Mireya Terrell
Mireya felt claustrophobic as she stood in the anxious crowd, thick tension evident in the air, despite the enthusiastic speaker and their attempt to get the crowd riled up. She listened closely to the speech, nodding along silently, though she wasn't sure why. Did she agree with what the speaker said, all the nonsense about how the games were valuable? Of course she didn't, not one bit, but after going through this for the past three years, she was already familiar with this process and all the words that were being said, it just reminded her that this really was happening again and would continue to happen until she was eighteen.
After what seemed like thousands of eternities, the time came for the names to be drawn. Mireya shifted her position and watched closely as the speaker made her way to the girls bowl, certainly taking her time, as it added to the drama, and drama was what the capitol was all about.
Time seemed to move in slow motion as the slip was selected from the bowl, and it wasn't just because the speaker was clearly in no rush to get this over with, but also because moments of dread just seem to last so much longer. Casually strolling back over to the microphone, Mireya bit the inside of her cheek so hard she could taste blood as the lady slowly unfolded the name.
She took a quick look at the slip before boldly staring out at the crowd, opening her mouth to speak. Mireya's heart pounded violently, but when she heard the name being called, her own name... her heart just fell right out of her chest and her blood ran cold. The others around her let out a small sigh of relief, but looked at her sympathetically at the same time. Her face turned a thousand shades paler and she could barely feel her feet hitting the ground as she slowly began to step through the crowd, all eyes on her. As she ascended the stairs, her knees trembled violently and she had to try her best to not fall over.
The speaker approached her, smiling ear to ear, and held out her hand. Mireya hesitantly accepted it, and was lead to the center of the stage for everyone to get a better look at her. She felt terrified standing in front of all these people, all this pressure, a crushing amount, all focused on her. The speaker looked at her closely and put a hand under her chin, tilting her head upwards, "My, well aren't you just a darling... We seem to have so many pretty young ladies for our games this year." Then the speaker laughed a sickening sort of laugh that made Mireya cringe. She just stared out at the crowd, looking dazed, and feeling like she was about to topple over because of the lightness in her head. The speaker dropped Mireya's hand and left her standing there, alone and exposed as she went to draw the male tribute.