Firecracker: The 99th Games Book One

The Reaping, Districts 4-6

District 4, Fishing

Piero Ionica wasn't worried about the Reaping. Not one bit.

The Ionicas were victors. They just were. They won the Games every time they were in them. If he got reaped, he'd win them too.

It helped that he had been training for the Games since he was a child. Everyone in his family was prepared to take a life. His older brother Antonio had survived the entire six year period of eligibility without getting reaped, but Piero would volunteer before he let that chance pass him by. Only two more years. Might as well have fun with it, right?

The cruelty of calling a fight to the death with other children fun was not lost to Piero. He sighed, examining himself in the mirror. Why could he never get this cowlick to cooperate...?

It's best if I just don't think about it.

"Piero," his mother called up the stairs, "are you ready to go, sweet boy?"

"Give me a second!" Piero called back. He fiddled with his hair a bit longer, then gave up and trotted down the stairs to meet his family. There was a small pang of jealousy as he realized, for the fourth year in a row, his younger brother had managed to completely outclass him in terms of appearance. How did Marco always make dressing up look so effortless? Maybe it was because he was a bit leaner compared to Piero's visible bulk. Or maybe he knew how to dress so he seemed leaner.

Of course, his incredibly curly, well-styled hair might have had something to do with it too.

Piero was lucky Marco was gay. At least he wouldn't take all the girls.

Piero's eyes fell on his sister next. She was thirteen now, her second year in the Reapings. She hadn't been reaped the last year. If she was this year, Piero would absolutely volunteer. He wouldn't let his frail baby sister face those Games alone. Surely their father, the current Mentor, could do something to ensure she was never chosen. He didn't believe in women being allowed to fight anyways. He could take that up with the female Mentors like District 1's Mercy Crocker.

The festivities passed as normal. Piero didn't pay much attention to the speech this year either. But when their Escort came to the stage and cleared his throat, Piero perked up, alert for his sister's name. It took him a second to realize there was only one bowl on the stage.

"...Due to a dwindling female population, District 4 has decided to take two male tributes this year," the Escort announced. "Girls who are eligible for the Reaping this year, your names will be added to next year's Reaping one additional time to make up for this switch."

What? Dwindling population? That didn't make sense. The crowds gathered here now seemed about equal. Why was the Escort saying something so untrue?

But more importantly...the eligible girls would have their names entered twice? That was good news for rising twelve-year-olds who would now have the odds even more in their favor next year, but bad news for Luciana Ionica, who would now be slightly more likely to get chosen.

She was competing against similar odds as this year, though, ultimately. And what about eighteen-year-old girls who were graduating out of the Reapings this year? Would they stay in the running next year?

There was so much about this that didn't make sense. Something felt wrong about the whole thing.

The Escort drew out a first name. "...The first tribute will be...Marco Ionica."

Piero snapped to attention, shocked. Marco? Marco was going into the Games?

He glanced at his brother, torn between feeling excited for him and...terrified for him.