My clothes are ready. Mom is making a lot of food for the party after I become a tribute for the 74th Hunger Games. As I go down the stairs, "Cato, Come here." This might be the longest conversation I had with my dad. He doesn't talk much not like mom. And I don't like to talk to him either. He only likes to read the newspaper, watch the television, eat, work and sleep. "Yeah?" I replied. "This is the first time in our family to have an actual tribute. Never let us down. Got it?" I nodded. "Got it." I walked away.
The Reaping starts at 11. As I go out the house, I saw Jake and his gang. "Good luck today, loser." He shouted. I wanna punch him but I need to look my best for the Reaping. I haven't seen Clove today. That's odd. Maybe she's already in the stadium where the Reaping will be held. I headed straight to the stadium. I can see a lot of families praising their kids that they will bring pride to our district and they'll win the games. Some are looking nervous too. And I was right, Clove is already here. She looks lovely in that yellow dress. I just can't take my eyes off of her. "Cato. Why are you looking at me like that?" She seemed to look curious. "Umm.. Ahh. Wow. You look ehh.. Ow!" She punched me in the stomach. "What? Hideous? I know." She laughed. "Sorry about the punch though." I can't help but smile afterwards. Then, A Capitol representative goes to the stand and says, "All males and females ages 12 - 18, Please come forward for your finger to be pricked in order to sign in. After that, you can try volunteering yourself. Thank you." We went to get our fingers pricked for blood. One girl cried after getting her finger pricked though. It was showing that she is quite a coward. She would die easily.
After few minutes, A lady from the Capitol went to the stage and was about to start the program. The girls and boys were separated as a tradition. "Welcome to the 74th Annual Hunger Games Reaping Day! Before the choosing part, let us watch this video in honor of these lovely games." She smiled. For five minutes, There was a video shown about how The Hunger Games started and it was shown every year. Some were already sleeping. "And to start up! We will first choose from the boys, shall we?" I was getting ready. I need to get picked. I am destined for this. Nobody deserves this as much as I do. She picked up a paper from the bowl and showed it to all of us. "Henry Marshall!" What?! Not me?! That's totally absurd! "He can't be the tribute! He committed suicide yesterday night!" A miracle. There's still a chance. There is. "Well, if he's dead, then we need a volun---" "I volunteer!" I shouted. They all looked at me and clapped their hands. "A volunteer! What's your name?" She asked. "Cato." She walked towards me, shakes my hand and told me to go up to the stage. "Let's go to the girls now. But first, do we have a volunteer?" They were silent. Then, I saw a hand up in the air. "Me." I was shocked of what I saw. "What's your name?" The announcer asked. "Clove." She went up the stage and greeted me, "Do you think you could do this alone?" She smiled. "And there we have it! The two tributes from District 2 for the 74th Hunger Games! Clove and Cato!" And then, we heard everyone screaming our names and they were all clapping in unison.
