The Twenty-ninth Annual Hunger Games: A Fanfiction

District 1 Reaping

District 1 Reaping:
Belle Coppervale
"Belle! Wake up!" The sound of my mother's voice jolts me awake.
"The reaping is in a few hours! You need to get ready!" my mother shouts at me. I reluctantly get out of bed and take out the pink dress that my mother bought for me. It's specifically for reaping day. I am a little bit afraid. I won't admit that to anyone. Especially not to the whole of Panem. And not to the other girls of District 1. I'm only twelve. It's my first reaping. And my name is only going in once.
"You ready for the reaping, sis?" my brother Glint asks me as we head to the square.
"I guess," I say. That's all I can think of to say. I'm really not ready. But I have to act like a Career. That is what I am supposed to be. I'm from District 1. Anybodn from District 1 is supposed to act like a Career. When we get there, I get in line behind my friend Scarlet. She's the same age as me. But she doesn't look afraid at all. She looks... excited.
"Hey Belle," she says when she spots me behind her.
"Hi Scarlet," I say back. That's all I can think of. Then she sees my slightly nervous expression.
"What? Are you scared?" she asks.
"N-no," I stammer.
"You look nervous. I think you are scared." She starts teasing me. Then something pops into my head.
"I'll volunteer!" I shout at her. "I'll volunteer as a tribute this year! That'll prove I'm not SCARED!"
"Fine then. Volunteer. Show that you aren't!"
"Okay," I say, but inside I'm afraid. How could I promise that? By the time we find our seats, it is already time for the reaping to begin. Our escort, whose name is Plumeria Lockwind, steps onstage.
"Welcome to District 1's twenty-ninth reaping day! May the odds be ever in your favor! Now a very special film from the Capitol!" I've heard this film many times before.
"War. Terrible war. Widows, orphans, a motherless child. This was the uprising that rocked our land. Thirteen districts rebelled against the country that fed them, loved them, and protected them. Then came the peace, hard fought, sorely won. But freedom has a cost. When the traitors were defeated, we swore as a nation that we would never know this treason again. And so, every year, each of the 12 remaining districts must offer up in tribute one young man and woman to participate in the Hunger Games as a reminder:::" Suddenly the screens above us go dark.
"Oh my!" screams our escort. "What has HAPPENED?! It wasn't over! I suppose we'll have to get on with it." She sighs, indicating that she was hoping to see the whole thing.
"Ladies first," she says, and walks toward the reaping ball that holds the girls' names. Without hesitation, she puts her hand in and takes out the first slip of paper that she encounters. She slowly walks back to the microphone and reads it.
"Sapphire Winterberg!" An eighteen-year-old girl stands up and starts to walk to the stage, and it is then that I remember my promise to Scarlet. I stand and start to run toward the stage.
"I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!" I shout so that everyone can hear me. Looking surprised, Sapphire turns and goes back to her seat. I ascend the steps to the stage.
"What's your name, darling?" asks Plumeria Lockwind.
"Belle C-Coppervale," I manage to say.
"Lovely! We have a District 1 volunteer!" There is a lot of applause. Finally, Plumeria speaks again.
"It's time to choose our male tribute!" She goes to the boys' ball and takas out a slip of paper. Again she does it with no hesitation.
"Flash Glitzbor!" A fifteen-year-old boy comes to the stage. This time there are no volunteers.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this year's tributes!" Plumeria announces, and then, the reaping is over. Just like that, it's finished. And I am a tribute in the 29th Hunger Games.