The cameras that captured District 3's Reaping were of noticeably higher quality than the previous two districts. Unfortunately, it didn't do them any favors; the messyheaded boys and meekly behaving girls didn't have much going for them as far as looks go. They looked disheveled, but not downtrodden. They weren't one of the severely impoverished districts like 10, 11, or 12. They simply didn't care about appearances much.
A jolly, rotund man occupied the stage in front of the District 3 kids, donning a cerulean tux and a zigzagged tie. His curly brown hair was greased to the sides of his head, but the ends perked upward, making his head resemble a mushroom. His mustache bounced cartoonishly as he spoke:
"Greetings!" he said. His outlandish accent unnerved the crowd. "Welcome to the Reaping for District 3. I am your district's escort, Henrique Desmond. It's an honor to be here with you all on this most glorious day!"
"I imagine there be some volunteers among you, but please contain yourself until after both tributes are picked. We're broadcasting live from the Capitol at this very moment, and therefore we must keep the Reaping running as smoothly as possible. So, without any further ado, let us begin!"
He drew a name and read it: "Jemms Crystal!"
An older girl stepped out of the crowd and shuffled her way up to the stage. She pushed the glasses on her nose up and looked at her feet as everyone around her stared.
"I volunteer as tribute!"
All eyes turned to the other girl who emerged from the crowd. Although, was she a girl? She had chopped black hair that reached her shoulders and her figure was feminine, but she emerged from the group of boys. Henrique turned beet red as the girl approached, her vindictive face coming into full view.
"You are volunteering as...a boy?"
"I am a GIRL," Yi said pointedly. "I am Yi Icore, and I'm volunteering as a girl."
She wrested the microphone from Henrique's sweaty palm. Four Peacekeepers snapped their guns upward in unison, training their sights on Yi, but she remained unfazed. "I am female, and I deserve to recognized that way. If I wasn't shoved into the crowd of boys against my will, just because my blood read me as a boy, doesn't mean I am one. You can literally tell that I am a girl, and I'd be treated like one if I was allowed to be in the girls' section. But what happened to me just now goes to show that the Capitol can't even pay the people of the districts the respect to recognize them by their gender identity. I will not stop-"
The butt of a rifle thunked against the back of her head, and she fell to the floor. Amidst the confusion, Henrique looked to the District 3 mayor for direction on what to do. Yi did present as female, but since she was born as a boy, she was offered exemption from the process altogether. She insisted, however, that she would be included, but was relegated to being recognized as a boy. The mayor suggested to follow the Capitol's guidelines in this case, and since Yi was deemed to be recognized by her gender at birth, they decided to have her be the male representative of District 3.
Yi groaned as two Peacekeepers dragged her body into the corridor downstage. Jemms followed behind, disregarding her unconscious district partner. The metal doors swinging shut behind them spelled the end of the most dramatic yet unceremonious Reaping of the Games thus far.
oh well... i can see yi being the annoying person this games who makes it far :P
about jemms, she seems pretty mysterious and interesting too, i can't wait to see more of her
