"What were you thinking Ms Afdil?" My teacher shouts at me. "Obviously not much since you made such a bad impression on the Sheikha. Need I remind you that she could literally have you killed?"
"No Miss Louisa. I'm sorry that I forgot the most important rules here at school. Respect, be sensible and follow the rules." I'm not really focusing, I'm still reeling from my experience with the Sheikha. After I stood up, I apologised and walked off. My curiosity got the better of me though and I glanced back to see her muttering to a guard and pointing at me. I turned around and quickly got back inside. After my teacher lets me go with a warning I go and meet my friend in the courtyard. Serena is the best friend someone could ask for and as a bonus she has this adorable dog called Sparky that her dad bought from the Capitol. "Are you okay J? You look a bit pale and shaky?"
"I'm fine" I say as we walk to our lessons, "Well actually..." I end up telling her everything. About how I bumped into the Sheikha, my brother being weird and ultimately that I was terrified about the choosing ceremony, Serena is the best person to talk about this with because she has already been through a choosing ceremony since she is a year older than me and also because she understands what it's like to have someone taken from you by the Capitol. My brother was taken as a baby when I was 10 and I was devastated, I loved him so much. He was this adorable baby with huge blue eyes and almost white blond hair. He always had red rosy cheeks even if it was a hundred degrees outside. Serena had her dad killed in the town centre because he couldn't pay his monthly taxes on time. Yeah, taxes. There is this rule here that everyone has to earn the same amount of money (I don't know how much they don't tell you that until you get a job) and at the end of each month you get a bill for your taxes. You have to pay the Capitol 75% of what you earn and if you can't, you get publicly executed in the middle of the town. They make everyone attend, the guards go into each house and force you into the street and forbid you going inside your house until you have been dismissed. Her dad used most of the money he had to buy Serena the dog so... Yeah. The rest of the day feels like a blur.
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The Abnormal
General FictionJamila Afdil lives in SunLife a normal town, except for the fact that if you have over two children the youngest is taken to die. Oh and also to remind everyone that The Capital is in charge once a year one boy and girl will be taken to get killed a...
