roses

Reaping Day Part 1

ORCHID WELLSHIRE, DISTRICT 9

Branning's been doing better lately. I can take more shifts in the fields since he needs me less and less. 

It's almost been  a year and a half since my brother lost both of his legs in a farming accident, and I've had to take care of him on a small portion of my peacekeeper father's salary-when he decides to send some home. 

Branning insists that he's fine, and I know he's embarrassed that his little sister has to take care of him like he's elderly and incompetent. But he needs someone here with him at least for a few hours a day, since he can't even get out of bed by himself.  He's at least excused from attending the reaping, and his name is finally out of that bowl now that he's nineteen. 

I'm not so lucky, though. I only took out a few tesserae this year, though. It felt weird only asking for three or so when they took this year's tesserae orders a month ago. It used to be a...few more. 

I used to take out hundreds back when I was with the raes. But after my brother's accident, I realized that the chances we were taking just weren't worth it. 

The raes were my best friends, and had been since I was a small child. We were all poor and weak, with bad money situations and absent or abusive parents. When we turned twelve and were eligible for tesserae, we tried a new business model that no one's gone for before: selling tesserae. Our own tesserae. 

We used to take out hundreds of it for each of us, then sell the subscriptions to our own supplies.  I'm honestly shocked that none of us got reaped, even with our names in hundreds of times. We were pretty young when we left home to do this full time, traveling for most of the year selling what we'd sell for the coming year and delivering what we sold last year. We were a second family to each other and our relationship with the public was mixed.

They felt scammed by us but at the same time appreciated the miles we traveled and the work we did to save their children from more entries in the reaping. We were edgier and different than most of nine, with brightly colored clothes and makeup because we could afford it, and genders that they couldn't guess by looking at us. But they still shook our hands and dropped more and more of our envelopes into the bowls. 

We did this for five years until my brother ran into an accident with a hay baler than crushed both of his legs. He needed a double amputation and I had to go home. They took this as a betrayal after hearing me talk badly about my strict, hardened, patriotic brother for years. The rest of them still run their business, and I'm sure I'll be seeing them at the reaping. 

Which starts in three hours. 

I tie up my fiery hair quickly, since it's blisteringly hot outside. The only fancy thing I have is a black dress I bought with the raes last year. Great. 

I try to leave quietly but Branning stops me. 

"I don't expect your name to come out of that bowl. You don't either... right?" 

"I've told you a thousand times, I don't work with them anymore. It's in there eight times." 

"And how many times are Tiff and the rest of those bitches in?"

I sniff. "Teff. And hundreds, probably. Last year he was 400. And I'm not going to get picked."

"I know." He crosses his arms. "Love you, Orchid." 

"I love you too." 

It's a long walk from our tiny house to the capital of district 9, but at least we can walk. Some people have to travel for days. In a big district like ours, only eligible kids have to attend the reaping. There's just not room for a few hundred thousand people in the capital courtyard.