It is the day of the reaping. I don't really want to talk to anyone that I don't have to because I feel like I will just break down. I get dressed in a pair of khaki shorts and polo, grab a banana from the kitchen counter, and head out the door before the streets become populated.
I sneak into the government center and head to where I'm sure Tabia will be getting her makeup ready. I open the door a crack, and peek my head in.
"Can I come in?" I ask Tabia. She snaps the lid of one of her, I think, blushes shut and waves her hand. I enter and take a seat across the room.
"Excited? This is your first quarter quell!" She says, digging through a huge box of what looks to be tubes of mascara.
"No, Tabia, I'm not," I sigh. I peel the banana and take a bite.
"I always got the feeling you weren't one of the biggest supporters of the games. But like it or not, they happen. We should just go with it," she tries to persuade me. I just shake my head.
"Don't you understand? These kids are innocent and people watch their deaths for fun. You knew them. I knew them. It hurts. You are stronger than me if you can still see it as fun."
She finally decides on one.
"I don't think the people in the Capitol like it either. They are very upset they are going to kill the lovers of 12, or Cashmere, or you. You're one of us. Plus, we are running out of stuff quickly and some don't think this is going to help. But, strangely, they've all disappeared," she tells me.
They've all disappeared? That seems odd.
"What do you mean, they've disappeared?" I ask her.
"All I know is that one day they are being the annoying apartment next door and the next I see some Avoxes putting boxes of their stuff into their truck," she shrugs.
"Now, don't talk. I might harm myself." She commands me and I finish my breakfast and head out to check in to the reaping.
I walk into the town square and get in the line of fellow victors waiting to get checked in. It's been a long time since I had to do this. The line moves quickly. I get to the front of the line, show them my pointer finger and they draw some blood. They press my finger against that paper and I see my name flash up on their little machine.
I get in the reaping square, which looks oddly empty compared to the numbers of people that normally occupy this space. This year, they are on the other side of the rope, probably thanking us for letting them have one more year left of their lives.
Tabia and the mayor come up on the stage. The mentor's seat remains empty because this year, the mentor will be decided after the reaping. For districts with no more victors available, the mayor will fill this position. I think the only one that has that problem is District 5.
The mayor gets up and starts his speech and the propaganda film plays. Then, Tabia gets up.
"Ladies first!" She walks over to the bowl of very few names and all I can think is don't be Annie. Don't be Annie.
"Annie Cresta!" I look over as Mags emerges from the crowd of female victors, shouting.
"I volunteer!" She walks up on stage with the help of a Peacekeeper and stands on stage. I know why she did it. To save Annie. Annie wouldn't make it. She would go crazy before someone would kill her.
"Okay, now for the men!" She walks over to the other side and ducks her hand in the bowl. I prepare myself, making sure my shirt is tucked in and that I'm ready.
"Joseph Dias!" She shouts. Joseph is an around forty year old victor that won his games by using a sword and his amazing skill in strategy.
"I volunteer!" I say, pushing myself through the crowd of men. I see eyes snap towards me and a couple of cameras. I walk up the stairs willingly and look into the crowd of people, who I will never see again.
Sorry for not updating in a while! School has started back up and teachers like to plan all their tests in a three day period, so I've been studying so much and I've just been so busy! By the way, I updated the picture for this story because Sam Clafin has been cast! I wasn't so sure at first, but I really like him after seeing the pictures from set. He looks exactly like Finnick. What do you think?
Thanks for reading and please review!