Sunrise on the Reaping

I’ve got thirty-one sworn allies, this rock-hard body, and a brain five times smarter than any Career’s. Know what else I’ve got? Guts. Because clearly . . . I’m not afraid to piss off the Gamemakers!”

That’s right. I’m all meat, little man,”

Because I’m the biggest, the beefiest, and the best!” Panache hits another pose.

Panache swaggers onstage next, stopping three different times to pose and flex his muscles for the audience.

Another Flickerman named Lucky hosted with commentary from a relic of a woman named Gaul, who was credited with coining the phrase “May the odds be EVER in your favor” for the anniversary. That phrase has caught on as a way to wish someone good luck, but if you think about it, it’s a sadistic thing to say to a tribute, given that survival’s an impossibility for twenty-three of the twenty-four kids.

I watch carefully when he talks about the Tenth Games being a turning point, as that was the year District 12 had a victor, but they only feature the introduction of betting, the sponsors, and the rickety drones that dropped food and water to the tributes.

The suit never changes, but every year he dyes his hair a different color, tonight a deep pine-forest green

The suit never changes, but every year he dyes his hair a different color, tonight a deep pine-forest green

Thank goodness your color is black! Can you imagine trying to outfit everyone in peridot? That was a flash in the pan.”

My grandfather was a rebel sympathizer.”