Brooke Carswell POV District 4
"Brooke," a young, high voice whispered. "Brooke, Momma says wake up." I
slowly and hesitantly opened my eyes to peer into the deep blue ones of my
five-year-old sister, Mia. "Brooke, Momma says that you need to come to
breakfast." I sighed as I got out of my cozy bed. Along the way, I scooped
up Mia in my arms. She giggled as I ran to the kitchen.
Surprisingly, I was the last to arrive to breakfast. Normally, my sister
Ana was the last to wake up, but I figured that she was nervous because of the
day. She was thirteen years old, and it was her first reaping. "Now that
you're finally up, squid-breath, we can eat," Ana said weakly.
I glared on the outside, but on the inside, I beamed. I had taught her
the "squid-breath" insult. "Nerves getting to you, fish bait?" She didn't
answer.
Breakfast was nice this morning- not anything like I'm sure they had in
the Capital, but a feast for us. Momma had made a stack of pancakes, and
Daddy had gotten a bucket of blackberries- something completely wasted as my
three-year-old brother Todd tried to stick them up his nose and my eight- and
nine-year-old sisters, Alice and Brianne, through them at each other.
Deciding to join in on their fun, I threw one at Ana. "Brooke, you're
sixteen. Don't you think you're a bit old for this?" my mother reprimanded.
My father threw a blackberry at her in response.
…
An hour later, we were headed for the town square. We walked slowly,
something that could have been excused as a precautionary against slipping on
the ever-wet streets of District 4, but something we all knew was because we
dreaded having the family ripped apart. I smoothed down my simple white dress
as I walked to the section for my age group. Out of the corner of my eye, I
saw Ana, wearing a green dress that used to be mine and was so big on her that
it made her look like she was drowning in fabric, join the other terrified
thirteen-year-olds. I prayed to whatever deity there was not to let her be
reaped. I was so anxious that I missed everything that Franz Locket, the
escort from the Capital, said until he pulled out a name.
Hundreds of names were there to be chosen. It couldn't possibly be Ana.
She was too young to die. I was still teaching her the proper way to hold a
knife to skin a fish, all the ways to tie a knot… Which raised this
question: Would it be me? Me? Another District 4 girl with a big family, no
food, and tanned skin and blonde hair from too much time in the sun? It
couldn't possibly be-
"Brooke Carswell!"
That was the day that my world started to end. The rest of that day
passed in a blur. I remember pointing out that I couldn't kill a turtle; how
was I supposed to kill other kids? I remember my mother taking out the locket
that had once belonged to her great-grandmother, a cheap silver one that was
her greatest possession, putting a picture of the eight of us in it, and
fastening it around my neck, tears pouring out of her eyes as she told me that
she loved me. I remember saying good-bye to my family- Cecily, my beautiful
mother; Ross, my strong father; Ana, my annoying and sarcastic little sister
and best friend; Brianne and Alice, who would gladly kill each other for me;
Mia, the sweet little angel; and Todd, who probably wouldn't remember me if I
died. I could still hear their sobs as the doors closed between us.