So here is a new story. I'm trying to figure out how I am going to continue with The Capitolite, so in the meantime, enjoy Lucky Horseshoe! (I know, the name sucks, but it's the only one that I could come up with)
I do not own the Hunger Games. Or the Outsiders.
Racing with the boys is one of my favorite things to do.
We are all down at the rodeo house messing around. Sodapop and I are currently racing our horses.
"And they are neck and neck! Who will win?" Keith commentates on the sidelines, "Will it be the handsome, playful Sodapop Curtis atop his trusty steed Mickey Mouse? Or the emotional mess that is Sage Gelding on her beautiful stallion Midnight?"
If I weren't in the middle of a race I would've socked Keith for that comment, but I have a bet to win, so I kept my head in the game. One more lap and Soda will have to clean out the stalls for a week!
Not a minute later the race is over, and I claim victory.
"I win!" I taunt Sodapop. "Looks like you have to clean out the stalls. Lucky you."
Soda sighs in defeat before flashing me a mischievous smile. I only have time to blink before he tackles me off of Midnight. We roll in the dusty ground while the rest of our friends cheer us on.
"C'mon Soda! Don't lose to her twice!" Steve Randle calls to his buddy.
"Beat 'em Sage!" Ponyboy and Johnny shout.
"Hey! Rooting against your own brother!" Soda complains. Unfortunately, that moment of distraction allows me to pin him down. But I'm only a 5'3" sixteen year old girl and Soda's a lot taller and stronger than me, so he's able to reverse our positions quickly. I struggle underneath him for a while before finally giving up and tapping out.
"You still have to clean the stalls." I point out as he helps me to my feet.
Soda groans, causing me to smirk. That's when Darry and my uncles walk into the building.
"C'mon guys, we gotta get ready." My uncle Steven calls out to us.
Darry walks over to where Soda and I are standing and grips his shoulder. "What happened to you?" he asks us.
Soda and I look down at ourselves to see that we are covered in dirt and straw and quite possible horse crap. We both shrug. "Wrestling match."
Darry sighs before collecting his brothers, and the three Curtis's leave us. Steve and Keith walk out after them, still goofing around.
"Where's Dallas?" Uncle James asks.
"Don't know," I say, "I haven't seen him all morning."
"Well he better come to the Reaping this year, cause we can't cover for him again." Uncle Steve says.
I leave with my uncles, Johnny trailing along beside me silently.
"Don't worry Johnnycake, if you get Reaped, you've got five older boys willing to take your place."
"But I don't want any of them to volunteer for me." he says, keeping his head down.
I sigh. "Well I don't either, but it's better than you. You keep us all together Johnny."
"Y'all'd get along just fine without me." he says quietly. I know that there's no use arguing with him further so I just keep my mouth shut.
When we get to my place, Johnny stops.
"There ain't nobody to volunteer for you if you get Reaped though. Boys can't volunteer for girls."
It's true, and I'm terrified that my name's gonna be the one that comes out of that bowl. Heck, everyone is. But I hope for the best, even if I've been preparing for the worst my whole life.
"Well, if that does happen, then working at the rodeo and going on all those ranging trips all these years should help me at least get to the top eight. Just don't worry about me, okay Johnny?"
He doesn't say anything else, just nods and walks the rest of the way to his house. I sigh before walking into my own.
Taking a quick, cold shower to get all the dirt off of me, I get myself ready for the Reaping later today.
I dress into a faded red cotton dress and lace up my boots. My blonde hair is dripping water down my back, soaking the dress. When I walk out to my uncles, Steven stops me.
"Are you gonna do anything with your hair?" he asks.
"Nope."
He sighs. "Well, at least dry and brush it."
I roll my eyes. "Yes mom."
After brushing my hair, the three of us make our way to the main town for the Reaping.
When we get to the square, Johnny, Steve and Keith are already there.
"Still no Dally?" I ask walking up to them.
"No." replies Johnny.
"Well look who's looking all pretty to get sentenced to her death." Keith jokes.
"Keith!" I hiss. "You can't say things like that!"
He shrugs. It's his last year until he no longer has to worry about the Hunger Games. Dally still has one more year after this and Steve, Soda, Johnny and I have two. Ponyboy's only fourteen (and one month) so he's got a few years left. His oldest brother Darry hasn't had to worry about the Reapings for himself for the past couple years.
Finally the Curtis brothers arrive and we all spread out to go to our respective places. As I take my place among the other sixteen year old girls, I see Dallas walk into his section with his usual scowl. It makes me smile. At least he showed up this year.
A few minutes later and everyone has arrived. Our District escort, Davio, struts his way onto the stage, his overly sparkly boots clicking as he makes his way to the center.
After the usual boring speech and video from the Capitol, Davio makes his way to the female's Reaping bowl.
"Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor!" he gushes before slipping his hand into the bowl. He takes an agonizingly long time to select a slip of paper, and every single girl is holding her breath, myself included. He finally snatches one and pulls it out with a flourish.
"Sage Gelding!"
Oh boy.
I've frozen. What a strange feeling. I urge myself to move but my body doesn't listen. After a moment the girl beside me, I think her name is Sally, nudges me, and I make my way to the stage.
I try to keep my face blank and my steps even, but it's kind of hard when you're having an internal panic attack.
Deep breaths Sage. In. Out. In. Out. There. Now calm down.
I manage to make it up the stage without incident, and I stand there facing the crowd of people in front of me. I look into the faces of all my boys. Ponyboy and Soda look about ready to cry, and Keith's face is serious for once, and I know that he's regretting his earlier words. Dally's usual glare is still there, although it's colder and harder and directed right at Davio. Johnny looks right into my eyes, his puppy-like face full of misery. I force myself to look away from him before I start to cry.
When I find my uncles in the crowd, their expressions show nothing but cool blankness, and I know that mine must look the same.
Looking beyond the crowd of District 10, I see the herds of cattle dotting the grass in the distance. I may never get to see this place again, so I'm taking it all in while I still can. I can make out the outline of the mountains right on the horizon, where I know the Capitol isn't far from. The sun is bright, despite what this gloomy day means for twenty-four families. I'm so caught up in my own thoughts that I miss the name of my District partner.
Davio taps my shoulder, signaling that it's time to shake hands. I turn to face the boy. He's probably eighteen and looks as though he helps break the horses. I do too sometimes, but knowing how to saddle train a horse is not going to help us in the arena. We shake hands as Davio announces us.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the tributes of District 10! Sage Gelding and Dale Beverley!"
The applause we receive is quiet and unenthusiastic and we are immediately shoved into the Justice Building.
I am led to a sparsely furnished room with a small window looking out at the slaughterhouse. Well, that's a cheery sight. I feel just like those animals in there, about to be slaughtered for someone else's use. It truly is a dreadful feeling, and I can't wait for someone to show up already so I don't have to listen to my own thoughts anymore.
Finally, my uncles arrive.
We stand there staring at each other for a long time, although it was only a few seconds. I finally break us all out of our trance by running into their arms, burying my face between them.
"Sage," Steven starts. The way his voice cracks makes me burst into tears, though I keep myself quiet.
I pull away and look back and forth between them. James's icy blue eyes are cold and distant, his face not moving from it's stony state. Steven's baby blue eyes are wet and angry, his face showing just how mad he is, how scared and upset this makes him, but also how hopeful he is that I'll come home. Steven is nothing if not an optimist.
"I know you can do it," Steven says, "You may not be very big, but you're fast and agile. Use that to your advantage. You can use a whip, knife, and you know how to survive in the wild. Just remember what we taught you during all of those ranging trips. Use your skills from the rodeo as well, they could help you. Learn as many things as you can and you'll be fine. I know you can make it, I know you can come home." A few tears drip down his face, but he ignores them. I've been nodding along this whole time, but James hasn't moved a muscle.
"I love you Sage, I love you so much."
"I love you too. Both of you." Finally, James seems to snap out of his daze. He grips my arm lightly, his expression dark and serious.
"You do whatever you gotta do, alright? You do whatever it takes to get back home. If that means killing someone, then so be it. We'll still love you just the same. I know you can do it. Don't give up. Don't cry. Don't go down without a fight, you hear?" I nod and James's face softens. "Give 'em hell." Steve and James pull me into a hug at the same time and I find myself squashed between them, but I don't mind. We stay like that until the Peacekeepers come to drag them out.
"Don't do anything stupid until I get back!" I say.
Steven and James smirk. "How can we, you're taking all the stupid with you."
I do something between a laugh and a sob and then they're gone.
Next, the boys come in.
All seven of them pile into the room and I find myself in the middle of a group hug including Soda, Ponyboy, Johnny, Keith, and even Darry. Steve and Dally opt out of the hug.
"Sage." Dally speaks up from the corner of the room. We all look at him, waiting for him to continue. Dallas walks towards me and pokes a finger at my chest.
"If you die in there, I swear I'll kill you myself."
I smile. "I'll miss you too Dally. And I promise I'll try my damn hardest not to die."
"No." He says, "You won't die, not unless you want my fist in your face."
I roll my eyes. "Alright. I won't die." That seems to satisfy him because he nods before walking out the door, punching the wall on the way.
I turn to the rest of the boys. Soda looks near tears and Pony's already there.
"Hey, hey," I say to him, "Don't cry Ponyboy, I'll make it back." All he does is nod and I pull him into a tight hug. The kid's taller than me by quite a bit, but he's still just a kid. Besides, everyone's taller than me.
"I don't want the games to change you." Johnny's quiet voice speaks up. I look at him, but he won't meet my eyes. "Killing kids, you know, that can change you. And I don't want you to change."
"I can't guarantee that, Johnny. But I'll still be your friend, and I'll still be around. You guys can help me settle in when I get back, okay?"
Johnny and Ponyboy nod and Pony finally unlatches himself from me. Steve hasn't said a word, but then again, neither of us likes the other very much. I'm just surprised that he came, even if we have known each other for years.
Darry crushes me in his strong arms and ruffles my hair before stepping back for Keith and Soda.
"You two take care of Midnight for me, alright?" They nod.
"If you die, can I have him?" Keith asks. Soda smacks him on the head but I just roll my eyes.
"I'll let you and Soda fight it out." I say.
The two boys smirk at each other and then Keith skips out of the room, claiming he has to help his mom with dinner. As if. Keith wouldn't be caught dead doing chores. His mom would die of shock if he ever did. Keith's just not too good with emotions. None of the boys are.
It's quiet for a moment before Sodapop digs around in his pocket before pulling something out.
"Here," he hands it to me, "It could be your District token if you want."
I take the leather chord from him. Looking at the charm, I see that it's a horseshoe.
"For good luck." he says.
I smile at him and give him an extra long hug.
"Thank you. Could you boys visit my uncles every now and then? They need supervision." I tell the Curtis brothers.
They agree and soon everyone's left except for Soda, Steve giving me a brief nod on the way out.
"Soda?" I ask, wondering why he's still here, not that I'm complaining.
Sodapop shifts his weight from foot to foot for a moment before suddenly going still. He looks me straight in the eyes, his chocolate brown ones finally spilling over with tears.
"Don't trust anyone," he croaks.
I blink. That's the kind of advice that you would hear from Dally, not Soda.
I nod. "Okay."
He gives me a small smile that is obviously forced. Then his face crumbles and he's wrapping me up tight in his arms.
So quietly that I almost don't hear him, Soda whispers, "I love you."
I freeze for the second time today, although this feeling is much more pleasant than earlier. I release a small sob and then Soda pulls away, pressing a kiss so quickly to my lips that I have no time to react before he too is gone.
As soon as the door closes it is being banged open by Peacekeepers and I only have enough time to wipe the tears from my face before they are gripping my arms and leading me to the train along with Dale.
Davio shows us to our rooms and I don't hesitate to jump into the complicated shower. It's the best one I've ever had. When I'm done, I dress into some jeans and a comfortable sweater. Laying on the ridiculously comfortable bed, I fiddle with the necklace Soda gave me. For good luck.
I'm going into the Hunger Games, and I'll need all the luck I can get.
I've rewritten this chapter three times and I'm still not sure I like how it turned out. Oh well.