Stargazer • The Hunger Games

THREE

CHAPTER THREE
❝Reaping❞

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Today was one of those days where you wished that you had never woken up to. Today was a game of chance that resulted in sadness for not only those closest to the chosen ones but for all the citizens throughout Panem. Sunlight was only beginning to creep over the horizon turning my small bedroom cabin into a pale shade of yellow. It was only early but already the day looked as if it would be ironically nice. I tossed and turned in my bed for several minutes, trying to fall back to sleep. It was a futile attempt as sleep did not welcome me back into its grasp. Instead, it pushed me into the waking world where the dreaded day was waiting for me.

Slowly I dragged myself out of bed and down the narrow corridor that joined my cabin to the bathroom. When I entered the bathroom I ran an icy shower. I was lucky to be able to have running water on The Stargazer but it was not hot, only cool.  I let the cool water sooth me, ease my buried down fears about today. It almost worked but for some reason I could not budge the lump in my throat that I had woken up with. The feeling made me wonder if today had something bad installed for me. I hoped not but you never know on days like these.

After my shower I spent a leisurely amount of time brushing the knots out of my damp ginger hair. The process helped take my mind off some of the worries but they returned when my hair was free of knots. I had no other excuse to stay in the bathroom so I wrapped my towel around me and went back to my cabin. It was small but neat with only a bed, wardrobe and a dressing table. Everything was in shades on white besides a pile of baby blue material on my freshly made bed. Neither of the just mentioned had been my doing. I walked over towards my bed and found a note underneath the material. The notes said;

Alice, I found this dress at the markets yesterday and I thought it would be perfect for today - dad x

I then picked up the dress and smiled in delight at what I saw. The dress was a pale blue and flowed freely from the waist down. It had a ribbon to tie around the waist and two small sleeves. The dress was cute and just what I needed to cheer myself up. I slipped into the dress and spent a few moments groping nothingness under my bed until I clutched onto my only pair of good shoes. I spun around a few times in the mirror to indulge in one of my few vain moments. My dress matched everything else about me including my newfound lucky charm that rested on my chest.

I could have stared in the mirror for a longer time but the gnawing feeling of hunger shook me out of my hazy mindset. It brought me out into the small dining area where my father and Mrs Matthews were plating up rice.

"Morning Alice," Mrs Matthews, otherwise known as Danielle, greeted me when I walked up to the dining table

"Where did you guys get the rice from?" I immediately asked. Rice was not a common food for anyone and it could be pricey.

My father looked up, "Calamari and a few coins go a long way." He then slid a full bowl of rice towards me. I wanted to resist eating it but my stomach had other ideas. I dug into the rice without a second question.

While I was eating Mr Matthews - Ronan - along with Willow and Aspen joined me for breakfast. We ate in silence. The twins were in matching yellow dresses each with long blonde pigtails. They looked as if they could have been going to a wedding instead of the reaping. When we were all done only Danielle moved. She picked up each of our empty bowls and placed them in the sink. She started washing them only to jump in fright when a knock on the door rattled throughout the silent room.

"I'll get it," I stated, walking out of the room and up the steps to the door that lead to the deck. When I opened it Eric's glum face welcomed me.