Eryn Winters (15)- D12F
The sweet smell of sugar fills the air as it often does in the morning. My clothes always smell like candy from the shop, and all the kids at school tell me I smell sickeningly sweet all the time. I don't notice it anymore, except in the morning when the new candy is being melted and shaped downstairs. I throw off my covers, careful not to wake Merylla who is still asleep on the other side of the room. Her sleeping face looks a lot like mine, though with some noticeable differences. Her jawline is more pronounced and her nose is a different shape. Still, we are definitely twins. We have the same wavy blonde hair as everyone in our family and hazel eyes that we inherited from our mother.
I get dressed into my pretty blue dress that Jylly and Daisy used to wear before me. Merylla wore it last year, and now i'm wearing , the shop is closed despite the smell of the candy being made. We'll only open after the Reaping is over, when families come looking for some celebratory snacks. No Reaping party isn't complete without a sweet treat for the children who have been spared from the Capitol's bloodlust.
My sisters are all awake and milling around in the shop. This year will be a difficult one for us. Five out of the six of us will be in the Reaping this year, only excluding Janah. She's running around the candy displays wildly, laughing and twirling around a ribbon that's supposed to be in her hair.
"Janah, you little-" Jylly cuts herself off before she gets scolded by Mom.
"Stop running, Janah," Daisy says sternly, fluffing Dussie's hair. "And someone needs to wake up Merylla and Eryn!"
"I'm right here," I say softly. My sisters' ears are attuned to my quiet voice, so their heads turn immediately to me. Daisy smiles, her eyes soft.
"Good morning, sleepyhead," she says. "Is Merylla with you?"
"No, she's still sleeping. I thought we still had time."
"I'll wake her," Jylly exclaims, throwing her hands up in the air. Janah laughs in glee as our eldest sister pushes past me to go upstairs. Janah has been shielded from the truth of today as much as possible. At only nine years old, she's too young to worry about her sisters dying in the Hunger Games. She watches the Games like everyone else in Panem, but during the violent parts, we try to distract her with real games. It's gotten harder as she gets older, and her own first Reaping will be in three years, but since she's the baby of the family, we try to sugarcoat it as much as we can.
"You great in that dress, Eryn," Dad tells me from over the counter. He's counting the money in the register, probably wondering how much more he'll be able to make today.
"That's what you told me!" Daisy says indignantly.
"What?" Dad looks hopelessly confused, just like he always is when it comes to our clothes. We share so much it's hard to keep track of whose is whose.
Behind the storefront is the kitchen, in which the candy is cooking alongside our breakfast. I eat up all my eggs as fast as I can. We eat better than most in Twelve, since we own our own store, but I often wonder what will happen when we're all grown up. I imagine Jylly and Daisy will take over the store, and Merylla, Dussie, Janah and I will have to find our own way. The idea of living in the Seam scares me. I see the children all the time in school, sunken faces and bodies, barely able to stay awake. A few years ago a kid in my grade had fallen asleep in class and wouldn't wake up. We never saw him again.
Soon, Merylla and Jylly join us at the table. Merylla is wearing another dress that our sisters wore before her, a pale green number.
"Good morning, sunshine," Mom says swiftly.
"Sorry," Merylla blushes. We look even more alike when she does that.
"Just be glad you have us to wake you. Eryn, come stir this please."
As I stir the stiffening sugar in the pot on the stove, my mind starts to go to dark places. I know that there is much larger chance that a poorer girl will be Reaped, as it happens almost every year. But with five of us eligible, it makes our chances even higher. At least none of us have ever had to take out tesserae. Times may get tough, but that's something our parents have always been adamant against.
"Alright, let's get ready to go," Dad says tiredly. I know these worries are weighing on him as well. Janah clings to him as he stands up, her hair still a mess. I finish stirring the candy and help Mom pour it out onto the counter to dry. We cut it into long pieces while Dad tries to fix Janah's hair and Jylly and Dussie argue over who gets to wear Mom's silver earrings. It's a wild mess, but it would be incomplete without all of us.
Rooker Holm (13)- D12M
The Reaping always makes me nervous. Even before I was eligible, I was always terrified that someone I knew would be picked. My worst fear was that for Gaia, who despite seeming much older, is only sixteen and has been doing this for years now. Since this is only my second time, I haven't acquired any of her bravery yet, though I hope I do eventually.
My family stops by the Blooms before heading to the Reaping. I'm dressed in my very best, a white dress shirt and some old pants. The Blooms are not much better off than us, so I'm not embarrassed at the moment. But the square will be full of townie kids in their crisp morning clothes, and I have nothing but one of my dad's old mining shirts.
Flint's mouth breaks into a toothy smile when he opens the door. "Rooker! You're here!"
"We sure are," my mother says. "We thought maybe we could all walk to the Reaping together."
"Yeah!" Flint disappears into the house, in search of his family. We step inside to the house that is so similar to our own. Neither of us live in the Seam, but our lives aren't easy either. My stomach feels queasy when I think about the tesserae I'd had to take out last year and again this year. My parents hated to make me do it, but we had to eat. With my father in the mines and my mother a teacher at the rundown school that doesn't pay much, things can get rough. The day after my birthday each year, I had been sent trudging to the Justice Building to ask for grain and oil. Both times I had been stuttering so bad the women there to receive me almost didn't understand what I wanted. But we needed the food.
Flint comes bouncing back into the room, this time with Gaia in tow. I duck my head a little lower as she appears. It's always hard to look Gaia in the eye.
"Good morning, Rooker," she greets me just as their parents walk in. We all decide to head out to the Reaping, but I'm not really listening, focusing more on the dress that Gaia is wearing. It's soft yellow with a blue bow in her hair, very pretty. Most people wouldn't see it that way; Gaia has a reputation for being tough and scaring away anyone that she doesn't want to associate with. It's one of the reasons my mother asked her to look out for me during school. And although Gaia is three years older than me and sees me as her ward, I can't help but wish we were something more.
The air is solemn as we walk to the Reaping. The mornings when my father sets out with the other miners aren't particularly noisy either, but there is at least some chatter. Today everyone is deadly silent. I hug my parents goodbye before going to get my finger pricked with Gaia and Flint, shaking slightly in fear. I hate this part of the Reaping the most. Last year my finger wouldn't stop bleeding for the entire ceremony.
As I walk with Flint to our place, heads turn toward us, some looking confused as we settle in the thirteen-year old section. I get this a lot from people who don't know me; I'm incredibly tall for my age. I shake my head so that some of my brown hair covers my face a little. Having so many people watching me makes me nervous.
"I was thinking this morning about a new game we could play tonight," Flint says, clearly not worried about the gazes of the others.
"Yeah? What kind?" Flint and I loved to make up new games and play them whenever we can.
"It's a combination of a board game and obstacle course. See, it tests all of your abilities-"
"Welcome, everyone to the Seventy Seventh Reaping!" the mayor announces on the stage.
"Rude," Flint mutters under his breath, making me hold back a chuckle.
The mayor gives his usual speech with false enthusiasm. Behind him, our only living victor Haymitch Abernathy is staring at the sky. I can't tell if he's awake or just sleeping with his eyes closed. After that there is the "educational" video and the escort's introduction.
"Happy Hunger Games!" she squeals into the mic. "Let's get right to business shall we?"
Eryn Winters (15)- D12F
"He's looking at you," Merrie teases me gleefully, wiggling her eyebrows.
"Stop it!" I whine, pulling at my dress. Merylla and Lanna giggle next to us. We're supposed to be paying attention to the Reaping, but Merrie just won't leave me alone. On the other side of the aisle, Hayle is standing, looking handsome as ever as he gazes at the stage. I'm never one to have crushes; that's more of my best friend Merrie's deal. I knew I shouldn't have told her when two days later, Merylla and her best friend Lanna already knew. They take every chance they can to tease me about it. But Hayne is just so handsome…
"Eryn Winters!"
My head snaps to the stage, open-mouthed. I feel tears start to pool in my eyes as I realize what has happened. I try to walk towards the stage, but someone's arms are tight around me.
"No, no, Eryn!" Merylla cries, her face so like but so different from mine streaked with tears.
"Let her go, Merylla," Merrie says softly, prying her hands away from me.
I shakily walk forward, ignoring Merylla's sobs, my own tears starting to fall slowly. By the time I make it to the escort, her giant pink hair so out of place here, Jylly and Daisy's old dress is soaked with tears.
"Wonderful!" the escort, Effie, claps her hands together once. "Congratulations, Eryn! And now for the boys."
It's hard to keep it together when I have to stand there while another innocent child is sent to their death. I try to compose myself as to not look like a complete weakling in front of the cameras, but it's useless.
"Rooker Holm!"
The boy is in pretty much the same boat as me, sniveling and shaking so bad I think he might fall over. His eyes are wide and terrified, face completely red.
"And there we have our two tributes from District Twelve, Rooker Holm and Eryn Winters! Now shake hands you too!"
I lean over to take Rooker's shaking hand, which is wet from either sweat or tears, maybe both. In a flash, we're taken back into the Justice Building. Everything is happening so fast I almost can't believe it's real.
I've never been inside the Justice Building before. It's definitely the nicest place in District Twelve, and I can't imagine what the Capitol will be like. The velvet couches and ornate paintings and frames seem to be mocking me. At least I'll get to surrounded by luxury before the Games.
My family bursts into the door, all seven of them. Janah is crying despite not understanding what's happening, probably because everyone else is. I hold her gently while making sure to hug everyone else. Once I'm finished, she leans back and hands me something.
"Here, Eryn," she whispers tearfully. It's a small, smooth gray-blue stone. Janah has always loved collecting stones and other random items from the streets.
"Thank you so much," I smile through my tears. "I'll remember you whenever I look at it."
Rooker Holm (13)- D12M
My parents come first, crying heavily and enveloping me in their arms. When the Peacekeepers come, they won't let me go and have to be pulled away, their hands still grabbing for me. My mother thrusts a small brooch towards me before she's forced away, one that I immediately recognize. It was my grandmother's, then my mother's, then mine when I was old enough to pin it to myself without drawing blood. I tearfully pin it to my shirt, which is still lined with coal from the mines. I may be leaving District Twelve, but it will never leave me.
The Blooms spill in next. Flint seems to be in denial, staring at me with wide, blank eyes.
"We can play my new game when you get back, alright?" he tells me, patting me on the shoulder. I don't blame him for being awkward, it was always our thing together. It's one of the reasons we got along so well.
"Don't be stupid," Gaia tells me, reaching up to ruffle my hair, staring into my eyes. "You have to use your head and not let anything anyone says get to you. Remember?"
I nod, wiping away my tears. "I know." That's what she always told me when the bullies at school started to act up again.
They all stay near me until the Peacekeepers come to take them away. Gaia kisses me on the cheek. "Goodbye," she whispers before she pulls away.
After the door swings shut, I take a deep breath and try to stay calm. I've started to shake again at the idea of boarding that train and going to the Capitol. A few more tears roll down my cheeks. Now my fate rests in the hands of those bloodthirsty people who will decide if I live or die.
Hey guys! Finally finished with the Reapings! I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter.