The 76th Hunger Games

Chapter Four. The Opening Ceremony.

A limp shapeless sack hangs from my shoulders as I shiver next to my carriage. I should have seen this coming, I should have known better than to think that they might dress us in normal clothes because after all these aren't normal hunger games. My hair is knotted and messy and my face has black powder smeared across it. I must look awful but I resist the temptation to wipe my face because I can still see Margi out of the corner of my eye.

I glance around looking at everyone else, to my relief I am not the only person who is dressed ridiculously. It looks like they have paired us up; like they did in the old hunger games. There seems to be only one other person dressed at all similarly to me. A limp sack hangs from the shoulders of my partner, just like mine does. But even though he is wearing similar clothes to me doesn't mean he looks anything like me. The dark powder that is smeared all over the skin of my face outlines his deep blue eyes. Although our hair is both a mess, mine looks like a squirrel climbed into it and his is just playfully tousled; leaving a mysterious and mischievous look. I don't remember him being at the reaping, but after all I don't remember many people being at the reaping. The only thing that I can recall is Johanna's voice booming my name through the crowd.

The carriage next to me has the mocking jay symbol painted in red on the side. I think that I am starting to see a growing theme here; the rebels have taken over and they own everything that once belonged to Panem. The mocking jay now replaces the Panem crest wherever I look. I run my fingers through the bits of loose hair that managed to avoid being destroyed and twirl and spin them between my thumb and finger in an attempt to release the stress and pain that threatens to explode out of me.

The boy dressed in the sack strides towards me with a smug smile painted on his face. I clench my teeth together and hope that he is going to walk past me, but he doesn't. Instead he stops beside me and leans his back against the chariot with his eyes looking me over up and down. I don't say anything as I try to imagine what he's thinking but I don't get very far into my imagining before he answers my question for me.

"Your Scarlet aren't you? Your president Snows granddaughter! I knew I recognised you from somewhere else other than the reaping."

"Yes" I reply, trying to sound as confident as possible. "I was Mr Snow's granddaughter."

"He's Mr Snow now is he?" The smug smile that is plastered on his face becomes inquisitive. "What happened to president Snow?"

"He outlived his title" The words are too sharp, and I knew it the moment they left my lips.

"There's no need to get upset Miss Snow." He's mocking me now.  Trying to get me to crack. But unfortunately for him I'm already broken.

"You have no right to call me that." I snap. "Anyway, if you insist on addressing me by my name I think I should know yours."

"My name is Arrow, and I think it's time that we got ready Miss Scarlet." He gestures his hands towards the carriage and bows his  head at me. I sigh as I climb onto the carriage because I know that he is going out of his way to mock me and patronize me.

My knuckles go white as I grip the bar in front of me to stop my hands from shaking. I watch as Arrow climbs onto the carriage he is shaking like I am, but he is not disguising it nearly as well. He is not as strong and confident as he makes himself out to be. After all, only a few days ago he was a normal citizen of the Capitol. He has not been training for his whole life for these games, he has just as much of a chance as I do. Now I realise, none of these tributes have been training, we are all equally inexperienced. A small smile sneaks its way onto my face as I realise that I might have more of a chance than I thought.

As the gates slide open in front of us I watch as all the tributes are carried through into the public eye. I watch the first carriage go by. The tributes are dressed in bright pink and orange feathers that cover their whole bodies and spill out in an explosion of colour on their heads. The tributes in the next carriage are wearing wheels on there ears and coloured square boxes around their bodies; they look like trains. It almost looks like we have been organised into districts! It's like they are trying to make these games as normal as possible. But from everything i was told, these games were going to be different. Why would they organise us into districts?