Author's Note: This is my first Hunger Games Story so please don't flame. Also my first long, not a One-shot (My other stories are all One-shots basically) This is Thresh's life from when he was a little kid. Sorry for the extremely weird names given later but seriously...those people in Hunger Games DO have weird names...(No offence!)

Oh and I don't own Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins does...(Lucky thing, look at all the money SHE earned by just writing 3 amazing books)

It was a sunny morning, Thresh walked out of his small hut. It was harvest season and everybody was working and helping each other in the fields. Thresh looked around curiously, he couldn't help the farmers, he was only 3 years old and he needs to be at least 6 to help.

Dustin, Thresh's best friend came rushing towards Thresh. Dustin was also 3 years old. His father was from District 12 but moved to 11 and got married with Dustin's mother. Dustin's name was named after those dusty cold mines in District 12. "Thresh! Have you heard about the new neighbour!" Dustin said excitedly.

"No." Thresh said slowly. New neighbour? What is Dustin talking about.

"Anyway they just moved in! Look there our neighbours!" Dustin pointed at a family. There were only three people in the family, a mother, father and a daughter. The daughter was about the same age as Thresh and Dustin.

"What are their names?" Thresh asked. Dustin got to know everything, he is so curious and all his parents really talk about is district gossip.

"I don't know the parent's name but I think the girl's name is Kat or something." Dustin replied. "Let's go and meet them."

"Ok." Thresh shrugged. There was nothing to do but watch as the others tend the fields.

"Hi..." Dustin started off but forgot the girl's name as soon as Dustin and Thresh went to find the girl.

"I'm Kas." the girl with long dark brown hair introduced herself.

"Hi!" Thresh and Dustin both said. "Where did you come from?"

"Just the other side of District 11. The merchants." Kas replied. "There isn't a lot of business there anymore so we moved over here to farm instead."

"Wanna hang out?" Thresh asked.

"Sure!" Kas smiled. I think we're going to be good friends, Kas thought, they're nice.

Inside, Dustin's happy. One more playmate, what more do you need? It's boring in the fields if you're not working and school doesn't start for you until you're 5 anyway. 2 more years of wandering about. Somehow, Dustin knew from the very start he met Kas, they are going to be very good friends, in fact best.

Thresh led the way to the market. He and Dustin loves hanging out there. Although they're only 3 years old and probably can't buy anything, it's always fun to see what they had to sell. And occasionally mess around.

"What do you do here?" Kas asked. "It's just a market."

"You can mess around." Dustin shrugged. "They get pretty annoyed if you hide one of their things and put it in a very obvious place but they can't find it for ages."

"Hey! Why are the shops closed?" Thresh demanded. As they went into the market, they realized all the shops closed. Including the Sweet Shop he loved.

"I don't know." Kas shrugged. "Maybe they're not closed in the Merchants side."

"You're from the merchants, you should know." Dustin said.

"You're from the fields, you should know." Kas flashed back.

There was no argument between Dustin and Kas. Even though Kas had flashed back at Dustin, they knew as best friends, they musn't have argument. Argument could break them apart from their friendship and possibly their destiny.

As they arrived at the Merchant's side of the district, Kas gasp. "They're close!"

"What's happening?" Thresh asked curiously.

"Who knows?" Dustin shrugged. "It never happened. My parents had been grumbling all the time that they're poor, they can't stop working, they'll loose money and complain even more."

"Wow, you used big words." Kas commented.

"Big words?" Dustin repeated.

"Yeah, complain, grumbling these words are long and well... I don't use them." Kas explained.

"KAS! DUSTIN! THRESH!" a voice boomed out as the three children froze in the middle of a path.

"Who's that?" Thresh asked quietly.

"KAS! DUSTIN! THRESH!" their mother's head pop out from the long wheat. "What are you doing there?"

"Checking on the shops." Dustin replied truthfully. "They're all close!"

"It's the Hunger Games." Dustin's mother, Wheata Croppers explained. "I had told you that many times, Dustin. Today you're going to see the reaping, Dustin. Your brother is 12 years old, it's his first reaping." there was a slight nervousness heard evidently in her voice.

"Ok! Let's GO!" Dustin said excitedly. Obviously, he didn't know what the Hunger Games was.

As they all appeared in the reaping area, others were already there. A woman with a silly yellow hair came. "Girl's first!" she took a big ball and reached for a slip there.

"What's happening?" Thresh questioned.

"You'll know soon enough when you're bigger." Thresh's mother answered.

"Vaste Seedling!" the woman with the silly yellow hair announced.

An around 15 yr old girl came out trembling, she closed her eyes like it's all a bad dream.

"Any volunteers?" the woman with yellow hair asked.

Nobody volunteered so Vaste was a tribute.

"Now for the boys." the woman said cheerfully.

No! Please let it not be him! Wheata Croppers pleaded silently for his older son, Telkins. There was quite a slim chance for him to be picked but there might be a chance. Wheata closed her eyes silently.

"Telkins Cropper!" the woman with yellow hair reached for a slip from the blue ball and read out the name.

Wheata gasped. "What happened?" Dustin asked curiously. He saw his brother walk out trembling. "He's never scared and he is now."

"I don't think you could see Telkins again." Wheata slowly put her arms around Dustin shoulders. I'm going to protect Dustin. I'm sure Telkins would like that. I want Telkins to come back, which means to win the games. It's almost impossible, Telkins doesn't even do any physical farming, he only picks berries. Telkins is so young.

"Why?" Dustin asked over and over again but Wheata let the questions to linger in his mind until he is old enough to be answered.