We arrive at our home in twenty minutes. Once we step into the house, the aroma of something delicious in the oven enters my nose. My sister notices this as well, and sniffs the air like she's a dog picking up the scent of a treat.
"What do you think mom's cooking?" I ask curiously.
"I don't know, but I bet dad's home."
Since my father spends most of his time running his business, my mother would usually prepare an amazing lunch or dinner to award him for his hard work. Sometimes he'd come home a little after midnight so my mother leaves his dish in the oven.
Once in my room, I change into comfortable gym shorts and a vanilla cream top. I take the fingerless gloves off both hands and toss them onto the drawer. Entering the kitchen, I see that Amethyst is right. At the table, I see my parents helping themselves to some baked chicken placed on the center of the table.
"Good afternoon, dear. How was training?" My mother asks while properly slicing the chicken on her plate.
"Fine." I say. I plop down on the chair next to my father who seems to be really enjoying the food.
"Hi dad," I say while cutting off a section of some chicken breast.
"Hi honey. How was your day?" he asked.
"Good, yours?"
"Wonderful, I just checked the sales report of all my shops and found that the business is getting better and better everyday." He says proudly.
"That's awesome!" I say enthusiastically.
I have nothing but respect for my father. It really sucks that he has to sacrifice family time, but that's the price he pays to keep this wealthy lifestyle. It's always busy at his shop, but he always makes an effort to spend time with us. Like for Amethyst's birthday last year. She was so mad that he wasn't going to show up, but he surprised all of us by coming to the party with a big bouquet of tiger lilies and a box that contains a necklace. There was an amethyst stone on the necklace, the beautiful gemstone which she was named after.
Amethyst walks into the kitchen, staring at the baked chicken hungrily.
"Are you drooling?" I ask with a wrinkled nose.
"Shut up." She snaps.
"Enough, girls. You father is home from a hard day's work and he is looking forward to a home full of peace and relaxation." mother scolds.
"Looks like he isn't going to find it here" Amethyst mutters to herself.
"I heard that," my mother says. This causes my father to let out a light laugh.
"It's okay Susan, they're teenagers. This bickering isn't going to stop until they turn 50."
We all laugh. That's another thing I love about my father. Coming home from a hard day of work that may have worn him out down to the bone, he still manages to make us laugh and stay in a good mood. After finishing up, we all help clear the table and my parents help each other with washing the plates. Amethyst and I leave the kitchen when we see them get all lovey dovey and show some display of affection.
Amethyst goes into her room while I decide to check up on our little twin brothers, who I haven't heard from when we got back home from training. I open the door at a crack and find them playing 'sword fight'. They're swinging their small, light wooden swords at each other, but don't hit it the other directly.
I close the door and giggle. Bored, I turn the TV on. With the reaping taking place tomorrow, clips of pat Hunger Games are on. Turning it on, I learn that the 52nd Hunger Games is on. The face of the nervous girl from district nine shows on screen. The camera zooms out, showing that she is near the camp of the Careers. My prediction is that she'll be killed. She's alone, and the girl from district one- Ruby- is on guard along with the boy from two, Brutus.
The camera transitions from all the sleeping careers to the district nine tribute who is still behind the bush watching them stealthily. She rises up slowly with a knife in her hand and takes quiet steps towards the tree Brutus is leaning on. She stops behind the tree and looks around. Ruby is busy polishing her darts and Brutus is sharpening his spears. The girl from district nine is about to make her way around the tree until she makes the unfortunate mistake of stepping on a twig that snaps loudly.
Both of the career tributes on guard get on their feet with their weapons in their hands. Brutus poised to throw his spear, and Ruby with her blowgun to her mouth, ready to release a deadly dart. The district nine girl stays still. That's all she can do right now. She suddenly loses her balance and falls, her knife falling out of her hand, leaving half of her body that isn't concealed by the tree exposed .
"I see her!" Ruby exclaims. She blows and the dart punctures the girl's waist.
The girl screams in agony and tries to reach for her knife, but Ruby kicks it away fiercely. The girl tries to crawl away, which she slightly succeeds at. The career tributes laugh like maniacs as they follow her.
"Keep crawling. Crawl far away in fact, so when we're done with you we don't have to move in order for the hovercraft to retrieve your dead body." Brutus says sadistically.
The girl whimpers as she crawls away. She surprises me by crawling ten feet away from the career camp. When the two career tributes decided that she's crawled far enough from the camp, they get on their knees to kill her. Or should I say torture her.
Ruby pulls the dart out of the girl's side and she screams in response. The dart must've been deep in. Blood gushes out of the wound. Brutus uses his spear to create a gash from her shoulder down to her elbow. Ruby uses the dart she pulled out to cut her leg. Finally after all the cuts and gashes, Brutus tells Ruby to do the honors. She does it by shooting a dart that right at the girl's forehead. After the canon fires, the careers give each other high-fives and walk back to camp.
I look out my window and see darkness. Time goes by so fast. I turn back to the TV and see that the careers have turned on each other. It must be the final eight. The girl from four and Brutus are having an intense battle, the district four female with her trident and Brutus with his spear.
Ruby and the girl from two are having a battle as well. It's every man for himself now. No more allies. They're all against each other. Ruby's dodging the district two female's dagger and blowing darts out rapidly; the district two girl dodges them as well. The boy from district one manages to kill the boy from four. That desperate look in his eyes says that he's planning on fleeing the battlefield. I was proven right when he takes his bag pack and runs away, not being noticed.
Brutus kills the girl from four by stabbing her in the abdomen, then in the heart. The girl from four leaves me impressed. She managed to give Brutus some cuts on his arm and face, but that doesn't change the fact that she's dead now. When Ruby finds out she has ran out of darts she see looks up to see her opponent smirking evilly. The district female swings her knife, but Ruby ducks. Brutus is shown watching all of this from the sidelines.
The district two female manages to kill Ruby. When Ruby's body falls to the ground, she sees Brutus standing there. I expect another intense battle to happen, but instead they nod at each other and run in the opposite directions. They must've known each other before the games if they can't bring themselves to kill each other.
Two days past and the last three career tributes are scattered throughout the arena. The district two female uses snares to catch food, the district one boy has some dried beef strips and dried fruit in his bag, and Brutus spends most of his time cleaning his spear.
Finally, another intense battle takes place between the district two girl and the district one boy. They're evenly matched, the girl is short but quick and agile. The district one male is skinny, but uses brute strength. The district one male kills the girl by slashing her throat. A camera catches Brutus's reaction as he sees his former ally's face in the sky. He shakes his head, but I can tell his happy that he didn't have to be the one to kill her.
The last battle was one of the longest battles I've ever witnessed. The district one boy has a gash on his arm and Brutus has a cut on his calf. Both males are injured, but haven't give up just yet. Brutus manages to disarm the district one male and stabs him with his spear multiple times. The canon fires and Brutus is announced victor. I shut the TV off and just stare at the ceiling. The Hunger Games. Tomorrow, if I am quick enough to volunteer, I've earned my spot in them. The girls here are eager to participate. Getting the tribute spot won't be a piece of cake, but I'm willing to fight for it.
Tomorrow I'll be walking down to the training center alone. Amethyst isn't planning on volunteering and if she gets reaped, I'll be volunteering anyway. I draw the silky, red curtains tight together and get into my bed. I close my eyes. Tomorrow I will be the female tribute representing district 1 in the 66th Hunger Games.