Jackie swayed back and forth among the crowd, her gold-trimmed white dress shimmering in the sunlight. Golden eye-shadow and thick, long eyelashes escorted her outfit, matching her bronze skin in a beautiful, blending dynamic. Her skin was peppered with glitter, sparkling as she slid through the mass of people.
"Good morning, my dears!" a voice squealed, revealing a bony woman with fiery hair and pale skin. "District 1, I am very pleased to welcome you to the 55th Annual Hunger Games Reaping!"
Applause boomed. Almost every face in District 1 twisted into frenzied cheer, jumping and shouting as they rooted the woman on. "Alright, dears, settle down!" the red-haired hostess grinned, hushing the crowd with the bowing of her hands. "I know you all must be anxious to know who your little tributes are this year," she smiled widely, "but before we go any further, a little history is in place!" With a jolly, stupid look on her face, the woman snapped her fingers. A video switched on, shining against the wall behind her as it explained the games. Jackie's body tensed as previous matches were shown, exposing gory deaths, tears, and winners.
As the video came to an abrupt stop, the silly voice met the microphone again. "Entertainment at its finest!" she exclaimed, taking a bow. "I'm sure this year will bring even more fun! Now," the woman continued, eyeing the crowd, "for what you have all been waiting for: your tributes!"
Following more applause, two buckets were brought forth. The woman reached her hand in, shuffling the pieces of paper around before pulling one out. Jackie paid very little attention, finding more interest in a butterfly that flew between her face and the face of another's. It was spotted with orange and white and framed in black, making for a beautiful appearance. Her attention drifted back to the woman as her hand slowly reeled up, unfolding the tiny slip of paper.
Jackie presumed it was not her. She'd never needed any tesserae, and her name was only in the jar 6 times. Out of those hundreds of papers, Jackie was positive one of her six would not be chosen.
"Ladies and gentlemen, your female tribute for this year's Hunger Games is," she paused, scanning the paper that sat in her fingers, "Jacquelyn Rows!"
Loud. Everything was loud. District 1 roared with the sound of Jackie's name, pushing her forward as they cheered and jumped in every which way. People were screaming, smiling, laughing, some even crying.
Jackie stood frozen.
"Jacquelyn Rows!" the woman repeated, shielding her eyes from the sun as she searched the crowd. Hearing her name for the second time shook Jackie out of her stupor. She began to smile, waving enthusiastically to the crowd as she skipped to the podium and shined in her beautiful dress. The woman grinned, holding the mic to her lips once again.
"And what a beautiful tribute at that! How old are you, dear?"
"17 and ready," Jackie replied, shooting a smile to the crowd.
"Oh, a confident one! Let's hear it for Miss Jacquelyn Rows!"
The crowd cheered Jackie on, but she felt like she was on the verge of fainting. Her head felt as light as a feather, and the oxygen in her body was frail and practically nonexistent. She swallowed, taking a deep breath. Jackie hadn't heard who the male tribute was, nor did she know if she would even make the Hunger Games out alive, but she was completely certain of one thing: if it was a show they wanted, it would be a show they would get.
