Reaping II

Luxe Augustine, District I

i'm miss sugar pink; liquor, liquor lips
hit me with your sweet love, steal me with a kiss
i'm miss sugar pink; liquor, liquor lips
i'm gonna be your bubblegum bitch

(bubblegum bitch — marina & the diamonds)

•••

Luxe hates not having been born in the Capitol.

Not because she doesn't enjoy the same luxuries as every other Capitolite, or because she doesn't want to go through the Games and the Reapings. It's simply because there is something tremendously vulgar about being a District girl, like all those scrawny, filthy kids from the peripheral districts who get tossed into the Arena with the Careers. If she were a Capitol girl everything would have been sorted out for her by now — her sisters wouldn't be an obstacle and she would never feel as worthless as she does whenever she doesn't come in first during one of her Academy examinations (which, on the other hand, only seldom happens). She could be a politician like her big sister Nathalia, a socialite like her mother, a loving wife like her middle sister Ariana; she could have had it all, and yet she doesn't. She almost has it all, and the idea of not being able to reach her fullest potential has never sat well with her. That is why she decided to become a Career, and that is why she can barely hold back a grin when she sees her reflection in the mirror as she tries her new Reaping dress on.

"My, Luxe," her mother breathes, a proud smile on her face. "You look absolutely dashing."

The girl nods. Her mother knows today is perhaps the most special day of Luxe's life — a day in which she will finally outshine her older sisters. Diantha knows that her youngest has it in her to be great, and she sometimes wishes she wasn't that hard on herself; but, on the other hand, she also happens to know that Luxe's self-depreciation is what has kept her going over the course of the years. Nathalia has the brains, Ariana has the beauty — but Luxe has both, which makes her the most valuable asset to the team that is the Augustine family.

"Thanks, mother." Luxe smiles confidently, but her mother knows she's everything but.

The girl's eyebrows quiver ever so lightly, and Diantha guesses it's time to give her youngest daughter a brief hug.

"Do you think I'm going to make it back, Mum?" Her tone has become feebler now, almost childish. Diantha's mind goes back to when she was a little girl, always curious and energetic but also extremely coquettish.

"Of course you will, honey," Diantha replies as she strokes her daughter's dark brown hair. "You're top of your class, that's why they picked you. Your teachers hate taking risks — but do you know what they hate even more than that?" Luxe shakes her head quietly. "Losing to District Two."

Luxe snorts against her shoulder, and Diantha smiles. She has never liked the idea of picking favourites among her daughters, but the truth is that she has always had a very soft spot for Luxe. She looks just like her when she was her age, and she also has the brains to make it through the Games on her own; she is fierce and relentless, and she has it in her to become someone great. Diantha would bet all of her family's inheritance on her if she could.

"I think your dad's waiting for us outside," she muses finally, not quite letting go of her daughter just yet. "Nathalia and Ariana will meet us at the town square, I think."

"All right." Luxe looks a lot more sobered up when she pulls away, and she flashes a glance back at the mirror to check that her makeup is still very much on point before offering her mother a small smile. "Let's go then."

Diantha nods and takes her daughter's hand before following her outside.

•••

The District One town square has been decorated to honour their escort's presence, and everyone is just standing around chatting casually as though they had randomly decided to meet their friends there instead of the shopping mall or one of the enormous parks scattered around District One. Luxe has never really seen how Reapings work in the more peripheral Districts, but she certainly knows that the District One kids who aren't interested in volunteering for the Games do not lose a wink of sleep thinking about the possibility of getting reaped and sent to the Games. There's always going to be a Career to volunteer for them, after all; besides, hardly anyone requests tesserae in their District, since the poorest families are even wealthier than the average middle class in a humbler District.

"We're going to go sit with your sisters now," Luxe's father says, before giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

She nods quietly. A few of the kids have already wheeled around to look at her — she's the elected female Career, after all, and everyone knew she would be the one allowed to volunteer well before the Games, since they had taken their final examinations earlier that year.

"It's fine, Dad." She offers him her best smile and kisses his cheek. "I'll go look for my friends, all right?"

"All right, honey." Her mother caresses her hair one last time and presses a kiss to her temple. "We're so proud of you, baby."

Luxe's cheeks flush ever so lightly — because her parents' approval is all she needs to make it through the Reaping. She gives her hand one last squeeze before waving them goodbye and turning around to go find her best friend Sheen, who is standing right in front of the stage and observing everything with a quiet fascination. Sheen is a year younger than her and trained really hard to become this year's female Career, but she came in second after Luxe — which meant that she would probably be able to volunteer the following year. Sheen never resented her friend because of it, though — she admires Luxe's physical and mental strength, and she can't wait to see her win the Games. They have even joked about how Luxe would be Sheen's mentor next year if she wins her Games, and she has become Luxe's greatest support over the course of the past few months, always training with her whenever she felt unprepared for the Games or feared not being qualified enough for the examinations.

"Hey," Luxe says, patting her friend's shoulder with a small smile.

"If it isn't the girl of the hour!" Sheen replies, a broad smile on her face. She kisses Luxe's cheek before adding, "Everyone's been waiting for you. You know the guy who's volunteering too, right? Jack or Jake or something like that?"

"Oh, yeah. Jacques," Luxe replies, rolling her eyes quietly. Jacques went to school with her back in the day, and then trained in another Academy because his parents thought he was too good for Luxe's. They briefly saw each other during the Career tryouts, but the boy had largely ignored her — he had been surrounded by a vast group of friends, and only acknowledged her presence by nodding lightly towards her. Luxe had never had a solid opinion on him, but she had heavily disliked him right then — not because he had ignored her, but because of how he appeared to hold himself in such high regard. But she guesses she will have to suck it up and act friendly around him for as long as the Career pack survives — he will probably be a very valuable ally, after all, and she would rather trust someone from home than one of those unhinged kids from District Two.

"Well, he's sort of hot." Sheen shrugs, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. "If he's gonna die you might as well shag him once or twice before."

"Sheen!" Luxe has to stifle a laugh. Her friend has never been exactly subtle about most of her concerns, but deep down Luxe loves the way she just blurts out whatever crosses her mind. "You can't just say that. You're my best friend, they're probably going to interview you after I leave or something like that."

"Or something like that." Sheen chuckles. "Don't worry, Lu — I'll put in a good word for you."

Luxe does a half-smile, shaking her head. "Whatever you say, Shee."

The two girls turn their heads to the stage when a tall woman with purple skin and mustard yellow freckles on her face taps on the microphone. Elphaba Bree has been District One's escort for the past five years, and she seems to enjoy every second of the Reapings — there is a broad smile on her face, standing between the two bowls that contain all of the eligible children's names, and her fingers are already clinking against the thin glass in excitement. Their designated mentors, Gloss and Cashmere, are standing behind her with stoic but nevertheless proud expressions on their faces. Luxe met them a few weeks ago for her Games prep — they weren't exactly nice, but she reckoned it was better for them not to act too friendly around a pair of tributes that they hardly knew at all.

"Hello, District One!" Elphaba exclaims. Her greeting is welcomed by cheers and loud claps from a very enthusiastic crowd. She even bows a little in appreciation before adding, "It's such a pleasure to be back! District One has always felt like home to me — not because of the beautiful views or the skyscrapers, but because all of you, the most exquisite people of Panem, make me feel at home." More claps and cheers. Luxe rolls her eyes — she can barely stand the shallowness of it all.

"Very well then," Elphaba continues. "It's time to decide who will honour your beautiful District in the 86th Hunger Games. Ladies first, shall we?"

Luxe can almost feel how nearly every pair of eyes in the town square briefly darts towards her before focusing on Elphaba's stylised shape again. She picks out a random piece of paper and reads the name out loud — Luxe reckons it must be one of the younger girls, because it doesn't ring a bell at all. The girl walks onstage and greets Elphaba nonchalantly, knowing that Luxe will undoubtedly walk up to save her in a matter of minutes. Elphaba grins at her and even tousles the girl's blond braids, complimenting her on her beautiful green dress.

A few voices echo in attempt of volunteering before Luxe does, but the girl takes a step forward and courageously roars, "I volunteer!"

Gloss and Cashmere smile in approval, and Sheen whoops behind her. Her parents and sisters, sitting at the privileged spot reserved for the Careers' families, are grinning proudly at her — her mother is even crying a little, Luxe notices, and she has to hold back a smile when Elphaba invites her onstage and lets her take the microphone for a second. She takes a look at the entire town square, then at the camera. The world is but a stage, she realises now, and it is currently owned by her.

"I promise to make my family and my District proud," she says, a confident smile on her face.

The entire town square erupts in cheers and applause, and for a second Luxe feels completely and utterly invincible.

all right, so! that was that. hope my portrayal of luxe's personality was accurate enough, and i hope you lot enjoyed this (lengthier) chapter. please keep submitting characters for this as I really want to keep writing it and there are still several slots open! i can come up with random reaping details without their district partners, but i will need to have them for the train rides, chariot rides, training, and so on. so pretty please! with a cherry on top!

up next: anne bingham's reaping.

-vandenburgs.