Leigh Canterbury- District 10 Tribute

Chapter 4

  "Welcome, fine citizens of District 10!" the escort says in her odd Capitol accent. "Welcome to the Reaping for the 74th annual Hunger Games!" She smiles broadly, obviously excited. "Now, before we begin, we must first view the video!"
  We all know exactly which video she's talking about. It begins with the playing of Panem's anthem, which is supposed to make us feel patriotic. Then it begins to talk about the Rebellion, where the 13 ungrateful districts rebelled against the kind and generous Capitol, the very place which protected and nourished them. There was a long and fierce fight, with many lives lost, and finally the Capitol was forced to eradicate one of the districts. District 13 was destroyed, and the rest of the districts were put back into their place. To remind the districts how powerless they were against the Capitol, the Capitol created the Hunger Games, where 24 children from the districts would be forced to fight to the death. One victor would remain, a reminder of the generosity of the Capitol. Then it ends with the words that we have all heard thousands of time, "Panem today, Panem tomorrow, Panem forever."
"Well, wasn't that just touching," says out escort while dabbing at her eyes with a raspberry colored handkerchief. "I just love hearing that story! It's such a good thing to hear about our past so that we can plan our future! But enough about that. It's time for the Reaping!" My stomach flips, and my heart feels as if it's in my throat, pounding like a drum. She's about to pull a name out of that bowl, and as much as my mother and Bay have tried to convince me otherwise, I know it could be mine. It could be Bay's, or Lorelei's. Any one of our lives could be changed forever, and not for the better.
The escort walks quickly over to the bowl and stands in front of it, smiling at the crowd. "Ladies first," she says. The crowd is silent, eyes fixated on this foreign, excited woman who will decide
one of our fates. She will sentence a child to almost certain death in the most feared event in all of Panem with a flick of her hand.
The escort puts her hand into the bowl filled with paper slips. On each slip is a name, and each child is fervently hoping that a slip with their name isn't pulled. Some kids have closed their eyes tightly. Others are staring wide eyed at the escort, still others are crying silently, tears cascading down their cheeks. I'm looking at her, willing her to bypass the slips that have my name written on them. My heart is pounding, and I'm sure my hands are shaking. Lorelei is taking deep, shaky breaths, obviously trying to compose herself.
  The escort swirls her hand around in the bowl, and the only noise is that of paper rubbing against paper. Nobody is so much as coughing. This is the moment that we dread all year. The moment where you know that it's a distinct possibility that you could be sent to your death. The parents know that they could lose a child. The kids know that they could not only lose their own life, but that they could lose a friend, relative, or a sibling. Everybody aged 12-18 in the districts is entered in the Reaping, there are no exceptions to that rule.
  The escort's fingers close on a slip of paper. She draws it out slowly, prolonging the inevitable moment; the beginning of the end of one child's life. Lorelei is holding on to my hand so tightly that my fingers are tingling.
  The escort unfolds the paper, and takes a deep breath. She reads in a loud, clear voice, "Leigh Canterbury." And it's like everything inside me shatters.