Black Bird

1

The howling wind woke me up that night, I couldn't sleep after that but well, who could? It was the reaping, a day everyone dreaded. I was lucky enough to have fallen asleep in the first place. It wasn't my first reaping however, i'm 17 i just have to make it through this year and next year. The odds must be in the people who have made it through every year without being reaped. They could've been in my mothers also, but she volunteered for her sister, it was after I was born. She was 18, I had just been born a month before the reaping, I knew my mom regretted it the moment she volunteered, leaving me and my dad left alone to fend for ourselves. She died, she made it to final 4 when a boy from district 7 killed her, she could've won the people she was up against weren't very strong other then one, but he pretended to be her ally the whole game but when she was asleep he stabbed her. I remember her interview, she looked gorgeous, her hair was up high in a bun and she wore a beautiful green dress that complimented her whole body. The last thing she said at her interview was , "I will win this game, so I can return home to my baby girl, Phoebe."  and the crowd just exploded. They loved her! she had many sponsors but near the end of the game supplies becomes super expensive and they couldn't send in anything to save her. The boy from district 7 ended up dying by a squirrel of some sort, and Haymitch Ebernathy won, he used the force field to kill the girl from district 1. In return for pulling that stunt of using the force field his mother, his brother, and his girlfriend were murdered. My thoughts were interrupted by a loud howl from outside. The sun is coming up, I thought to myself. I managed to get off my bed and start a bath. Even though the reaping wasn't until a few more hours, I always like to get ready sooner that way I can spend what little time I might have with my family. It's just me, my dad and my younger brother, Toby. I used to have a step mom but she died, she hated the capitol, she would protest every reaping until they had enough and killed her one night while she was gardening. I still remember waking up to her petrified screams. My dad and brother however didn't find out till morning, when the peacekeepers delivered the news. They were both heavy sleepers, I however, wake up at the slightest noises such as a bug crawling on the ground, or a fly buzzing against a wall. I've always been that way. I layed out my reaping outfit and got into the tub, scrubbing at the dirt in my feet and toes. I washed my hair well and scrubbed my whole body. Making sure not to leave the slightest amount of dirt. The capitol judges you even before your name is called, and if your pretty, you'll make loads of sponsers. I got out of the tub and brushed my hair. I put on my dress, it used to be my mother's, it was a blue silk strapless dress with a bow in the front. I also put on some shoes the mayor had given me for Christmas, they were a beige color and had a small jeweled gem on the front. The mayor is my dad's childhood best friend, he's basically family to me. My original mom, had no family other then a sister, who died shortly after my mom did. No one knows exactly what happened, they found her dead in her house, some say suicide, others say peacekeepers, but no one knows for sure. My hair was plain, I french braided the front of my hair and pinned it to the side of my head and left my hair straight. I kept my eye make up to a minimum, and put on some pink lipstick that was my step mother's. For jewellery I didn't have much, so I put on some earring that I purchased from a store, they were black roses. I looked at myself in the broken mirror, there stood a girl with dark hair, who looked like her mother. I could be a clone of my mother if it wasn't for my eyes, while her eyes were blue mine were a green color, my dad always said my mom admired my eyes, that's why she wanted her interview dress to be green, because it was the same color as my eyes. I think my eyes are my best feature. Beautiful green orbs, with tints of gold, they change from light green to dark green depending on my mood. Even though I can barely see through the cracked, dusty mirror, I knew I looked gorgeous.

I slowly walked downstairs, I knew exactly what would be on the down there anyways, my dad would be nose deep in the newspaper and my brother would be playing games with his toys. Its always the same every morning, my dad being so close to the mayor he is able to get us toys, and good food. Every reaping my dad brings home bread and peanut butter from an expensive bakery. He rarely eats it though, he leaves it for Toby and I to eat. Toby is to young to be in the reaping, he's only four years of age, hopefully there will be no more Hunger Games when he's of age.