Thanks Emmie113 for the tributes :)
Emalyne Beatrice Poe, 16
Sunlight streams in through my ripped curtain. I groggily wipe my striking green eyes and arch my arms. My blonde hair is still in the elaborate braid from yesterday and I don't plan on taking it out. I peer over the railing of my bed and spy my 3yr old sister Layah.
"Layah? Are you awake?" I whisper
A short outburst of giggles greets my ears and I roll out of bed. I plod over to Layahs bed and reach down and envelope her in my hands.
"Emmy!" She smiles. Her small teeth beam at me and I pull her close to my body. I pat her back and stroke the soft cotton that makes up her pyjamas. I push her away and look at her. "Now let's go see if everyone else is up."
In response she gives off another round of laughs. She practically looks like a baby version of me; or so I'm told. The only photos of me as a child are all waterlogged and torn.
I slip on a pair of slippers and tiptoe down our small hallway, careful not to wake any sleeping members of my family. I tread on a creaking floorboard and a CREAK echoes throughout the small house.
"Emalyne? Is that you?" Asks mother groggily.
"Yes. I have Layah with me."
I continue to tiptoe until I'm in the kitchen and I raid the pantry for any food. I find a bruised apple and a slice of bread. I give Layah the bread and keep the apple for myself.
"Hey! Give it back Christian!"
Christian shoots in the room, swiftly followed by a naked Jonnie, and circles the table with a pair of ripped, navy blue underwear. He swings it around and taunts Jonnie with it.
"Give. It. Back!" Roars Jonnie. He lunges forward and dives across the table, knocking over a vase of dying flowers and crashes into Christian.
"You two, cut it out!" I scowl. I pick up the vase and flowers and put them back on the splintered table and march over to my younger brothers. I snatch the underwear off Christian and hand them over to Jonnie who is trying to cover certain areas of his exposed body.
"Go get ready, the reaping's in an hour." I command. They both slump their shoulders and amble towards their room.
"Please don't grow up and be like them." I jokingly plead Layah. She smiles and flaps her arms like a mockingjay. If only I was as free as them, instead of being stuck in District 6 and in training to be one of the thousands of factory workers.
"Thanks Emalyne, I'll take Layah off your hands."
I turn and see dad stroll in with his baby blue nightgown and a cup in his hands. He places it down on the table and I grab it and take a deep sip. I put the cup back down and look at father.
"Thanks." I tell him and walk back into my room. I shut the door behind me and pull off all my clothes. No point in bathing since I took a bath yesterday.
I pick out an old floral dress that mother bought me for my 14th reaping. The flowers have slightly faded and there is a small rip above my left knee but other than that it is in OK condition.
I smooth out any wrinkles and admire myself in the cracked mirror. A fine layer of dust has settled and cracks distort my image.
"You look beautiful." A voice murmurs from behind. I look to my left and see mother. Her old, frail face looks sorrowful but then again it is the reaping. Her face is etched with wrinkles and her soft blue eyes shimmer with tears. I turn and embrace mum in my arms.
"It's OK, it's OK." I whisper in her ear. A tear traces its way down mothers face and soaks into my dress. I pull away and wipe a strand of blonde hair from her eyes. Her bottom lip quivers and her hands shake slightly. The fear of losing another daughter to the games is just too much.
It was only five years ago when Thalia was ripped from us and sent to the custody of the capitol. She was so brave, so brave. Never crying once. She received a 7 in training which was an enormous feat for a tribute from 6. Her interview went down well but nothing could prepare us for the bloodbath. She ran for the middle and grabbed a few supplies before being tackled by the District 2 girl. The knife ran across her throat and blood spilled from the wound. At least it was painless.
"We better go now; we don't want to be late." Mother says. Her voice is pained and old, sounding like she was a mile away.
I take her hand in mine and embrace her bony fingers. Coldness seeps into my body and sucks the last bit of warmth from my hand like a leech.
We gather everyone Christian, Jonnie and father and begin walking to the Square. A worn path is our map. Children have decorated the edges with pebbles and we all walk silently but as one. Our hands all entwine and we are a wall, preparing for whatever the reaping has to throw at us.
"Now sadly, we have the history of the games to go through before the initial reaping of the names." Babbles a high-pitched voice. We enter the square and see the justice building with Rannako Hoviar perched on top. Rannako is reciting the treaty of treason boringly and almost makes himself fall asleep!
"Quickly, quickly sign in." Ushers mother silently. I briskly walk towards the table and get signed off then file into the 16yr old section.
"Thought you'd never make it."
Warm arms wrap around my waist and I almost scream. I playfully slap my capturer and turn to see the face of my boyfriend. Haun Loggan McArthur.
"OK, OK. This treaty of boring is just too dumb so let's skip all the way to the reaping of the girls." Trills Rannako. He strolls towards the giant bowl and draws out a name.
"Come on up...What the hell! Who names a child this? Eop Ecirteab Enylame." Demands Rannako.
I breathe a sigh of relief but that moment is short-lived.
"Oh sorry, sorry. I had the paper upside down. Our real tribute is Emalyne Beatrice Poe!"
Who would have thought 3 sentences could bring your whole world crashing down.
Haun Loggan McArthur, 16
"Thought you'd never make it."
I grab Emalyne around the waist and lift her up slightly. She slaps my hand and turns to greet me. I stare into her green eyes and remember the day I first met her.
Snow covered the ground in a white carpet. I shuffle my feet through the thick layer of snow and approach school. I'd just started 3rd grade and had already been late twice. I push through the front doors and walk down the hallway silently.
I reach my classroom door when a snuffle catches my attention. I turn around and see a little girl huddled against a wall crying. I creep towards her and sit down in front of her.
"What's wrong?" I ask confused.
She lifts her head and the first thing I notice are her eyes. They are the same colour as one of the gems from our science book. Emerald. She wipes a tear from her dazzling eyes and looks at me.
"They said we have to-"
She bursts into tears before she answers me question. I wrap an arm around her and give her a smile.
"Now what's wrong?" I ask calmly.
"They said we have to work in partners and I don't want to work in partners!" Wails the girl. She buries her head in my shoulder and I lean on it. Her body feels nice against mine and her fingers find my hand.
"Thank you." She whispers.
She then gets up and goes back into her class and leaves me alone.
I couldn't stop thinking about her. The way her eyes shimmered with each blink, the way her voice sounded angelic even through muffled sobs, the way her warmth crept into my body when she entwined her fingers in mine and it only took me 4 days to realise I liked the mysterious girl and 6 months to realise I was in love. In 8th grade I mustered up the courage to ask her out and she said yes. We've been inseparable ever since.
I let her down and laugh. She grips my hand as the escort struts towards the female reaping bowl. Her nails dig into my hands so hard I feel skin tear. I continue to let her as she needs all the support she can get.
"Come on up...What the hell! Who names a child this? Eop Ecirteab Enylame." Cries our escort.
I feel Emalyne's grip loosen and I hear her breathe a sigh of relief.
"Oh sorry, sorry. I had the paper upside down. Our real tribute is Emalyne Beatrice Poe!"
"No." I mutter.
Emalyne lets go of my hand and I stare at her. Her green eyes that I fell in love with have glazed over and she starts walking blankly. I lurch forward and grab her hand. She looks at me and I cup her thin face in my hands. She gives a weak smile and I stare into her eyes.
"I love you." I whisper.
I push my lips against hers and the scent of mint engulfs me. I run my fingers through her hair and run them loosely down her back and I pull her towards me. Everywhere we touch is like magic and I savour every feel because I know this could very well be my last encounter with Emalyne. She pulls away and looks back into my big brown eyes.
"I love you too."
She lets go of my body and walks back up to the stage solemnly. She reminds me so much of her sister. That reaping is burned in my mind because I remember the pain in her voice as she screamed for her sister. I wish I could've held Emmy, even for a moment and kept her safe in my arms.
"My, my. That was a heart-warming farewell." Coons Rammako.
"Why her?" I hiss to myself. There are probably over 500 eligible girls and she is chosen! Why?
"Now for the boys. Let's hope it's as interesting as the girls." Announces Rammako.
He strides towards the boys bowl and draws out a name. He walks back towards the microphone and reveals who the boy is.
"Haun Loggan McArthur!"
With those words said, Emmy collapses on the stage in hysterics.
"Why? Why!?" She shrieks. I try to hold back tears. Seeing Emmy in this state is just too much. I stare towards the ground and let a few tears streak down my face. My long, brown hair hides my face and I climb the stairs. I look up and see Emmy sunning towards me. She dives into my arms and I let her tears roll down her face.
"Oh my god! Why them!" Cries our escort. He pulls out a pink handkerchief and dabs at his iris eyes.
Two peacekeepers push open the doors and Emmy and I walk into them and separate to say our goodbyes. I open my goodbye room door and walk in and sit on a plump couch. I rest my head on the arm of the lounge and only lift it to greet my friends.
They all weep over me and Emmy and say their farewells. My last visitor is the person I most want to see.
"Oh Haun." Says mum sadly. She sits next to me and I rest my head on her shoulder.
"You're not coming home aren't you?" Conceded mum. She knows. She knows I will do anything to save Emmy, even if it means taking a knife to the heart.
I look at her and my stare answers her question.
No.
I just want to apologize for the slow updates. I am trying my hardest to pump these out as fast as I can and I hopefully will hopefully get all the reapings done by the end of this month. Thats a promise to myself. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and please REVIEW! It motivates me to write quicker and after all the great reviews for the last chapter I was motivated to give this to you guys :)