Chapter Two: As Aspen stepped into her house she was met with chaos and people running all over the place, preparing for the Reaping. ¨Morning Sis!¨, her older brother Hawthorn said, walking past her, while combing his blond hair, heading for the bathroom. ¨Morning Aspen!¨, Heath, the oldest out of the kids, called from the kitchen, trying to lead Conifer and Danner out of the kitchen, ¨Can you lend me a hand real quick?¨, he asked her and she walked over and picked up Conifer. ¨Come on you, out of the kitchen¨, she said, booping his noise, ¨Now stay out here¨, she told him, as she set him in the living room, closely followed by Heath setting Danner down. ¨Thanks¨, Heath said, combing his fingers through his brown hair, and straightening the collar on his white dress shirt. ¨They can be a handful sometimes¨, he added. ¨No problem, they can be such a handful, you just gotta know how to handle them¨, she responded, giving Heath a hug before going to the bedroom to change into her reaping outfit. ¨Morning Aspen¨, Aspen turned around to find a man with scraggy dirty blond hair, in brown overalls looking at her. ¨Morning Pop¨, she said walking over to give her father a hug, ¨I’m going to change. So do you mind leaving?¨, she asked as she leaned back. ¨I don’t mind at all¨, he said exiting the bedroom. Aspen quickly slipped out her leggings and t-shirt and changed into the light yellow dress her mom had laid out on her bed. She then tied her hair up into a bun with a yellow ribbon. Finally she slipped her boots back on and walked out of the bedroom. ¨You look beautiful!¨, her mom said when she walked out of the room, ¨My pretty little girl has grown so fast¨, she added then walked into the living room to watch the two younger boys. ¨Looking good there sis¨, Hawthorn called from the bathroom, ¨You got a date with your boyfriend after the Reaping?¨, he asked and smiled. ¨Gid is not my boyfriend!¨, Aspen said walking over to her brother, ¨But thanks for the compliment¨, she added when she got to the bathroom. She looked in the mirror, a few seconds later her brother was also staring into the mirror with her. ¨Watcha looking at?¨, he asked, while starting to rub shaving cream on his face to start shaving. ¨Honestly? I’m just looking¨, she said and shrugged. She reached for the stick of deodorant on the counter and applied it. ¨No but seriously, are you going to see Gid after the Reaping?¨, Hawthorn asked as she left the bathroom. ¨It might not be right after, but yeah¨, she replied. ¨Well tell him hi for me please¨, he said as he started to shave. ¨I will, don’t worry¨, she answered. Aspen walked back into the living room and sat down in one of the only chairs in the room, watching her younger siblings goof around on the floor. A half an hour later her family was ready to go to the town square. As they walked, Gideon and his family had somehow found each other and they walked together. (Continued...)
¨You’ll be fine¨, he whispered in her ear, and he grabbed her hand and squeezed it. ¨Thanks¨, she whispered back. ¨I have something for you. I’ll get it to you after the Reaping¨, he told her right before they walked to the check in. He dropped her hand, and got in line. One by one each of the kids in the line got their finger pricked and pressed onto a paper. When it was Aspen’s turn she flinched as the Peacekeeper drew blood from her finger. After she was checked in, Aspen walked into the back of the 16 year old section for the girls. When everyone was checked in, a tall female woman, wearing a wig that was colored teal, a dress white dress with puffy sleeves, and teal heels walked onto the stage. ¨Welcome to the 72nd Annual Hunger Games!¨, she said into the microphone, a little too cheerful. She then continued, ¨I’m Cynthia Bloomquest, the escort of the District Seven tributes as you know!¨, she paused for a moment. ¨Shall we get on with the Reaping?!¨, she asked, then added, ¨As always we shall do ladies first¨. There was a hush over the crowd as she walked over and reached into the bowl holding all the girls' names of District Seven. She grabbed a single slip of paper, walked over to the mic and unfolded it. Cynthia then said, ¨The female tribute from District Seven…¨, pausing for suspense, ¨Aspen Crawford!¨. A huge rush of relief went through the crowd for everyone except Aspen. Everyone turned to face her. Fighting back tears she walked up to the stage. ¨No!¨, someone screamed but Apsen couldn’t tell who it was, but it sounded like someone she knew. But she didn’t look back to see who it was. ¨Come on dear, no need to be shy!¨, Cynthia said, offering her hand to help Aspen up on stage. ¨Now onto the boys!¨, she said once Aspen got up to the stage. Cynthia reached her hand in and pulled out a slip of paper, again walked over to the mic and read the name aloud, ¨The male tribute for District Seven is..Heath Crawford!¨. Aspen stopped breathing for a few seconds as her oldest brother walked up on stage. ¨Now I bet you two are siblings. Aren’t you?¨, Cynthia asked as Heath slowly walked up the stage. Aspen mumbled, ¨Yes¨, as Heath took his place next to her. Cynthia walked over to the two siblings and held up there hands. ¨The tributes from District Seven!¨, she said, ¨May the odds be ever in your favor!¨, she added and then lead the brother and sister into the Justice Building, to give give them some time to say goodbye to their family and friends before they started the journey to the Capital.
