The Hunger Games: Titus's Games

Part One The Name

 “Arianna! Arianna Burns!” My mother calls into my room. I’m awake, lying in bed so I have to get up. I get up and walk over to the tub in the only bathroom in the house. My mother drew a bath for me so I can get ready for the reaping.

 The reaping is a selection process where our escort, Green Pine, he comes every year and chooses two tributes. One girl and one boy are brought to The Capital, made to be beautiful and then are put into an area with 22 other children to fight to the death. District 7’s past tributes, who have won, our victors, are Johanna Mason and Troy Moon.

After I’ve cleaned myself and gotten dressed in my best dress. It’s a dark green with lighter green accents. Wearing this dress with my wet red hair down my back I feel like I might be from The Capitol, or at least a wealthier District.

There are 12 districts. Each district becomes less wealthy the further away they are from The Capitol. The district order is how we are placed. So naturally districts 1,2,3,4 are really wealthy and 11 and 12 are the least.

I walk into the kitchen and my mother and father are sitting at the table and turn to see me enter.

“Arianna you need to eat today’s the reaping so we got you something.” My mother said. My father handed me a small ring box.

“It was several weeks pay but it was worth it.” He said. I opened the box to see a small pin. On the pin was a music note.

I looked at my parents and made the hand sign for Thank you. The reason I’m making hand signs is that I’m mute. I was born with all my vocal cords and I can use them but I can’t say words. That’s why the pin is a music note. Most of the time at home, I sing my answers, like do mi is yes and do re is no. My mother is the music teacher at school and having me sing my answers was her idea and my father is learning to distinguish notes. But when I was born the doctors told my parents that they shouldn’t keep me because I will never be able to talk. Probably because I never made any noise as a baby and when I cried it sounded like an avox crying.  My father immediately bought a book to learn how to do sign language. My mother and father know sign language and taught it to me when I was ‘learning to speak’.

“You’re welcome Arianna.” My mother says as I pin it to my dress, this pin will give me strength in the hours to come.

My mother brushed my hair as it dried. When it was time to line up my hair was dry and we walk to the square. After I sign in my parents can’t come with me, they will be watching and hoping that I’m not picked.

My straight flat red hair at my back I walk to the 15 year old area and look t the stage. A lot of people are looking at the stage but some are looking at siblings or friends. I don’t have any friends. In my first year of school a lot of girls wanted to be my friends but none of them understood that I couldn’t talk. They thought I was ignoring them. At school when I am asked to answer a question, which doesn’t happen often, I write it on a piece of paper and hold it up.

On stage was a podium two glass balls and five chairs, in the chairs are Green Pine, Johanna Mason, Blight, Troy Moon and Mayor Keedo. Once everyone is signed in Mayor Keedo walks to the podium and starts to explain the history of The Hunger Games.

I look at the Glass balls on stage one for the girls and one for the boys. At the age of 12 your name is put in the ball once and each year until you 18 they add one more name. But with some district don’t have enough food you can add your name again and receive tesery, enough grain and oil for one person for an entire year.

 I have never needed to take tesery but my name is in the girls’ ball 4 times. After the Mayor is done Green Pine is up to the podium and is saying his phrase “Happy Hunger Games and May the odds be ever in my favor!” then he says “ladies first!” and he walks over to the girls’ ball and picks out a name.  He walks back to the microphone and says the name “Mamie Oak.”