24 Years, 24 Tributes

Chapter 3

Spencer Wire POV

Let's get this over with.

I stood in line as our escort, a drab looking woman in a blue dress, fished around in the ladies' bowl. Bring it on. What else could possibly go wrong?

They say there's always a light at the end of the tunnel. It's hard to believe after your father left before you were born, your twin brother was murdered by some thugs looking for the food he didn't have, and your mother bravely inspires you by climbing onto a chair and using a rope to learn how to fly. It's hard to know she didn't care enough to stick around for her only son. She only saw Eli whenever she looked at me anyway. It's hard to look on the bright side when a good day is one where you don't get beaten and you get a full bowl of mush at the foster home.

Oh come on. You're being unreasonable. It's not all that bad.

And it was true. My hair looked great. I didn't exactly have money for a stylist, or even gel, but this was District 3, the district of the eggheads. With a little ingenuity and inventiveness, I eventually found that butter makes great mousse. It almost made my tattered beige foster uniform look classy.

There was one other good thing about the whole deal. Every one of the other kids was standing there with me. Maybe tonight the foster home would be one kid emptier. Their faces were all filled with fear, and for once they gave me joy.

The escort called a name, and a skeleton of a girl walked onstage. I don't know how those long legs kept that body up. She couldn't have weighed a hundred pounds and she was almost as tall as I was. The only fat on her body was in her full lips, and her hair gave her body more volume than the rest of her shape. I didn't recognize her. She must have lived in a real house with a real family.

The escort dipped her hand into the other bowl.

"Spencer Wire!" she called.

You have got to be kidding me.

I really shouldn't have been surprised. Obviously my family had grievously wronged the universe and I shouldn't even have lived this long. I walked onto the stage and stood next to the girl. She looked at me nervously. I didn't smile. I just looked back at her.

The escort announced us and the crowd applauded weakly. I went backstage and waited to say goodbye to my family. Except I didn't have a family, and nobody came. I sat on the cold metal bench and took my token out of my pocket. Lucky thing I keep it with me all the time, since there was nobody to go fetch it for me.

It was the last little bit of my mother I had: an eight-inch length of thin white rope. It was just long enough to get around my neck. How very appropriate.

Hailey Falkenrath POV

It was a beautiful day. The sky was clear and I could just imagine a dragon cutting a red line through the air as it flew. The other kids stood in lines like guests at some massive fairytale ball.

I wasn't worried I'd get picked. I never got picked first for anything. With my bony frame, I wasn't fit for anything but drawing. I wasn't much too look at, either. I guess I wasn't really much at all. Maybe that was why I liked playing pretend so much. I could be a lovely princess or a daring warrior. I drew sprawling pictures of my grand adventures. Sometimes my classmates would compliment my drawings. I knew they were just being polite. I tried to tell them, but they just laughed. I like making people laugh. It's one of the few things I'm good at.

I don't know why my classmates think I'm so funny. They think it's so cool that I can just make up jokes and always have a funny comeback. It just comes naturally to me. I thought everyone could do that. Maybe it has something to do with my big imagination.

My imaginary world is so much better than the real thing. I have lots of friends there, and I'm not skinny and plain. I'm gorgeous and graceful, just like a princess.

Our escort, Bubbles Anglaise, reached into the bowl.

What a name. Bubbles Anglaise. She's like a fairy, I thought, and I decided from then on she was a fairy. She must be a water fairy, with her name and her blue dress. She called out a name.

"Hailey Falkenrath!"

What? Me?

There must have been a mistake. I never get picked for anything. I went onstage to correct her, but I was too shy to interrupt as she started picking the male tribute.

I'll just wait until she's done, I thought.

She called out another name and a boy joined me onstage. I didn't know him. He looked rough. Except for his hair, everything about him reeked of disrepair.

After the crowd cheered halfheartedly, I went backstage to let everyone know there had been a mistake.

"Excuse me," I said to one of the Peacekeepers. "I think there's been a mistake."

"What?" he consulted a tablet. "You're Hailey Falkenrath?"

"Yes, that's me," I said.

"You're it, all right. Your parents will be in shortly," he said.

I actually got picked? I felt a moment of triumph. Then I realized what I'd been picked for and everything faded away.

The door opened, and my mother and father came in. My father was wiping at his eyes, and my mother just grabbed me in a hug. My father sat beside us and hugged us both.

"Come back, okay honey?" my mother said.

I just held her and snuggled my face into her. I waved as they left. I knew if I said anything we'd all start crying.

After they left I sat alone on the bench. I wasn't a beautiful princess at all.

I thought back to the fairytales I loved so much. For the longest time I'd figured I was the ugly stepsister. Now I finally realized I was wrong. I wasn't the ugly stepsister. I was Theseus. He was a tribute just like me. And Theseus slew the Minotaur and sailed away.

Just like I was going to.