Marinette Dupain-Cheng isn't exactly the girl you'd have hope in to stay alive. She's the clumsy girl from District 12 and it doesn't certify us a year of winning. It's just another reaping year, they say, but it's Marinette! Do you see the problem here?

•••

Marinette felt like everything was going downhill. Like everything was chaos. Of course the fact that she was panting, sweating, and overall panicking due to the circumstances were not helping at all. She stared wide eyed at the green eyes that were equally as frightened as hers.

"You have to run." the person with those eyes whispered at her, "Run as fast as you can away from here. I'm going to find you, don't worry. I'll find you anywhere you go."

She shakily nodded, and without having a clue where she was going, sprinted the other direction.

Since when has her life been so much of destruction? It was as if one day she was just helping her parents in their bakery, the next thing she knew, she was running away from the authorities, desperately hiding so that they would not find her and keep her imprisoned because of her one silly crime of making the president's daughter's fiancé love her. Of course she did not mean to do just that. She did not, right?

Well I am going to tell you the story of the girl who rises to make bread and you be the judge if she is at fault. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, an average citizen from District 12 but not so average in the eyes of the boy from the Capitol.

Marinette was someone you would call clumsy. Madly clumsy.

"Good morning, mama, papa." She greeted her parents as she walked down the stairs

She gave both a peck on the cheek and sat down on the counter. She grabbed a piece of bread from the plate and started eating then pouring some milk in her glass.

"I've prepared your clothes for later, Marinette." Sabine, her mother, told her as she sat down next to her daughter, "There are no long bows on it and the skirt only reaches until your knees. We wouldn't want last year's incident happen again."

"Yeah." Marinette nodded, remembering her small 'incident' the past year

She had insisted that she would wear a dress that ended at her ankles with a bow tie that was of the same length. Unfortunately, due to her klutz nature, she stepped on her skirt and tumbled down the line, knocking several people who were in front of her. She had to be detained for an hour or so until she and her parents had conviced the Peacekeepers that she meant no harm and absolutely no harm at all.

"I never want that to happen again." She continued, "Oh I almost forgot, Alya and I will be out for a while, is that okay?"

"As long as you're here an hour before the reaping and you don't interrupt the Peacekeepers." Tom responded, "And don't put your names in too much, alright? Only four times, okay?"

"Yes, papa and thank you." Marinette grinned then jumped off her chair to prepare herself for the day

She went back to her room to change her clothes then she was off outside, making sure that she was not going to face any sort of danger in that very same day.

Her friend Alya was just waiting around the corner for her. She waved a greeting to her friend then ran to her.

"Whoa, careful there," Alya smiled at her, "you might trip again."

"Not gonna happen this year." She replied proudly, "I have everything set. I'll have my lucky socks on later and I'll be sure to look three steps ahead of me."

"Perfect." Alya grinned, "So do you think I should put my name in the bowl one more time?"

"Alya, this is serious. You've put your name in twelve times already. No, that was the last one and no you are not going to." Marinette scolded her best friend, "You have five younger siblings and what, you're risking your life instead of trying to be with them? They're going to blame themselves if you get picked, Alya."

"Fine." Alya sighed, "Let's just go to the hob. I'm pretty sure someone would want to buy rabbits." She lifted her left arm up and showed the dead rabbits to her best friend

"Where did you even get those?" Marinette laughed lightly as they walked to the place

"Don't tell it to anyone but the 24/7 electric fences aren't so 24/7." Alya whispered to her with a giggle

"Nice." She grinned

•••

"I'd trade you two for the cloth." The trader, Fred, their friend's father, told the girls

Alya nodded then gave the man the rabbits and, in return, received a yard and a half of cloth. Marinette and Alya started to look around for things that interested them.

"If only we really didn't need this," she showed her the material, "then maybe I found something that was more useful."

Marinette looked at one old man's things and found a pair of bright red earrings. Although they were small, they caught Marinette's eyes. She stopped walking and looked at it for a while.

"How much for these?" She looked at the aging man as she picked it

"You want it?" The old man asked her

Marinette nodded.

"It's a gift from me. Take it." The old man smiled with satisfaction

"Thank you." She beamed at the man as she took the earrings and looked up at the large clock above, "Alya we should get going."

"Sure." Alya agreed, also seeing the time

•••

Marinette hopped up in to her bath, which consisted of lukewarm warm water in a slightly greasy tub, and a bar of soap.

She was absolutely thankful that she lived in the Merchants. That meant that she had more priviledge, as most as she could get, but that still did not give her a ticket to skip the annual reaping. Of course there was a very little chance that she would be the one to represent their district in the annual Hunger Games but it still did not stop her from being nervous. Everyone between the ages twelve through eighteen were nervous for the reaping. Nobody wanted to participate in the Hunger Games and they would hide away if they could. Everybody were just excited to turn nineteen and the nightmares would ultimately stop. That was until they get their own children to turn twelve.

She stepped out of the bath and removed the water from her body using a small towel. She made her way to her room and dressed in what her mother gave her - a red dress, the color faded to the point where the red was a light pink, and a pair of shining black shoes, courtesy of her father. There was still a black bow that was going to be wrapped around her waist but nothing long that she could not handle.

"You look beautiful." Her mother commented as her bluish hair was tied to two pigtails

"Thanks, mama." She smiled at the woman

"Feeling nervous, Marinette?" She asked

Marinette gave a sigh, "Yeah but it feels like this every year. I'll get used to it."

Sabine nodded then hugged her child, "Your name's in there but it's only four. Don't worry. You won't get picked."

Marinette clung to her mother's arm, "Yes mama."

•••

The reaping was as dull as she imagined it was. They were all lined up to get a sample of their blood then get in a small space where they were forced to watch as an overly extravagant woman, who was our district's escort, stood before them and pick who ever the unlucky soul was to represent their district.

Marinette was standing next to near lifeless people her age. They looked tired of this. They looked tired of everything. They looked like they could care less if they were tributes, at least then their suffering will end.

Soon enough, the woman, Marinette was told to call her Madame Bustier, walked up to the front, her pale skin, reddish hair, and dark red lipstick contrasting the whole district. She even wore clothes of the same color as her lips. Marinette wondered why these people would try to look like that if people in their country were starving and helpless. She even bet Bustier's shoes were worth more than what her family makes in a year.

"Welcome everyone!" The woman greeted cheerily, "Now before we pick who the tributes for your district are, I have delivered a special message to all of you. Straight from the Capitol!"

The video of President Bourgeois played. It was mostly the same as last year, only the video looked quite different. He told them about the history of the Hunger Games and lots more things they all did not care about. The video ended, Bustier mouthing the last few words, then it was time.

"As usual, ladies first." Bustier grinned at all of them as she walked to the bowl at her left

She went back to the podium and opened up the piece of paper and spoke, "Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

Marinette could feel her heartbeat agressively drumming against her ears.

It can't be.

"Marinette, where is Marinette?" Bustier called

Everyone looked at her and she was forced to walk up to the middle.

"No, Marinette!" She could hear Alya call for her, "I would like to volunteer for her!"

She turned back to look at her friend who ran to her, "Alya, no, you have siblings and your mom's relying on you. I won't allow you to volunteer Alya, now go back in line. Your family needs you more than I do."

"A… volunteer you say?" Bustier smiled at Alya

"N-No, I am going to be the tribute." Marinette told her shakily as she walked up to the front, making sure that she would not fall on her face even if she had shaking legs right now

She made it up to the stage and felt as if the whole world was spinning. She felt like she was going to puke. Was this normal? She could hear only silence and a straight sound that irritated her to no end.

"Who was that, my dear?" Bustier asked her

"That was my friend, Alya." Marinette answered, quite out of it

"Let's give a warm round of applause to Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

The people clapped half heartedly. Then it was time for the guys. Bustier walked over to the bowl at her right and picked a paper. She walked back to the podium and read a name she did not recall.

A red haired boy walked up the stage, looking as if he was hoping that someone would volunteer for him. He stood next to her, both not speaking. They were soon escorted to the Justice Building before they were taken to who knows where.

Marinette sat on a chair, looking out the windows, when the door opened abruptly and her best friend was let in.

"Alya, why did you do that?" She snapped, "Alya you have a family relying on you, you know that!"

Alya was speechless and stunned. This was her best friend who was most likely the clumsiest in the whole world. It was not that she did not have hope for her, it just looked like she had the tendency to mess up so much.

"Alya, don't you ever put your name more than what's required, okay? Drop by the shop anytime your family is in need. Take my share. Don't let your siblings put their name in more that what's required too." Marinette told her in a frantic mess, "And please take care of my parents."

"Marinette I'm not going to. You're going to take care of them, okay? You're gonna win and go back home and grow old. We're going to be aging best friends." Alya grasped Marinette's sleeves tightly, "You're going to be back after a month, right?"

Marinette just stared at her friend and before she even gave her a reply, Alya was escorted out of the room and her parents were let in. She ran to them and gave a tight hug to both.

"I'm going to be Ladybug," she informed them, "Lady luck, you know? I'll," she tried so hard to fight the tears that were attempting to fall, "I'll be lucky this time and I'll win. Let Alya have my share of food. She'll need it."

Sabine cried so much that her eyes were puffy and red, Tom as well. The man pulled his family in for a hug until they were going to be escorted.

"You're going to win, Ladybug." Tom whispered to his daughter, "I believe in you."

Marinette could only give a nod to her heartbroken parents. Oh how will she even win?