The 200th Annual Hunger Games - The Ultimate Games

District 4 Reapings

Benji Watts POV

I stood next to all the other 14 year olds, anxiously waiting for the reapings to begin. Soon enough, our escort, Delilah Tabarez, bounced onstage. Her long hair was tied up into two pigtails, both of which had been extremely teased and puffed up. She had red eyeshadow, red lipstick, and red streaks in her bleached white hair. Her dress dropped to her knees, and she had on huge shoulder pads under the sleeves. She donned huge heels and long sparkly earrings.

"Welcome, welcome!" Delilah trilled. She beamed out at the crowd, showing off bleached white teeth.

"Well, let's begin!" she smiled. She plunged her hand into the girls bowl and drew out the first name.

"Anastasia Bowen!" she beamed. A pretty girl walked out of the 15 year old section and walked up to the microphone.

"Age?" Delilah asked.

"15." Anastasia said calmly. She walked over to the seats and sat down in the first chair.

Delilah chose another name and unfolded it, grinning manically.

"Talia Carter!" she screamed. A girl walked forward, although I wasn't sure what section she was from. She walked up to the microphone and said she was 13, then sat down beside Anastasia.

"Last female tribute for District 4!" Delilah smiled. She plunged her hand into the bowl again and pulled out a slip.

"Eliza Wilson!" she trilled. I gasped as a small girl walked out of the 12 year old section and began walking up the stairs. She reached the microphone.

"I'm 12 years old." She mumbled, then sat beside Talia. Talia put her arm around the younger girl. I frowned. Were they friends or something?

"Now the boys!" Delilah trilled. She picked out the first name from the boys bowl.

"Jai Benson!" she screamed. A boy from the 13 year old section, only a year younger than me, walked forward. He had dark hair that hung over his forehead. He said he was 13 then walked over to the seats. He sat beside Eliza, raising his eyebrows suggestively at Talia's naturally pretty face. Talia rolled her eyes and pointedly turned away.

"Next boy!" Delilah smiled. As she put her hand into the bowl, I looked at the tributes we already had. Eliza probably wouldn't stand a chance, but Anastasia looked like she could hold her own, and, although I couldn't put my finger on it, for some reason Talia seemed like she'd last long. Maybe it was her confidence and how she'd kept her cool, but whatever. I turned my eyes to Jai. He might make it to the Ultimate Games. By Capitol standards, anyway, he was fairly attractive. Not to mention a good actor. Although he was a year younger than me, I'd heard about his acting skills.

Maybe our District had a chance this year. Maybe if they all teamed together-

"Benji Watts!" Delilah screamed. My thoughts suddenly stopped in their tracks, like a train abruptly halting. I looked up anxiously. Was that my name?

When no one else moved, I carefully maneuvered around the people next to me and walked out towards the steps. The only thing I was thinking about was how I was going to kill all those people. How could I do it? I couldn't even watch scary movies designed for preteens, and the sight of blood made me nauseous. How could I kill innocent teenagers?

I approached the steps and, with a moment's hesitation, I walked up and stood at the microphone.

"Umm... I'm 14" I mumbled. I shuffled over and sat next to Jai, my heart pounding in my ears.

"Last boy!" Delilah trilled, as if it was an honor to be picked. I suddenly had a very strong urge to go up to the microphone and unleash all the colourful profanities District 4 had to offer, but I restrained myself.

Delilah reached into the reaping bowl, staring out at the crowd suspensefully. She slowly drew out the name, then read it into the microphone.

"Xavier Rowe!" she squealed. A muscular looking boy from the 18 year old section stepped forward, walking up the steps. He said he was 18 and then sat beside me.

"District 4, we have our 6 tributes! Put your hands together for Anastasia Bowen, Talia Carter, Eliza Wilson, Jai Benson, Benji Watts and Xavier Rowe!" she screamed. No one clapped. A little girl in the 12 year old section clapped a couple of times, looked around at everyone's solemn expressions, then stopped.

"Happy hunger games!" Delilah smiled. "And may the odds be ever in your favour!"

Then she opened the doors of the Justice Building and ushered us inside. As soon as the doors shut behind us, Delilah led us down the hall. We walked for a few minutes in complete silence. The only sounds were our feet padding on the carpet and our breathing. No one dared to break the uncomfortable silence.

Eventually, we were led out to the train station. Delilah told us that the train would be there in about 10 minutes, as they were picking up the tributes from 1, 2 and 3 before us. I sighed, knowing that I may never get back to my home. But instead of crying, like Eliza, or trying to be all tough about it, like Jai, I simply sat and did as Delilah said to.

I sat down on a bench, tucked my knees to my chest and waited.