Unbreakable

1.2

        The next time I see Rye, it's on a screen. Our television is small and quite crackly, but I can get a clear enough picture. It is the tribute parade. This is the first year that I've really ever paid attention to the tributes. Although it is mandated by the Capitol that every home has a screen in it to watch the Games, most people in my neighbourhood don't really watch. We keep the television on, (just in case a Peacekeeper happens to walk by) but normally concern ourselves with other things. Cooking dinner, carving fish...anything that keeps us busy.

This year however, I make a small meal for myself and Fyne, and sit down on the ground in front of the television just as the program is about to start. My hands are nervously fidgeting with the rope that I am knotting into a net. Usually, knotting is a relaxing activity for me, but when I look down at my hands today, they are white with exertion.

The Capitol logo booms onto the screen. I hear it echoed around the neighbourhood as our neighbours click on their own television sets. A man-the host or something, speaks for a few minutes before the tribute carriages start rolling out. I don't have to wait for very long to see Rye. As his carriage bursts out into the sunlight, the crowd goes wild.

And I can see why.

Poor little Daisy looks incredibly uncomfortable. Her hair has been dyed bright red, and she is hardly wearing a stitch. A seashell top to preserve her modesty, and a tail of a fish covers her legs. I think she is meant to be a mermaid, but she looks absolutely terrified. Rye on the other hand, looks fearless. It is easy to see by his costume what look the stylists are going for. Girls swoon and faint in the audience as he rolls past, holding a trident in one hand, and a winning smile on his face. He is wearing some sort of kilt, with a knotted net draped over his chest like a sash. My heart aches in my chest, seeing him on the screen. Had he only been gone for 24 hours? Now, he is a world away. I miss him. I really do. I see through the charming smile that he puts on and the winks that he is throwing towards the audience, and see that he is still unsure. He is still afraid. Of course he is. Anybody that isn't afraid at this point is just plain stupid.

Then the picture cuts to the District Five tributes, and Rye is gone.

...........

A few days later, he is back: this time on being interviewed by the host, Regis Shane, on stage. His thick blonde hair is perfectly tousled, as he swaggers onto the stage. He looks good. Surprisingly well actually. It is strange to see my quiet, generally reserved brother so....confident. Maybe that's not quite the right way to phrase it. Arrogant? Flirty? Whatever. If arrogance is what will get him sponsors, then arrogant he will be.

"Rye Fields...our tribute from District Four!" Regis bellows, his deep voice booming around the stadium. The screams of thousands of people ring out so loudly, it hurts my ears just hearing it through the television. Rye smirks and waves as he relaxes against the chair, his open collared shirt gently swaying in what must be a breeze. Regis and Rye banter for a while, playfully poking fun as the crowd laughs alongside them.

"Now Rye.....you had a wonderful training score of 10! But you're not the only one to get that score. What makes you so sure that you're going to win?" Regis asks. For the first time in the interview, I see a flicker of uncertainty in Rye's eyes. He runs his hand through his hair, mussing up the carefully styled mess.

"Loosing these Games is not an option. I'm not just fighting for myself you know." He answers clearly, and for a moment, I see my brothers real personality shine through.

"Besides," he adds cockily, "I've got something that everybody else doesn't." He adds. When Regis asks him to expand on that answer, Rye leans in close, and whispers "Talent."