Reapings:
District One:
Regina Anna Pasternack's POV:
My fingers flew furiously across the keyboard, trying to finish the program I was working on. This was one of my best projects, and I was determined to complete it. I needed to give it in by the next day, as it was. I finished typing up the last statement, just as my mother's voice rang out from the living room.
"Regina Anna! Would you stop tampering with that confounded computer already! For goodness sake, it's Reaping Day. Get ready, would you!?" she yelled.
I flinched and gently covered my ears. I hated loud noises. My mother's screams weren't as bad as sirens or fireworks, but it still made me slightly uncomfortable. I closed the program, satisfied with my work, and shut down the computer. As I got up from my chair, I couldn't help but hide a smile. True, I wasn't a born genius when it came to subjects like Math or Science, but I had a natural talent with computers.
Many people called me a 'geek' for this. I didn't really understand what that word meant, but I knew fr a fact it was something unpleasant. People in District One didn't usually have such an obsession with computer programming. That was something that was considered to be the department of the 'nerds from Three'. I shrugged as these thoughts crossed my mind. I didn't really care what all those people thought about me. I loved what I did, and nothing would change that.
I walked over to the door and slid it open a crack. I peeked out to see my mother setting up a breakfast, probably for Jakob and I, seeing to the fact that Father usually left at this time for his work at the local market. She caught my eye and smiled.
"There's my girl. Now, Regina Anna, I want you to get ready as fast as you can. This is your last year of Reaping, and I want to get this all over with. So shoo, go put on some nicer clothes." She said, adding a tiny shooing motion with her hand. I nodded. "Yes mom. Just, please, why don't you ever call me Ginny? That's what everyone calls me." I whined. She laughed.
"Regina Anna is a beautiful name. Now go." She said. I ducked back into my room and closed the door. Today was another infamous Reaping Day. Although the people here would probably rejoice. I honestly didn't understand why. What was so interesting in the Hunger Games?
The Games themselves were confusing too. Why call it a Game? A Game was something where many people played, one person won, and everyone went home. Not where twenty-three people died every year. I didn't find any pleasure in watching the Games, unlike many girls from school. There was no interest that tickled my mind, watching people mutilate others.
But then again, almost nothing I did was similar to that of the other girls in my District. Most of them trained day and night for volunteering for the Games. I, on the other hand, spent my hours teaching myself computer programming, something which had attracted me since the moment I'd been introduced to it. Other girls were obsessed with fashion and boys. I wouldn't say I cared nothing for the way I dressed, but it wasn't of top priority for me. And as for having someone in life, I had my best friend, confidant and girlfriend, Maeve Callahan.
I walked over to my closet and opened it up. I rummaged through the dresses I had neatly stacked, taking care not to ruin their formation. I chose a long sleeved beige peasant top, with a navy-blue bohemian skirt. I smiled to myself. This was one of my favorite combinations. I quickly threw them on, and added gold hoop earrings and a turquoise pendant. I found my reflection in the mirror.
The beige top nicely complemented my hip-length white-blond hair, which I tied back with a kerchief. My almond shaped gray eyes were a tad startling, and they contrasted the childlike freckles that splashed over my nose. I had a small frame, standing at only five foot four, with not much muscle. However, I had realized a long time ago that muscle wasn't everything. You needed brains, too.
Satisfied with my appearance, I walked out the door to see Jakob already eating his cereal. I sat down beside him and ruffled his hair, which was as blonde as my own. He grinned at me from beneath his fringe. "So… you nervous?" he asked. I shrugged. "I don't see why I should be. I haven't taken out those… what do you call them again?" I looked to him for the aid.
"Tessarae?" he supplied. I nodded. "Yeah, those. I haven't taken out any tessarae, and even if I am Reaped, surely someone will volunteer." I said. Jakob looked back into his bowl. "I dunno, Ginny. This year, the Academy didn't select a volunteer from the eighteen-year-old section. None of the girl's were up to the mark. They went with that seventeen-year-old girl Tamara McCarthy." He said, tapping his fingers on the table like he did when he was nervous. I smiled. "Well, as long as it isn't me, I really can't say much in the matter, can I?"
"Alright you two! We need to go. Regina Anna, you can have this snack bar in the car, we're late. Jakob, don't you dare get together with those Rock Band friends of yours. Go straight to your sections, got it?" My mother said as she shoved a snack bar into my hands before throwing open the door. I shuddered. I hated crowds and there was sure to be one in the Reaping Square. I held back, but a look from my mother got me onto my feet. I shuffled out the door quietly, eager to meet Maeve.
As it turned out, the minute I stepped out of my house, I saw Maeve running up to me. She pulled me into a hug, which I reciprocated. "I thought we were going to the Reapings together." She said, shooting a glance towards my family car. I shrugged. "I don't mind. Mom is a terrible driver anyway. The walk would do me good." I said.
"Regina…" My mother sighed. Maeve gave her an apologetic look which I didn't quite understand. I was only stating the truth. Mother was an atrocious driver; she broke speed limits like she couldn't care less. I waved goodbye to my family and started walking towards the Reapings with Maeve.
"I wonder who'll be Reaped this year. The Academy couldn't pick a girl from the Eighteen-year-old ones, you know that right?" Maeve said. I nodded. "Yeah, Jakob told me earlier. They've chosen Tamara McCarthy, right? The name sounds familiar.
"She just so happens to be the girl who you ratted out in front of the entire cafeteria in school, telling everyone that she'd been the one who broke the principle's window. She probably loathes you. Any of this ring a bell?" Maeve said. I sighed. "Maeve, you know I don't understand these fancy terms you use. Why would anything ring a bell inside my head, when there is not one present there? But if you're asking me whether or not I remember her, then yes, I do. I was being honest, and I told everyone about her. She deserved it." I said defiantly.
Maeve just laughed. "Come on Miss Back-to-honesty, we'll be late for the Reapings if we walk so slow." She gave my hand a gentle pull, which made me cringe in discomfort. I didn't like when people touched me. Nevertheless, I quickened my pace, not wanting to be late for the Reapings.
Almiro Fitzroy's POV:
"Almiro-"
CHOP
"Dude-"
CHOP
"Listen-"
CHOP
"ALMIRO WOULD YOU LISTEN TO ME GODDAMIT!?" Clos jerked me away from the Dummy I'd just finished hacking. Its limbs lay scattered on the floor, a result of the damage I'd caused by my sword. I was breathing heavily from the practice. I'd been at this since six in the morning. I wasn't the best with swords, so I needed to perfect my skills. I glared at Clos.
"What?"
He sighed. "Almiro, give me one reason. One goddamned reason why you need to do this." He put a hand on my shoulder. I turned away. "I'm not the best with a sword and you know it. I need to-"
"No Almiro. I meant the volunteering. You don't need to volunteer. So why?"
I put down the sword and sighed. I didn't answer him. He didn't stop. "Is it because of Minnie? You wanna avenge her or something? Do you wanna kill people? You wanna bring money to your family? You wanna die!? Answer me!"
"I DON'T KNOW!" I yelled, turning around sharply to face him. His eyes grew wide at my sudden outburst. "I don't know…" I said, softer this time. "I just know that this is what I have to do." I looked down. Clos sighed and pulled me into a hug. "You don't have to do this Almiro." He said.
I pulled away. "I do Clos. You won't understand. I need to do this." I said adamantly. He gave me a small smile. "You're as stubborn as ever."
"I need to go, Clos. I don't wanna be late for the Reapings." I said. Clos nodded. "I'll see you at the square, then?" he asked. I nodded back. I could see him straining himself, trying not to convince me further of not volunteering, but he must've known it was futile. I was volunteering this year. And no one was going to change that.
As I walked out of the training centre, I let my mind wander into the realm of thoughts. I gritted my teeth. This time two years ago, my family had signed the death warrant of my elder sister Minnie. Our family was one of the poorer ones here in One. I know, One was considered to be one of the most prosperous and well-off districts. But what people didn't know was that there were still people who worked in the mines from where we got the raw materials for the gems. Someone needed to do the labor.
Our district kept those people hidden. But I knew what it felt like. My father was one of the miners. And my parents wanted out of our situation. So they came up with the simplest solution.
Minnie came under their influence and volunteered for the fifty-fifth Hunger Games. She was merely seventeen at that time. She'd broken the rules of the academy to do so. Just so that our family could get out of our poor situation.
She'd made it far. Very far. In the beginning, she'd been alone, but eventually allied herself with the pair from Nine and Six. She'd been written off as 'weak' by the career alliance, and pretty much the entire capitol. However, she'd showed up everyone, demonstrating insane survival skills. However, when it was down to the final two, she'd had to face her very own District partner, Golden Jett. He'd easily killed her, and that had been the day my elder sister had been taken away from me. Everyone saw Golden as my sister's killer, and though I hated the boy with all my heart, I knew her real killer were other people.
My own parents.
They'd forced her into volunteering. Her death had broken them, but nothing would ever make me forgive them for it. And now, I was going to go into the arena. I didn't know why, but I knew I just had to do it. I hadn't even told them that I planned on volunteering.
After Minnie's death, I'd thrown myself into training. I'd lost every last shred of the Almiro I used to be. I became closed; I never opened up to anyone. Well, almost anyone.
Clos Diaminite was not only my best friend, but he was also my partner. I opened up only to him, and my little sister Bella. In fact, the minute I rang my doorbell, it was her who opened it up. She threw her arms around my waist and laughed. "Finally! I was waiting for you Almiro!" she said. I returned her hug with a small smile and kissed the top of her head. "Bella, I need to go get ready." I said gently. Bella was the only one who heard me speak softly nowadays. She chuckled and let go.
I could see my parents coming towards me, but I veered away and headed to my room. I shut the door behind me and took out my outfit, which consisted of a silvery-white suit and denim pants. My parents had brought me this outfit two years ago, but it still fit me well. The silver went pretty well with my curly brown hair and dark brown eyes. I was tall for my age, but not huge. I had a fair amount of muscle on my arms from training every day.
I met my parents outside, and they were clearly trying not to cry. My father was a stoic man who showed no emotion, but my mother had been very fragile ever since Minnie had died. The two of them blamed themselves for Minnie's death, which was one thing I agreed with them on. I didn't give them a chance to speak. I turned to Bella and took her hand.
"Come one Bella." I said simply. I wasn't one for beating around the bush. I lived fairly close to the Reaping Square, so I only needed to walk about ten minutes. Without waiting for my parents, I walked out the door, pulling Bella along behind me. She had a little trouble trying to keep up with my pace in her flouncy white skirt; this was only her second year of Reaping.
As I came up to the Square, I could hear the buzzing noise of the chatter of the huge population of District One fill my ears. I escorted Bella over to the thirteen-year-old Girls' section and walked over to mine own. I could hear a few girls squealing like idiots in the eighteen-year-old section, and I turned to see what was so exciting.
Of course, I should have known. They were ppointing towards the stage, where Golden sat, his head buried in his hands. He was mighty popular with the ladies, both here and in the Capitol. I simply loathed him.
Our escort Levee pulled my attention away from them. She was an older woman of around mid-forties, but she'd been our escort for the last ten years. I couldn't say I was disappointed; she wasn't as ditzy as a few others, but I simply didn't care about it anymore. I waited for her to call out the name of the guy.
"August Chambers!"
As I raised my hand, I could see another boy stepping out, ready to volunteer. I could feel anger boil up inside of me. How dare this person try to steal my chance!?
I leapt forward just as he started to yell out the words.
"I Vol-"
"I VOLUNTEER!" I yelled, running out into the open. The boy turned to glare at me, and I recognized him to be Aurum Slate, the boy who'd always been jealous of me. Enraged, I punched his straight across the jaw. He fell, clutching his face, as I raced past him to the stage.
"My my, what a scene. May I have the name, dear?" Levee asked. She held out the mic to me. "Almiro Fitzroy. And I'm coming back. This isn't the last you'll be seeing of me." I said. Levee shrugged and walked over to the girl's bowl.
"Regina Anna Pasternack!"
Silence. All eyes turned towards Tamara McCarthy, the chosen volunteer of this year. To my surprise, I saw her sneering, lips sealed tight in a line. She wasn't going to volunteer.
A small, thin girl stepped out from the eighteen-year-old section. She walked up to the stage with a confused expression on her face. She didn't say anything when asked, and shook my hand gingerly. As we were escorted to the Justice Building, I could hear her heaving deep breaths, clearly trying to calm herself down.
My first visitors were not people I wanted to meet.
My parents rushed in, sobbing uncontrollably. Even my father was crying. "Why Almiro, why!? We can't lose you after we have Minnie!" My mother said. I scowled.
"Well, aren't you confident about my demise. I can win this thing you know." I said. My father shook his head. "We're just saying the truth. We didn't want to lose another child. You shouldn't have done that Almiro."
My previous anger towards Aurum went flying out the window, replaced by white-hot fury. "You're my very own parents. You should be encouraging me, instead you tell me I'll die. THIS is why Minnie died. You are her killers!" I felt my voice rising with every word. They looked shocked and hurt, but I didn't care. I gritted my teeth. "Get out."
"What!?" they exclaimed. "I said get out!" I shot back. "Just leave!"
They turned around with heartbroken expressions. "We'll always love you Almiro." Mother said softly. I didn't answer; just watched as they walked out.
Bella came in shortly afterwards, followed by Clos. They both gave me a huge hug, and I kissed Bella's cheek. "I know you can do this Almiro! You'll come back!" She said. I nodded. "You bet I will."
"Listen Almiro. Be careful. Don't be rash and don't draw attention. Stay in the background." Clos advised. I nodded. He hugged me again.
"I know you can win." He whispered.
Regina Anna Pasternack's POV:
"Oh my god, oh my god!" My mother shrieked. Jakob was comforting her, but his efforts were in vain. My father just shook his head. "Anna, I'm so sorry…" he said. I looked at them.
"Why do I have to be sent in just to die?" I mused. Mother sobbed harder and Jakob gave me a sympathetic glance. "Because that's the way we do things here in Panem." He said softly. "Come here."
I stepped into his embrace and felt my father's arms around myself. I wanted to stay like this forever, wrapped in my family's arms. Unfortunately, my fate had been sealed. "Just try, will you? Try your best." My father said. They pulled away.
"Dad, you know I'm not the regular career. I don't have training and I can't fight. How will I do this?" I exclaimed. "Then stay out of fights. Run away from the Cornucopia and hide. You can do this Regina Anna, I know you can." He said. He gave me a small smile. "Ginny."
That's when I felt the tears. But before I could shed them, a peacekeeper found his way in, telling us the time was up. My family was pulled into another tight hug by my father and Jakob, before they left. The door had barely closed when it was thrown open once again by Maeve.
"She did it because she hated you! She abstained from volunteering! Now she's going around telling people you'll die in the bloodbath." She said, angrier than I'd ever seen her. She was talking about Tamara. She hadn't volunteered in order to watch me die.
"Make her pay for it, will you?" I said. Maeve grinned evilly. "Oh you have no idea.." she said. Her voice trailed off and she grabbed my shoulders. "But leaving all that aside, Ginny, you needa try your best. Just hide or something, don't fight. Please Ginny, you have to come back." She said. I hugged her. "I'll try. For you, for Jakob, for my parents. I promise." I said softly.
"That's my girl. You'll be kickin' some butt, I tell you. Try and form some alliance-" I cut her off abruptly.
"No Maeve. I won't form an alliance. I'm going to do this on my own. If I win, it'll be because of my own efforts, not because I had some huge strong person protecting me. I can do this on my own." Maeve smiled and hugged me again. "I believe that. It's crazy, but I do."
She pulled away. " You're gonna come back victorius and we'll have that life you've always wanted. Deal?" She asked. I smile, despite the tears that once again threatened to shed.
"Deal."
~.~.~.~.~.
A/N: Only one left! Then the train rides! I would like to thank Rosemarie Benson and santiago. poncini20 for these amazing tributes!
VERY VERY VERY IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE! MUST READ!
Right. So, first things first, I will be doing two train ride chapters and they will be in third person POV. Also, I have recieved very less bloodbath tributes, so with a heavy heart I tell you guys that your tribute might be a bloodbath. I can't help it, because what kind of bloodbath would it be if only one or two people died? Also, reviewing will motivate me to write about your character. So please review! I feel really rude saying this, but I dont have a choice. Please understand. Also, I WILL NOT have a sponsor system; its way to much trouble.
So. If you're still here after that ginormous AN, I congratulate you.
Reply time!
to Sally the Lioness: First off, congrats on being my 150th reviewer! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! XD and I'm glad you liked them! I made a stupid mistake, so thank you so much for pointing it out. Hope this chapter was good! :)
to Embers to Ashes: Indeed they did, eh? I can't say anything about the winners bit, but I'm glad you liked them! Hope you enjoyed this!
to Josephm611: Well, I respect your opinion of both of them :) And I suppose it isnt unseen, but this is Panem, so tragedies arent unheard of, I guess. Nevertheless, thank you for the review and I hope you liked this chapter! I sincerely respect your thoughts :)
to santiago. poncini20: Hmm, I suppose everyone has their own opinions. I will respect yours, like I've said before. I hope you liked this chapter! Do tell me how I did with Almiro; he's an amazing person and I hope I did him justice! :)
to Sab: Thank you! I'm glad you liked them! Hope you enjoyed this chapter too! :)
to Reader Castellan: I'm so glad I was able to write her well! I agree, Peacekeepers are horrible. Thanks for the compliment, hope you enjoyed this chapter! :)
to Mystical Pine Forest: I'm glad you liked Dwayne, I liked him too. Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoyed this update!
to deny: I'm so happy I wrote him well! I liked his character a lot! I'm glad you liked April. I wonder that too... *thoughtful look* Anyways, hope you liked this!
to maliceismyname: Wow, I;m so glad you like him so much! I felt bad for the twins as well. Hope this chapter was good! Only one more to go! :)
to AgentWriter: It's okay! I liked writing their POVs, so I'm glad you liked reading them! Hope you liked this chapter!:)
to MidnightRaven323: I agree, it was cool of hi to cope up. As for April, I suppose there is a similarity. Like I've said before, I respect your opinion of April. I certainly hope you liked this chapter! :)
Right. Thank you all so much for reviewing, fav-ing, following or even just reading this story. Means a lot. Really does. One Reaping left!
See y'all next time!