The 55th Hunger Games

Chapter 10

        A few hours later I stand lined up with the other tributes, waiting to file onto the stage and take my seat in the wide arch at the back of the stage. My eyes flicker ahead to the tributes in front of me. I am pleased to see that I do not look out of place with the other male tributes, though they all look much taller than me. But I suppose that three of those six in front of me are the male Career tributes who are usually naturally tall and strong anyway.

        I look behind me quickly to judge whether I am marginally taller than any of the other male tributes and with a shock see that the only one I am a little taller than is the sandy haired boy from District 9. Then the girl directly behind me from District 8 begins to move forward, and I notice that the line has begun moving.

        The stage lights in front of me become brighter as I move forward, and then suddenly I am out on the stage, engulfed by a torrent of applause. We move to the back of the stage in our single file line and curve around the arch of seats until we find our own.

        The stage lights blind my eyes as I look out at the audience and I must suppress the urge to cover them with my hands. Then I think, Good, maybe if I can't see the audience I can pretend that no one is looking, even though all of Panem is.

        Then the host, Caesar Flickerman, bounces onto the stage and I am suddenly awed to think that I am actually here, in the place on the TV screen where I had thought I would never be. But now I am and a new fear overcomes me. This is really happening. Mum, Dad, Cole, Emmaline, Josh, Kerry and Rose will be watching me right now. I must make them believe that I am ok.

        I try to put a smile on my face as Caesar -this year with his hair and lips coloured a light orange- bounces onto the stage and begins pepping up the audience by merrily wishing them, "Happy Hunger Games!"

        As usual, he is dressed in his famous blue suit with the little lights. Natural with his introduction as always, he shares a few lame jokes with the audience, and in no time the girl from District 1 is being called down the stage to take her place with Caesar at the front.

        I imagine how nerve racking it would be to go first. Then I consider that at least if I were to go first, it would be over with quickly. There would not be one of those long, torturous waits that I so hate.

        But whatever sympathy I may have felt towards the District 1 girl immediately vanishes when I begin to hear her speak. She comes off as very arrogant. She is the sort of tribute I would despise at home, the sort that cannot wait to get into the arena and do some killing. And not to my surprise, most of the other Careers seem to rub off this way too, though the girl from 2 is incredibly sly and teasing, and the boy from 4 is rather silent and seems to be trying to speak as little as possible.

        Each tribute has exactly three minutes before a buzzer goes off and they must go back to their seats.

        When the buzzer goes off for the District 4 boy, Seth, the little District 5 girl takes his place. Caesar seems to be trying to help her out, but the girl is clearly very nervous and does not want to speak. Through the interview, I pick up that her name is Mahamari. When her buzzer goes off, Caesar wishes her good luck and she returns rather stiffly to her seat.

        The District 6 tributes are called up, and by the time Samantha's turn rolls around I am incredibly nervous and feel I cannot stay sitting here for a moment longer.

        Samantha takes her place at the front with Caesar. She is dressed in a rather stiff looking dress, with little leather leaves overlapping each other to a point above her knees. I notice that her costume is not very well in tune with her body either. Teal must have a similar opinion to Marigold when it comes to dressing her tribute.