The sun beat down on the heads of the people of District 3. The square was uncomfortably hot. While the people of the District were used to the heat, they weren't used to such close quarters. Acton rolled his shoulders a couple times. If this had been a regular day, the boy would have been shirtless by now. The green button down shirt irked him, but he was supposed to look his best for the reaping day. He rolled the sleeves up to his elbows and unbuttoned the first three buttons.
He watched as a woman with zebra-striped pink hair appeared before the crowd. He turned to spot his younger brother in the 16-year-old section. They made eye contact, and Acton raised his eyebrows suggestively. The girl in front of the crowd was totally hot.
"District 3!" the woman in the tight silver dress cheered. "Welcome to the reaping of the 238th Hunger Games! My name is Rhodochrosite Enestem, but I'm totally positive you remember me," she grinned.
Acton hardly heard her words. He was hungrily taking in her appearance. Her hair fell to about her shoulders. The main color was a pale pink tone, and it was coated in darker pink zebra stripes. Her eyes were the cheeriest bright green the seventeen-year-old had ever seen. Her dress hugged her body perfectly. She was delicate and small. Acton looked at her face again and noticed her lips were moving.
"Your female tribute will be Yuki Sakurai!" she said loudly, applauding energetically.
Yuki, seventeen. Rhodochrosite forgotten, Acton watched the girl with the perfectly straight black hair and the darkest gray-blue eyes as she took the stage. She was the same height as the escort. She was dressed in tight denim jeans and a lacy white tank top. She smirked at Rhodochrosite, gesturing to the names of the boys. Rhodochrosite smiled at the tribute and turned to select the male who would enter the arena.
"Your male tribute will be Acton Cuthbert!"
Acton didn't realize his name had been called until he was shoved forward by another boy. He scowled at him, straightening his shirt before heading up to the crowd. The only thoughts running through his mind were for Rhodochrosite and Yuki. He didn't realize he'd just been reaped. The two hot girls waiting for him in front of the crowd were much more important than some games.
"Better luck next year to the rest of you," Rhodochrosite winked.
God, she's hot when she winks, Acton thought absently.
"…And may the odds be ever in your favor," the escort concluded merrily. The crowd in the square melded into one large group rather than the sections they had set up for the reaping. Acton ignored them, obviously checking out Yuki. The girl turned to him, her lips pouting.
"Lay off, Acton," she said coldly. The boy quickly fixed his rich brown eyes into a puppy face. He slouched slightly so his muscles appeared less defined. He moved his eyes to her face and looked into her dark blue-gray eyes.
"Not happening," Yuki warned, turning away. Acton sighed, deciding it was time to switch back over to Rhodochrosite. The escort grinned at him. Acton smiled back, flexing his arms to show off for the new girl. Yuki coughed loudly from behind him. Rhodochrosite giggled.
"Hey guys!" she trilled.
Acton chuckled as sexily as he could. "Hey, Rhodochrosite," he said from the back of his throat.
"Please," Rhodochrosite smiled. "Call me Rhodo. Or Chrosite. Or Chro. Or anything, really! But Rhodochrosite is way to long. I can call you guys Acton and Yuki, right?"
Acton nodded to the escort. Yuki moved to stand beside Acton, rolling her eyes. "Whatever," she said satirically. Rhodochrosite bit her lip. Her bright green eyes darkened just a little bit, and her smile faded.
"No need to be so rude," she complained. "I like Acton better. He's nice."
Acton stood up straighter, a grin growing on his face. "Yeah, Yuki, why are you such a bitch?" he asked, putting an arm around Rhodochrosite's shoulders. "No need to be so rude to Rhodo when you've only known her for a couple minutes. She's sweet," he added, smiling as Rhodochrosite leaned her head into his neck.
"Don't make me vomit," Yuki said, her eyes narrowed with anger. "Don't we have something to do?" she reminded Rhodochrosite frostily.
Rhodochrosite reluctantly detached herself from Acton. "Right, right," she said, smiling again. "Come, come, follow me. Your families should be just inside. Go on," she hummed, nudging Acton and Yuki inside. Acton obliged, entering a room where he spotted his parents and younger brother off in the corner.
His mother ran into his arms. Acton hugged her, embarrassed. His father winced apologetically. "I'm sorry, son," he said softly. "That you got reaped, I mean," he clarified. He patted his son firmly on the back and hugged him from the side before stepping away. He'd never been much of an empathetic person.
His brother bit his lip, trying to break the tension. "At least you get to spend time with those hotties Yuki and Rhodochrosite," he offered with a nervous smirk.
"Hell yeah, little bro," Acton said with a boyish grin. "And I'm sure some of the other tributes will be hot, too. They'll want me to protect them from the big bad arena…oh, hell yes," he mused.
"That almost makes up for your almost certain death."
Acton's mother sobbed harder at that. Acton hardened his muscles. "I'm going to win," he assured his family members. "I'm just not going to kill the hot girls. I'll get someone else to do that. But I'm going to win."
"Good morning, District 4!"
Skye looked up at the call. She had been busy trying to look as small as possible, as though it could get her out of being reaped. She stood up to her full height of five foot four, though she looked much shorter next to the tall girl standing next to her. She was one of the shortest fifteen-year-olds of her District.
The redhead straightened the hem of her little black dress. She lifted her nose and scented the sea air. She breathed in as much as possible. She wanted to preserve the memories of home. Just in case.
"The 238th Hunger Games is now officially underway in this District," the girl in the tight silver dress announced. "My name is Citrine Enestem, and I'm the District 4 Escort, as you probably remember."
Skye couldn't see how anyone could forget Citrine. Her hair was the brightest yellow you could possible imagine. Looking directly at it produced the same effect that occurred when one stared at the sun. If that wasn't enough, the woman's eyes were an extraordinarily luminescent green color. Paired with her reflective silver dress, she certainly left a lasting impression.
"Ladies first, of course," Citrine said with a little smile. She reached into the pile of girl's names and picked out one slip. Skye looked up at the sky.
Please. Please, please, please, let it not be me. Please. A cluster of tears of desperation appeared in Skye's eyes. She blinked hard, digging her nails into her palms. Please.
"Skye Douglass!" Citrine called out. "Your female tribute will be Skye Douglass."
No. Maybe it's a mistake. It can't be me. I don't want it to be me.
"Go, Skye," the tall girl next to her said gently. Skye looked up at her, letting the tears fall. She tore through the crowd, suddenly feeling the urge to run. She stood beside Citrine, her eyes full of hatred.
"Before you continue, I want you to know that I hate you," Skye said in an undertone. She felt as surprised as Citrine looked. Not only was she typically friendly, but she was also usually shy. But the adrenaline of denial was coursing through her.
Citrine shook her head, her deadly yellow hair bouncing. "Alright then," she said awkwardly. "Your male tribute will be…" She trailed off, reaching into the vat of names. Skye drew in deep breath after deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She tried to compose an apology to Citrine, but it only made the anger swell up inside of her.
"Ash Kamau!"
Skye's anger overflowed once more. She watched the thirteen-year-old boy approach Citrine and herself. His tucked-in shirt was hanging over the waist of his pants and his short dark brown hair refused to stay in order. He was too innocent. This choice was worse than Skye.
"No volunteers?" Citrine chirped. "Then the reaping is over. Don't forget to watch the mandatory screening by the Capitol, and may the odds be ever in your favor."
The odds? In my favor? What do those words mean to the Capitol? To the Districts it means that no one goes to the Games and everyone has enough food to eat. But to the Capitol? They want us to get reaped. Sick morons.
"Come along, you two," Citrine chirped, having already forgotten Skye's earlier words. Skye glanced sadly at Ash. 'Sorry' she mouthed to him as a peacekeeper took her arm and led her into the building. She wanted to resist, but her shyness had overtaken her again. She slouched, allowing the peacekeeper to lead her inside.
As soon as she was released, she ran to her parents. She threw her arms around the both of them and finally let her tears fall. They cried with her. The Douglass family was known for being extensively close and caring. They held each other tightly as though it would let Skye stay with them.
Over her mother's shoulder Skye could see Ash and his family. She only cried harder at the sight. He stood with his crying mother, his older sister—who was Skye's age—and his little sister, who wasn't yet eligible for the Games. Skye wished she could be a little girl again, not understanding what the Games meant and not having to worry about being reaped.
"It's time to go," a peacekeeper growled from behind her. Skye squeezed her parents tightly before releasing them and wiping her eyes. They squeezed back, but they didn't look at her. They were going to lose their only child to the sick mind of the Capitol. They had little faith that their daughter would survive. Skye knew this. She sniffed as the peacekeeper towed her towards Citrine.
"To the train, then," Citrine told Skye and Ash. Skye kept her eyes downcast, studying her red sneakers.
"Goodbye," she whispered.