." Neptune continues, "Ladies first, yes? That seems to be the tradition..." He strides over to the female bowl and then drags the tension out for at least a minute as he fumbles around in the mass of paper slips.
I wish he would just get it over with. The tension is-
"Here we are... This year's lucky girl is... Iris Beakley!"
It feels like all the breath is sucked out of my lungs. I actually stagger a bit, and my friends are looking at me in horror.
Wh-why me? I don't- I've never taken out any tesserae. I-I don't deserve to die!
"Iris," Marney whispers, squeezing my hand. "You have to go up there."
I stare at her blankly, but then I slowly nod and walk up to the stage. My legs are shaking so badly, and I can feel tears prickling at my eyes.
Don't cry, I tell myself fiercely.
Neptune smiles at me when I reach his side, then goes over to the other reaping bowl. "And now, for the boys we have... Arden Wade!"
Arden is a seventeen year old that looks a little bit familiar. I wrack my mind for a moment, glad for the distraction – he's the boy who was standing behind me and my friends in line to sign in.
He looks tough and intimidating. His features are all hardened, and seem to be set in a permanent glare.
"So, District Four," Neptune addresses the crowd when Arden joins me on the stage, "any volunteers this year...?"
The small hope that I didn't really believe in but held onto anyway is crushed when no one steps forward.
"Arden Wade! Iris Beakley! These are your tributes for the 324th Hunger Games, District Four!" Neptune announces as we shake hands. Arden's is rough and calloused – he must work on the fishing boats. In comparison, mine is soft and small.
Arden looks like he could win.
I think I just look like someone who'll die in the bloodbath.
I barely notice being brought to the Justice Building, so before I realize it I'm alone in a lounge-like room. I guess this is where I'll be saying my farewells.
My friends are the first to visit me. That's a bit surprising, but I guess it'd be easier to get organized, whereas my family would have to meet up with Lkye before they could come...
They all look miserable, and Percival (always a prankster) doesn't even try to crack any jokes to lighten the mood.
The conversation is stilted and unbearably awkward. My hand keeps twitching upward, to twirl the end of my braid around my fingers. I can't today, though, because my hair is in a bun.
After listening to Maylinn scold Dell for not speaking up more – not exactly a shocking occurrence, considering that Dell is more of a loner – I finally blurt out, "Look, we all know I'm going to die. You guys don't have to stick around."
"Don't say that, Iris," Marney protests, hugging me. "You have a chance! Just look at Whyte! Or... Or..."
"Delphi North," Dell speaks up, possibly for the first time since entering the room. "You know, that twelve year old from District Twelve who won a couple of years ago," she explains, shrugging when everyone looks at her blankly.
"Four years ago," Trey agrees, remembering. "The 320th Games."
The circumstances behind his victory were similar to Whyte's.
"Yeah, but I'm not young and cute," I point out. "I'm older and... not cute," I finish lamely.
"I think you're cute," Lew puts in, then blushes lightly when everyone turns to look at him.
Marney breaks the awkward silence that descended again. "Besides, if you win the Hunger Games, everyone will acknowledge you," she points out. "I know that's what you've always wanted," she adds. It's true, I've always felt inferior to most people around me; I want to feel wanted and needed – something that I've only confided to my best friend.
I nod slowly, beginning to consider a scenario that doesn't end in my gruesome death. If my partner is someone I could ally myself with, or if the arena is similar to District Four's environment...
It's too bad I can't fish. If I could do that... But I can't. There's no point in dwelling on that. I can swim, and that's an advantage most tributes outside of Four don't have. Even most Careers are only mediocre, at best, when it comes to swimming. If I focus on my strengths and find ways to cover my weaknesses...
I don't know what training entails (it's pretty much the only aspect of the Hunger Games that isn't broadcast for the nation to see), but I'll have to work with what I can to improve my odds of survival.
Mastering a weapon in three days is out of the question, but surely there are other survival stations – I know that a lot of tributes know how to make fires, even though it's not a skill that's relevant to any of the Districts' industries...
And while I don't know how to wield a knife in combat, I am familiar with it from preparing meals and more specifically, from gutting and cleaning the fish my father and brother catch. Even though I don't want to, it shouldn't be too difficult to apply the same principles to attack (and kill) another tribute...
The conversation is much more animated, and it doesn't seem quite so forced now that we've put the possibility of me winning out there. Theories and potential strategies and advice are tossed around and refuted or improved upon by all my friends.
All too soon, a Peacekeeper appears to inform us that our time together is almost up. The tears that I had mostly forgotten prickle at my eyes again. Marney hugs me, as do Maylinn and Trey. Percival pats me on the shoulder, and Lew gives me a kiss on the cheek.
... This is new.
We're both blushing, but our friends tactfully don't call us on it.
Dell hangs back as the rest of my friends file out.
"You could try allying with Arden," she suggests quietly. "He looks like he's nice."
I nod automatically, but after she's gone too, I can't help but wonder how she can think he looks 'nice'. He looked hardened and tough to me. Not mean, exactly, but not nice either.
Well, appearances aren't everything...
My family comes in a minute later, which is a completely different kind of painful.
My father is pretty stoic, and we've never been able to really understand each other, but he looks upset all the same.
My mother's eyes are full of tears, but she seems to be trying to keep it together for my sake.
Lkye looks guilt stricken; for a second I don't understand why, and then I realize: he's guilty that he didn't volunteer for me. He's seventeen, and strong from working on the fishing boat with my father... but I don't blame him for not volunteering. But if I think about it objectively, it would make more sense for him to stay behind and help support the family. In a few years, Liana will be able to take over all of the tasks that used to be my responsibility...
I need to stop thinking like that. Wasn't I just thinking a minute ago that I actually had a chance? If I come back a Victor, my whole family can live in comfort.
Liana looks close to tears as well, a few of them leaking down her cheeks, but she gives me a watery smile that I shakily return. We might bicker at home, but we do love each other.
"I wasn't expecting you to volunteer," I say to Lkye, as we stand there staring awkwardly at each other.
"I still-" Lkye's voice cracks and he pulls me into a hug that feels almost bruising. My sister joins in, and soon it's a giant group hug for the Beakley family.
In spite of myself, I can feel tears leaking from my tightly closed eyes, soaking into the shoulder of Lkye's reaping shirt.
"Iris," my father says, his voice rough with emotion. "You have a chance. You can swim..."
"You're sensible," my mother adds.
"You do endurance running in school," my sister chimes in.
"And you know your way around a knife," Lkye finishes.
I smile, much more confidently this time. "That's what I was thinking... Dell mentioned that I might try teaming up with Arden, too. What did you think of him?"
"He seemed like the strong, silent type," my mother observes.
"I know him from school," Lkye remarks. "We're not friends or anything, but he seems like a good enough guy, if a little rough. He gets into fights, but he doesn't seem violent or anything. And around his friends, he's pretty open."
"Wow, do you stalk this guy or something?" Liana asks, smirking.
"No!" Lkye snaps, bristling. "We share a lot of classes, that's all. I didn't really know his name before he was called up for the reaping... But when I saw him I remembered all that stuff."
"Right," Liana replies, obviously unconvinced.
Before this can devolve into an all-out brawl (as the youngest, Liana is rather spoiled and gets on both mine and Lkye's nerves with unerring skill) I quickly put in, "And it's a good thing he did. Now I have some information going in." I give Lkye a grateful smile.
Of course, the Peacekeeper tells us my family has to leave. For a second there, it felt like we were back home, bickering around the dinner table.
Well, that illusion's shattered.
"Bye Mom, Dad... I'll miss you, Lkye. And you too, I guess, Liana," I add, my voice sounding weak rather than the teasing tone that I was aiming for.
"We'll see you soon," my mother assures me.
I smile, but don't say anything and the four of them file out.
Then it's off to the train station with Arden. My nerves and fear have returned, to the point that I can't bring myself to speak unless someone addresses me.
At least Arden doesn't rebuff me when I find myself shrinking closer to him under the force of the Capitol reporters. I tell myself that I'll do better next time. I can only the chariot outfits will be good... District Four usually gets decent outfits; fishing is a pretty wide topic. Coal mining, on the other hand, does not offer much room for originality.
Despite not talking to Whyte at all (we're both pretty quiet) I feel like we could be friends. Shell, Arden's mentor, is obnoxious and crude. I feel bad for Arden – but I'm glad Whyte is my mentor – and I can tell that my partner doesn't like Shell at all. If the mentor notices, he doesn't give any indication. And Neptune is just... obnoxious and self-centered. It's a bit hard to stomach the idea that he loves the Games that are most likely going to result in mine and Arden's deaths.
I almost thought we would miss the reaping recap, but with a bit of maniac driving (at least it seems that way, it's far more frantic than the leisurely-in-comparison drive from the Justice Building to the train station) we make it with a few minutes to spare.
I don't find the reapings too disheartening – the volunteers from the Career Districts look formidable, but at the same time they're not as intimidating as they usually are. And the boy from District Five isn't even a volunteer...
Despite telling myself that I have a good chance this year, it takes me a long time to fall asleep.
A/N: Clearly, I can't be trusted to update reliably... BUT, in my defense, I am in Europe right now ~ I meant to update before I left with a note about that, but, I needed a break from the reapings. This isn't a reflection on any of the characters, but I'm finding the writing is getting rather repetitive. (16 more to go, ahaha ~)
So, updates will obviously be slower from here on out. I get back on the 15th of August, and updates with hopefully appear more frequently then... We'll see. (My plan is to finish up the reapings by September - so ambitious, I know - but I'm also awful at keeping to deadlines ~~~)
Feedback would be lovely. :)