Stone Cold: A Hunger Games Story

Chapter One

          Hearing the jabberjays' songs flood my ears was the only pleasant thing about this morning. Today was reaping day: the worst day of any child 12 through 18's life. I rubbed my eyes with the pads of my fingers as I pushed the blankets off my body. Almost as if it was on cue, I heard a noise in my kitchen as soon as I sat up, I knew it was none other than Johanna Mason. Johanna has been my best friend since I was 8, even though she was 4 years younger than me, we were still extremely close. The Masons' were close family friends of mine, especially after my parents passed in a lumber mill accident a few years back. I made was way downstairs my bare feet making a small thump when they hit the wooden floor of each step. I looked at myself in the mirror as I walked past it and was slightly startled by the mess that my ginger curls had become. I gained about three inches from the tangles and matting of the hair on top of my head. Johanna poked her head out of the kitchen with the biggest smile I'd ever seen on reaping day. Walking into the kitchen I noticed the table filled with pastries and a variety of different breakfast foods. She had spent the last 20 minutes setting the table with the surplus of food her mother made that morning. In the Mason household, her mother always worked a little extra leading up to reaping day to have a big breakfast for her children and then gave the excess to me.

          "Good morning Gia!" Johanna smiled at me as I sat down next to her.

          "Good Morning Jo" I responded my voice still scratchy from just waking up.

          "My mother said we could get ready together this year, I have been anxious about getting drawn and she thought you could help clear my mind since it's your last year." She smiled as she started eating a mixed berry muffin.

          "There's no need to be anxious Jo, you're only 14, and you haven't traded for things so your name is only in there once. Just breathe and relax ok?" I paused for a moment trying to think of what would calm her down. "I'll do your hair and then you can do mine alright? Will that make you feel better?" I smiled and took a piece of sausage and ate it while trying to calm her nerves. Her little nod and smile was all I needed to see to feel a little at ease. I was just as nervous but I will never let her know that. My name is in there about 15 times because I've traded my name for meat and ingredients like flour and sugar. I grabbed Jo's dress off the back of her chair and handed it to her as I sent her to the bathroom to put it on, as she did that I went to my room to put my dress on. I hated the green short-sleeved dress, it had a short tiered skirt and a low scooped neck, but it was the only dress I currently owned so it had to do. I stared at myself in the mirror as I zipped the dress up, it was just getting to small, but I'm making it last one more year. I sighed as left my room and smiled softly seeing Jo sitting at the table with a brush and two ribbons. I took the brush gently detangled her hair and put it up in a high bun with the ribbons tied in a bow around the base of it. She smiled wide as she took the brush and some water and straightened up my curls and defined them beautifully.

          "There. You look beautiful Jo." I spoke softly as I took her face into my hands, my eyes nearly dwelling with tears as I think about how she has four more years of reapings left. She was so small and all I wanted was to protect her from the world and its cruel games. She noticed my eyes filling with tears and the corners of her mouth turned downwards into a small frown.

          "Gia why are you crying? I thought you weren't scared..." Her voice wavered at the thought of me being scared. I pulled her into a tight hug and took a deep breath as I kissed the top of her head.

          "I just can't fathom the thought of something ever happening to you Jo, I promise I'm not scared of getting picked. I'm scared of you getting hurt by the world." I sighed as she hugged me back tight her fingers digging into my back as she nodded. I heard everyone from the district start to head to the main square for the reaping. "It's time to go Johanna, I promise you nothing will happen to you so don't be scared ok?" I smiled as she nodded. She wrapped her arm around mine as we walked out the door and headed to the square. The crunch of the gravel under my boots was satisfying as I approached the table where they pricked your finger. The lady sitting at the table took my hand quiet agressivly before shoving the device with the needle into my middle finger. My nose scrunched as I tried to mask my pain for Jo. The lady reapeted the same thing with Jo, but afterwards Jo yelped in pain being caught of gaurd by the needle.

          I took Johanna with me to the last line of the crowd, about 150 of each gender were lined up as a beautiful woman adorned with a dress that looked like a tree walked on stage. She was the epitome of capital luxury and part of me envied that. A bowl was on either side of her filled halfway with small pieces of paper with green wax sealing eah of them. As she stepped to the microphone infront of her she tapped it twice making usre it was on before speaking.

          "Ladies and gentlemen of District seven, welcome to the reaping for the 68th annual Hunger Games!" Her voice was chiper and way to cheery for someone picking two children to be sent to the slaughter. Her hand hovered over the bowl for the males first which was new, normally the females where picked first. "Now, we will pick our male tribute!" I held my breath as she reached into the bowl and swirled her hand around pulling out one piece of paper. As she unfolded the paper everyone was silent. "Riggs Abelforth!" My heart stopped, I knew that boy from school he had taken me to one of our formals. Riggs emerged from the crowd with a solem look on his face as he walked on stage. His steps looked labored as the woman held his arm up. "Your male tribute District seven! Now on to the female tribute." I held Johanna's hand tight as the woman swirled her hand into the bowl and reapeted her previous actions of opening the paper.

          "And your female tribute is... Georgia Paratore!"