The Hunger Games: A new point of view

chapter 1

The 34th Hunger Games

--Nadia’s POV---

The warm sunlight drifting from our small window hits my eyes and slowly pulls me out of my dreamless sleep. I slowly sit up to avoid waking up Arrow, my 16 year old sister. Hanging in my doorway is a simple, yellow dress. Of course.

Today is the day of the reaping.

I sigh. I'm 13 years old, and my name is in the reaping pool only twice. Arrow refused to let me take tessera. The chances of me being pulled are very small because of this, but instead of me taking tessera, she has. Every year, for the four members of our family. This means that her name is in the pool 64 times. District 11 is a huge district, but 64 times is a large number. I feel anxious for her, even though she is strong and can handle an axe pretty well. Most people think that this skill is only reserved for district 7 tributes, but with the Capitol constantly wanting more products and supplies, we've had to cut down some of of our forests. My father forced her to join him while completing  task. Mother was outraged of course, when she learned this, but at the end of the day, it benefited her. Her strength build up and she can handle an axe better than any other boy or man in our section of district 11. No matter how reassuring using these thoughts may seem, I still fear for her.

Arrow stirs in her sleep. I gently nudge her to wake her up. She opens her eyes sleepily and smiles weakly. “Hey Nia,” she says, sitting up In bed beside me. Nia is her pet name for me. She's been there for me through everything; bullies at school, my first crush, when I first started working in the orchards. The thought of losing her today overwhelmed me with sadness and I burst into tears. “Hey, now,” Arrow hugs me and strokes my hair. “I'll be fine,” she says. “Don't worry about me. No one can mess with a Manning without biting the dust,” I giggle and wipe my face. “Ok,” I manage. I climb out of bed and study the dress Mother has laid out for me. It's a pale yellow and stops right above my knees. Flower designs adorn it in yellow lace. Its pretty, but I don't care about looking good today. All I care about is Arrow coming home safely.

I slip the dress over my head and pull my curly hair into a bun on the top of my head. Mother also laid out shoes. They're brown flat shoes that have a pointed top that pinch my toes. Instead of the flats, I choose thin brown leather boots that are comfortable and easy to walk in.

Mother laid out a dress for arrow too. It's baby blue and has matching blue heels. Its funny to see her in a dress because she normally wears trousers and boots to work. She wobbles in her heels a little bit and smirks when she sees my boots. “If only boots went with this dress” she sighs. I shake my head in response. “You look beautiful, Arrow.” she smiles, a rare occurrence. “Not as much as you,” she says, patting my head.

Once we're ready, we head into the main room of our small house. Mother has already made our breakfast of oatmeal. When she sees us enter the room, she smiles weakly, but in her eyes I see the same fear that I have: that Arrow will be taken away from us. Father has to help set up in the main square, a whole day's journey from our part of District 11. Arrow got to say goodbye to him before he left, but I didn't. Without his smile to reassure us, we sit and eat our meal in silence. The reaping is at 10:00. It is now 9:30. A feeling of dread sweeps over me.

Mother clears her throat and and says “You two should get going now.” we both nod in agreement. Before we head out, mother pulls us into a hug so tight I can barely breath. “I love both of you,” she whispers, pulling us tighter. “I love you,too” Arrow and I say in unison. With that, we make our way to the closest square to our house.

Being the largest district, there are multiple squares. The one closest to our house is smaller than the one they show to the Panem. Around the square are some small shops, the bakery, butcher and candle maker. The rest of the shops are deserted. Peacekeepers are everywhere: lining the square, perched on the roofs of shops like vultures. Their efforts to intimidate us is pointless. No one is going to run. You're on death's door if you do. To the side are the check in lines, where a peacekeeper picks my finger and presses it to a sheet of paper beside the name “Nadia Manning” i then join a couple of 13 year olds in my area. Our district isn't like most. The names are reaped prior to the day of the reaping because of our population. The districts can’t know this though. If they did, they might try to stage a rebellion again. This may not seem like a big deal to some citizens of 11, but to me, it's just another weakness of the Capitol, who obviously doesn't have the strength to fight another rebellion right now. But then again, neither do the districts.

“Welcome, welcome,” Lilly Crumpet says over the microphone, cutting into my thoughts with her perky capitol accent,  “to the reaping of the 34th annual hunger games.we're viewing a live projection of her on a large screen. She babbles about how it's an honor to be in district 11, even though we all know that she thinks that this district and everything in it is beneath her. Then, the moment that everyone is dreading:“Now, it is time to pick the brave young man and woman that will represent district 11 in the 34th annual hunger games. As customary, ladies first!” Lilly says giddily and skips over to the reaping bowl to the right, with  female names.

A hush sweeps over all of us. You could hear a pin drop in the square, in the entire district, for that matter. Lilly fishes around in the bowl for a little bit, and then pulls out a slip of paper that could have Arrow’s name on it. Lilly skips back to the microphone and says “the female tribute to represent district 11 in the 34 annual hunger games is Arrow Manning” I blink once, twice and stare at the screen in disbelief. I hear a cry in the back of the square. It must be Mother. I feel numb. This can't be happening.

I almost am convinced that this is all a dream until I see Arrow, her chin held high and her face showing nothing of what she must be feeling, make her way to the building in the front of the square that has the device that will transport her in seconds to the main square. I feel a tear roll down my check as I see Arrow on the main screen, showing the same confidence and beauty that she exerted in the square. “Isn't this all just so exciting!!!” Lilly screams over the microphone.  I don't think I've ever been so annoyed in my entire life. “And now for the boys.” Lilly skips over to the bowl on the left side and picks out a scrawny 15-ish looking boy named Arnold. Arrow and Arnold shake hands and are then escorted to the Justice Building, a structure I've only seen on TV. The mayor then drones on and on about the treaty of the treason, and all I can think about is the 24 tributes going into the arena, that have more food and experience than my sister has.

Standing on the stage, she looked brave and beautiful. But what is really going through her head?

Am I going to lose my sister?