My names Rue Bailey. Life is supposed to be easy when your just a 12 year old girl. Your supposed to be painting your nails all different colours and decorating your room with fluffy toys in shades of pink and purple. Anywhere else in the world, yes, that's what I would be doing. But I happen to live in Panem, the cruellest country in the world.
I have to work 16 hours a day and get next to nothing in return. And on days I'm not working I must attend school. Before and after school I have to look after my brothers and sisters. Rose and Lily who are 7, Heather who is 5, Oakey who is 10 and Lavender who is 2 (almost 3). My mother and father have an obsession with the names of flowers, they think they're peaceful natural life and that's exactly what they wanted our names to represent so that's why we are all name after flowers or trees. I love my siblings with all my heart but the circumstances make them a bit difficult to baby-sit at times, nevertheless its my job, because Mama and Papa are always out in the crops working.
Us kids never do get much to eat, food is so scarce and considering the amount of family I have its so much more difficult. When I was younger (back when District 11 was controlled by a much more peaceful peacekeeper- ironic right?) and it was just me and Oakey, I used to have dinner every night, and now it's only every second night or so and I have to share with all my siblings. It isn't really enough to live on, but we deal with it. By singing, singing makes us forget about our starvation, we can teach ourselves not to be hungry that way.
Because of our hunger, in my tiny fraction of spare time (usually at night because then I can be caught) I like to head out to my favourite part of the district. It's called the Orchard but I like to call it the aviary, because when I'm up there, jumping around the trees on my tip toes like a mockingjay in flight, I feel like one myself.