Prologue
In the Hunger Games the tributes from District Four would be grouped together with Districts One and Two as Careers. Little did the rest of the districts know that in our own district my family were regarded as little more than scum.
It was totally irrational, at least to my brothers and I. It was painful as a five year old to have no one in school want to sit next to you. When my brothers had to be picked for teams they were always last despite the fact that their athletic ability was outstanding.
It became too much for my elder brother when he was denied entry into a restaurant. He came home while the rest of us were eating, slamming the front door behind him so hard that the house shook.
"Why are we ostracised from society? I've stayed silent for 20 years now I think I am within my rights to ask for an explanation!" I have never before seen my father so silently angry or my mother so deathly pale.
"You would not want to know son," his voice held a tone of warning.
"I don't think I have wanted to know anything more than this Father," Dakon replied, an aura of eerie confidence about him.
"Very well then. Your brother and sister are too young for this." Gren and I knew better than to argue with him and we left the dining room, our plates unfinished and cutlery in disarray.
Dakon was never quite the same after that. About an hour later we heard the door slam again and the gentle splash of the paddles as he rode away. He was to return the next morning, smelling of stale alcohol and with large bags under his eyes.
They say the truth sets you free. But it only imprisoned Dakon.
Annie is now just about to turn 16 years old
Figures showed that District Four had one of the highest population densities in Panem, bar the Capitol. You wouldn't have realised that where we lived.
10 minutes would pass after leaving the town before you reached the little jetty. There, regardless of the time of the day, or the day of the week, a little wooden sailboat would be tied. After school my siblings and I would launch this boat, taking in turns to propel it to our house on the island.
If it weren't for school and basic essentials i.e. toothbrushes I'm pretty sure that we could have been self-sufficient. We grew our own livestock and vegetables, even cotton (which my mother was quite adept at turning into clothing). Then, of course, we fished. And swam. A lot.
But one thing we couldn't easily obtain was grain. And it seemed that no one in our near vicinity could obtain it either.
"We'll just have to sign up for tesserae," my mother sighed, papers of all our food stores strewn across the tables. "It's not something I want to do but..."
"It's worth it," mumbled Gren, with ever more expensive bread in his mouth. "I mean we get at least 50 extra tickets with me and Annie combined if we ask for as much tesserae as possible." Those 50 extra tickets would make a very noticeable difference to our mealtime plates and we all knew it.
"Just do it," I said, with a great deal more confidence than I felt. "After all, there's a very little chance of either of us being picked."
I guess fate has never really been on my side.