The 49th Hunger Games
The reaping has come around again, and my name is in nineteen times, thanks to all the Tesserae I've been taking out for Thom. He hasn't needed any so far, which I'm grateful for.
It's his second year, his named entered twice, so the odds are in his favour, to a reasonable extent.
Mother dressed us both up in our best clothes, and sent us off with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. She's really improved since I took out my first Tesserae, three years ago.
Our clothes have been mended, she's started to cook, to clean, to take on jobs. I think that sacrificing myself finally brought her around.
I'm glad.
We both walk down past the still overgrown hedges that surround our little area in the seam, and head down to the main road.
It's extremely empty, even though the reaping's in half an hour. I suppose that people want as long a time as they can get at home, in case it's their last ever time there.
We have arranged to meet Hatch, Kalee and Thom's friend Alixander at the blood booth where we get our fingers pricked. They should already be there, us two are running late.
I speed up my walk a little bit, and Thom does the same.
"Do you think you'll get picked, Haymitch?" his small voice asks me.
I have carefully try to tread around the subject all morning, but I suppose it inevitable, with the reaping being so close.
I sigh and look down at him.
"I hope not. I hope you're not, either. Or anyone we know. But there are people with their name entered more times than me,"
"Are you scared?"
His question makes me flinch a little. For a thirteen year old, he is wise beyond his years.
"No. Not really."
Thom looks down again, and I speed us up more.
When we reach the main square, it is full. Everyone must have come earlier than usual, because there was nobody on the streets when we passed through.
Someone claps me on the back; I spin round and swing my arm out. Hatch grins at me from the place where I just struck out.
"Your reflexes are getting so predictable, these days. What happened to originality?" he teases. I roll my eyes at him, and spot Kalee, dragging Alix through the bubble of people.
"Hello to you too, Hatch," I reply, then turn to Kalee. She runs into my arms and I kiss her temple as we hug.
"This is it, then," she murmurs into my shoulder. I let go of her and hold her at arm's length, so that I'm looking into her eyes.
"No it's not. We won't be chosen, hatch won't be chosen and neither will those two," I tell her, pointing at my brother and his friend, who is now watching us with a mixed expressions of 'Eww' and 'Hahaha'. I give them a small glare, and then turn back to Kalee.
"We'll be fine. You'll see," I say, then take her hand and move through the crowd that has started to shuffle impatiently.
The Escort for 12 is a very tall, very thin woman called Gallia Fallicum with very bright yellow hair that hurts your eyes when you look at it. The look isn't helped by a long thin curve cutting across her face to her ears, coloured orange, and the fluffy clothing she wears. It makes her look like a canary – a small bird we send down mines to check for danger.
She taps impatiently into a microphone as we move around, making it screech and splutter through the loudspeakers surrounding us. We quieten down immediately.
Thom is shaking next to me – I put out a hand and grasp his shoulder as a support. I suppose I was the same at my first reaping, but looking after your entire family hardens you up a lot.
It's lucky he's even allowed into this part of the square. The train was late from District Eleven – something about a massive gale that cut off the power – and we are half an hour behind. They haven't bothered putting up the ropes to section us into age groups, so we can stick together more than usual.
"Hem Hem," says Gallia Fallicum in her ridiculously high Capitol accent, drawing everyone's eyes to her.
She looks even worse than usual: the 'beak' on her face has jewels imprinted along the edges, giving the lovely impression of droplets of blood.
I glance at Hatch, who gives a slight roll of his eyes and pretends to faint. I smirk at him, then turn back to the stage where Gallia is now playing the same video shown every year about the Districts uprising, and the start of the Games. It's not like we don't know – you'd have to have been living at the bottom of a pond for the last 49 years to not know what happened. I suppose they just like showing us how much control they have over us.
Far too much.
The film stops and the screen goes blank. Gallia turns to look at us all with that stupid smile, looking around as though she's specifically choosing which one of us will go up.
"Right then, Ladies first! Or should we have the boys, for a change?" she chirps. I feel Thom stiffen up next to me again, and I squeeze his shoulder harder.
She totters over to the huge reaping ball full of pale blue slips. The boys' ball. In which my name is entered 19 times. Kalees is in eleven, and Hatch's in twenty four.
I tell myself that it will be alright, but my hands start to quiver, clenching around Thom and Kalee. They stand just as stiff, waiting as the escort reaches in, fumbling her hand around dauntingly, always smiling.
At last she pulls one out.
Please not us, I pray, please, anyone but us...
"Terrance Hopkirk!" she cries brightly, searching around the crowd with her arms outstretched, as though to drag him in.
My heart slows down again and I release my grip on Thom. Kalee smiles slightly at me, but I can tell she's panicking. She does it every year. Hatch grins soberly, and doesn't look at the figure that emerges from the bunch of 17 year olds gathered around the stage.
Gallia Fallicum embraces his hand in hers, then the peacekeepers usher the crowd back. Terrance looks broken already. I don't know him personally, but I've seen him around in school a few times, and I think he might be Hatch's brother Farrance's friends.
Once he's stood to the side of the podium, Gallia struts over to the other reaping ball and reaches inside. I tense up briefly before she calls, "Zara Harolds."
I give a small sigh of relief as a girl that I have never seen before comes up, and then give Kalee a hug. She shakes slightly, so I ruffle her hair. On the stage the Terrance and Zara clasp hands, both of them looking green.
Once they're escorted through to the Justice Building, the crowd starts to go, either heading to their own homes or a more comfortable place to watch the recaps of the Reapings tonight.
I spot Mother amongst a crowd of women in a door way, and tell Thom.
He nods and starts to walk over to her with Alix, and I let go of Kalee. Hatch is grinning as he claps me on the back and ruffles Kalees hair.
"See, told you we needn't worry, didn't I?" he smirks, and I punch his arm.
"And that's what's going to cause you trouble, cocky," Kalee replies and rolls her eyes.
Hatch waves it off, and then looks around. Probably for Calanda- his obsession with the poor girl is growing. She has grown reasonable comfy with that bakery boy, though, so whether he gets her or not is debatable.
Kalee still shakes slightly, so I lean down to her ear and whisper, "We're safe,"
She looks up and grins – I smile back and stand up.
"Look, I'll see you later, Mum's waiting, okay?"
She nods, "Are you coming over to mine later to watch It?"
I don't have to guess what she means by 'It'.
"Of course," I kiss her hair gently and wave as she turns to go back to the square. I jog towards Mother and Thom, both who are smiling slightly.
Mother pulls me into a hug and I look over her shoulder at Thom.
"What did I tell you? We'll be okay," I say. He comes over and I include him in the family hug.
The games aren't going to go well, I can tell. Both of them are petrified.
But that's alright, I think to myself, because I'm not a tribute.
A/N: Hello :) Yes, the story will get going next chapter. I just wanted to show Haymitch's relationship a bit with his friends, brother and girlfriend. And for those who havent guessed, Hatch is Mr. Everdeen. Calanda is Mrs. Everdeen.
Yes, Thank you Wolffie. I do love you very much.
Review (please?)
~Flame