"All we see is light, for forever
'Cuz the sun burns bright, for forever
We could be alright for forever this way
Two friends, on a perfect day."
Arcadia "Cady" Wilson, 16, District Three Female
Cady wonders how long this will last.
She is walking with her friends down the street to the District center. Reaping Day has come once again. The Reaping, and the Games themselves, are an unknown entity to Cady. She, like most other people in the District, does not know what they entail. Of course, certain details have leaked out, but Cady doesn't really pay attention to them. She just hopes that the Reaping doesn't take too long so that she can get back to her game.
"How long will this last?" Cady's best friend Blue asks, echoing Cady's thoughts.
Cady sighs. "Dunno. I don't really wanna be here, though."
She does not like doing things the conventional way, succumbing to the Capitol's wishes, but they've tightened their hold on the Districts lately, forcing them to attend the Reaping. Cady has heard stories; she knows that in the first few Hunger Games, they stole children from their houses, but now it's more of a public affair. Cady figures the Capitolites do it this way for the drama.
They enter the ring of their age category, and Cady feels a tendril of anxiety uncurl in her gut at the sight of all those people. The mayor is standing at a microphone, and beside him are a few figures Cady doesn't recognize. The mayor starts his droning speech about how great Panem is, and the words are fuzz and static by the time they reach Cady's ears. She is thinking about her most recent arcade game with Blue; how she won—predictably—and how she hopes to win again. She hopes this bond between them will last forever.
Cady's parents died when she was a baby, and a ragtag gang of kids picked her up off the street, saved her from her own hunger, and that of the ruthless sharks lurking in the shadows. They took her to their hideout—an abandoned arcade where they survived off pigeons and the crackling warmth of friendship. It is Cady's idea of heaven.
She holds this bond—the arcade games she's won and the laughter they've shared—close to her heart, and imagines that she will never have to let it go.
She breaks the surface of her thoughts when she sees the mayor set up a large screen up front, where the new President's face soon appears. He is young and looks shy.
"Hello, people of Panem. There is no tradition so glorious as the Hunger Games. If fate chooses you for this opportunity, you will be blessed to participate in the celebration of our country's culture. This year, we are televising the Hunger Games for all to see, and we encourage you to tune in as often as possible. Twenty-four Tributes will have the honor of being in the Games, and each Panemian citizen will be able to watch them live." President Graymore hesitates, as if bracing himself for what he will say next. "If you refuse to watch the Games, we will be forced to involve the Peacekeepers. Please partake willingly in this wonderful experience. And to all those eligible, may the odds be ever in your favor."
Everyone hangs in silence for a moment. The birds continue to sing, and the sun shines on unhindered, but the people are all quiet, as if teetering on the edge of something. Cady thinks that if a boss in her arcade game surprised her, she would just continue on unfazed, and so she straightens up and allows herself to adjust to this new change.
Nobody has ever received the privilege of watching the Games, and the way Graymore made it sound... well, Cady hopes that it will at least be entertaining. She lingers momentarily on the ominous cast with which everyone speaks of this event, and wonders why they all approach it with such dread. But she doesn't have much time to think, because a finely-dressed man's hand is diving into a large bowl, and he is pulling out a slip of paper.
"And our female Tribute for the 16th annual Hunger Games is... Arcadia Wilson."
That's her name. Fitting, she realizes as she walks calmly up to the stage, that they choose the best gamer for the most famous Games in Panem. She touches the reassuring metal of the coin in her pocket, which she was saving for afterward. She just hopes that they have an arcade at the Capitol. And she hopes she will see her friends again.
...
Wren Camphor, 15, District Seven Female
Ever since she was old enough to understand, people have told Wren Camphor that she is a handful, a firecracker, somebody who has too much energy for her own good, and Wren is feeling that restless energy now as she bounces from foot to foot under the blazing sun of the District Seven square. Her and her best friend Aspen are standing in the fifteen-year-olds section for the Reaping, and Wren is keeping up a constant stream of chatter, not at all listening to whatever the President is saying on the screen.
"...and he's the worst and I hate him," she finishes. "We should definitely prank him later."
Aspen nods in agreement.
"It's stupid that Wylan's too far away to talk, though," says Wren, bouncing on her toes.
The boy in question, her sometimes-boyfriend and all-the-time best friend is over with the sixteen-year-olds. She waves at him with her whole arm and he swivels around to wave back, causing a Peacekeeper on guard to glare at them both. Wren doesn't mind in the slightest. It brings her joy to see her friend, even if she can't stand right next to him like she wants to. She isn't quite sure of her and Wylan's relationship status at the moment, if she's being honest. She remembers how one night when she was thirteen, a more elaborate prank that her and her friends tried to pull off went wrong, and she kissed Wylan on a rooftop. She remembers the way the stars glimmered above them, how even though they were young and inexperienced, the kiss still felt like magic. She knows that there's no pressure to go any further, that exactly what they are can still remain a question mark, and they can still be friends. It makes Wren smile, the thought that they are that close.
Her, Aspen and Wylan have been a close-knit trio, causing harmless havoc wherever they so choose, for awhile now, and Wren feels safe and snug in her own life. She has parents who love her, a little brother, and two of the best friends she can ask for. The Reaping is a distant thought, just background landscape to Wren's vibrant life. This is what she believes right up to the moment that they call her name.
Cold, prickly shock settles slowly over her, and she gasps audibly. She stands frozen, uncomprehending, feeling as though if she moved her chilled body, it would snap. But Wren is nothing if not confident. So she smiles gingerly at her friends and swaggers up to the front of the square, right next to the mayor and the escort.
Her mother always told her how terrible the Capitol was. She shared sentimental stories with her about the times before the Games, just sixteen years ago, when things weren't so uncertain. When the Capitol wasn't so cloying and saccharine, doling out faux reassurances even as scores of citizens died in poverty. "The Capitol doesn't care about us," Wren's mother would snarl, with the same passion and fire that Wren herself possesses. "They are monsters; all of them."
Wren's father took on a more passive approach. He always wanted Wren to savor every moment of childhood, those sun-soaked afternoons and carefree evenings of unrestrained joy and mischief. Because they don't last forever. Someday they must come to an end.
And Wren supposes that the moment has finally come. The Games are tinged in darkness that Wren doesn't fully comprehend, but that she feels lurking in the shadows of the way people describe them. She can't help the deep, profound feeling that something in her life is about to be irreversibly altered.
But Wren's mind is a frantic hummingbird's wing. As she strides up to the front, winking at her brother in passing, she is already planning. She has set her mind on something—winning these Games—and Wren does not intend to fail.
...
Hello again, besties! I am back with Reapings Part One, in which we meet Arcadia and Wren, two very wholesome girls who I love very much. What are your thoughts? Thanks to KatDog42, QueenofFunerals37 and rising-balloons for your sweet reviews. I hope you are all having a wonderful Monday and I'll see you soon with another batch of Reapings!
Much Love,
Miri