Don't waste what time you have left.
Klymene Cascade, 17
District Four Female
I run the brush through my hair, over and over until it falls in perfect waves over my shoulders. I choose a simple shirt and trousers, then go downstairs.
"Klymene, you're awake. That's nice." Mum says as she watches me grab an apple off of the kitchen side.
"Yeah, how are you this morning?" I ask. "Tired?" Mum seems a bit… exhausted.
"Not really, I just didn't get much sleep." She replies. I nod, then bite into the apple and head out of the front door.
The sun is hot, but not hot enough to be too hot. I have a feeling it might be possible to find someone to talk to before the reaping starts. The reaping should be interesting. I've heard there are two volunteers this year. I think it might be Pearl Madison, who is Azure's sister. Azure has been being mysterious about it for several weeks.
"Oi, Klymene! What's got you up early?" Someone yells from down the street. I turn around to see Lana standing under one of the trees at the end of the street, her red hair in it's signature ponytail. I make my way down the street so we can walk together.
"Oh, you know. Excitement, I think." I reply. I see her point. My mother and father seem to be in a constant state of being worn out, often going days without smiling. Unlike me. I've heard myself described as being in a constantly smiley state and seeing the glass as half full.
"Wondering if Pearl's going to volunteer, or if Azure's just annoying?" She asks.
"Yeah. That would totally be something she'd do. But Pearl's so good with a trident. Did you see her practicing last week?" I ask in reply.
"I know, she'll be a victor if she volunteers for sure." Lana replies.
"Wouldn't that be awesome? Although I can imagine Azure spending way too much time being annoying about it."
This is the sort of conversation I have regularly, just talking about the latest things, or friends, or who was seen hanging out with who after school behind one of the fishing boats. Nothing of any real meaning, but that's fine.
"Anyone else you think it might be?"
"Umm…. Maybe Myrtle. Or Diana." I have to think for a minute to find the names.
"Yeah, probably. Or maybe Kaia," She says, and then laughs. "It's a bit useless guessing isn't it? We'll see in an hour or so."
"Yeah. So, what should we do 'till then?"
"I heard there's some people swimming by the dock. We could join them?"
"Sure."
We make our way down to the dock, where we find probably fifteen teenagers running in and out of the water, splashing each other. We join them, and spend probably an hour getting our clothes absolutely soaking. Some twelve-year-olds, Kelby and Eldoris, have a competition to see who can hold their breath the longest. I'm not sure who wins.
Eventually we decide to go to the reaping square, but on the way, we take the longest route, going through small alleys and backstreets. I don't know why, but we do. It might just be that less time spent at the reaping is better, so we are just wasting time. Or making the most of it, depending on the way you look at it.
When we find ourselves on the street outside of the reaping square, we go in past the peacekeepers. We split up into the different age groups. Me, Lana and Muriel, the other seventeen-year-old, make our way to our area. There's a lot of chatting happening around us. I spot Azure on the other side of the are, but I can't make my way over to her because there are too many people.
Mayor Avisa stands in front of the crowd, and yells for all of us to listen. Most people do, but some people keep on whispering for a minute or so. Eventually everyone is quiet.
"Thank you all for being here. Today, we celebrate…." Is what she starts with. She talks for about five minutes, before she invites the escort to read the names.
"Hello, happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favour. Now, ladies first." The escort, Zirconia, says as she stands and smiles. She reaches for a slip and spends thirty seconds choosing one. "The female tribute for District Four will be…."
"I volunteer!" Someone yells, and we all turn to look who it is. It is Pearl. I was right. I smile, watching her make her way up to the stage. Someone cheers. On the stage, Zirconia smiles.
"What is your name?" She asks.
"Pearl Madison. My name is Pearl Madison." Pearl tells her.
"I'm very sorry, Pearl, but Gamemaker Ruso has declared there will be no volunteers this year." Zirconia says.
Pearl does not say anything, just goes back to her area. I can see Azure looking rather annoyed.
"The female tribute for District Four will be…." She unfolds the slip. "Klymene Cascade!"
That's me. I have been reaped. That's ok. Just a bit...unexpected.
I start walking up to the stage, and decide that making a list of all the previous District Four victors might help. Moru Havet, Coral Monique, Finnick Odair.
I'm almost at the stage. Annie Cresta, Mags Flanagan, Cove Eldoris, Delmar Fisk, Dorian Halcyon, Ariel Ondine, Narissa Moray, Clarion Davy.
We have more victors than most districts. What will the arena be like? Now I'm thinking about previous arenas, and which districts won each arena. Forest arenas, two District Four victors. Swamp arenas, three District Four arenas. Arenas with lots of water, six District Four victors. Desert arenas, no District Four victors. I guess I'm hoping for anything but desert then. Still, if I get far enough any would be good.
"Smile wider dear." Zirconia whispers to me as I join her on the stage. I do.
"The male tribute for District Four will be…"
It won't happen again.
Aerwyna Murphy
Mother of Arroyo Murphy
The morning of the reaping is always a bit...tense, but today everything seems even more different than usual. It's like the morning is trying to tell me to be worried, or maybe it's all in my head. Still, maybe it's because of what happened last year with Amada. That was devastating for all of us. I remember Arroyo telling her that she'd do fine at the goodbyes. The last time we saw her alive was ten days later when the boy from ten stabbed her in the back. That was….
I'm always up earlier than Arroyo and Caspian. Both of them end up sleeping late most days, which is a right nightmare for most things. Today, though, sleeping in is not a problem. We have a late reaping in District Four. Which means they can sleep in all they want without it being a problem. So until they wake up, I'll do something else, like going for a walk and finding someone to talk to. I go outside and make my way down one of the empty streets. There are a few people about, and the streets are unusually quiet, especially when I get to the main streets. I think I remember someone talking about a party happening somewhere. Personally, that doesn't make sense. Partying on reaping morning isn't something most people would do, unless they were happy about children being forced to kill each other.
Maybe there are volunteers this year. It would explain the parties.
They must have a death wish.
Why else would they volunteer? There is no reason they would volunteer otherwise. The Hunger Games are almost guaranteed to kill you.
At this point I've made it almost halfway around the route I've taken. I did it completely unconsciously, falling into a familiar path. Maybe because it's habit. Maybe because of the Reaping. Maybe both.
I walk for another fifteen minutes until I'm back home. When I get back, Arroyo is waiting for me.
"Where were you?"
"Nowhere. Just… walking." I reply. He doesn't say anything else, and neither do I. That's how we spend the next half an hour until Caspian wakes up. Not speaking, not really doing anything at all. Eventually he wakes up and makes an appearance in the kitchen, which doubles as the living room.
"Good morning! How are you feeling?" He asks with a smile. The smile seems forced, just like his faux positive attitude.
Arroyo glares at him. I give a hopeful smile. At least I hope it looks hopeful.
"Ok then, well…. Breakfast?" He continues.
"Yes. Breakfast." I reply.
When we finish eating, we leave for the reaping. The streets are busier than they were earlier, although not as busy as usual. When we arrive at the square it isn't full, so Caspian and I are directed to the side to watch, while Arroyo is directed to the seventeen-year-olds area.
It takes about ten minutes of waiting for anything happen, and when the mayor starts speaking I'm too worried to listen to what she's saying. It's probably what she says every year.
"Hello, happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favour. Now, ladies first." Zirconia's words are unmistakeably the real start of the reaping. "The female tribute for District Four will be…."
"I volunteer!" Yells one of the girls, interrupting Zirconia in a manner that's common for volunteers.
"What is your name?" Zirconia asks her.
"Pearl Madison. My name is Pearl Madison." The girl replies, sounding like she might regret this decision now that she's made it. But she can't turn back.
"I'm very sorry, Pearl, but Gamemaker Ruso has declared there will be no volunteers this year."
Is it just me, or does Pearl look a little relieved?
"The female tribute for District Four will be…." Zirconia unfolds the slip. "Klymene Cascade!"
I look for Klymene, whoever she is, and find her, watching her walk forward with a forced smile on her face. When she gets to the stage, Zirconia whispers something to her.
"The male tribute for District Four will be…" Zirconia reaches for another piece of paper, and eventually settles on a slip she pulls from the bottom of the reaping bowl. "Arroyo Murphy!"
What? No. No. I watch as Arroyo makes his way up to the stage, no emotions playing on his face. I want to move and demand someone else is chosen, but I feel like I'm paralysed. Even if I could move, it would just get me in trouble.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the tributes of District!"
Hello! It's been a while. I've been quite busy irl and so haven't had much time to work on this. Hopefully chapters will be more frequent from now on, and I aim to have the reapings finished by early September. I would like to thank LC-it-gets-better-alt-account for submitting Arroyo and AuroraMiri25 for submitting Klymene. Until next time.