Priscilla Piscot, District One
I shouldn't have volunteered for the Hunger Games. I'd never been a violent person. I hadn't wanted fame or to test myself against the best. Miall had wanted that. I'd only wanted my brother back. So what did I do? I volunteered for the Hunger Games and remade the same decision I'd always cursed him for. I don't know how I got it into my head that killing the Ten male would give me closure. It took me weeks to find him and when I finally did, what did I see? Some terrified boy who'd been three years old when Miall died and had no idea why I was hunting him. To him I was a crazed maniac thirsting for his blood when he didn't even have any idea who he was. He was right. It was senseless, me hunting him. So when I found him I let him go.
I don't want to fight in the Hunger Games. I should have stayed home. I want to play hoops. The bright side of this crazy Arena was that you could find just about anything. It took some time but Sky and I were the only ones left and she wasn't in any rush to find me. I scraped together some old shirts, a long metal pole anda cardboard box. It ws just like the first time someone decided to rig up a game where you threw a ball through a hoop.
My ball didn't really bounce but I made do. I tossed my little wad of shirts up into the hoop and cheered whenever I scored. Sure there was no one on the other team but I was definitely winning. I'd always had a lush imagination. When I was launching my ball in the air and watching it fly through the basket it felt like I was just playing in my backyard.
Wouldn't you know it… for the first time in years a hoops game was called due to rain. The Gamemakers had messed with the water and it stung on my skin. I headed for the Cornucopia, hoping the rain wouldn't melt my hoop.
Sky was already in there. She had her back to me and didn't notice me coming. Career training took over and I lifted my spear to throw at her. My heart wasn't in it but even after I thought about it I didn't see a way out. I'd gotten myself into this mess but I didn't have the selflessness to die for someone else. Sky volunteered too, I remembered. That was convenient.
Something metal crunched under my foot as I approached Sky. There was a puff of smoke and a rush of hot air blasted over me as I jumped back. The smoke cleared and I looked through it to see Sky looking at me with horror.
It took me a minute to put it together. "You tried to blow me up, didn't you?" I demanded, more in surprised admiration than anything else. As Sky tried to respond I threw my spear. It wasn't even out of revenge. I just didn't want to die. I can't say I felt very proud or fulfilled in that moment. I came into the Arena mourning my brother and I walked out the same way.
The medics in the Capitol didn't keep me long. I didn't have any injuries and there was plenty of food and water in the Arena. They all fussed over me with my makeup and my outfit and my interview. I didn't really care about any of that. I took my crown without interest and President Galba walked away.
It felt like ages before everyone finally stopped crowding me. I took off my crown and changed out of my outfit and into some gym shorts and a white t-shirt. I snuck down to the auditorium and stood in an empty room with shiny wood floorboards and striped walls. I held a pebbled orange ball in my hand and looked up at a sleek metal hoop. The sound of the bouncing ball echoed off the wall as I prepared to throw. I took my shot and hit nothing but net. That was what I really wanted. I should have known that from the beginning. No Games, just games. I didn't ever want to think about the Arena again. I stayed in that room and threw the ball until it was fun again.