The 57th Hunger Games.

The Reaping

As soon as I walk out my confidence leaves me and the nerves come back. I try to calm myself. At least I'm not entering like, 42 or something. It's a very slim chance. STOP SHAKING, BELLATRIX!!. It's not working. I grab Sally's hand and feel her bones crack. She winces, so I soften my grip. We enter the square and in no time we're being shoved into our lines and I lose sight of Sally. The next hour flies by. I space out into my own thoughts. I wonder which one of these girls with whom I have spent my life seeing will leave their home and their lives, and possibly never see them again?   

In no time it's time for announcing the tributes. Mayor Kemmett goes up and talks about what he talks about every year. Why the Hunger Games were created and all that. Things that everybody knows about and doesn't want to be reminded of. After what seems like an eternity of the mayor's words, Gretchen Demone, our escort, steps up and gets ready to pick this year's tributes. "Hello, District 11!" she says. "Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor!" As always, her skin is all dyed blue and her hair is shaped like a cloud. She has a puffy dress with a skirt that goes up at the edges, very stiff, so the tips almost touch her elbow. The skirt has birds flying all over it. Her shoes are very, very tall and the bottom of them are covered in fake clouds, making her seem like she's standing on top of a cloud, flying. She has a smile with no imperfections, and an attitude that makes you think that she's selecting the competitors for a spelling be, not a fight to the death. There's no doubt she's from the Capitol. No doubt at all. Just non.  "Ladies First!" she says. Sometimes I wonder if they tell the escort what to say, because they all always say the same words. She goes over to the girls' reaping ball, and rubs her hands together, almost jumping of excitement. She slowly reaches in. I feel a hand grab my arm. Without looking back I know it's Sally. Gretchen picks up three and softly lets two fall back in. Who are those two people that just had their butts saved by a soft move of Gretchen's fingers... I wonder.  Not being able to contain her excitement, Gretchen lets out a squeak as she opens the card quickly. "Bellatrix Macauley" the name rings in my ears. The grip on my arm tightens. I grab Sally's hand. This time it's her turn to crack my bones. I kiss her hand. "It's okay. Let go. It'll be okay" I whisper. She lets go "No it won't" I hear her whisper as I walk to the stage. I suck in all the emotions. Save them for the private meetings. No cameras there to humiliate me in front of all Panem. I stand there with my arms behind my back with an expression of pure nothingness. I may look completely blank, but I'm listening carefully to see who the boy tribute is. Gretchen walks over to the boy's reaping ball and picks up a handful. To makes a show, she hovers her finger above the five cards she has chosen, and finally picks one. She throws the rest back into the ball as if they were chewed food. "Willard Steiner!". The boys' area moves silently, and makes way for Willard, who is looking at the floor. He doesn't respond. He ignores us all. Finally somebody punches him and he wakes up. His head snaps up in the direction of the puncher "What?!" he says in a very aggressive voice that makes me jump. His face quickly turns from anger to horror as he turns to look at what's going on. "Oh." he says softly. He tries to take a step but trips on his own shaking legs. Two Peacekeepers grab him by the arms and drag him to the stage. He doesn't resist. His gaze points at the floor, and his face is paralyzed. When they place him right next to me. He ignores me completely. Fine. I ignore him, too. I am taken away from the stage. Willard is being carried, still paralized. The only change I see in him are the tears silently sliding down his face into the cold, hard, ground. May the odds be ever in your favor. I secretly say to him in my mind. May the odds be ever in my favor, too. I'll need those odds to be in my favor if I ever want to see home again. And I hold on to those words. I imagine seeing home again. Winning. But I quickly shake the though off. The odds are never in your favor. 

*Author's Note- Well... what do you think? I love this chapter so much when I accidentally erased it all I started crying. I know. I'm weird. But I got the chapter back, for you to read, and enjoy. If you can.