Gavin Astor. A banished child of the Capitol, sentenced to a life in the Districts at his father's dismay. At age 14, what will happen when Gavin experiences the reaping for the 48th Annual Hunger Games? When his name gets picked, how will he handle...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I was awoken by the sound of someone crying. I could hear soft muffles as they sniffled and try to stay silent.
Recognizing the voice behind the soft moans, I say, "Lavinia?" And the sniffles took a quick pause before I heard her shuffling around in her bed.
"Are you okay?" I ask, beginning to sit up to get out of my bed.
She responds with a soft, "Yeah, I'm okay."
I could tell somethign was wrong, though. Yes, she was already worried about being picked for the games, we all were. But this felt like something additional, something different than just the games.
I made my way to her area of our room and sat down at the end of her bed, making sure to give her as much space as she wanted, unless she said otherwise.
"What's up? Are you scared to go into the arena?" I ask, looking at her patiently.
"No, not the arena. Because you'll be with me, and with you around I'm not scared of anything," She begins, looking over to me, I respond with a half smile but let her continue.
"It's just, I've been thinking about Benson a lot. Ever since I got my name drawn he's all that's been on my mind, actually." She says, beginning to cry again. This time I scoot closer, and she drops her head into my chest as I sit next to her, holding her. I rub her back attempting to comfort her. I let her speak some more, as I knew there was more on her mind that she wanted to get out.
"In the visiting room before he left he told me to take the world head on, that I can amount to anything I set my mind to. That he'll be proud no matter what, but how can I make him proud in that arena, Gav? I don't have any skills." She says, ending in a question while looking at me for an answer.
"Well, you have more skills than I do," I begin, which was true, "What am I gonna do to show my worth to everyone, recite the Capitol allegiance?" My joke worked, making her laugh.
Wiping her tears she gets up and walks over to the window, which overlooks the Capitol. We could see so far, noticing all the lights that were still lit up from the homes continuing their night, anticipating the tribute trainings to come the next few days. Capitol citizens were probably gathered around dinner tables playing family games, or around the television watching the nightly newscast, or maybe even putting their young ones to bed. Meanwhile, 24 families in the Districts were missing a big part of their nightly routines. 24 families were currently plating a dish for a spot that isn't filled, 23 of which will never be filled again, and tucking in the ghosts of children that once filled the hallways with laughter.
"I wish my dad were still here with my mom, she won't know how to make it on her own." Lavinia said.
"Woah, Vin, don't say things like that," I begin my attempt to say words that will make a difference, "You will make it out of that arena, you have to, for your mom, and for me, your dad, Benson," I try to continue but she interrupts me abruptly.
