ACT I, CHAPTER FOUR ❛the unluckiest girl❜ content: underage drinking, guns, general angst.
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The liquor gives Madaket a much-needed edge as she snakes her way through the crowd of children, holding Byatt's hand tightly lest someone bumps into them. She has to remind herself to breathe, despite the impulse to hold her breath and avoid the stench of people and car exhaust that hangs like a dismal cloud over the town square.
Her finger is still throbbing from the check-in process. Peacekeepers have to collect a drop of blood from each child entering the Reaping and scan it with a device to check them in. To get the blood, they pricked her finger with a needle. The Peacekeeper that Madaket had the misfortune of ending up with had sunk the tip of it so deep into her skin that she wouldn't be surprised if it reached close to the bone. She presses it into the hem of her dress to stifle the blood flow, hoping that it won't stain the fabric before she can wash it off at home.
Finally, after weaving through a group of eighteen-year-olds selfishly blocking the entrance, the two girls find an empty place to stand with their class. There are thousands of fifteen-year-olds in the whole of District 6, and because there are so many, Madaket doesn't recognize a lot faces.
The education system in District 6 is separated based on location. More rural parts of the district have one school every fifty miles. There are three schools just in Smogborough, where Madaket and Byatt live, to account for its large population. There are many hundreds of people in Madaket's class, and she intermittently spots their faces through the gloom of unfamiliar ones. This is the one time of the year when every citizen is in one place. You'd think they'd congregate for something joyous, like a fireworks show or a carnival. But the world isn't that kind. Instead, everyone is unsmiling, speaking low to the people nearby, attempting to quell their nervousness and grief.
"I feel like they give us less space to stand every year," Byatt comments, and Madaket rips her eyes away from the crowd.
She nods as someone accidentally nudges their elbow into her ribs. "I feel like a canned sardine," she says quietly.
"Literally," Byatt grimaces, "This is a mass hysteria waiting to happen."
Two gunshots suddenly ring out, causing everyone in the crowd to whip around in search of the source. Madaket subconsciously grabs Byatt's hand and squeezes hard in fear. The Head Peacekeeper stands on top of a car's roof near the stage, a shiny pistol pointed at the sky and a hateful expression on his scruffy, unshaven face. He looks down at the audience of children and parents who are now as silent as a tomb.
"Quiet down, the Ceremony's about to begin," he barks, voice echoing off of the tall buildings around him.
Uneasiness ripples through the crowd like waves as they all shuffle into place. Madaket's heart is pounding in her chest, frightened by the gunshots and by the Peacekeeper's order. Byatt rubs a circle on the back of Madaket's hand with a gentle finger, and when Madaket turns to look at her, she smiles softly. Madaket returns with a weak smile of her own and then focuses on the platform in front of the Justice Building.
