Entries for Writer's Games pt. 2

Prisoners Task One: The Reaping

--Pepper Gretts--

Piper and I ran breathlessly to our home carrying a bag of food.

"Mom! We're home!" Piper grinned. The floorboards creaked in response.

"I guess Mom's not home yet," I shrugged as I made my way to my precious stool, with it's faded green paint. Piper came over and sat on her favorite stool. It was really for someone if they needed a fitting for a dress to stand on. Piper usually stood on it as I sewed a costume for her.

"Are you scared?" Piper asked as she clutched the bag of food.

Yes

"No, not that scared. Though I'd miss District Eight and all it's stuff," I reply. I can't find a way to fully describe home for me. It's a little gloomy, but it's nice. It has it's cool buildings that look like they can fall down any minute, and the castle-like building in the center. The shiny factories, and my personal favorite the monument for the factory explosion. It's this big shiny sculpture of a flame in honor of those who were engulfed of the flames of an accident no one talks about much except in school. And of course being reaped I'd be missing Piper. My best friend, my closest companion, my twin, my sister. She's everything to me. I don't care about boys. I love my mom, and never met my dad, but Piper is my sister. We've done everything together I can't bear to be separated from her.

"Me too Peps, you especially,"

"I'd miss you too Pipes," I say as I hug her. "Well I highly doubt we'll get reaped." We eat a little and then go to sleep. The thought of the reaping was like an ominous blanket covering us in our sleep.

I roll over onto my stomach and face Piper my identical twin the next morning.

"Ready for," she paused dramatically "The reaping?" I shrug

"Guess so, I mean we only put our names in there like...16, 20" times?"

"Yeah," she replies "What would we do without Mrs. Morado?" Mrs. Morado was the kind old bookkeeper. She often kept Piper and I busy with tasks that paid for food, clothes, and other things. We only had to put their name in for a tesserae a few times thanks to her. Mother walked in her hair and clothes were messy and she had dark circles under her brown eyes but her eyes still shone happily and she wore a tired smile.

"How is my actress and designer?"

"Good," we respond in unison.

"Mrs. Morado has something for you two," she smiled. We grinned and proceeded to wash off. Piper put on a pair of beige trousers, tucked in a crisp blouse and buttoned a vest over it. She tied on a pair of black boots and pulled on her cap, her red-brown hair hung loosely around her face. I just pulled on a pair of jeans a black shirt, brown boots and a cap. My hair was messily braided to the side. Piper peeked into our mother's room.

"Mom, we're going to Mrs. Morado's okay?" she whispered. Our mother was sprawled on the bed softly snoring. Her chest slowly rose and fell. We silently ran out of the house and jogged over to Mrs. Morado. Eventually we come to Mrs. Morado's house, half of it was filled with books, and fabrics. Piper often tried to clean the clutter in her home, I quite enjoy the clutter, Mrs. Morado never seemed to mind much. She smiled cheerily as she saw us.

"Hello girls,"

"Hello Mrs. Morado," Piper greets, smiling pleasantly.

"So mom said you had so-" Piper elbowed me.

"She said you wanted to see us?" I glare at Piper as I rub my wounded arm.

"Yes," she says thoughtfully and shuffles into her home. We followed her inside the little cluttered shack, we see as a second home. She brings us two dresses, they're beautiful. Piper whispers something like 'caresses' but I'm busy looking at it to care what she mumbled.