May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor

Today is the day of Reaping, I thought as I woke up. The first thing I saw was a blue-gray shirt on a chair when I woke up. I knew that it was the shirt I was going to wear to the Reaping. Everyone always dresses up, even though it's more-or-less a bunch of people waiting to be picked for a lottery with a reward of death. If your name is drawn, you are forced to participate in a game show known as The Hunger Games.

The Hunger Games are essentially a game show where people are selected in the Reaping. Two people are chosen from each of the twelve districts, one boy and one girl. They are then put into an arena and are forced to fight to the death. The last person alive wins a huge amount of money and a new house in their respective district. Everyone is in the raffle for the Reaping and there is absolutely no choice. It is not known for sure, but it is believed that the Games are just a way of showing that the Capitol has all the power.

In my district, District One, everybody wants to participate. Most of them can’t wait to be picked, and most of them are disappointed. All people between the ages of twelve and eighteen are eligible and when someone gets to be nineteen, they're no longer an option. I can’t wait to be nineteen because I am one of the very few boys in this district the does not like the idea of twenty-three innocent children dying every year for the use of “entertainment.”

Most people view it as entertainment but I find it completely barbaric. It is unlikely that I would ever get picked for the Games but there is always that looming feeling on the day of Reaping that it is going to be me that gets picked. I’m sixteen and I was more likely to get picked than the year before but the odds were in my favor.

So, I put on my suit and went downstairs to eat. When I got there, there were waffles on a plate with a container of syrup next to it. I quickly ate it and looked at the time and saw that it was only an hour until the Reaping. I hurried with finishing my morning preparation and headed for the door.

“James Viero,” my mother yelled. I turned to see her holding my tie. I must have forgotten to put it on when I put on the rest of the suit. I quickly put it on and started to the door.

I was relatively confident that I wouldn’t be picked, but when I got to the center of District One, the number of people seemed to have shrunk. There were still thousands of boys to be picked but the fear of being chosen overwhelmed me and the reality of situation escaped me.

The center was arranged in two lines. The left side was a line of girls and to the right was a line of boys. I got into the line of boys and found one of my friends. I stood next to him but I was too worried to speak. There was miscellaneous chatter but all was quiet when Ariel walked onto the stage.

Ariel was the announcer that was also responsible for making the tributes (that is what the ones selected are called) presentable for the Capitol interviews and appearances before the actual games. She started to spin the circular cage labeled “Girls." She then reached in and started to pull out a small white folded piece of paper. “Sophia Trench,” Ariel announced.

I immediately heard a cheer and I saw a very tall and tough looking girl. She appeared about a year older than me, and since I hadn’t seen her in school, I assumed that she was a grade ahead of me. She walked up to the large platform in the center and stood in the customary spot for tributes from District 1, just to the left of Ariel. Sophia looked like she couldn’t contain her excitement for getting picked.

I looked at the crowd of girls and all of them were disappointed. They probably couldn’t wait for next year. After the games last year, it was announced that after this current Games, people would be able to volunteer so they wouldn’t have to wait to get picked. There would still only be one boy and one girl from each district but the odds of getting picked would increase in Districts like 5, 6, and 7 where not too many people want to participate.

So I waited in anticipation, and my heart started to beat uncontrollably. This happened every year. I get too nervous to do anything. Ariel started to spin the round cage and the thousands of little pieces of paper started to mix and time seemed to slow down to a rate of almost not moving. The interminable spinning finally stopped and Ariel reached in. She pulled out a piece of paper and started to unfold it.

I couldn’t help but go through all of the names of people I knew, thinking that with all those people, I would never get picked. I started to fiddle with my tie and I’m sure that everyone looking at me would notice the sweat stains under my arms on the blue shirt. My head was probably soaked in sweat and I even started to notice a drop falling from my nose. As if that wasn’t bad enough, my legs were shaking uncontrollably. It wasn’t just my legs, my whole body was shaking. A few people’s gaze shifted from the stage to me. I looked like a mess and if I did get picked as a tribute, would lose all chances of getting even a single sponsor. It was probably worse than I thought but it was still most likely an overly excessive amount of sweat.

I returned my attention to Ariel when she opened her mouth to read the paper. My heart sank when I heard the words leave her mouth. The sound was crystal clear with no doubt of what she had said, “James Viero.”