This will be my last short chapter, the next one is a lot longer, I will post it once i have finished writing Chapter 4. This will be hopefully my last annoying AN. Enjoy the story! ~OwlSocks
After an uneasy night of tossing and turning and drifting in and out of a restless sleep, I finally give up, deciding that if sleep was going to come, it would have come by now. It's already light outside, and my small alarm clock next to my bed tells me it's quarter to only noise I can hear outside is the melodic tunes of the birds. Usually, the town is up by now, and you can hear the hustle and bustle of people walking to the square to set up their market stalls. But not today. Because today is reaping day, the most terrifying day of the whole year.
I get out of bed, and find that I'm shivering as the worry floods through me. What if I'm picked? What if I have to go through what my brother did? The worst thought enters my if my parents lose both of their children? I take deep breaths and tell myself to calm down. My name is only in there 9 times. There are some kids from the poorest part of District 5 who have their names in as many as 30 times.
Still taking deep breaths, I remind myself that the odds are in my favour more than others. I keep telling myself this as I go to get a glass of water, and sip it to calm my racing heart.I decide that it's better to keep my mind busy so I don't end up panicking again.
I get dressed in a simple shirt and trousers. I put on my boots and go outside for a walk. I breathe in the cool morning air as I walk around the town, clearing my mind of the worry and panic I felt earlier. I walk up to the large hill at the edge of the town that leads to the poorer part of 5. I stop at the top and admire the view of the district. Below me is the small town that holds the school, market, shops and the houses for us lucky enough to be a bit better off than the others. We aren't rich, but we aren't poor. Still poor enough for me to have to take out tesserae each year. I abandon the bad thoughts about the Capitol that are entering my head and go back to looking at my view of 5.
Beyond the town is the large space dedicated to our industry. Power stations and windmills take up most of our district, unsurprising, as we have to provide the whole of Panem with the electricity we make. So much of it goes to the Capitol; I wouldn't be surprised if some of the poorer districts got no power at all.
After standing and staring at the constant puffs of smoke coming from the power station, I decide to go back home.
When I get home, my parents are already up, but they don't seem surprised that I have been away, as I have been doing it a lot lately. It helps to clear my head after sleepless nights. We eat a small lunch, none of us really hungry, and then it's time to get ready for the reaping. I wash my hair then part it to the side, with a tiny plait at each side, a simple decoration for my waist length, red hair. My reaping outfit is simple, a cream blouse and a blue skirt. We then walk hand to the Reaping, my mother, my father and I. When we reach the square, I hug them both and tell them it will all be ok, then go to sign in and stand in the roped off area for the girls.
At half past one, Brisaida Moon, an eccentric Capitol woman with bright blue hair stands on the stage in front of the Justice Building and welcomes us.
"Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favour!" She says in her silly Capitol accent. The Mayor then takes over, and tells us the history of Panem, the same story each year, and reads out the list of District 5 victors. Then it's time for the reaping.
My heart is pounding as Brisaida trots over to the glass bowl containing the girls names. Not me, please not me, anyone but me, I think, my fingers crossed behind my back. She trots back to the microphone and reads out the name on the slip.
"Taryn Jamison"
What? Did she say my name? No, she can't have, she can't have! The people around me have turned to stare at me now, and I realise it must be me. The fear I felt this morning floods back, magnified a hundred times as I realise that just like my brother, I am going into The Hunger Games.