Filed To Story: Sunrise on the Reaping Book PDF Free
I feel like I’m a big risk now to the plot to disable the arena, but I’m sure Beetee’s figured that out. I stay awake through three watches, thinking he might pay me another visit. Eventually, my eyelids get so heavy I wake Wyatt to take over.
Our mentors let us sleep in late, and I feel better when I find my precious necklace awaiting me at the kitchen table. All four of our tokens cleared, and we reach for them with eager hands.
“Can I see yours now? Since it’s already off?” Maysilee asks me.
What can I say?
No, because my girlfriend hates you? We’re supposed to act like allies now, and I figure Lenore Dove will never know, so I pass over my token.
Maysilee studies it meticulously, going over every bit of engraving and reading the inscription, which does not escape her notice as it did mine. “Well, the Covey have an eye for beauty, that’s for sure.”
“Heard you have one of Tam Amber’s pins,” I say.
She wrinkles her nose. “Oh, that. It’s well made, but I don’t care much for mockingjays. Something unnatural about a bird that’s half-mutt.”
Never thought of it that way. “Some people think that’s a victory in itself. Way they escaped the Capitol and survived.”
“Do they?” says Maysilee. “Well, if I escape the Capitol and survive, maybe I’ll give that pin a second chance.”
“If you don’t, I’m sure Lenore Dove would be happy to take it off your hands,” I say.
“Lenore Dove . . .” Maysilee gives me a knowing smile. “She doesn’t like me, your girlfriend. And it’s not because of any pin.”
“Because you’re so mean, you think?” I ask innocently.
Maysilee laughs. “Partly, maybe. But mostly because I know her secret and she hates being at my mercy.”
Her secret? “What’s that mean?”
“It means how come she’s got orange paint on her fingernails when she shows up to play for the mayor’s birthday party?” She hands me back the token. “You ask her that if you get home.”
I look down at the necklace in confusion. There’s orange on some of the feathers. She was probably just helping Tam Amber. Or maybe she tried painting them to match her lipstick. I guess Maysilee made some crack about Lenore Dove having ugly nails. But why is that a secret that would put her at Maysilee’s mercy? Nail polish is pricey – is Maysilee suggesting Lenore Dove stole it?
“Tell me now,” I say.
“I told you, it’s a secret. Those should be respected.” Maysilee carefully arranges her necklaces – apparently, the Gamemakers viewed her collection as a single token – and hooks the purple and yellow flowers around Lou Lou’s neck. “Unless, of course, you’ve got one to trade? Then we’d have something to talk about.”
“Some girl thing,” Wyatt comments as he puts on his token. “They never make sense.”
“You said a mouthful,” I agree. The scrip coin Maysilee wove into Wyatt’s cord distracts me. She designed it so it’s easy to pop the coin in and out of the weave because flipping it through his fingers helps Wyatt think.
“Hey, what’s that coin made of? Nickel?” I ask.
“Zinc, I think,” says Wyatt.
“Potato battery,” I remind him. “Keep an eye out for copper.”
Maysilee fishes the flower medallion from the display at her neck. “Already on it.”
“Of course you are, Miss Donner,” I say. “If the Gamemakers cleared those, maybe they’re hoping you’ll use them.”
Just then, Drusilla shows up and calls us into the living room so she can help with our interview prep. After the reaping and chariot fiascos, she’s feeling some heat. Our training numbers aren’t doing her any favors either. This is her last big event for the Quell and she needs it to go well.
“Listen, you lot, there are always softhearted dolts who will send supplies to losers like you, if they can find some way to relate to you. The only one who’s got any name recognition right now is Haymitch, because people are trying to figure out why his score’s so abysmal. He also got some attention for his appalling behavior toward the audience at the parade. But the rest of you are basically nonexistent. This interview will be your last chance to make some sort of impression before the Games begin. Anything that makes you stand out is a plus. Make me remember you. So, who are you? Why should I want to lay my money on you? What are you selling?”
With an audience of Drusilla, Mags, Wiress, and ourselves we clear a space and try to simulate our upcoming interviews. Drusilla plays Caesar Flickerman, the smooth-talking host of the event. She loses patience with Lou Lou almost immediately, given that the child can’t do much more than repeat, “My name is Louella McCoy. I’m from District Twelve.”
“That’s absolutely dreadful,” says Drusilla. “Flickerman will eat you alive. What’s wrong with you anyway? Snap out of it!” She gives Lou Lou a shake by the shoulders.
The contact triggers something in Lou Lou, who begins to scream, “You’re murdering us! You’re murdering us!”
Drusilla gasps and raises her hand to slap Lou Lou, but the rest of us intervene, and Mags takes Lou Lou into the bedroom.
“That isn’t Louella McCoy,” Maysilee tells Drusilla. “She’s dead. That’s a body double. Some little girl the Capitol has tortured until she can’t even remember her real name. But even she can see the obvious. You’re murdering us.”
Drusilla looks around for backup, but the Peacekeepers remained downstairs and Wiress isn’t giving any. So there’s just her and us district piglets, including Maysilee, who slaps back. She composes herself. “That’s not my department. Your interviews are.” She points to Wyatt. “You’re up.”
After they exchange niceties, she asks Wyatt what makes him special.
“I’m an oddsmaker,” he says without hesitation.
“An oddsmaker? What’s that?”
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.