CHAPTER 1 ~~ The Reaping
"And now for the boys," Effie Trinket announced. The crowd was staring at Katniss Everdeen, who was standing nervously beside her on the stage. Her fringe messily stuck to her face with sweat and you could see her chest was moving quickly with deep, panicked breaths. Effie's heels clomped loudly as she totted crossed the stage to draw a name for the male tribute. I stood there silently. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled with nervousness. I could see the rest of the boys staring up at the glass bowl of names. Tapping one foot, and biting their lip. I even saw one young boy, who looked 13, with a freckled face and actual chattering teeth.
With her light pink, curly wig and a rose surrounding with ribbons on the top of her head, really showed that Effie was from the capital. Her face was caked with pale makeup and her dress was ridiculously over-the-top, dark pink and puffy at the shoulders. Capital clothes. This made things worse. Effie reached her delicate and perfectly manicured hand into the glass bowl. With a quick flick of the wrist, she picked a name and open the card. She cleared her throat.
"Peeta Mellark," she announced through the microphone. The name echoed. My name echoed. It took a while for me to realise what she said as people were turning around looking at me with sorrowful faces. My mouth opened slightly with shock. My head felt as though it was filling with blood. Like the feeling when you're upside-down for too long. My heart raced and I stated the obvious to myself.
'That's my name,' I thought. As I walked through the crowd to make my way up to the stage with guards forcing me to continue doing so, I felt like running. I felt like running as far away from there as possible. I felt like living a different life.
