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★★★
TODAY STARTS OUT JUST LIKE any other day. I'm up before my father and brothers to clean the house and make breakfast. It's important that my father is put in a good mood in the morning, otherwise he'll be short-tempered and angry all day.
"Ivy?"
I don't look up from the eggs I'm cracking. I always end up making a mess of them. "Yes?"
My youngest brother, Xavier, walks up and peers at the eggs as I start to whisk them. He's only nine, eight years younger than me. It still seems like he's never really grown up.
"Today's the reaping," he says quietly.
I hesitate, my movements stilling. "Yes, it is."
"Aren't you scared?"
I look down at his face, those wide, innocent eyes. There are three years left until he is old enough to be reaped, and I feel a sudden burst of protectiveness. Just the thought of him going into the Games makes me sick to my stomach.
I realize I've been standing in silence for a while. "I... I am, a little bit. I try not to think about it."
"Oh." Xavier goes to sit at the table. He's always been the oddest one of my three brothers. Colt and Haldin are twins, both nineteen and too old to be reaped. They work in the factories with our father.
Breakfast is finished, and I set a plate in front of Xavier. "Eat well, okay?"
"Hm." Xavier eats carefully and methodically, picking at his food. I worry for him. He's far too small, far too thin. But such is life in the districts, even one of the somewhat better-off ones like Three.
"Morning, Ivy," mumbles Colt, head still foggy from sleep when he stumbles in. I know it's Colt because of the scar on his right cheek from an accident in the factory four years ago. He perks up at the sight of the eggs. "Where'd you get these?"
I hand him a plate. "Ace took pity on me."
"Oh, your girlfriend?" Colt cracks a rare grin as I half-heartedly throw a dish towel at him. Whatever used to be between Ace and I is long gone by now.
Haldin is the next to come in, grunting in acknowledgment at the offered plate. I've somewhat taken over the role of mother when Jasmine Rosewood died in a factory accident. I don't mind helping where I can, but I've always felt... distant with my family, in some way. Mom was the one holding us all together, and I'm not sure I can do that.
Colt, who has already finished, turns to face us all with a grim smile. "Ready for the reaping?"
Haldin looks up from his plate, his gaze focused on me. At seventeen, I'm the only one in the family eligible for reaping. After this, just one more year until I'm safe. And then we'll have Xavier to worry about...
