Bring back the pride

The Reaping

I woke up in a pool of sweat and tangled sheets. My nightmares had come back. I heard a knock on my door and went to answer. It was Sasha, "Hey. What's wrong?" She blinked and hugged her toy doll closer to herself. Sasha was only eight, but her nightmares weren't as bad as mine. "You okay?" Sasha mumbled. I smiled and nodded. "Where's Uncle?" I asked. She shrugged, he never cared about us.

I ushered Sasha back to her room and dressed her in a pink dress. I had slept in my dress the night before to make things easier. It was the Reaping today. The Hunger Games were coming. I sighed under my breath and went to fetch our flats. When I came back, I saw Sasha trying to braid her hair. I giggled and went to help her.

Right when we finished, a shout came from downstairs. "Let's go!" It was our uncle. His voice was hoarse and when we went down, he looked like a mess. I grabbed some bread (burned, as usual) and handed it to Sasha. "Let's go, we have at least 15 minutes." She nodded and skipped along with me as we made our way to the square.

I got my finger pricked and sent Sasha to Ms. Harper, she was the only person besides me who cared for her. My parents had died in a car accident, and our only living relative was Uncle Jack. I hate him.

I went to stand by Massey, I didn't really know her, but we talked once in a while. She smiled a little and then turned back to her friends.

Our escort finally came up on stage, everyone got quiet. She giggled and talked for what seemed like hours. Finally she said, "Now, remember. This year is going to be different." She looked around. "The chosen will pick someone else to go in their place. Fair enough?" She giggled again, everyone was shifting their feet.

Our escort chirped, "Ladies first!" And went to the bowl. She dug in deeply and grabbed a small sheet of paper. As she walked back I wondered if her heels made dents on the floor... She cleared her throat and read, "Maria Baer!" Massey scoffed next to me.

The Maria girl (who I didn't know) walked up on stage. She had a huge smile on her face. "Now who will you choose darling?" Our escort asked. Maria smirked, "I would like to choose..." She sucked her breath in and said "Jade Dias."

I looked around, there wasn't another Jade Dias except... me. I was shaking a little, but managed to make it up the stage. I didn't even know this girl! Our escort smiled and hugged me, then she told Maria to get going. She literally sashayed down. I bit my lower lip. "Now for the gentleman!" Our escort called out.

 Her heels clicked again as she made her way to the boy's bowl. I breathed in slowly, 'Please let it be someone I don't know, please.' I pleaded. Our escort made her way back and cleared her throat, just like before.

"Eric Taylor!" Her voice echoed for a second or two and she blushed. Finally, the Eric guy made his way up. He looked pale, like he was going to throw up. He walked up on stage. "Now, who'd you like to choose?" Our escort asked. He mumbled a name. "Speak louder!" She commanded. Eric cleared his throat "Luke Stone." There was a little murmur in the boys crowd, until our escort said, "Where are you?" And Luke came out.

I knew right away I hated him. He looked like a kid from the outskirts if 5, that was a messy place. My uncle had come from there. Luke walked up and gave our escort a hug like he'd known her forever. Then she said to shake hands. We did, except my hand only touched his fingers. He smirked at me.

Our escort then led us into the Justice Building, she was chattering all the way about how this was so EXCITING. Luke kept rolling his eyes and looking at me from the corner of his eyes. I tried to ignore it. But knew some time I couldn't.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: I don't have a model for Sasha or Jade, couldn't find any. I'll update this every week or so, make sure to keep checking!