Over and Over: The 32nd Hunger Games SYOT

Chapter 4

I don't have the Three boy, so here's Four.

Whyte Roberts POV

I never saw the appeal of volunteering. I liked training with all the cool weapons, but I'd rather swing a sword around for fun that swing it at another person. I pulled out when I was twelve, since I wasn't going to get Reaped anyway, but then I met Dove. I would have cut off my hand to make her smile, but that wasn't good enough for her. I wasn't good enough for her, but all the other boys in the District were. Since then I worked twice as hard to keep my mind off her. One good thing came out of it all: I met Vera. She was two years younger than me but she still knocked me flat. I was even more flabbergasted when she told me her secret.

I've never been able to sit still. I move from one task to another like a busy bumblebee. It was hard for me to listen when the instructors told us how to use a weapon. I wanted to jump in and see for myself. I would also forget my name if I didn't hear it every day. Words go in one ear and out the other. Vera told me she was the same way, but it didn't have to be a bad thing. We had low concentration, but high energy. Together, we were unstoppable.

The day before the Reaping, the headmaster called me out of class and told me I was this year's volunteer. I didn't think I was that good, and so many other boys wanted it more. I would have refused, but my father is the mayor and my mother is an escort. I'd be drummed out of the District.

It was even worse when I found out Vera got picked too. She was only sixteen, and I thought for sure another eighteen-year-old would go. I was so nervous I blurted out my name before Gaudius even picked the male Tribute. I ran onstage and embraced Vera with worry and concern. She started hugging back and whispered "good idea" in my ear. I was too nervous to know what she meant.

Families usually came last, so the first person to visit me was Bella. She and I had been together for a while, and I always felt bad that I didn't love her more. I did love her, but I worried that she would be hurt that I spent so much time with Vera. Bella was everything I could have asked for. She was loyal, sweet, gentle, and loving. Maybe she deserved better. She sat down and kissed me.

"Be safe. I love you," she said.

"I love you too," I said. I wanted it to be true, and I knew she deserved it.

My family came in next. Mom couldn't come, since this was the busiest time of the year for her. Dad handed me an envelope.

"Your mother wanted you to have this," he said. I felt the tube inside and knew it was the "retard pills" he'd never approve of. Things were more advanced in the Capitol, and Mom just wanted me to be healthy. I hadn't needed the pills for a long time, and they probably wouldn't let me keep them anyway, but I was glad she cared.

"Gua? Do you have anything to say to your brother?" Dad asked my little brother. He took his hand, and Gua squealed and pulled away. It was just my dad's luck that both his kids would end up "retards". Gua hardly ever spoke and he preferred to play by himself. Sometimes, if I was very quiet and didn't move suddenly, he let me help him put all his blocks in a row. I didn't know what he was thinking or why he was like that, but he was just Gua, and I loved him. He looked up at me in that sideways look he always used with people and set a beautiful seashell on the bench next to me.

"Thanks, Gua," I said. I was glad my token wasn't a gold watch or something. I already knew my family was rich. It was a King's Crown shell, with white and blue swirls and a spiny top. It looked as lovely as the sea. I knew Gua would be happier if I didn't hug him, so I appreciated his gift in solitude.

"Try to be patient with him," I told my dad. "I know it's annoying, but try to cut the crusts off his bed and don't be sad when he doesn't hug you. He just can't."

"Nonsense. He's just being difficult," Dad said. Poor Gua. It was going to be a long few weeks before Mom came back for him. I wouldn't have expected it of Dad, but he hugged me like I was a little boy again. I guess it's hard when you can't show your son how much you love him.

Vera Busattil POV

Brat, spoiled, terror, punk, minx, troublemaker, and pest. I was all that and more according to the people of Four. I didn't know why. So I stayed up late and made a little noise. I wasn't hurting anyone. I could be a little hyper. Sue me. I don't know how they expected me to turn out when they all told their kids not to hang around with me. It's hard to be normal when everyone says you're not. They were all so confusing. Sometimes they laughed at a joke and sometimes they told me to shut up. Honestly, they're not worth the effort.

In the Training Center, they like people like me. I had energy and intensity. When Mom and Dad saw how good it was for me, they poured all their money into it, leaving things thin at home. I hated seeing them struggle, but if I left I'd just waste what they already sent. I thought about removing myself from the equation a few times, when things got really rough and it seemed like I'd be alone forever, but I compromised. Either I'd win the Games and pay it all back twice over, or they'd never have to bother about me again.

I wasn't confident as I waited for Gaudius to pick a name. He looked as silly as ever in an outfit made of driftwood, but it wasn't as funny when it was my life on the line. He picked a name.

"Elsie Busattil!"

That stopped any ideas about chickening out. No way was my little sister going into the Games. Thanks to me, she never trained a day, and she wouldn't last one either.

"I volunteer as Tribute!" I cried. I held my head high as I approached the stage, but I was more nervous with each step. I might never see my family again, and it was too late to go back. I felt like throwing up as I waited for Whyte to join me. I knew he was going to volunteer, and I felt safer as soon as he was beside me. He made me feel things I didn't understand, and sometimes I wished he didn't hang out with Bella so much. I wanted him to be happy, but I also wanted him to be happy with me.

"Good idea," I whispered when he hugged me. It would look good with the sponsors if we looked like a pair. The whole doomed lovers thing had been done before, but it wasn't often best friends were Reaped together. We could use this.

Of course Whyte couldn't come see me, since he was backstage next to me. My parents and all six of my siblings squeezed into the room, bickering and pressing for space.

"Thanks, Vera!" Elsie said. "I knew you would do it."

"No problem. You're the eldest now. You can do all my chores when I'm gone," I said. "You'll have more money too."

"Yeah! We can do everything!" Zale said. He bounced on his heels like it was his birthday.

"Stay safe," my father said. I wanted to cuddle up to him for safety like a little kid, but I was a big girl now.

"Do you think I'll be all right?" I asked. I didn't want everyone to see me crying, so I tried to keep it all in.

"You can do this. Use your gifts," my mom said. She gave me my mother's wedding ring and I put it on the chain around my neck. I loved the sparkling rubies and the connection it gave me to my family.

"You can fight anyone, so you'll be fine," Zale assured me. I hugged six squirming siblings goodbye and pressed against my mother when she took me in her arms.

"I'll be back before you know it," I said as they left. If only I was that confident.

I wasn't sure if "Capitol escort" meant Games escort or something else, so I left Whyte's mother ambiguous. If she was supposed to be a Games escort, she's Ijolite. Ijolite would be down for a little fun. Gaudius is a man. Relationships are one thing, but he is incapable of being a mother.