Heat Chapter 14
District 9 Reapings
A/N: Thanks to santigo . poncini 20 (without the spaces, for some reason it wouldn't recongize it without them... I don't know why) and RandomTeenGirl for the wonderful Tributes! Please keep submitting your Tributes! We only need two more Tributes!
Azalea Saffron –12- -D9- POV
"No, Dad. I am not wearing that," I point in disgust at the pink thing on my bed."It's too… pink."
"But, Azalea, it'll make you look so pretty," my dad, Lucius, says. "I like it."
"Well, I'm not wearing it," I say, indigently. My dad knows that I don't like pink things. I'm not a little girl.
"Fine, then. What will you wear?" He asks. He sounds like he's won the augment.
"I'll just wear this," I say, pulling a red dress out of my closet.
"Where did you get that?" My dad asks me.
"Flora gave it to me, Dad," I say. It's true. My cousin, Flora, did give me the dress. After I begged and pleaded with her because I knew that my Dad was going to make wear that thing. A dress. That wasn't the problem. The problem was that it was pink. I hate pink. My favorite color is red, which might make you think that I like pink, but I don't.
"Okay, then. You can wear that," he says. He says that like I did, but mockingly.
"Thanks, Dad," I say, hugging him.
"I'll leave while you get changed," he says.
Angus Blush –17- -D9- POV
"I'm sorry, Ms. Blush, but there's nothing that I can do for your mother," Dr. Wilcox says. "I'm afraid that she's going to pass on. Very likely today. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go."
"But, Doctor Wilcox, there must be something-"
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but at this point, all that I can do is dull the pain." Dr. Wilcox says.
"It's alright, Sunnoria," I say, trying to calm her. "Look, you should sit down. Thank you, Doctor. I'm sorry we held you up. You really should be going now."
"Thank you, Mr. Blush. I'm sorry," Dr. Wilcox says, as he leaves the house. My sister, Sunnoria, sits down on the couch in shock.
"How can you say that? It's not alright. Mom is going to die. Die!" Sunnoria says.
"I know that, but we knew that for a while. There's nothing we can do. I'm sorry, but you should rest. You don't want to end up like mom," I say. "I'm going to go talk to the Peacekeepers, tell them that you won't be there." I walk out of the house and find the nearest Peacekeeper.
Azalea Saffron –12- -D9- POV
I arrive at the Reaping.
"Hi, Azalea!" My cousin, Flora says, as she runs up to me. "You look really pretty in that dress!"
"Thanks!" I say, twirling to show off the dress. "It's much prettier than the pink thing that my dad wanted me to wear. Thanks for loaning it to me!"
"Oh, please. What's so wrong with pink?" My other cousin, Willow, asks. "You're always complaining about pink this, pink that. What's so bad about pink?"
"It's just so… girly," I say.
"What's wrong with girly? You're a girl," Willow says.
"We always get into this argument," I say, "let's just forget it. You like pink, I don't. That's all there is to it." Willow clearly likes pink, from the pink ribbon in her hair, the pink dress she's wearing, and her pink high heels.
"You're right. Let's just forget it," she says and hugs me. "But pink is still the best color," she whispers in my ear.
"Hey, Azalea, why did you leave so fast?" My brother, Basil, asks me as he walks up.
"Because you were taking to long to get your fancy suit on," I say, spitting the word suit with disgust.
"I earned that suit. I bought it with my money," Basil says, "that I earned."
"I know, you bought that with your money. Money that you didn't use to pay for food. Or clothing. Sorry, I take that back. You did spend it on food and clothing, but that food was for you, and just you, leaving me to take out 2 Tesserae, and that clothing was for you. And was it practical clothing? No. It was a fancy suit. You disgust me, Basil," I say.
"Look, Azalea, I know that you're feeling a little angry now, but with all the stress-"
"No, look. I've been wanting to say that for a long time. Every year, you use the money you get from your job for you, and leave it to Dad to support us. Will, this year, I can finally help him. Finally. He still has to work two jobs, but now he can afford to take a sick day every once in a while. But do you care? No. No, you don't. You see Dad working hard to provide for us, but you only think about you. You don't care about me, do you? No, no you don't. I hate you. You only look out for you. You know what, fine. Maybe I'll get Reaped. I don't expect you to volunteer. I don't expect you to even care. As soon as you can, you're going to move out, and you know what? I'll be happy when you do. Maybe then we can get a smaller place, so Dad won't have to pay as much. Not that you'll care either way. You'd be happy if we both starved. I'm going to have to get a job as soon as I turn thirteen. You'd rather have me starve, wouldn't you? That way, you don't have to hear me in the room next to you. Maybe you can turn into storage for all your suits. I hate you Basil, and I hope that I don't ever see you again!"
"Azalea-"
"Come on girls, let's go," I motion to my cousins. My friends Poppy, Rose, Sage, Violet, Clara, and Yarrow have shown up by now. Technically, Yarrow's a boy, but 'girls' sounds cooler. They all follow me away from a stunned Basil.
"Uh… Azalea?" Poppy asks.
"Yeah?"
"You alright there?"
"I'm fine, why do you ask?" I ask.
"The way you yelled at your brother back there… It was brutal," Poppy says.
"Yeah, well, I've been holding that back for a good few years now. It feels good to get it off my chest," I say.
"Yeah, but all that stuff you said… That's pretty brutal. About not wanting to see him again, all that… I mean… Did you really mean that?" Poppy asks.
"Yes, I did. Why do you care so much anyway?" I ask.
"Because I care about you. We all do," Poppy says.
"Yeah, Azalea, you said some stuff that you can't unsay, and we just want to make sure that you're alright," Violet says.
"Yeah, well guys, thanks, but I'm fine. We should head to our sections now," I say.
"Okay, but I'm coming with you," Rose says.
"Me too," Violet says.
"Me three," Clara says. Those three are the only other girls who are twelve. Flora, Willow, Poppy, and Sage are all thirteen, and Yarrow's a boy.
"Hey, guys, what did I miss?" My other friend, Sorrel, walks up.
"Come on, the Reaping is about to start. I'll tell you on the way. It's a long story," Yarrow says. We all walk off to our sections.
"District Nine! Let's start this Reaping!" Saturn Mustang, District Nine escort, says. "Ladies first!" Saturn reaches into the glass bowl and makes a show of unfolding the piece of paper. "The Female Tribute from District Nine is… Azalea Saffron!" Oh no, I think, I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I should move my legs. I'm walking towards the stage. I probably look completely terrified. I shouldn't look terrified. I manage to put on a brave face as I walk up to the stage and shake hands with Saturn.
Angus Blush –17- -D9- POV
"And as you can see, Officer, Sunnoria here is in no position to attend the Reaping," I say to the Peacekeeper who now stands in my living room. You can just let them come to you, but that generally starts with them breaking your door down, so it's better to go get one and tell them that one of your family members won't be attending the Reaping.
"I see. And what about this one?" The Peacekeeper asks, pointing to my mother.
"Oh, I don't think that she'll be able to go either. She's been very sick recently," I say. The Peacekeeper walks over to her and places his hand on her neck. Then he glances at her chest. Then he freezes, and I suspect that he's checking something on his helmet display.
"Sir, I'm sorry to have to inform you of this fact, but your mother appears to be deceased. She's not breathing, and she doesn't have any pulse. I've contacted a coroner," The Peacekeeper says, in a flat voice, the same one they use to say everything. No. Not yet. Just a minute.
"Oh… Uh… Thank you, Officer," I say.
"I'm sorry. You need to get to the Reaping now," The Peacekeeper says.
"Yes, Sir," I say, and walk out of the house. Okay. Now.
Dem Blush –17- -D9- POV
I'm outside of my house. I just left it. I'm here because… Oh right. Mom's dead. Oh no. I start to cry. I need to head to the Reaping. I know that much. I start to head to the Reaping.
Angus Blush –17- -D9- POV
I'm at the Reaping. I don't know how I got here. Then I realize. Dem must have walked here. I walk to my section. The Reaping is about to start. I see who gets picked as the Female Tribute, a girl called Azalea Saffron. I wonder who'll get picked as Male-
Miller Blush –17- -D9- POV
"The Male Tribute from District Nine is-" Saturn starts to read the name, but I cut her off.
"I volunteer as Tribute!" I shout and stride up to the stage.
"And what is your name?" Saturn asks.
"Mill- I mean, Angus Blush!" I say.
"The Tributes from District Nine are Azalea Saffron and Angus Blush!"
A/N: I hope you liked this Chapter and our wonderful Tributes! In case you didn't figure it out, the wonderful Angus Blush has Multiple Personality Disorder. Soon we'll get to find out what Angus thinks of Miller's brazenness. Also, please keep submitting your Tributes! I only need one more!
Current Tributes:
D1M: Topaz Hazard, 17, by Tyquavis
D1F: Satin Hermes, 18, by Swoozelzz
D2M: Arc Woods, 18, by SparrowBirdEliza
D2F: Lily Cross, 17, by SparrowBirdEliza
D3M: Titanium Sparks, 18, by ellodairyme
D3F: Rianna Meade, 16, by AlyssumBellgrove
D4M: Kai Presley, 18, by Hawkmaid
D4F: Brooke Nash, 15, by Hawkmaid
D5M: Open
D5F: Sofia 'Sofie' Guinness, 16, by Professor R.J Lupin1
D6M: Edmund Caden, 15, by abcdefghijklmnopqrstvwxyz005
D6F: Lindsay Cutt, 13, by abcdefghijklmnopqrstvwxyz005
D7M: Cyder Lamentain, 17, by Anna
D7F: Aurora Dayton, 17, by ellodairyme
D8M: Kaine Thomason, 14, by Tyquavis
D8F: Twyler Onzui, 16, by Swoozelzz
D9M: Angus Blush, 17, by 20
D9F: Azalea Saffron, 12, by RandomTeenGirl
D10M: Noah Jones, 17, Zacksteel
D10F: Belinda Molsier, 15, by RandomTeenGirl
D11M: Reserved for PaxZola
D11F: Athena Fallow, 17, by Professor R.J Lupin1
D12M: Wyatt Fritz, 14, by Annabeth Pie
D12F: Abi Hendrix, 14, by Annabeth Pie