The Tributes of District 4

Chapter 1

Jaxon Pov

"Oh, Delta! Wake up! You don't want to be late for the reaping!" Mom sang from the doorway. Delta rolled over in her bed and opened her blue-green eyes.

"Yeah, Del, we're all waiting for you!" I mocked, putting my face up close to my sister's.

"Fine," Delta growled, and leaped out of her bed. "What do you have for me this year, mom?"

Mom held up a knee length mauve dress and some white sandals.

"Come, try it on!" she said. I noticed there was something forced in her voice. Of course. She was nervous. Three kids with four slips each in the reaping bowl. We didn't need to apply for tesserae; District Four was wealthy and so were we. I rolled my eyes. there was no reason to worry.

Once Delta and I had changed into our clothes, Mom brushed out Delta's caramel colored hair from its French braid, and handed me a bottle of product to style my hair.

When I came back into the room after putting about 20 pounds of product into my short bronze hair, Mom was facing Delta with a forced smile.

"Wonderful! I think we should keep it down for today, show off those lovely waves, yes?"

Delta nodded. It was best to just nod at Mom when it came to these things. That's when Annie jogged into the room, a bright smile on her face.

"Happy Hunger Games!" She exclaimed.

Delta and I grinned. I strutted over to where Annie was standing.

"Don't worry, Annie," I said, putting a muscular arm around my red haired triplet, "I'll volunteer for you if you get picked. You wouldn't stand a chance in the arena."

"Jaxon Leander Cresta! Don't you dare joke about that!" Mom hissed in a dangerous whisper. "You look lovely, Annie dear," she said, turning toward Annie. She had switched to her singsong voice again as if nothing had happened.

And Annie did indeed look lovely, as lovely as your sister can be. Her shiny auburn hair was pulled back in an elegant looking bun, and her long emerald green skirt paired with a white blouse matched her eyes perfectly.

"Now, come on, get in your places!" Mom tittered.

We rushed out of the bedroom, and into our usual place under the mantel in the living room. Just as we got lined up, Dad came down the stairs, fidgeting with his bowtie.

"Jade, this wretched bowtie is too tight. Do you mind-"

"Yes, dear, I'll fix it later. Could you get the baby for me? We're running late..."

"Oh, right, yes!" Dad exclaimed, and raced back up the stairs. He was back a second later holding our little brother, Luca, who was wrapped in a silver blanket.

"Good, ok!" Mom said. She took Luca out of my Dad's arms and handed him to me, and grabbed a camera. "Say happy Hunger Games!"

"Happy Hunger Games!" We all mimicked, our mouths split with smiled.

Soon, we were walking through town to the square, passing a dozen different shops. The bakery, the fishing supply shop, the bookstore, the clothing shop, and so many more. When we arrived at the square, mom smiled at us, and I could tell nit was forced like before.

"Okay, go line up!" She told us, shouting over the din. "I'll see you after the Reaping!"

Annie and Delta shuffled into the girls line, and I turned the other way to waltz over to the boys one. Once I got out of the line, I tried to look for my sisters, but couldn't find them. I heard the click clacking of high heels on pavement and gave up, stopping to stand near the front.