Back to Normal: The 35th Hunger Games

Chapter 8

Six and Seven will come when both Tributes are in.

Lanolin Gossamer POV

Humor is more than just jokes. When you laugh with someone, you're not alone. People like it when you make them laugh. Popularity isn't everything, but it's nice to have friends. People will overlook a lot if you're a friend. I never felt handsome or charming, but I knew my friends always had my back. I wasn't the strongest or the smartest, but I could always cheer them up. It was nice to have something to give back.

During the Reaping I always tried to up my game. We were all scared, but if we stuck together and were able to laugh at things, it didn't seem so bad. If any of us actually got Reaped, a joke wouldn't solve anything, but it felt like we were warding off danger by refusing to be scared.

We're supposed to be quiet when the names are drawn, but that's the tensest part of the Reaping. Sauol, Ahlek and I were squirming around like jumping beans. We were giggling over the dumbest things and trying to pretend we weren't all seconds from tears. I finished the story I was telling.

"And I bumped into one of the kids. I said 'excuse me, little guy'. He turned around and he was a dwarf," I said. Sauol snorted and covered his mouth, and Ahlek elbowed my side.

"Legendary," he said. Remus called out the name and we listened as if we were paying attention the whole time.

"Lanolin Gossamer!" he called. All my blood rushed to my ears and I felt light-headed. Sauol and Ahlek stared at me, and for the first time I wished they were someone else. Everyone was looking at me and I wanted to vanish. I felt like I was naked in public and everyone was laughing, but not with me- at me. Humor couldn't help with fear like this. I wanted to cry for my mother, but I was too scared. I didn't say anything as I walked to the platform.

Sauol and Ahlek came to see me after the ceremony. I said something funny, but I didn't remember what it was later. They were gone in far too short a time. My family came next. It was weird to have all my sisters in the same room and not be arguing with at least one. We usually fought like a house full of tornadoes, but we all loved each other. That was probably why they were so quiet. Pollie and Jazmyn were both crying, and Cara fiddled with her hands.

"Here," she said. She gave me the necklace she'd been working on. It had a piece of blue glass and it was supposed to be for her. I was so touched I hugged her, and I never hugged my sisters. I held it up and looked through it.

"I'll be the prettiest one there," I said.

Alice Grace Silvin POV

The world is a lot more magical than most people realize. Most peope had friends to talk to and do things with. I'd been alone so long I had time to see things most people didn't. I spent so much time reading fairy tales and exploring by myself that I'd learned something. The people who wrote those stories were just like me. They didn't have friends either, and they turned into the only people that could see all the wonder in the world. Their stories were real, and people like me could see that. After that, it wasn't so bad to be alone.

I spent a lot of time in whatever bits of nature I could find. Eight wasn't as secluded as the outermost Districts, but there were a few patches of trees. I'd made myself a little fort in a small clearing, and I went there a lot. Jack came with me, like he always did. Ever since he was a tiny fawn he'd been my friend. It was usually just us there. I liked to look for fairies or elves or things like that. I hadn't found any live ones yet, but I'd seen some evidence.

When it was just me and Jack in our secret lair, it felt like we weren't part of the world anymore. It wasn't that I didn't like other people. I thought they were all good at heart, and usually when people were mean they were just scared. The outside world was nice, but my little world was perfect. Nothing bad ever happened here, and there were marvelous things like fairies.

There was a little stump in our clearing. I liked to use it as a table to draw on. I liked to draw pretty things, like people and Jack. This time I drew my brother, Damion. I didn't get to see him as much as I wanted, since he moved out after our parents divorced. He visited whenever he could, and he always came with me to the Reaping. I'd see him again in a few days, since it was almost that time again. I took my time drawing him. I made sure to get every detail right and make it look just like him. When I drew him or other real people, I took the drawings home to my room. I left pictures of animals or pretend creatures behind, tacked to a tree. I liked to think the things I drew would see the pictures and like them. When they got washed away and melted, I pretended the animals took them back home.

Dad and my stepmother didn't say anything when I got back home. They were usually busy with my stepbrother, since he was involved in a lot of school stuff. They knew I didn't get in trouble and they left me alone. I knew they loved me and all, but I didn't want to get in their way. They had their own problems to deal with and I didn't want to make them worse.

I went back to my room and taped my picture to the wall, next to a bunch of other ones. After they'd been there awhile, I would draw new ones and put the old ones in a drawer. I sat on my bed and looked up at the ceiling, which had some other drawings. I was scared for the Reaping, but excited to see Damion again. The two almost balanced out, and I didn't know what to feel.

1. That dwarf thing really happened to me. To my great relief, he didn't seem to hear.

2. I've heard of people with pet deer, so I left Jack in. Stranger things have happened.

3. I just realized I forgot Five. Oops! I'll write that now.