Today was the day of the reaping. My bed was cold and I had been sweating all night. I lived in district 9; Grain. Most of our tributes die in the bloodbath at the start, so that means we almost never have a winner. My sister Amelia is now twenty two so she doesn't have to enter her name anymore and my brother, Xavier is twenty so he doesn't have to either. It's up to me to put my name in and get more food. This year I entered my name in twenty two times. My Mother and Father have told me I probably won't be chosen out of the other tributes but I have resented the hunger games since last year one of my friends was chosen and I never saw her again. I had never really used any weapons before either; I like to go to our woods and sit high in a tree and sing to the mockingjays. I would never hunt there because I would try and then think of how beautiful that creature is. Anyway hunting here is punishable by death.
I loved the fresh air, to be outside in the open. My mother must have sensed something about me if she called me Skye Ketting. I woke up early, about five. I couldn't sleep anymore so I got up and sat on our little patch of grass out the front of our house. Today was quite warm and I could have been happy if I wasn't so nervous. I'd always wondered about the other districts, what they did, if they had better lives than ours. We had quite a tough life. Even though we grow the grain we were never allowed to eat it. I owned some chickens and we sold the eggs often or we ate them ourselves. I stood up and went over to the chickens. I've had them for about two years now, one day I got bored and named them Orchid, Tulip and Lily. I collect about half of their eggs and bring them into the house. That can be breakfast and the other eggs I can sell in the market. I pick up my wood basket and put the rest in the there. An old woman named Josie likes my eggs I'll sell them to her.
The market is right in the centre of district 9 and it is out in the open. It usually attracts lots of insects like butterflies and bees. Josie's stall is on the outside of the market. She sells animals like cattle and goats. She is probably in her early eighty's and she has very grey hair.
"Hello Josie I had six eggs for you." I say.
"Thank you Skye." Josie smiles to me. She gives me the money for the eggs. I can't help but notice a broach she has. It is silver plated and has a symbol of a Tracker Jacker. Tracker Jackers live everywhere in district 9 and even though they can cause death these Tracker Jackers are so native to us now that they don't hurt us.
"That's a lovely broach you have Josie." I mention.
"Why thank you Skye. It supposedly brings you luck when you wear it." Josie proudly says. I say goodbye and walk back to my house. My mother has laid me out a white dress with a cotton belt through it. I have a wash and get changed into it. I give myself a side ponytail hanging loosely on my shoulder. I try and make myself eat one of the eggs for breakfast and then I nervously wait for the reaping to begin.