Joy stared them down until they burst out laughing.
"Sorry Joy it's just I-"Castone said between heavy breaths.
"Even though it didn't work, best prank ever!" Topaz exclaimed.
"It counts as a 'knee slapper'!" Castone said cheerily.
They slapped their knees at the same time. Joy was so fed up with boys. She left, ignoring their calls for her. Her mother seemed to be waiting for her in their prison cell.
"Where's Castone?"
"He's still eating."
Joy's mother sighed. "The reaping is in a month."
Joy looked up in shock. She felt like her mom had just said "Your execution is tomorrow."
"What? Are you serious?"
Her mother looked away. "Our president is dead. The districts won. We're lucky we're not all dead." She quickly changed topics.
"I'll have to find something for you to wear. The Reaping is going to be in the Large Group Instruction room. The districts are using the shelter numbers as districts. So we're District 6."
Joy urged herself to think of anything but the Reaping. She was living the districts' nightmare. How did they stay strong for so many years? Peoples' lives changed permanently in the Games. Joy thought of Enobaria, who's teeth were altered into fangs and Johanna who lost all the people she loved. Where were they now? Joy wondered if they'd be at the Reaping. Reaping. What a terrible word.