AN: FINALLY! I got this up! It's been too long. For those of you coming back to see Rue, sorry. I saw a ton of very large factual errors in the original script, and it was irritating me. (I know, I know, the Marauders fic is all messed up too, you don't need to remind me.) But anyways, I reread Hunger Games, I checked the wiki, and I think I've finally got it all right. YAY! :D ALSO: I know this is desperate, but if you have any ideas for the Marauders or Lust fanfics, tell me, because I'm at a writer's block! :C Okay. Anyways, enjoy!

I am always up before any of my siblings. I wake to see the sun rise over the endless orchards. Every morning we awake to the same thing: schooling until noon, whereupon we eat a meager lunch and spend the rest of the day in the orchards.

I can see the sun rising outside my window of our second-floor flat. It is growing warm. In history we learned that District 11 was built upon the remains of a place once known as Georgia. I pull on my slippers and dress quickly. I need to start breakfast so my mother can tend to the smallest children. I have five siblings: Declan, who is 10, Amanda, who is 8, Xaviar, who is 6, Basil, who is 4 and Gabe, who just turned 3.

I wake up Basil and Amanda. I can hear Declan waking up Xaviar, and mother tending to Gabe. I trudge into our tiny kitchenette and see what we could have for breakfast. I pull out some eggs, a frying pan and some oil, and light a burner.

"Can you get out the bread?" I ask Declan, as he walks in. He pulls out the loaf and butters it as I dump the scrambled eggs into a big dish. He drops the bread slices into the still-warm pan to toast. I pull out some glasses and plates and set the table. I also pull out a few mushed oranges that I snuck from the orchards and begin slicing them.

Mother walks into the kitchen holding Gabe in her arms, Xaviar, Basil and Amanda trailing behind her. I bring the orange slices to the pine-wood table and we sit down. I help Mother dish out the eggs and toast, and everyone gets an orange slice. We eat slowly. Perhaps I can salvage some food from the orchards, if I'm lucky. I have to be careful, though. If anyone gets caught, we get whipped. After we finish, Amanda helps me clear the dishes from the table. Amanda, Declan and I grab our schoolbooks and start off down the road to school.

As per usual, classes are short but boring. The Capitol prefers that we work in the orchards. Most of the older kids work during the morning, then we switch shifts.

After classes we race to the orchards. Today is Friday—pay day. I grab a basket and immediately climb the first tree I can find. Declan follows my lead while Amanda grabs a wagon and trails me. While my job is to collect the fruit, Amanda gathers all the fallen goods and the full baskets handed down to her. I jump from tree to tree with ease and agility, gathering oranges, apples, dragonfruit and starfruit. I carefully hand each basket to a child on the ground—any spilled fruit gets you a punishment.

I leap through the trees, singing to myself, a song that my mother taught me.

Leaping through the leaves,

Climbing through the vines,

Collecting from morning to night,

This is the harvest time.

I hum to myself as I harvest and collect the bugs off of the fruits. Eventually, it starts to get dark. I find Declan and Amanda and we walk back to our apartment. Mother has prepared a small bit of groosling and our seeded crescent rolls that are unique to District 11.

I take a leg and share it with Basil. There is hardly enough to go around, and when we finish, our stomachs are still as empty as ever. I lead Basil and Amanda off to bed. We change into simple nightgowns, and we do our nightly routine: I sit on the bed and brush each sister's hair in turn. First Basil, then Amanda. Eventually Mother comes in with Gabe, Xaviar and Declan, and we are all crowded into the girl's bedroom.

"Rue, will you lead the nighttime song?" Mother asks, putting away the hairbrush.

"Sure," I reply. I begin to sing, and everyone joins in, even little Gabriel, who barely knows how to speak.

Now is the time to rest your head,

And close your sleepy eyes.

Tomorrow you will wake up

To the dawn of a new day.

Mockingbirds will sing their song,

Flying through the orchards,

Where the fruits of my labor

Grow free.

We finish the song, and Mother stands up with Gabe asleep in her arms. "Good night Rue, Amanda, Basil. Get plenty of rest," she says, kissing each of us in turn. She leads the boys off to bed.

"Good night," Basil and Amanda call. I tuck them into their bunk and climb up into the loft bed. I curl up, thinking about how I will teach Declan and Amanda to smuggle food from the orchards, because I will soon go into the 13 and up group. I turned twelve 5 months ago.

I am eligible for the Hunger Games.

And the Reaping is tomorrow.