Here is the second chapter of my fanfic. I'm actually pretty happy that I got it up so fast. I'm on holidays so I'll probably update very regularly :) Enjoy!
Disclamer: I do NOT own the Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins does.
"Azora! Azora, wake up! "I hear someone shouting. I slowly come too and sit up.
"Was that real?" I ask Skye who seems to be the one who was shouting at me. Huh, she didn't faint but then and again she's always been stronger than me when it comes to stuff like this.
"Yes, it was real. And you missed the last part!" she said exasperated.
"What did they say?"
"They said that the two people that will be chosen from each district will be decided via some kind of lottery-type thing. It will be called a reaping and it will be in one week!" she exclaims.
"One week?" I look at my mother who is now very pale.
"Come on Azora", she says quietly. "We should probably be getting home now." She helps me get to my feet and we leave Skye's house and walk down the road to ours. When we arrive, I see that my father is home.
"Did you see the announcement, dad?" I ask. He nods grimly and doesn't say anything else. He gets up and goes into his room and shuts the door. My father is a peacekeeper. Peacekeepers are police who dress up in white helmets and suits and walk around the districts with machine guns. As the name suggests, they're meant to keep peace in the districts but look at how that turned out. My father is one of the nicer peacekeepers. He never whips anyone like the others do or anything like that. He usually has to work 16 hours per day but since the announcement was compulsory to watch, he got off early. My mother and I eat our herbal soup that night in silence.
The next day, a pamphlet arrives in the mail, entitled "A Guide to the Reaping". I read it out loud to my mother. "The reaping shall take place next week on Saturday in the town square. Anyone who does not attend shall be arrested. Since the reaping is meant to be a ceremony, everyone is required to wear something nice. If you are 12, you must enter your name in once. If you are 13, you must enter your name twice etc". I pale a bit. This means that since I'm 15, I will have to enter my name in 4 times. I keep on reading. "However, children may be able to enter their names in more times in exchange for tesserae which are a small supply of grain and oil." I look at my mother and she shakes her head. "I don't want you to risk it Azora. Don't worry. Your father gets paid well so we don't need it".
"Ok", I say. I direct my attention to the pamphlet again. "The names will be drawn from two large glass balls. One for the girls and one for the boys. They shall take their places on the stage. If someone's name is called out, another child will be allowed to volunteer to take their place but only if they are of the same gender and if they are within the age limit. The tributes will then enter the Justice Building and be allowed an hour for goodbyes". The Justice building is a very grand building in the town square. It's not used for any particular purpose, just the occasional ceremony or party. I read the last sentence. "Then after the tributes have said their goodbyes, they will board a train that will leave directly for the Capitol." I close it and look at my mother. "Well, I'd better go to work. Bye mum!" I leave the house and meet up with Skye at her house. We walk to the beach and once we get there, I ask her "Are you scared?"
"What?" she asks.
"Are you scared?" I repeat. "That your name will be picked?"
"Oh", she says. She looks out at the ocean. "I suppose I am, a bit." She confesses. "I mean, when they said they were gonna do something to keep the districts in line, I wasn't expecting it to be this. Do you know that they've decided to call it the Hunger Games?"
"No. I didn't. Are you gonna take any tesserae?" I ask her. Skye has an older brother who's 20, too old to be reaped.
"My parents don't want me to but my father isn't a peacekeeper so my family's more likely to starve." She says sadly. I don't say anything. I know it's not my fault but I can't help feeling guilty that my best friend is going to have more names in the reaping balls than me. We get on with our work today like there's no possibility that one of us could be being sent to almost certain death in a week's time. That night, as I once again lie in bed unable to sleep, I decide that I should be training instead of sitting around doing nothing except fishing. I mean, I've heard that there will be a special time for all the tributes to train, but I would still like to know at least the basics. I suggest my plan to Skye the next day and she agrees. As soon as my father gets home I ask him if he will help us since he has access to many weapons like knives, tridents and even swords. There are no bows and arrows in District 4 though so I'll have to learn in the training time we get if I'm picked.
He actually says yes and for the rest of the week Skye and I train with all those weapons. When it's the night before the reaping, I actually get some sleep knowing that if I'm picked, I'll be ready. The next morning passes pretty quickly. I rummage through my wardrobe and find a pretty purple dress and some matching shoes. I tie my long, straight, brown hair into a neat ponytail and put a white ribbon in it. The three of us eat breakfast in silence, knowing that it could very well be the last time we eat together. We leave the house and walk to the town square. Even though we're a bit early, it's packed. After giving my parents a quick hug, I walk over to the table where I have to sign in. There's a female peacekeeper sitting there. When she calls my name, I come forward and she jabs my finger tip with some kind of device and a small droplet of blood comes out. She then makes me press it to a piece of paper and it makes a bloody fingerprint.
I see Skye not too far away and push through the crowd to get to her. "Do you know where we have to go?" I ask her.
"Apparently, there's a roped area marked with 15 years old" she tells me.
"I see it" I say. We head over to it and wait with the other girls our age. After a few minutes, everyone is in their correct spots. I notice for the first time that there are two people sitting on the stage that has been assembled. One of them is Mayor Shields (the mayor of District 4) and the other is a strange woman with bright blue hair and a ridiculous amount of makeup. She must have come from the Capitol because no one I know dresses like that in District 4. I also see two large balls that have thousands of slips of paper in them. Four of them have my name on them. Seeing that everyone is ready, Mayor Shields stands up and takes his place in the centre of the stage where there is a microphone.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, today is the very first reaping of the Hunger Games!" he says as if that's a good thing. I've always thought he was a bit strange with his oddly shaped moustache and plump, round body. "But I will not be the one drawing the names today", he continues. "Allow me to introduce Miss Tallulah Withersby!" There is a small round of applause as Mayor Shields returns to his seat and Tallulah takes his place.
"Welcome!" she says happily, "To the first ever reaping of the first annual Hunger Games! As Mr Shields stated, I shall be the person who has the honour of drawing the names today. So let's get started. Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favour! Ladies first!"
She walks over to the ball entitled "Girls". "Here it comes", I think to myself. "The moment of truth. Please don't be me" I chant silently to myself. She picks out a piece of paper and reads the name out.
"Azora Burnfield!" she exclaims.
Yeah, I know. That was pretty predictable but oh well. I hope to have the next chapter up soon. Please review!