The Hunger Games (Fanfiction Style)

The Reaping

Every time I come here, it scares me. Not for my own safety, for the fact that I can also be picked, but for the safety of someone younger, who could have had a longer life, to be dropped in with little hope of surviving even the first day. That's what scares me more, and the fact that I'll probably never try to volunteer for them. The announcer is heading up to a large wooden stage, her hair puffed up and a neon green color and her clothes striped yellow and the same shade of green. "Welcome to the 200th Reaping for District 7! I'm your very own announcer, Vivyte Margentay! Now, we must hurry along for today we are all running a bit late, no?" I look at all the other kids around me, some taller, some shorter. Although a lot of them have spoken to me I never really had my own personal friends. "Now, then, who wishes to go first?" Her preppy voice almost makes me wince. "Let's begin cordially. Ladies first!" Her yellow nails shine brightly while she reaches into the wooden box and swishes the papers around, taking her time. She slowly pulls her hand out, looks at the paper, and smiles as if she knows something that we don't. And she has every right to, since she's the one holding the paper. "Lucia Chevin?" At those words I finally realized what the meaning meant when someone's blood turns to ice. A few people's eyes turn to me, and slowly the rest of the crowd does the same. I siddle out of the row of people I'm standing with and walk slowly towards the stage. Her eyes are an eccentric yellow green, and she's beaming at me now. "Give a good hand for your lady tribute Lucia Chevin!" A few claps here and there, but otherwise it's silent all around. Vivyte seems to just realize this at the moment and smiles awkwardly. "Onto the gentlemen, hmm?" She digs her hand in the box, whistling softly. "All right then, here's another..." she pauses while reading the name. "David Kristow, come on up here!" David's eyes widen and he blinks several times before moving, shoving people away. I can tell almost instantly he didn't want to be chosen, and instead of being sad he's becoming furious. "Come, now, be a good sport! Everyone give a round of applause for this fellow!" People clapped sarcastically. "Your mentor is Christina Velin and your mentor is Johnson Sevil. They're sitting right there so you can meet them right now. Another big hand for these two brave tributes, and may the odds be ever in their favor!"

I slowly shuffle over to Christina Velin. I've heard practically nothing about her, ever. She looks normal, even pretty, but her eyes are distant and when she looks at me it's like she can't even see me. Her hair is a pale brown and her eyes are a soft green. "Lucia Chevin?" she asks, making sure. I nod and clear my throat. "Well, I'd be a lying if I said this won't be hard. This is going to be the hardest week of your life." She paused, thinking. "And don't think alliances are bad. I know what's up with these other people, 'alliances gonna kill you' and things like that, but listen, sometimes the only way to stay alive is to make allies. See Johnson? He made it out not because he was alone but because he was the only sane person left in the end." She stands up, motioning for me to follow her.