[78th Games] The Reaping - District 4

Being eighteen is definitely different from being seventeen. My parents, both of my mothers, look to me to be the backbone of the family and with that comes so many new responsibilities. The fishing boats rely on my presence to bring in the catch. I don't wait on the sun before exiting the bed to get started on my daily routine. Thea's arms that encircle me before the morning spar feel like home while my mother sleeps soundly still. Her duties to the family aren't expected because the reaping has been set for today. My last year to attend the crowded square and look upon the stage where two innocent lives will take the stage and pledge their lives unwillingly to the capitol's pleasure.

Two months ago, I woke up and looked into the ceiling wanting to see what my life would hold, but it was blank. The offset white, yellowing with age, just gave me a bleak look into what I already knew. I couldn't plan to see what would happen to me. But today, I find myself sweating, beads of moisture painting my forehead, after an hour training with my badass mother. The sun has become our time clock as the painted clouds become white. The multicolored sky becomes a hue of blue.

I step into the house to the smell of a wonderful breakfast but it can't be consumed until after I shower. I am forbidden by Cynthia to ever arrive at the dinner table, let alone the reaping, without clean clothes and a fresh shave. It isn't long before my hair is slicked to the side and my suit is completely wrinkle free. A smile is plastered on my face as I reach for the anklet of a cowrie shell woven with hemp cords that my boyhood crush had given to me last year on my last birthday. It is, without a doubt, my most prized possession.

Cynthia's voice clambers out, echoing through the house asking for my arrival. I do as I'm told and I scuttle out of my room with one more vain look at myself in the mirror before following the stairs to the first floor and then into the kitchen. "Good morning, Mom." A solemn look on her face makes my heart bleed and grown boy or not, I find myself crossing the way to her. I begin hugging her as if it were going to be the last time. Her arms tighten around my back as her hand goes to sooth the back of my neck and a peck on the cheek is given.

"Everything will be fine, Mom. Relax. Just like last time, I promise! I will be home right after the reaping and you better have my chores ready to dish out." I taunt her, releasing her. I quickly race to grab a handful of fresh bread and fish patty to consume on the way. I take a hefty bite, catching a crumb wanting to escape and with a pleasant smile upon her lips, I pass her, all the while kissing her on the cheek as well.

"Be'om'oon." A mouthful of mutterings sets her off with a huff as I scurry through the door and taking very little time to dawdle.

Angel's place isn't far from mine and per the norm, I catch up to him just as he was leaving and side by side, I catch glances with him ever so often while our voices are barely conversing. Today, our last year has commenced and while I shouldn't be nervous, I am.

I'm terrified that he'll be reaped and my voice will clamber out to take his place. He saved my life once, and I can only hope that if I was given a chance, I would do the same.

I would always do the same for him.

Hemp cords brush up against my ankle, kissing my skin and today, it feels heavier than normal. Almost like it is wanting to keep me from making it to my destination. Instead, I pass my attention over to Angel, brushing up against his arm as much as I would want to. Inside my bedroom, in my sock drawer, a tiny vial is corked with a stopper. Inside, a tiny shell resides within it, laying on a soft bed of sand. With it, a very minuscule roll of paper, delicately laced with a thin string holds a secret for him that he'll only find once I'm good and dead, whenever that will be. A treasure awaits him and from the time I took the first stroll to the square, unable to escape Snow's demands, till last night when the final letter in my installment was finished.

A harbored secret of love, with every moment I found precious between us both.

And between us both, we arrived without another moment to lose. Herded like cattle in district ten, I find that staying closer to Angel was my sanctuary. He'll never know it, but not far from this place is the beach. That beach was the first time I knew I had fallen in love with him but couldn't explain it at all. My heart yearned for him as a friend and only then did it grow even more then I would have expected. He knows it, I know that. He can tell and I can tell it, too. HIs lips has tasted mine before, but our bond just isn't that outward yet. Today, I take a chance though. I hook my pinky around his as the escort had taken the stage. Their voice sounded like cats screaming in the moonlight.

God I hate listening to this every damn year.

And somehow, the time crashed like a wave as the girls name was spoken.

"Eva Tidestone." Never heard of her before, I shrug my shoulders and strengthen the muscles in my pinky to squeeze Angel's. Like every year, the boy's name follows but it's a moment that I felt a hand on me. I felt the presence of eyes but as odd as it sounds, my heart didn't quicken at all.

It stammered.

It halted.

I looked at Angel and I saw the effort of his lips trying to bring back air into my lungs when we were younger. I noticed the fear in his eyes just like that day.

I grin at him.

I shrug.

"No saving me this time! It's my turn to save you." I crash my lips against his for a mere moment; a breath. I take my moment on stage and wink to the girl standing beside me.

"Good luck, Miss. Let the games begin."