Chapter 4
1180 Words
Dane Verity POV
Another year, another Reaping. Here in District 4 it isn't so bad. A lot of kids volunteer so they can get fame and glory. Or death, but whatever they want. It's unofficial protocol that if the reaped tribute looks like he or she might win, you're not supposed to volunteer. I'm not sure how that got started.
I found a group of my friends in one of the lines and stood next to them.
"Hey, Pike! How's the catch?" I asked one of the boys.
"Nothing but net," he responded with a smile.
Ryan and Sean stood next to him. We chatted until the Anthem played and pretended to listen to the traditional speech.
Our escort, Gaudius Spark, walked onstage in a dark blue suit covered in metallic scales.
I suppose that's supposed to make you look like "one of us", I thought. Nice try, flotsam. You're as District 4 as a cactus.
Gaudius fished around in the bowl and came up with a slip of paper.
"Celestial Yeager!" he called.
Celestial? I thought. I knew her. She fished sometimes with her father on the poor side of the shore. She was a little odd- always changing the subject and fidgeting. She probably wouldn't last long. Girl didn't even like water. What a waste of space.
"Dane Verity!" he called.
I was surprised to hear my name, but I wasn't worried. Surely someone would volunteer for me. I was just some random fisher kid from a beat-up old boat. I hadn't trained for this or made a name for myself as a champ.
I stood on stage and waited for Gaudius to continue.
"Do we have any volunteers?" he asked.
There was silence.
Wait, that's not supposed to happen, I thought. What about all those kids who never shut up about their glorious victories? Surely they don't think I can win?
After a moment of silence, Gaudius announced us and the crowd applauded.
I sat backstage until my father came. My mother would have come if she wasn't in a shark's belly. You know how they say you're more likely to get struck by lightning than attacked by a shark? We don't get much lightning in 4, but we have plenty of sharks.
My father sat down next to me.
"You can do this, Dane," he said. "You know you can. You're strong and you're smart. You didn't need the Academy to teach you to use a knife. You can clean a fish in two strokes."
I knew he was right, but I also knew there were a lot of other tributes who knew all that and more. Maybe I was big and strong, but that didn't mean I knew what I was doing. I was willing to kill if I had to, but I didn't know if I had the skills.
"Yeah, I can, can't I?" I said to my father. I straightened up.
"I'll do what I have to," I said.
My father smiled sadly and dug into his pocket.
"Don't forget where you came from," he said. "They can't change who you are."
He handed me a smooth shard of green sea glass. It was like holding a piece of home.
"Do us proud, son. Show them what 4 is made of," he said as he rose.
He seemed confident when he left. I guess I convinced him. If only I could convince myself.
I looked myself over. I was tall and solid, and years of hauling nets had given me powerful arms. Maybe I didn't know what I was getting into or how I'd manage, but my father didn't know that.
I'd make sure the Capitol didn't either.
Celestial Yeager POV
For me, the Reaping is the most exciting day of the year. I don't get out much, seeing as District 4 is pretty much water. I hate water. I have heard all the jokes and every possible taunt, but I don't like water and that's that. It's slippery and cold and it's just not solid. The only thing good about water is otters.
Otters I like. I love all animals, but the best of all are otters. They're cute and friendly and they're the way I stay connected to my father. Since my mother and father split a few years back, I've gone between the two houses, but I spend more time with my mother. When I'm at my father's run-down shack, he fishes and I train the otters. It's not so uncommon in 4. Otters can chase the fish down and find them in cracks our nets can't reach.
At my mother's house the walls of my bedroom are covered in drawings of otters and other animals. I have a whole notebook filled with stories about otters and other animals. What else is a girl who hates water going to do with her time? When I'm done making and fixing our nets and the otters are tired, it's time to create.
The only time I can sit still is when I'm writing or drawing. There's just so much to see and do. There are otters to pet, birds to watch, drawings to draw, parks to run around in, and so much more. I usually end up doing stuff alone, since I think I scare other people a little. They like to just sit and do things for ages. They're terribly boring. The only time they speed up is when they swim, and they know how I feel about that.
I stood shifting my weight between my feet as I waited impatiently for Gaudius to get on with it. He finally picked a slip and held it up.
"Celestial Yeager!" he announced.
Woopee it's me I get to move! I thought. Halfway to the stage I remembered what it meant, and that ruined it a little, but at least I wasn't stuck anymore.
There were no volunteers. Shucks. A boy joined me. I didn't know him very well, but I'd seen him around when I was fishing with my otters.
My mother and father joined me backstage.
"Take care of the otters," I said to my father. "Make sure you feed them twice a day and remember that Ollie likes urchins and not oysters."
"Don't worry about them. Just come back soon, okay? They'll miss you," my father said.
My mother didn't say much. Her face was pale and she kept wiping her eyes. She held something out to me.
"They're always with you, and so are we," she said. She handed me an otter carved out of driftwood.
"Love you," I said to her as I hugged her. "Love you too," I said as I hugged my father.
They took each other's hands as they left.
Good, maybe they'll get back together, I thought. I ran my fingers over my little otter and smiled. Things were looking better already.
Author's note:
If any of you has an escort or mentors they want to add, send them in! Right now I'm making up names on the fly as I write each chapter.
- Writer
