I apologise, but the reapings will be out of order. District 11 next time! :)
District Two Reapings
POV of Terra Cobb, age 18
No volunteers. Why no volunteers? This was my year. I was meant to go into these Games and bring my family glory, and finally outshine my infuriating twin brother Dax. Which is why I'm currently destroying an expensive mechanical training dummy with a pair of katanas. I've never taken out tesserae. Never needed to, unlike the street kids with massive families, who take them out every year and have so many chances to go into the Games. So they're probably going to get to go instead of me with my mere 78 slips, nothing compared to the hundreds of times the girl who lives on my street corner has. Ugh. I hate whoever wrote those cards. But I have to go change, so I can watch some other girl take the place that is rightfully mine. I finish off the dummy with an extremely showy move and go to shower. Good luck fixing that. I hope I ruined something important. Serves them right. When I get home I take one look at the dress I'm supposed to wear I nearly retch. Who picked that? The thing... it's pink and covered, and I mean covered, in sequins, of all things. And how am I meant to walk in those shoes? I grab it, bundle the ten-inch tall heels inside, and drop it out the window, where it snags on Dax's balcony and hangs there. Excellent. Dax never uses his balcony and has had his windows tinted, but what are people going to think when they see a pink sparkly minidress hanging off the railing outside my brother's room? Let him explain that to our parents. I grin and head inside to pick a replacement. Hmm… I grab my favourite green party dress, don it and go back downstairs. Dax is wearing a suit, but he doesn't seem to notice that he has a large piece of bacon stuck to the front. Now I'm almost hoping he gets Reaped, just for his expression when he finally sees it. He's deep in 'conversation' with our younger brother Slater, who I definitely hope isn't Reaped, because there is something not right about him. He talks to himself, carves lumps of wood into slightly creepy designs, and communicates with us only in sign language. Dax pulls a face in response to Slater's latest series of signs, and I walk off to the town square. They take a blood sample and I waste two hours of my life standing in a pen listening to Mayor Bedford drone on and on and on about things that nobody listens to or cares, until he finishes, throws his script behind him, and walks off the stage, replaced by our escort Hestia Leto. At least she doesn't waste any time. She walks straight over to the girl's pool and pulls out the first slip she comes across. Me, me, me, pick me, I think and then…
"Terra Cobb!" She calls out my name and it's all I can do not to run onto the stage. I'm grinning like a maniac and she says
"Congratulations, Terra. Anything to say to the crowd?
I've spent ages coming up with my reply, and I think I pull it off perfectly.
I give them my most winning smile."See you soon," I say chirpily and they all cheer.
POV of Anthony Chisellos, age 16
Of all the days that could have happened, it had to be this one. Of course. I could have mistimed that jump at any other time. But it had to be the day before the Reapings that the club of the training robot caught my leg. Even if I was chosen for the Games now my chances of winning have been drastically lowered with a broken knee or whatever I've done to myself. I refuse to seek treatment though. Doctors are for the weak and cowardly. If I asked for one I would be betraying Warwick, my brother who died after he broke his neck doing a training course, but in the last few minutes of his life refused all help because he was brave enough to face his fate. I can barely hobble to the town square, but I'm fine really. It's only blinding agony with every step I take. No matter. I don't even notice them stabbing my finger with that giant needle of theirs. Normally it makes me want to scream in pain but I'm already focused on not doing just that because of my leg. I get some funny looks from the crowd but again, no matter. They're insignificant. Little dots on a big dot surrounded by bigger dots. Dots, dots, dots. Filling my vision. Pretty little lights. Dimly, through my pain-filled haze, I see the girl, Terra, come up on stage. Her hair is a pretty red color, like a flaming bush. She smiles pretty too. So bright… but the paper in the glass bowls is brighter. No! No, Hestia! Don't take away the bright paper! Why are you calling me? I half-stumble, half-crawl up to the stage that soars into the sky. Everyone looks worried… and the black thing is in my face.
"Erm… Anthony, do you have anything to tell us?"
Do I?
"I…"
The dots swirl and grow into a cloud of black, and I collapse onto the stage.
White room and a hard bed. Beeping. Hazy shapes standing over me.
"Mr. Chisellos? You scared us. We can't have a missing tribute in the Quell, now can we?"
"Wh… What happened?"
"You had a very serious injury. Your kneecap was in splinters, some of them were lodged in muscle or nerves, and the resulting pain caused you to lose consciousness on the Reaping stage. All fixed now, of course. It might be hard to walk for an hour or two but you'll be fine within the next day. Now, hurry out of bed. You have a train to catch."