The car pulls up outside the Academy and Venus literally bounces up to the car before the driver can even open the door. As soon as he does, she shrieks with excitement and practically drags me from the vehicle so fast that I barely grab my school bag before she's dragging me up the white stone stairway into the main school building.
We – or rather she – races down the hallway towards the auditorium to where the Reapings will be shown, with many of our classmates following behind us at a more leisurely pace. Unsurprisingly, Venus has managed to secure us seats in the very front row with two of our other friends, Diana and Persephone. They're your typical Capitol type; artificially coloured hair and eyes with tattooed skin, painted nails and bright clothing. Then again, Venus is like that too, but she's not so garish, with her silvery blonde hair, electric blue eyes and delicate spiralling tattoos that decorate her forehead, temples and cheekbones. I think she's quite pretty, actually.
Eventually, we're all seated and the hubbub subsides; our Headmaster, Doctor Charleston, walks to the podium and makes a very short (and forgettable) speech about the Reaping. The Official Capitol Seal flashes across the screen and there's a short introduction by Claudius Templesmith. After this, the Reapings officially begin.
Districts 1 and 2 provide nothing unusual; brutal Careers battling it out for the chance to be chosen as this year's tributes. Two pathetic looking children who break down and weep are chosen from District 3 and another set of Careers volunteer for District 4. It's not until District 5 that someone interesting is chosen – 16-year old Rouge Hamilton is chosen. She looks sly, intelligent and mysterious; however, the boy is of little note. Most of the other Districts pass by without any real incident, with no volunteers and all of the chosen tributes looking like deer trapped in a spotlight.
Eventually, the Reaping from District 11 is shown. Their escort, Mara Moonbeam draws the female tribute's name with great dramatic effect. Her name is Rue and she's a tiny slip of a thing; just twelve years old with long dark hair and big, sad eyes. She walks to the stage with trembling steps, her family in hysterics somewhere on the sidelines. As she must, Mara calls for volunteers, but nobody is willing to save this girl from what is sure to be an unpleasant fate. It's all made worse when Mara selects the male tribute; a man-mountain named Thresh, who is so tall and broad he might well have been a Career had he volunteered instead of being chosen. When they shake hands, I cannot help but think that this poor little girl has no chance against that massive young man.
Finally, District 12 appears on screen; off all the Districts, it's the shabbiest and most decrepit, even compared to Districts 10 and 11. The slightly disturbing Effie Trinket is brushing off the drunken advances of District 12's only surviving Hunger Games Victor, (Hamish? Haymith?) before stepping daintly up to the glass balls that hold the names of so many children. Reaching her hand in deep, she plucks the name from amongst the masses and reads it in a clear voice – Primrose Everdeen. The cameras scan the crowd and focus on yet another twelve year old girl, this one even more delicate looking than Rue, with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Suddenly, a dark-haired creature rushes out from amongst the 16-year olds, runs up to the podium pushes this Primose girl out of the way.
"I volunteer!" she gasps, "I volunteer as tribute!"
The gentle hum of voices that had begun in the auditorium as the Reapings began to finish stops. In my entire memory, there has never been a volunteer from District 12. In fact, I'd bet you'd have to go back over 60 years, maybe more, before you could find someone that had volunteered from the coal district. All eyes are now fixed on the screen as this brave young woman is formally introduced.
Her name is Katniss Everdeen; it turns out that she is Primrose's older sister. When Effie calls to the town to applaud this courageous girl, not one person in the square responds. Slowly, surely, each one of them then lifts the three middle fingers of their left hand to their lips and then reaches out to her. It is an odd gesture, but she seems touched by it even though her face remains impassive. Then, Effie selects the final tribute for this year's Games; a boy named Peeta Mellark, who seems just as stunned as all of the other tributes. They shake hands, and the Anthem of Panem is played, before the Capitol seal flashes across the screen once again.
Oddly, the auditorium is still silent as we file out. There will be no afternoon classes today; everyone will probably go home and start gossiping about who they plan to sponsor this year. I begin to walk out to the front driveway where I'm sure the car will be waiting when Venus bounces up beside me, chattering on about Marvel from District 1, and Cato from District 2.
"Marvel is better looking but I don't know, Cato seems stronger somehow," she says, though I'm hardly listening to her. Instead, I am thinking about the tributes from District 5, 11 and 12. Or rather, 11 and 12, because the girl from 5, whilst intelligent looking, was nowhere near as memorable. Our driver, Otis, opens the car door and I slip inside. Athena is already in there, waiting for me. She too is yammering on about this tribute or that. Apparently, the girl from District 1 is her pick for this year, Glitter or Glamour or something.
I stare out the window at the manicured gardens and lush landscapes that edge the roadway. I'm adding up all of the sponsorship money my parents have given me in the past, plus what I'll get from them this year. It's quite a lot; more than enough to feed half of District 12 for decades, I would think. ..