I have been through things no one at the age of seventeen should claim to have been through. The natural disasters that destroyed my first home, the brutal wars for sustenance among the few who survived, the establishment of a new nation that took advantage of and neglected its citizens, and a rebellion against the Capitol, resulting in destruction, suffering, and a painful loss for those rebelling.
I also know that the Capitol has completely lied about the history of Panem. They tell us that when Panem was created, a nation made of a great Capitol ringed by thirteen districts, peace and prosperity was brought to its citizens for many generations. Ha! As if! If that were true, I would have died of old age already, as would have everyone else who live in the districts. We all know that there was only peace for a few months. Then, the districts rebelled against not the country that fed them, loved them, and protected them, like they tell us. The districts rebelled against a country that let half of its citizens die from starvation, a country that was cruel and merciless and turned anyone who did something they didn't like into slaves, a country that the districts needed protecting from, not to be protected by them.
The Capitol has threatened us with torture and death, so this secret will die with this generation. But even lying about their goodness, about the history of this nation, destroying District 13 and defeating the others, making the districts suffer for two weeks without jobs and food, isn't enough for the Capitol to take. And here's another lie they've told: about the Treaty of Treason being written and signed. They wrote it, but it was never signed by anyone in the districts. A treaty involves both sides signing, but no, they decided the districts didn't need to.
That's what made me run away from the Capitol. It was the final straw, how they caused all of that suffering, and it wasn't enough. They declared the Treaty of Treason signed and decided the districts will participate in the Hunger Games.
Just because I was in the Capitol, doesn't mean I'm like them. I was a spy, but I couldn't continue living in that horrible place. So I ran away, but I let them know. Because I still did horrible things, both before and while I was in the Capitol. And if anyone deserved to be in these Games, it was me.
The Capitol let me go, and here I am, in District 12, at the reaping for the very first Hunger Games. And I know the Capitol will have rigged the drawing to make me go into the arena. And if they didn't I think I'll volunteer. No one here in District 12 deserves to be in these Games.
Being in so many wars gave me experience on how to handle pain, suffering, and killing. It'll be the right thing to do, just to save someone else from reliving all of that. And a part of me can't wait to go back and see how much trouble I can cause, how many people I can piss off. I haven't been in the other districts long, and I don't know how the others feel about the Games. I know that most in District 12, if chosen, don't want to fight against the people they rebelled with. If someone attacks me, I'm sure instincts will take over, but I don't want to give the Capitol the satisfaction of killing even more citizens of the districts.
My name is Jasmine Reed. Welcome to the First Hunger Games.
Author's Note: So I'm coming back to this story, a whole 3.5 years later, and I really don't like it anymore. I've decided to go back and edit the existing chapters. However, this doesn't mean there'll be new chapters. I haven't decided yet whether or not to continue it.