Chapter 12
1010 Words
Callista Corral POV
I never belonged in District Ten. Everything here is smelly and bloody. My parents work in a butcher shop and I was supposed to join them. That lasted about a day. They weren't happy, but I found work with my friend instead. I help train the collies that herd our sheep. Dogs smell a lot better than cows, and I don't have to kill them.
Reaping Day was confusing for me. I liked seeing Fluvius and his neat outfits. I liked how for one day, our District brushed with the Capitol and I got to see the outside world. Of course, I was worried about whoever got picked. I hoped it wasn't one of my friends, like Dahlia, Neve, Lluvia, Sol, Nube, Cellisca... I'd be lonely if one of them left. Who'd do my hair then? I especially hoped it wasn't Graniza. She made really good cookies. But then, maybe they'd win. Ten has been doing better lately.
I grew early, so I could see Fluvius easily when he came onstage. He always favored blue, and this year he looked like he stepped out of a history book with his powder blue frills and ribbons. His face was covered with powder as white as flour and he had a giant rolling wig. Even his nails were blue as he dipped them into the bowl.
"First, the ladies!" he said. "Callista Corr-" I cut him off with an unearthly screech. I grabbed the girl next to me and shoved her in front of me, cowering behind her.
"Not me! Someone volunteer, quick!" I screamed. Everyone always told me how pretty and sweet I was. Of course someone would volunteer for me. I kept waiting even as the Peacekeepers brought me onstage.
What's going on? Why aren't they volunteering? Nobody spoke up, and Fluvius started to pick the male name. Of course it was extra certain my brother Garrett would volunteer. All the same, I still didn't want to go. Maybe if I was really annoying they'd have to put me back.
"For the m-" Fluvius started.
"A little black dog sat on the porch!" I started to scream. I didn't have any music to accompany me, so the notes were off.
"Ard-" Fluvius broke through.
"And Bingo was his name-o!" I interrupted.
"Ard-"
"B-I-N-G-O!"
"Arden-"
"B-I-N-G-O!"
"Arden-"
"B-I-N-G-O!"
"Ardengrake!"
"AND BINGO WAS HIS NAME-O!" Fluvius' microphone screeched with feedback as he tried to say something and gave up. He threw up his arms and left the stage. I ran around between the Peacekeepers as they tried to wrestle me backstage and I accidentally knocked into Arden, who fell on his butt and sat in a daze.
I was so mad I would have given my family the silent treatment if I didn't like talking so much. I couldn't believe Garrett just sat there. He was lucky I was going to win. But when I came back, see if I ever invited him to my mansion.
Arden Grake POV
The Reaping was quite an event. I didn't remember all of it, but I remembered enough.
At first it seemed like a normal Reaping. My chest was tight and I stared at the patch of ground in front of me, pretending I was somewhere else. Boys around me wept or clenched their fists as we waited to see who would die. Fluvius opted to call the girl first, and that's when everything fell apart.
I didn't know so much energy could come from a mass the size of Callista. It was like listening to the spring slaughter of the lambs. She ran and screamed like ten girls. I felt for her, but it almost seemed gauche.
Have some dignity. Tut tut, I thought, and felt guilty for being so callous. Fluvius tried to pick the other name, and the girl broke out into a nail-on-a-chalkboard rendition of Bingo, of all things.
"Ard-" Fluvius started, and my heart skipped. Don't panic, I thought. Maybe he's going to say Ardi Lake. Or maybe he said "Art", like Arthur. After a few more abortive attempts, he was more successful.
"Arden-" I started breathing faster. There's gotta be another Arden, right? It's not that common a name.
"Arden Grake!"
My stomach ripped itself from its perch and flipped over in an attempt to hide deeper in my body. My breathing stopped as a crushing weight pressed on me, like the nights when I woke up paralyzed and saw monsters creeping toward me. Maybe I went without breathing too long, because everything went blurry and when I focused again, I was in the Justice Hall. My brothers were crowded around in various emotional states and my mother was bent over me weeping. For whatever reason, my rear end was sore.
"I got Reaped," I said. My mother held me tighter and my father, who was putting on a brave face, winced. I knew things were bad then. He was always so stoic.
"Don't die!" my youngest brother implored me. He'd been with me at the Reaping, and I wanted to ask him what happened after I got Reaped, but my middle brother interrupted me.
"We got you a necklace!" he said. It had some sort of Asian writing on it, from back before the Rebellion.
"It means 'calm'," he said as he gave it to me.
"I guess I could use that," I said. Understatement of the century. I knew things were far worse than I was acting like. It must have not sunk in yet.
It sure sank in after they left. My family was never touchy-feely or open about our emotions. I realized how much pain my mother must have been in to be crying like that and everything crashed down. A necklace wasn't enough to quell anxiety of that level, and it was only going to get worse.
Finally the Reapings are over and I can proceed to chapters that are limited only by my endurance! Expect more soon.
I can't take credit for the Bingo thing. It was in Callista's form.
- Writer
