Sorry this took so long; I've been busy with exams and all that jazz. That sounds like an excuse so I'll try to make it up to all my fabulous readers by getting District 7 done by tomorrow (no promises but I can promise I'll try).
EDIT: I KNOW I SAID I'D TRY AND I DID BUT I DIDN'T GET HOME UNTIL LATE (AS IN AFTER 8) AND I HAVE OTHER STUFF TO DO. I DID TRY AND I FINISHED 2 PAGES BUT I DON'T HAVE TIME TO DO 10. TOMORROW IT SHOULD BE DONE. I HOPE.
As helpful as they are for writing the Games; Wolfgang's first sentence pretty much sums up my views on Reapings.
Don't worry I haven't abandoned this story. Or my old one, I just can't pick a victor: (This time I'm making sure there's a single victor who lives through the last day. No voting, someone will just survive the longest.
Deutsch is the German word for German.
Oh and thanks for all the awesome reviews from everyone, it's great to get good feedback on a story.
District 6: Wolfgang Ardenne
Ugh, Reapings…
I get why we have them and all, doesn't mean I don't hate them. With a passion. Sure work sucks and school's dull as all heck but amazingly kids getting picked to go die in some distant part of the country sucks more.
It's definitely the worst day of the year for my parents. They were an arranged marriage and had kids but never really loved each other. Basically they just live in the same house with us kids but they don't live together per se.
On Reaping Day they both want someone to turn to while they fear that one of their children will get taken away but they don't love each other enough to turn to the other for support. So basically they just mope around the house while they hope I don't get Reaped; Mandie's still too young for which I'm thankful. She's young enough to still have that 'the world is made of sunshine and rainbows' outlook on the world.
Father is the one who woke me up and he now sits across the table from me in silence. I wish he'd at least say something. Making jokes is a lot easier when your father isn't staring at you silently. Especially when you look like him.
Sometimes his weird over-protectiveness is comforting but now it's just creepy so I wash off my plate and leave as quickly as possible.
Mother is sleeping in Mandie's room before Reapings so I leave in silence; the less Mandie knows about the Games and Reapings before she has to the better.
Jane is waiting for me outside the door but we walk in silence. That's a pretty weird occasion for me but neither of us feels like talking. I've had a crush on her since last autumn and that doesn't exactly get rid of any of the awkwardness surrounding us. Jane knows I'm going to volunteer this year; she also knows that there's nothing she can do about it.
Despite the face we put on for Mandie that everything's okay, it's not.
My parents can barely keep our heads above water and they refuse to let me drop out of school to work. As I help Kink, our next door neighbour, shift some of the crates in front of his shop, I can't help but think why not; I'm strong enough, totally funny enough, I'm a great guy but mostly I just really want to help out my family.
That's not the only reason I'm volunteering though.
Father has been training me with a 'sword' (basically just a piece of flattened, old piping) since I was six, preparing me in case I ever get Reaped, but I've always wondered if he somehow knew I'd volunteer one day. Dax Ardenne and his flat pipe swords are infamous in District 6. He sometimes trains kids late at night (and the parents pay him) in case they get Reaped but it still isn't enough.
No matter how bad I screw up at school; no matter how hard I try to flunk every class. One of my parents must have a deal with the teacher because nothing I do can get me expelled. A hate assignment on the Capitol; pivotal pages go missing and the word 'Capitol' became misspellings of the word 'rebels.' I even wrote an acrostic poem on 'I hate the Capitol, Snow sucks' and yet it became riddled with magical spelling errors that made it read 'I love the Capitol, Snow rocks.' I mean it wasn't even that imaginative on the part of the teacher.
Now I just try and make the most of school so I can get a better job when I graduate, but my heart's set on volunteering.
I need to show my father that I can survive in the real world and most importantly, make Mandie's (and Jane's) worlds a better place.
District 6: Taryn Byers
Thunk.
Thunk.
Thunk.
Dammit. It's Reaping Day and still I get woken by the sound of knives slamming down onto chopping boards spreading through all two rooms of our house on top of the butcher's shop. Getting woken up by knives cracking through sides of meat isn't exactly uncommon for me but seriously? On ReapingDay?
The one day I get off in the entire year and I still get woken up by the sound of meat getting massacred downstairs. It's not like we get to eat any of the bloody stuff.
I groan as I roll over and out of bed, it's not like I'm going to get any more sleep anyway. Most girls are probably obsessing over their hair and clothes but I just throw on a loose shirt as well as my apron and leather padded pants for working in the butcher's shop.
I yawn and stumble down the stairs to find my mother and father already chopping up the enormous sides of meat hanging from the ceiling. "Thanks for letting me sleep in guys," I grunt as I pick up a meat cleaver and an un-chopped pork belly Father's prepared.
"Come on now Taryn, what exactly do you expect us to do? We need to earn money for you as much as us," Mother tries to appeal to my guilty conscience; yeah right, that's going to work even better this time than it did those other six million times you've tried it.
"Fine, whatever, I'll just cover myself in blood before the Reapings, that's totally fine with me," I mutter as I start hacking the meat apart, probably more viciously than I normally would. The knowledge that my moron of a brother the 'Mayor's Assistant' can't get Reaped this year, that his posh little 19 year old ass is sitting around in a comfy chair next to the mayor while I'm going to be crammed into the pens for slaughter like the pork I'm cutting up would have been only hours ago pisses me off.
If he'd been Reaped my life would be so much better instead of Mother and Father being disappointed that he left them to work for the mayor and is now rich, snobby and popular with the upper crust of the District. But no, I'm the one up early working and waiting for death.
Boy do I love my life.
Wolfgang:
Jolie is the only one of my friends who isn't up for Reapings this year, she turned 19 a few months back so she's panicking at my house and looking after Mandie like I asked her to. She's worried that I'm going to get Reaped. She doesn't need to be; there's no doubt that I'm going to be Reaped.
I can't wait to volunteer until next year; a good sickness now would be the end of Mandie let alone after a year of starvation.
Alloy's jumping up and down as we're in the queue for the Reapings. It's annoying but if I was less certain I'd probably be the same. Jane being by my side helps too. If only she knew…
I shove my hand on Alloy's shoulder so he can't bounce, "Come on Al, no one's gonna let you get Reaped when they could take someone taller and more handsome like yours truly," I grin as Alloy looks at me for a second before jack hammering out from under my hand.
"Yeah, but what about Mandie and your parents, Gang? You can't just volunteer for me," Alloy replies as he starts jumping in nervous circles. I doubt he'll be able to sign his name after how dizzy he'll be. Amazingly I don't think jumping in circles will help his nerves either.
Alloy knows me well enough to know I'd volunteer for him without a second thought but he doesn't know of my plans. Maybe when I come home safely I can talk him around. I hope.
I don't have more time to press my point as Alloy splits off to the 18s while Jane and I stand side by side at the front of the 17s section. Some part of me feels guilty for leaving her now, gripping onto the railing in front of our section and hoping I'll be safe, but the part that's determined to show my father I can deal with the real world is determined to show her too.
Squeezing her hand as we wait for the escort to show up I try to crack a joke, "Hey, Jane, if I'm ever in trouble all I have to do is paint myself brown and I'll look like a small tree," I stretch my arms out and she cracks a tiny smile, "Plus, what female will be able to resist an alliance if I use my... Deutsch," I attempt (and fail drastically) to smoulder and she lets out a tiny giggle.
When our escort walks up, I'm at least happy that I've managed to make Jane happy before I go off to the Capitol. Failure isn't an option in my mind.
Although long speeches are infuriating, for once I wish District 6 had a droner so I had more time to prepare to volunteer.
Unfortunately ich glaube nicht. (Translation: I don't)
I learnt German from my parents, something about knowing my 'proud German heritage.' Sometimes when I'm nervous I use it to try and avoid reality with something that doesn't exist any more but that makes people laugh. I'm fine with being laughed at; at least I'm not being boring.
When I hear a name called, I think I've missed my chance until I realise it's a girl. Byers… right, the butcher's daughter. So she'd be good with knives, maybe she'll agree to the usual district-partner-ally thing.
"Azar Rettin," a stocky but well built boy starts the march out of the 16s but there's no way I'm letting him get to the stage.
"I volunteer," I call as I step out of the 17s so that I have a clear path to the stage. Normally watching people look up to see me is funny but right now it's unnerving. Sure I'm excited to get to prove myself, but something about being singled out amongst your district is unsettling.
I shake hands with my escort then Taryn, my District partner, as we're shunted off to the Justice Building. I try to lighten the mood with the only form of wit worth using; sarcasm, "Can't wait for the 2 day train ride."
"Piss off," she replies icily.
Well that was nice of her.
Taryn:
Finally I manage to escape from the depressing claustrophobia of the butcher with the excuse of going to Reapings. To be honest I don't think the second option's any better.
Hale is waiting for me and huffs as I finally walk out the door after tossing my apron onto a hook. "Someone's early, I guess we'll just have to have a race to make sure we're at the square on time," she grins as she sprints off without another warning. I shouldn't really be surprised, she does it all the time, but on Reaping Day my heart really isn't in it.
Still, Hale needs the head start as I overtake her to sprint into the line to sign in for the Reapings a few feet before her. "Come on Hale, Reaping Day? Tiring me out's going to make getting Reaped so much better."
"You're not going to get Reaped," Hale tries to reassure me.
"Yeah, because my family can really afford to buy all the oil for the meat," I reply and Hale knows I'm not joking this time. I'm deadly serious. Now Mr. Mayor's Assistant is out of the Reapings all the extra oil and grain tesserae falls to one Taryn Byers, "I'm screwed, you know it."
"Come off it Taryn, there's plenty of kids out there who've had to take tesserae way more than you," Hale tries to convince me but she's fighting a losing battle and she knows it; I raise my eyebrows and she shuts up as we split, I go to the 15s section and she traipses of to the 16s.
I get shunted aside by a girl from the front who's trying to hide near the back, "Yeah, push, it'll make you'll get home faster," I call, pushing her back as she scowls and try to ram me away. Finally I get sick of her trying to push past and I let her move but that just makes me more bored as I stand and wait for our joyous bundle of fun of an escort.
As he leaps up onto the stage I can tell he's on the way up; he runs through a short speech, has a smile plastered on his face and has an easy time ticking off the mentors. The ones on drugs. It's quite impressive.
Finally he rips out a name from the bowl and my world collapses around me, "Taryn Byers."
That's me. I was right, even though I wasn't serious about being certain to get Reaped I have been. I'm totally alone as I walk towards the stage.
I can almost feel the people moving away from me like a carrier of the plague. No one wants to get too close, to feel too sorry for the bitchy butcher's daughter. Even Hale stands her ground as I walk past, trying to speed my passing as I move towards the stage. I'm already feeling self-conscious about everybody staring at me without the walk seeming to take forever. The only thing that could make it worse would be an onslaught of moths. They scare the crap out of me.
Finally I'm shaking hands with our escort as he calls out a boy's name. "Azar Rettin," Azar appears to be a solidly built 16 year old and I'm already thinking that I have no hope when someone calls out form the audience, "I volunteer."
I've never met the kid that walks up but I know him. He's the son of the legendary Dax Ardenne, the man responsible for training District 6's only victors in the last 30 years. If I thought Azar was worrying, he's nothing compared to Wolgang Ardenne. Six foot six, long blond hair and calloused skin, I know that if anyone from District 6 is coming home it isn't me.
Hale can complain I'm too negative all she likes, I'm looking at a decently-trained, six foot six guy who's going to try and kill me. I don't want to die, that would suck, but I'm still screwed.
"Can't wait for the 2 day train ride," Wolfgang mutters sarcastically as we're led into the Justice Building.
"Piss off," I mutter in reply as we're led to separate rooms.
Wolfgang:
I didn't think about Alloy's reaction until the moment before he opens the door. I can imagine the look of disappointment on his face as he knows I've left him and Mandie to risk my life in the Games.
The only thing worse than imagining the look is seeing it mirrored on his face.
"Hey, Wolfgang," he says blandly as he walks in, no element of swagger or hyperactivity in his stance, "Didn't want to die the hard way?"
"It's not that," I reply quickly, before thinking of the rest of the reply. I could lie to him but I try to cheer him up, "I need the money for my family, you know that. Besides, I've trained with my father and what's some big lump of muscle going to go against my brains and amazing German skills?"
Alloy doesn't crack a smile. That's bad.
"Can't you ever be serious? This could be your death Wolfgang!" using my real name, really bad sign.
"Come on Alloy, no Capitol with their green hair and their blue… well blue skin is going to stop me from getting back here, no pretty girls either, I promise."
"I know you're an 'every cloud' kind of guy but this is serious Gang, you could die. Can you not fit that into your moronic little skull?" he asks exasperatedly but he's led out by Peacekeepers before I can answer.
No good luck. No good bye. More of a bad bye really.
Jolie and Jane come together, probably planning to support each other but I end up with two howling females sobbing on my shirt. I wonder if little miss angry next door has the same problem.
"Don't worry about me, just look after Mandie. Don't let her watch. I'm on holidays in another District or something, yes? I'll be all buff and showered with love by the time I get back to District 6. After all, how could they resist six foot six of pure Wolfgang? They'll be head over heels to sponsor me. Then again they seem to spend most of their time that way."
It doesn't stop the howling so I just join a group hug and try and comfort them until my family's led in. The part I was least looking forward to.
My mother is trying to hold in her tears in front of Mandie while Father just claps me on the back and wishes me well. I can't read his expression, but then again I never can.
I can tell that Mother is upset though; one thing she always worries about Father is that he'll 'ruin' us with his training and over-protectiveness and all she sees is her nightmare coming true. Still all she can say is good luck while Mandie hugs my leg. The only consolation is that she doesn't know where I'm going.
"Gangy, why can't you stay here with me?" Mandie asks.
"Gangy has to go to the Capitol for a little while; he'll try and bring you back some presents, okay?" I ask, kneeling down to be level with her face. She's called me Gangy since she was about three and normally it's cute but now it's just depressing. There might be no more Gangy soon.
No. I'm going to win.
I'm going to prove to my father that I can make it.
As my family's led out I promise myself that Gangy's going to come home to Mandie.
Taryn:
My prat of a brother is first.
"I hope you do well in the Games Taryn and represent our family with honour," he sniffs as he stands in the room and I just glare. The nerve of him to come in here to tell me not to dirty the family name. I'll dirty his name in a minute. Becoming suddenly infertile might not hurt his career but his voice might notice a sudden lack of testosterone.
"Go away Toby," I reply, clenching my fists as he raises his nose into the air.
"Fine, I was going to wish you good luck but I suppose you don't need any with an attitude like that," he turns on his heel and leaves before the Peacekeepers escort him out. Good or I'd be escorted to the train in handcuffs for killing the mayor's assistant.
Hale breaks into tears, crying and wishing me luck and choking out tiny phrases about how I'll make it and be a hero.
"Yeah, because I can totally stand up to a six foot six sword fighter even without the other Districts pitching in," I snap back but Hale knows that I'm not totally hopeless, there's still a tiny spar that maybe I could win. Normally I give in easily but there's no way I'm giving into the Games. I'm not letting them beat me.
"You can do it Taryn, I believe in you," Hale whispers before breaking into fresh hysterics and finally being yanked out of the room after overstaying the Peacekeepers' first warning.
Finally my mother and father enter. Mother makes me promise to try my hardest to come home and that if I don't she'll make my mentor send me a smack on the back of the head from her. As if that can be easily transported. Still, I know she's covering up her feelings as she steps back to allow Father to give me a hug.
"You can do it Taryn, you're good with knives and you know what to do for food. Never give up hope, we'll be waiting for you," he whispers as I get a final hug before the Peacekeepers escort them out.
Finally I'm totally alone, not even surrounded but distant like in the Square but totally and utterly alone. There's no one I can trust but myself, nothing I can do but hope for the best.
Still, I refuse to let myself give up on this. Normally Hale complains that I never change but the Games aren't going to best me.
Suddenly getting woken up every morning by the thunk of knives sounds awfully nice.
I wasn't going to do the train rides but then I remembered I'm racing laralulu to finish my SYOT before her and if she did it and I didn't that's not really fair. Feel free to vote on her profile and check out her SYOT.