(Ello~ so we are almost halfway done with the reapings! Yay! Will the creator of ENRIX ZAK DOLLIN please send me a message on the same message list as they sent his forum in? I think I might have lost it since I can't find it anywhere in my inbox . and I don't want to have to skip him :c. Many thanks to my beta reader and reviewers~)
District Five Reapings, Amara Moore's POV
I waved my pencil against the rough paper of my journal, weaving soft little lines into a clear drawing. My feelings poured into my sketches because they couldn't escape my mouth; I found it hard to express myself through anything but sketching. This little masterpiece would be about the girls at the old orphanage; how they teased and laughed at me. A knock on my bedroom door deterred me from my sketchbook. I quickly rearranged myself in the bed, making it look like I had been asleep all night instead of sketching.
"Honey, it's time to get up." I heard Cleo, my adoptive mother, kindly whisper as she turned the knob. She was so nice; it was hard to believe she spent her days as a peacekeeper, tearing apart fights and taming the crowds. I pretended to groggily rub my eyes and sat up in bed.
"Good morning." I said and smiled at her. She sat on the corner of my bed and smiled back.
"Morning, I'll leave you to get ready. Remember, we'll need to leave for the square a bit early; Jordy and I need to do a quick patrol around the stage. I don't want to rush you, but you've got ten minutes." I nodded. She got up and smiled before leaving.
I got out of bed and stretched, I'm sure I had some circles under my eyes from a lack of sleep, but what's done is done. I grabbed a brush and ran it through my black hair, parting it to the right. Before pulling on my little black shirt and silk top, I took a quick bath to revitalize myself. I put my little black flats, the ones with the bows, and clipped a bow to my shirt. I ran down stairs and walked out the door to where Cleo was waiting. She wore her usual uniform with her blonde hair pulled up in a messy bun. Her blue eyes met mine and she smiled.
"You look beautiful, hon! Trying to impress Jordy again, huh?" She joked and nudged my shoulder. I blushed and looked down at my feet.
"Don't tease me! He's like a brother to me…" I said and continued to walk. She laughed and followed behind me.
We arrived at the square in perfect time and met Jordy at the gate. He hugged me and looked at me through the caramel hair that hung over his eyes.
"Well, well. Good morning, Bella. I see Cleo brought you here early. Good, maybe you can do my job so I can go back home and sleep for another hour." He joked and smiled. He always calls me Bella, short for my middle name Isabella. I hugged him back and smiled up at him. I never really talked much, but he understood me. Ever since Cleo started bringing me to work with her, Jordy had taken a liking to me. We'd become such good friends that I began to trust him like a brother.
I waited behind the stage as the crowd began to pour in. Since I was with the keepers, I got to meet our escort. She was a short woman named Nadine with cotton candy blue hair and a warm smile that almost covered her whole face. I liked her, she was nice to me.
"Alright, sweetheart, I think you should go on out and get settled. It's almost show time!." Nadine smiled and escorted me to the lot.
"Break a leg!" I said and laughed. Judging by the fact that she didn't give me her famous smile, she thought I meant it literally. I checked in with Cleo and got my spot near stage. Nadine walked out and tapped the microphone.
"Good morning ladies and gentlemen! And welcome, welcome, welcome to the reapings! I hope you all find the morning enjoyable. Now, let me show you all a little film about the history of The Hunger Games! Please, would you be so kind to roll the clip?" She waved to the crowd and gestured to the projection screen. A sad little number about the war showed before she took her spot again.
"Well, now that that heartbreaking news is out of the way, let us get on with the show! Hmm, now which ball to pick…How about ladies first?" She rummaged through the ball and pulled out a slip of folded paper.
"Oh the anticipation is just killing me! Now let me welcome Miss-" The escort stopped and frowned at the little paper. "Why, this is that… N-Nevermind. Let me welcome Miss Amara Isabella Moore to the stage…" She sullenly found my face in the crowd and looked down at her heels. This can't be happening. She read the name wrong… My eyes widened with shock and I played it over in my head. No, Amara. What's done is done, if this is my destiny, I will fulfill it. There's no turning back now. I thought and straightened my back. I walked to the stage like nothing had happened and shook hands with my escort. She walked over to the boys ball and pulled out his slip.