The 122nd Annual Hunger Games: The Anti-Careers

District 11 Reaping

XI - Listy Fayner

"Mark, get back her!" I commanded. "And Mariah!" I was reaching for them by the collars when I got swept up off my feet by Raina. I was soon on the floor. "Kids," I coughed stern. Their three heads crooked towards me. My older brother Ryan finally walked in to help out. "Kids, you need calm down," I spouted again. "Mom's gonna get mad when she gets back if she sees you guys being crazy."

Seconds later, mother walked into the house coming from the stables a mile out. It shut the kids up instantly.

"Kids, we have to go into town, get your shoes on."

Ryan and I were already dressed up somewhat fancy; our clothes weren't dirt stained like our casual rags. All the younger ones had to do was show up, but if you show up to the reaping looking like you got beat up and you fell into a pit of cactus, they'll give you trouble for it. Our father showed up right before we left the house and we as a family traveled into the town for the annual death lottery. In District 11, it seemed rare to see someone you know get chosen for our mass population meant we didn't even know most of the people.

"Listy," Ryan began. "How many times is your name in?"

"Fourteen," I replied solemn. Four times for my age, ten times for tesserae for myself and younger siblings. Every year, Ryan and I switched who would take one tessera while the other took two; we had three ineligible siblings. Mother and father didn't let us take one for them.

Ryan counted on his fingers, starting over a couple times. "Twenty-six, I believe." How unfortunate of him to have to take it so many times. The next year would be when I would take two and he would take three.

We lived far from the town square, three miles probably. I found myself sweating a bit before we even arrived as the reaping was always held in the summer. Ryan and I signed in at the check in station while our parents took the kids somewhere else lying outside the teenagers' area. Soon enough, the district escort, Shimmer Courtesy trotted onstage and began the ceremony.

"Good afternoon, District 11! I am back for your annual reaping, where we will select one brave young man and one brave young woman to fight for honor and glory in this year's Hunger Games!" She walked to the girls' bowl to say the famous phrase, "ladies first!"

All around me were faces of tense, angst. I was the same as well. I really just wanted to know already that I wasn't picked and I wasn't in the mood for waiting around for it. Shimmer unfolded the paper slowly, eating at my patience and filling me with more trauma.

"Our District 11 female tribute, is," she began. She continuously looked back and forth to the people and the slip of paper. I couldn't stand it, the suspense. "Listy Fayner."

I let my head fall so that I could stare cold to the ground. Listy Fayner. Listy Fayner. Listy Fayner. Yep. That was the name she read, my name, my title.

"Well come on out, girl!"

I stood still for a moment. Then, hesitantly, I moved out of my spot towards the aisle while looking around as if I was mistaken and perhaps Shimmer had called a different person than I thought, but I was ultimately incorrect. Shimmer held out her hand, waving it towards herself to motion me up to the stage.  I was soon with her onstage, one of the future Hunger Games victims for sure.

"And how old are you, darling?"

            She held the microphone to my face. At first, I was distant and unresponsive but I filled her request. "Fifteen," I mumbled.

"Everybody, Listy Fayner!" she announced giddy, placing a hand on my back and gently pushing me forward to present me to the public. "And now, for our male tribute!" She repeated the same process for selecting our boy tribute, moving furiously slow and building everyone's suspense. Eventually, she read out my male counterpart for The Hunger Games. "Julius Abend."

Julius made his way from the eighteen-year-old section and found his way up the stage. Poor guy, his last year in the reaping, and then he gets picked. She asked for his age, he said eighteen, and then we found ourselves staring out to the District 11 crowd, the people angrily viewing their annual sacrifices.

"Ladies and gentlemen, your District 11 tributes, Listy Fayner and Julius Abend!"

We were shoved into the justice building and I met with my family for a good thirty seconds before being ripped away and sent on the tribute train.