Leah Oakley
Standing, cramped between other girls my age, I look around. It's not like I haven't seen this all before, but I'm looking for Lily and Luke.
I spot Lily in front of all the girls, small and sweet on her blue and white dress with the gold chain around her neck, holding the red cross pendant. Touching my own, blue cross pendant, I whisper, "Good luck, my little flower." I look towards the boys to find Luke, but my attention is caught bu another boy. He has sapphire blue eyes, like mine, only more penetrating, and curly brown hair. Have you seen him before? I ask myself.I remove my attention from this strangely familiar boy and search for my brother. Spotting him, I can now full take in how mum dressed him. As far as I can see, he has black trousers, a black leather jacket and I can see a pale blue collar around the neck of the jacket. Good. I think to myself. She hasn't gone over the top.
The mayor, the escort and the mentor walk on stage and sit down. The escort walks to the front of the stage and, with that capitol accent, recites the same speech as every year before. "And may the odds be ever in your favor!" She ends in the very same motto. She crosses the stage to the glass ball with the girls' names in it. Digging deep, she pulls out a slip and for a moment, everyone stops breathing as she calls out the name; "Lily Oakley!" NO! I don't only stop breathing, my heart stops beating and I am momentarily paralyzed to the spot as I watch my baby sister, my little flower, walk timidly towards the stage.
"No," At first, my voice is small, "NO!" I begin moving towards Lily, "LILY! I VOLUNTEER" The crowd gasps in shock as I push my sister behind me. "I volunteer."
"Well, how about that?!" Exclaims the escort, "For the first time in years, we have a volunteer! What's your name, deary?"
"Leah Oakley."
"Well, Leah Oakley, welcome to the Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor! Now for the boys!" She crosses to the boys' glass ball and reaches right into the bottom. The crowd holds a breath as she pulls out the slip, "Luke Oakley!" I don't believe it! Both of them!? How is it possible that they could both be reaped?"
"I volunteer!" What? Who said that? I scour the crowd of boys to see if I can spot any sign of movement. None.
"Did someone volunteer?" Asks the escort.
"Yes," a boy emerges from the crowd with his hand in the air, "I did." The boy has sapphire blue eyes, like mine, only more penetrating, and curly brown hair. It's the boy I saw earlier.
"Oh my," says the escort, "two volunteers in one year, it's a record for district seven! Well, son, what's your name?"
"Frodo Baggins."
meanwhile
Ellie Rouke
I stand with the other girls, waiting for the reaping to start. Come on! I want to win the Hunger Games, not wait a year!" Eventually, the mayor, the escort and the mentor walk on stage. The escort takes center stage and recites the same speech that she always does on the reaping. Oh, come on! Get over with it! I want in! "And may the odds be ever in your favor!" About time she finished! "Ladies first!" She crosses to the stage to the glass balls with name slips in. She plunges her arm into the girls' ball and just as she pulls out a slip of paper...
"I VOLUNTEER!" I shout as I push my way through the rest of the girls and strut up to the stage.
"What's your name?" Asks the escort.
"Elanor Rouke."
"Welcome to the Hunger Games, Elanor Rouke, and may the odds-"
"Be ever in your favor. I know, I know, now can we get on with it?"
"Yes, well, right. Boys next!" She crosses to the glass ball with the boys' names in it and shoves her hand in it. The boys let the escort pull out the slip and read the name, "Aragorn Thranduilion!" Aragorn begins walking towards the stage with pride.
"I volunteer!" Legolas runs out from the crowd of boys, right up to the stage.
"What-"
"Legolas Thranduilion."
"Welcome to the Hunger Games, Legolas Thranduilion, and may the odds be ever in your favor."
We shake hands and at this moment, the games have begun.
meanwhile
Abie Karimloo
I stand quivering with anxiety - I don't know why, the reaping shouldn't, doesn't, scare me. But something stirs in my bones uneasily, and my bones are never wrong.
The mayor, escort and mentor walk on the stage and my quivers turn to short, high-pitched whimpers. I have never been this scared before, not even when Tim signed up for tesserae and I was sure he would get reaped like Ruth did. But Tim didn't have friends to volunteer for him like Ruth did.
"Ladies first!" I jolt back to reality. I didn't even hear the speech, but it's not like I missed anything important. The escort's hand plunges into the first glass ball and as she pulls the slip of paper out of the glass ball, the crowd draws a breath and my legs turn to jelly. "Abigail Karimloo!" Everything goes black and I hear a quiet thud, the last thing that fades away before the complete silence.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
My eyes flicker open, only to shut immediately, as the sun is so bright I can't stand it. After about a minute, I slowly open my eyes and, even more slowly, they adjust. Blinking a bit, a lot, I look at the faces around me. Grey eyes and purple hair - escort. Green eyes and brown hair - mentor. Blue eyes and short, grey hair - mayor. Looking at the person holding my hand, I see green eyes and curly ginger hair.
"Hey Pip." He blushes and drops my hand. Someone hands me a glass of water as I sit up, and I see that it's Ruth. She gives me a sympathetic look. "What's wrong?" I ask her.
"Abigail Karimloo?" Asks the escort.
"Yes, why?" I look at Tim, who wears the same sympathetic look as Ruth. "What's going on?" I ask.
"Abie," Says Pippin, "You don't have friends to volunteer for you like Ruth did."
Suddenly, it all comes rushing back to me, the feeling in my bones, my missing the speech, my name being pulled out of the glass ball, and the thud I heard as I fainted. Slowly, I stand up and and walk, with the escort, mentor and mayor, to the stage. The reaping proceeds as the escort shoves her hand in the glass balls with the boys' names in it. It's OK. I don't care who it is. I don't really know any boys, anyway. And there's a very high chance we'll die anyway, so I don't mind dying. Besides, my time will come someday. The crowd holds it's breath as breath, waiting for another reaction like mine when the escort reads the name on the slip of paper she has in her hand.
"Peregrin Took!" No! No, no, no, no, no! Not Pippin! It's a nightmare! I can die, but not Pippin! Please, not Pippin! He's not going to die! I love him too much!
meanwhile
Kayly Scribbles
Waiting eagerly, I get a tingly feeling in my toes. Pins and needles? Nope. The escort, mentor and mayor walk on the stage and the escort says the speech. "Come on, come on, I wanna know who's gonna die!" I whisper, gaining looks from people around me. I watch intently as her hand goes into the glass ball and pull a piece of paper out. She reads it.
"Kayly Scribbles!"
"YES!" I yell and run forwards. I run right onto the stage.
"Now for the boys!" She pulls the slip out of the glass ball and reads it. I don't listen to the name, but I see a boy walking towards the stage with long, straight brown hair and brown eyes. The escort make us shake hands, so I whisper to him.
"I didn't hear you're name."
"Erestor." He whispers back
"Let the 74th Hunger Games begin." I whisper with a smile.