Chapter 3

NARRATOR | Karla Hayes, District 8

I yawn as I'm herded with the rest of the orphans out of the orphanage's back doors. It's been an exhausting couple of days, and this is the last thing I need right now. Unfortunately, I don't have much of a choice - all of us know that we're required to be here.

It all started yesterday when Tiberius Howell stopped by for his Victory Tour. Like they always do, the orphanage chose a group of us to stand under both of the pedestals to pretend to be the tributes' "siblings". Like that's fooling anyone - it's no secret in District Eight that both of the tributes Reaped every year are orphans.

I guess Dr. Vitale, the head administrator around here, has to appease the Capitol. They have to be convinced that our Reapings are fair, not Rigged to throw orphans into the Games. Still, I doubt we're fooling anyone.

Nevertheless, I was forced to stand up under the girl's portrait and look sad, which wasn't too hard considering that I lived with her for years before she was sent to her death. Now, today, we have another early morning as we're forced out into the orphanage's courtyard.

"Fourteen-year-old girls, stand here," Miss Fedhelm barks. She's in charge of the girls around here, and I don't think I've ever seen her smile.

I file in with the other girls in my age group, slipping in line next to Emily, one of my closest friends. She smiles at me, but it's not a full smile. We're all on edge; we all know what's coming.

"How was everything yesterday?" she asks as the fifteen-year-olds line up behind us. "Feel like a celebrity?"

"Definitely not," I mutter. "You know, one day they're gonna ask me to do something to keep covering all this up and I'm gonna refuse. How many more of us are going to die before someone does something?"

"Nobody else wants to do anything," Emily points out. "This benefits everyone except us. The kids out there in Eight don't have to worry about ever getting Reaped because we take the fall every time. And Vitale would never try to stop it."

Finally, it looks like everyone is here. Wind whistles across the silent courtyard as the procession begins. Dr. Vitale stands in the front, her heels clicking on the cobblestones as she makes her way to the front of the crowd. Behind her, Miss Fedhelm is joined by Lucilio, the man in charge of the boys at the orphanage. Other administrators file in behind them.

Vitale reaches the front of the crowd, turning on her heels to face all of her orphans.

"Welcome, everyone, to the Selection Ceremony," she says, her voice echoing through the yard.

"Here in this orphanage we call our home, none of us should forget the privileges we have been granted by the generous Capitol. It would also be wise of us to remember that nothing comes for free. Everything has its price. We are blessed now to have food on the table and electricity running through our halls. Seven years ago, we couldn't say the same."

Vitale's right - I was one of the "lucky" few who was allowed into the orphanage in those early days, and although I had a roof over my head, we didn't have much else to live on. We've come a long way, sure, but at an extreme cost.

"And look at how far we've come. This year, we officially surpassed 200 orphans living within these walls. A milestone I only dreamed of when I first took over as the head administrator of this orphanage. We should take none of this for granted, none of it.

"With that being said, sacrifices must be made for the well-being of this institution. Seven years ago, I approached Mayor Cyril with a proposition. Time was running out before the orphanage was forced to close for good; only a week's worth of food was left in our storehouse, and we were forced to turn orphans away, leaving them on the streets.

"Fortunately, my attempts were not in vain; Mayor Cyril and I came to an agreement that could benefit almost everyone on all sides. To fulfill his end of the deal, Mayor Cyril promised to use his influence in the Capitol to help us keep our orphanage open. In return, two of our orphans would be selected each year to enter the Hunger Games."

Emily exhales next to me. I wipe my sweaty palms on my dress - the truth has been spoken, and here it stands, out in the open for all of us to hear. Vitale only talks about this once a year, and it's right before two of us are selected to die.

In past years, this speech has riled up an anger in me that I can't describe. For us orphans to be pushed aside and ignored like we don't even deserve a chance to live... does nobody care that we are taking the fall for the rest of the District?

Of course not. The people who are supposed to advocate for us are the ones who are enforcing this. Vitale's the one who proposed this in the first place. It benefits her, sure - she gets to keep her job and keep this place open. But what about the two of us who are killed every year as a result?

"The official Reaping is to be held in exactly six months," the Doctor says. "The two of you chosen today will be selected at that time. This ceremony will give you six months in advance to prepare yourselves."

Yeah, like that's done anything to prepare the last twelve kids who have been sent to the Capitol. Only one of them made it out alive, and he stayed as far away from the orphanage as he could after that. Can't say I blame him.

"Let's begin with the boys," Vitale calls, and Lucilio steps forward with a paper bag in hand. He unceremoniously shakes the bag, pulling a slip of paper out and handing it to the Doctor.

"Vinicio Fuentes," she reads, and whispers break out among the orphans around me as a boy steps out of the crowd on the opposite side of the courtyard.

For a few seconds, I scramble to think of who has just been called. I don't recall ever encountering a boy named Vinicio... when I see him reach the front of the crowd, though, I understand.

A chill runs down my spine as Vinny takes his place next to Lucilio. He doesn't look happy to be up there, but he doesn't seem defeated like the others have in the past. There's a hint of smugness on his face as he stares out at the other boys.

Vinny is a tyrant, plain and simple. He's been bullying kids on the streets for as long as I remember. Lucilio's tried to crack down on it since Vinny got to the orphanage, but stories still trickle down the halls to the girls' dormitory of what he's been up to.

Honestly, part of me is glad to see Vinny at the front of the crowd for multiple reasons. First, he deserves it after everything he's done to vulnerable kids in Eight. Karma's coming back to swing him all the way into the Hunger Games.

And second, Vinny might actually win the Games. He's one of the strongest boys here, and he certainly knows how to fight. If he becomes the Victor, I somehow doubt that he'd try to help out the orphanage financially, but there's a slim chance that he might. If he does that, we could have a shot at abolishing this stupid ceremony. Vitale wouldn't need the Capitol's help anymore, and she wouldn't owe it to them anymore to rig the Reapings.

"Next up, the girls," Vitale says. Fedhelm stands next to her, reaching into the bag and plucking out a piece of paper.

Don't be me, don't be me...

"Gracie Reynolds," the Doctor reads, and a sea of girls exhale in relief. We're safe another year.

A girl steps out from the very front row. The twelve-year-olds. Next to Vinny, she's absolutely tiny.

"Poor thing," Emily sighs next to me. "She doesn't stand a chance."

I nod, but I don't care about the girl much. All I care about is that I'm safe for another year. That could've been me up there, and I'm grateful it's not.

"In the event that the two selected tributes are... unable to participate, alternate choices will be selected," Vitale announces. "They will be posted on the dormitory doors tonight."

"That is all. You are dismissed - enjoy your day off."

Relieved, I drag Emily back to the girls' dormitory. We reach beneath our bunks to scavenge as much spare change as we can find.

"Come on," I hear my friend call to some of the other fourteen-year-olds. "We're going out!"

A few minutes later, I'm trailing a group of girls as we wander the streets of District Eight. One of the girls knows a cheap place to eat, and we follow her through the heart of the city. It's a grimy place, but it's cleaner than what we're used to at the orphanage.

"Cheers, girls," Emily says, raising her glass to us. "To another year!"

Eight glasses rise, met with cheers from the other girls. We've made it - every year that passes by is one year closer to surviving this horrible place.

The sun's already set by the time we return to the orphanage. I don't know if I've ever been out this late - our curfew is ten o'clock, but I'm never out after I get home from work at five. When we get back, the clock on the wall reads 9:58. Two minutes to spare.

When we get back to the girls' dormitory, we're faced with a scene of chaos. A hundred girls are crowding the hallways, some of them sleeping right on the ground.

"What's going on?" I ask the girl nearest to me. She looks exhausted, like she wants nothing more than to just go to bed.

"There's a... body in there," the girl sighs. Not the first time she's seen a dead body, I'm sure, but still hard to say nevertheless.

"Who was it?" Emily asks, sharing a glance with me. I feel a pit growing in my stomach; I hope all of my friends are safe...

The girl gives us a look like we're crazy. "Who do you think?" she asks, looking around us. "Gracie Reynolds."

Emily grabs my arm so hard I think it's going to bruise.

"The alternates..." she says, her face pale. "We need to go check."

Emily's right. I didn't even think about that - if Gracie Reynolds just killed herself, someone else is going to have to take her place.

Eyes follow Emily and me as we force our way through the crowd of girls towards the doors to the dormitory. Something about the way the girls are looking at us makes my heart rate spike; something is up, I can feel it...

We reach the front of the crowd, and then there it is. Emily's fingers tighten around my arm as we read the memo attached to the door.

SELECTED: Gracie Reynolds

1st Alternate: Karla Hayes

It's all over... I'm going into the Hunger Games.

A/N - Hope y'all liked that little twist at the end ;)

If anyone wants a more in-depth description of the Selection Ceremony in this chapter and its context, make sure to check out my story Twin Snakes, as it's a major plot point of that story! This story takes place three years before Twin Snakes so there are many similarities from the time period.

~S