Nothing to do now but sleep. I wrap the whip around me and tie myself to the thick branch I'm lying on, in case I fall out. Then I close my eyes and slip into a deep sleep.
"All District 2 children to the central plaza! District 2 children to the plaza immediately!" Where am I? The answer quickly becomes clear. The scenic mountains, the chilled yet refreshing air; how could I have not known? I'm home. But how? Looking across the wide plaza square, I can see hundreds, no, thousands of children milling around. Something in my head tells me to look to my left, and as I do, I see Sydni standing alone. Looking for someone. Me. I start to move towards her, but before I can reach her, her eyes light up and she runs towards a boy standing far off to my right. He looks familiar. "Lucas!" Sydni yells. The boy jerks his head up, and it becomes clear that he is me. Just as I'm beginning to realize what's happening, a child runs right through my chest. A dream. The other Lucas and Sydni hug, and then after a quick chat and a kiss, head off to their age groups for the reaping. I stand where I am as children rush past and through me. Because I know what will soon happen.
District 2's reaping is very different from the other districts. Most children in our district long desperately to be in the Games as soon as they turn twelve. For this reason, the selection process begins in the classrooms with a host of miniature reapings. Students place a slip of paper with their name on it into a smaller bowl on their teacher's desk. From this bowl, the teacher then picks ten names without telling the children who has been selected. Those ten names are written down and sent to the Reaping Committee of District 2, a collection of secretaries who keep records of every child in District 2. Each of us has a file, detailing our training and physical attributes. If your name is selected in the miniature reaping, you receive a letter to your house the following day asking you to report to the plaza on Reaping Day. Even then, there are still thousands of children to choose from for the main event, since District 2 is the largest out of the twelve. The Reaping Committee stations one of their secretaries at each age group, making sure un-reaped children don't sneak in. I watch Sydni check into the sixteen-year-old girl's section, and then watch myself check into the seventeen-year-old boy's section. After about five minutes of waiting, the reaping begins.
Fiora Hesquip, District 2's escort, bounds up the stage. All conversation stops and everyone begins to cheer as Fiora grabs the microphone. "Hello everyone, welcome to District 2's 100th reaping!" she screams. The crowd screams back in return, and Fiora feigns surprise. "My my! Sounds like you're all excited. In that case, we'll skip the formalities and get right to it. Ladies first!" The girls all scream and shove each other as Fiora climbs the ladder propped up against the girl's bowl on the right side of the stage. She reaches the top, and jumps right into the bowl. Slips of paper fly everywhere as Fiora slips into the ocean of names. The papers in the bowl swish around as the crowd cheers. A bell rings somewhere, and attendants tip the ladder into the bowl. Fiora climbs out of the bowl and jumps back down to the stage floor. She lands expertly on the provided inflatable air mattress. District 2's reaping isn't a chore. It's a show. Fiora rushes back over to the microphone, looking everything but dazed. "Let's see…this one!" She plucks one of the many paper strips out of her indigo, colored hair. Shaking her head vigorously, she lets the other slips fall to the stage floor. The crowd's screams and cheers silence as Fiora clears her throat and reads Sydni's name off the slip. The girl's section groans in unison, and I watch Sydni push her way towards the stage. She climbs the stairs, looking confident. I decide to follow her onto the stage, and walk through the crowd until I'm on the stage as well. Sydni strolls over to Fiora, shakes her hand, and sits in one of the two chairs on the stage. "Volunteers?" asks Fiora. Sydni shakes her head, and more grumbling come from the girl's section I watch as Fiora repeats the process for the boys. In about one minute, the other Lucas is sitting next to Sydni on stage. "Volunteers?" asks Fiora to me. I watch myself hesitate. I remember what i had been thinking at the time. If I say yes, I get off the stage and hope that Sydni comes home. This seems like it would be the logical answer, but taking a volunteer and skipping out on the Games is viewed as dishonorable to your family name. Saying no would save my family's reputation, but would either see the end of Sydni or me. Or both of us. So which would I pick? Sydni or my family's name? It was an easy choice. I shook my head and looked forward in confidence as the crowd below me spewed out grumbles and screamed in rage, as they would not be participating this year.
Fiora turns to the crowd. "Settle down, settle down, everyone. Next year will be here sooner than you think! For now, it's time to introduce this year's mentors!" Fiora turns towards the left side of the stage, looking past the giant bowl. "The District 2 girl mentor will be…Desarei!" A woman in her late 50s with black and gray hair climbs the stage and moves to stand behind Sydni. I've heard of her, and seen her on TV sometimes, but I wasn't even born when she won her Games. "The District 2 boy mentor is…Cato!" A burly man in his late 40s stomps his way up to where the other Lucas sits. I've seen him on TV before as well. He won his Games the year before the last quell. The 74th to be exact. He stands behind Lucas on the stage. Fiora makes a waving gesture and says, "These Games will be the best yet! Let's give our soon-to-be victors a hand!" The audience claps and I wake up.