Rue's Story

Chapter 1 - The Reaping

"Rue, honey," I hear as I struggle to wake from my nightmare. "It's ok. You won't get picked."

I blink open my eyes and see my mother standing over me with a concerned look on her face. I know she is worried about today because it's my first reaping for the hunger games and since I'm her first child, she can't bear the thought of losing me.

I sit up and smile at her.

"I'm okay," I say. "Just a little scared."

I've got to try and be brave for my younger sisters. They will be looking up to me today.

Mum smiles too. "That's good," she says. "How about we get dressed? You have to look beautiful today!"

I hop out of bed and follow her into her room. I don't come in here often so I'm surprised at how neat and tidy it is, especially compared to the rest of our tiny house. Mum is our village's seamstress so I've been learning to sew. There is also fabric and thread everywhere. Anyone could get lost amongst it all!

"Here," mum says, handing me a beautiful green dress. "I made this for you."

It is the most elaborate dress I have ever seen in the village! It is made of a shiny, smooth fabric and has a lace pattern over the top.

"It's beautiful..." I whisper and give my mum a hug.

"Here," she says and smiles, "I'll help you put it on."

Once the dress is on, I look at myself in the mirror. It fits me perfectly and I must admit, I really look lovely. Hopefully I won't need to wear it for long, though, because really, you only need a fancy dress if you have to go to the full reaping and to get there, you have to be picked in the village reaping first. It is quite easy to get picked for the village reaping, actually. They pick 10 girls and 10 boys to send to the Justice Building in the centre of the district where they are in the running to represent District 11 in the annual Hunger Games. We would never all be able to fit in the town square so it's easier if each of the 300 or so villages provides 20 representatives.

The village bell rings too soon, signaling that we need to be at the square in ten minutes. I give all my sisters a quick hug and we walk out of the small cabin we call home. I take one last look at where I have lived my whole life, hoping that I will be back tonight as always rather than on some fancy train to the Capitol and to my death.

The village square is really crowded! We all get our names marked off and I go to stand with the other 12 year olds. My friend, May, gives my hand a squeeze and we share a smile. 'It will be okay,' I tell myself. I am just thinking of what I will do tonight when I get home when the village mayor interrupts my thoughts:

"Welcome, members of Village 240, to the village reaping for the 74th Annual Hunger Games!"

He sounds excited but we all know how much he hates the games. I guess there are peacekeepers everywhere so everyone, even the mayor, has to watch what they say.

"Today, we gather here to choose 20 brave boys and girls to represent our district and our village in this years competition. To begin, do we have any volunteers?"

As always, no hands are raised. Anyone who gets picked is basically one step closer to their death and no one here wants that.

"Okay then," the mayor says. "First, we will pick the girls."

He picks out ten pieces of paper and places them on a silver platter, ready to reveal the names written on each piece of paper.

"The girls are:

May James

Coral Bow

Anna Carr

Rose Thornton