It was that day. The day when some of our lives get turned upside down while others remain the same. Some lose family. Some lose friends. No one knows who it will be, but only that there are two chosen. Today is the day of the Reaping.

My name is Blythe. Blythe Amaryllis. I'm 17, and I live with my twin sister, Crystal. We are from District 10 in the country of Panem. We were separated from our parents by a fire when we were 12. Some of the people wanted us to go live in an orphanage, but one woman stood up and said that she would like to take care of us. Her name is Nerilla. Everyone knows who she is, she is the wife of our mayor. She said that she was unable to have any children of her own, so we were the next best thing. That's where our trouble started.

She was so kind to us, but her husband wasn't. The mayor always put on a show for others, but when he was at home, he was very different. He used to beat us whenever mother wasn't around. One day, mother found out and sent us to live in a house by ourselves. At first, we thought that she had abandoned us. We soon found out what happened in a letter she sent us. She said that she sent us there to get us away from our father. She would've divorced him, but then there would be no way she could have taken care of us, and the orphanage would have taken us away from her. She said we were never to come back to our house, or he might hurt us again. She would send us some money at certain periods in time, but until then we had to get some jobs.

We were scared that father might find out, so we got jobs under different names. To everyone else we are Baker and Cassie. Crystal works at our cities pond. That is where we raise all of the waterfowl that the Capitol requires. I get to work with the horses. Some are sent to the Capitol to be used in the Hunger Games, some are sent to be pets for their citizens, while others are sent to different districts to help with their work. I hate to think of those poor, beautiful animals being beaten with whips, doing manual labor for the Capitol.

There is an extra reason I love coming to work. My best friend, Heath, works with me. Before you ask, no, I do NOT love Heath. Heath is a little different than most of the men we work with. He is extremely funny, dramatic, and sincere.

Work is also fun because one of the things we are allowed to do, is ride the horses. The one I'm riding now is my favorite. She is a yellow horse with a red main and tail. Her name is Butterfly because, when she was born, whenever she whinnied, all of the butterflies around us would start to stir. I've raised her since she was a baby. "Hey, Baker, get over here!" There he goes again, that lazy good-for-nothing.

"I'm coming! Let's go, girl. Heath." With that, she takes off like a bullet. She heads straight for him. She knows both our voices and names by heart, so whenever we say the others name, she runs there as fast as she can. "Hey, Heath, watcha need?"

"Is the extremely talented, manly, Baker no-last-name, actually talking to me? My girlfriends will just about die when I tell them." He then makes a fainting motion, and I punch his arm. "What? It's not my fault they all fall for your manliness. Really, the only reason I know you're a girl, is because you told me. I was skeptical even then. Your sister is the one who convinced me."

It was actually really funny and embarrassing. After I told him, he kept saying that I was a liar, and that he needed proof. My sister came up and jumped on my back, since her work was done, and it was time to go home for the day. When I finally got her off of me, I realized that she had torn off my shirt. I screamed, and she gave it back to me. She looked at Heath and asked if that was enough proof for him. He shrugged his shoulders and reluctantly agreed. "Really, you have the flattest chest I have ever seen. Granted, you wrap it up to look more like a guy, but you don't even have to do it that tightly. I only agreed because of your girly scream." That earned him another punch. We both sat down on the grass.

"I told you to stop mentioning that. Besides, if I ever get called to be a tribute, everyone will know that I lied about my name and gender."

"I'm gonna laugh my head off, if some of the guys recognize you and try to convince the Peacekeepers that you are a guy." He pauses for a minute. "What will happen if you are called? What's your sister gonna do? You know she will never get the courage up to go."

"I know." I've been going back to the mayors house every once-in-a-while to visit Nerilla. The first time, she saw me in the backyard and ran out to hug me. She gave me some food and money to take home. Ever since then, I would go back every two weeks at the exact same time to see a big backpack filled with food, money, and some other necessities on the back porch. I tried to convince Crystal to go with me one time, and she almost had a panic-attack.

"I could always get it for her." Sometimes, he is just too nice to us.

"I can't let you do that. If someone saw you, they might think you are a thief and throw you in jail. My mother doesn't know any of our friends. It's too dangerous, especially if he caught you. You could be thrown out of the city."

"I'm more sneaky than I look, you know. Besides, if it meant Crystal was okay, then I would happily do it." I look at him questioningly. "If I didn't help take care of your other-half, when you came back, I'm sure you would beat me to a pulp." He winks at me. I start spacing out thinking about my sister. "He just winked at me with those beautiful green eyes that shine like emeralds. His hair, like a ravens feather; his voice as strong as a rushing river."

"What are you talking about?"

"Good, you're back from space, I presume?" I shove his arm.

"Shut up." I bring my knees up to my chest. "I hate Quarter Quells."

"I think just about everybody does. Everyone except the Capitol. Seriously, why do we even still have these games? It's been 100 years already. I think the districts have 'learned their lesson' by now. Do you remember what the 'special twist' is for this Quarter Quell?"

The Hunger Games usually stay the same. The only differences are the outfits and the terrains. Then come the Quarter Quells. Every 25 years, there is some special twist to the Games, like an anniversary. The 50th, there were 48 tributes. District twelve won that year. The 75th, the previous victors from the districts had to be tributes. That one was the most dramatic. District four won that one. "This year, there are two twists. One, there won't be a cornucopia; all of their supplies will be scattered around the terrain. Two, there will be a normal amount of tributes, but some contestants will be switched out right before the games begin, through a random drawing of all eligible district children. It's like you figure out who to avoid, who to make an alliance with, and things like that, then they switch out some of the players to absolutely confuse you. I don't want Crystal anywhere near the Capitol."

"What, are you going to volunteer like District 12 in 74?" He's teasing me, but he knows the answer.

"They have names, you know. I look up to Katniss. The way she wouldn't take anything from anybody, but she was still kind and caring. I would gladly volunteer for my sister, but she probably wouldn't let me." I look up at the clouds. One of them looks a bit like a butterfly. "Hey, look, girl. It's you, up in the clouds." She looks up and makes a grunting noise at the clouds. I start petting her main. "I know that's just your name, silly, but your as pretty as a butterfly too."

"You know, sometimes you scare me. I understand with your horses that you've grown up with, but you seem to know what every animal is thinking. It's like your a magic animal-whisperer." He starts looking around for something. "Let's test your skill, 'Oh mighty Blythe.' Tell me what kind of bird that is and what it's thinking about."

"Let's see, it's a cardinal. It's waiting for it's mate to come home to watch over their eggs."

"Woah, fine, is it a boy or a girl?"

I look back up, trying to remember the distinction between the two. "It has brownish feathers, so it's a female. The male has the bright red feathers."

"Just like you and me, huh? The female looks more like a male than the actual male does, and the male looks more like a female than the actual female does,"

"Sorry to crush your dreams, but you don't exactly look like a girl, Heath."

"Oh, how you wound me! I meant looking as in acting. Well, when it came to us anyway. If I were a cardinal, I would have the brightest coat of all!" He jumps up and starts making such exaggerated movements. "And you, my dull feathered cardinal, would have the dullest coat of all, but a heart of pure gold." He grabs my hands, stands me up, and begins to spin me around with him. He abruptly stops, and I fall flat on my back. It takes me awhile to catch my breath again. He looks up at the sky. "Well, I'll see you later." I guess I look confused because he says, "We need to go get ready for the Reaping, silly." He pulls me up. "Well, you are a bird in two ways. Your voice and your weight. You are as light as a feather, darling."

"I don't know if that's a compliment or not, but I guess I won't hit you this time. Oh, and make sure that you wear the shirt Crystal made you. She's been feeling a bit scared about something lately. Probably, because I had to put my name in more times than before for tesserae. I need something to cheer her up."

"I will, if you answer my next question. How many?" I lift up both of my hands. "Ten, huh? Mine too. Ten strips of paper for District 10." My sister comes running up to us.

"Come on, Blythe, we need to go. I made you something special to wear today." With that, she drags me home with her. District 10 is a fair enough place to live. It's not District 1, but it's not District 11 or 12. We have a market square that, around the holidays, looks like a Christmas tree. We can get a lot of things there. My sister is really good at making clothes, so once-in-a-while we can sell them to someone in the square for extra money. We finally get home, and she holds up a dark brown dress with a dark green belt and green accents around the neckline. "It took me awhile to make but it's the best I could do." She hands the dress to me. I thought it would be heavy, but it is actually extremely light.

"Crystal, when did you have time to make this?"

"Well, whenever you would go out, or when you went to sleep. I worked on it in little segments, so you don't have to worry about me losing sleep. So, what do you think?"

I hug her as tight as I can. "I think it's absolutely wonderful."

She pushes me off of her, "Okay, if you do go, they'll have to deal with your death grip. All you have to do is just hug them to death. Don't try to break my ribs next time, okay? Now, go get dressed. If we're late, everyone will stare." I go to the tub in the other room. After getting clean, I head back to my room and put my new dress on. The dress comes up to my knees. It's a bit more revealing than I thought. Most of my upper-back is showing; some of it is covered up by a few dark green strings. I grab my dark green jacket. I slide on my black flats for special occasions, and she walks into my room. "If you're going to wear that jacket, then at least let me make it shorter." She grabs her scissors, and starts cutting away at the fabric.

After brushing my hair and letting it hang, she finally deems me ready. She's in a dark blue dress that comes down mid-calf. It has long sleeves and covers her back. "How come you didn't make yours as revealing as mine?"

"You never wear anything like this, and in one year, you won't have to anymore. After we turn 18, we won't have to worry about the Games anymore." She stands up and turns her back to me. "Can you brush my hair for me?"

"Okay." She doesn't have long hair, like I do, but it soothes her and makes us feel connected. I start brushing her hair. It was light blue before, that was it's natural color, but after we left home, we decided to die it black. "The dress was your present to me, right?" She nods her head. "Then, I guess I still have to give you your present." I reach into my pocket and hand her a box.

"This is so beautiful, Bly." It is a small black jewelry box with blue crystals all over the top. "How did you get this?"

"You're not the only one good at making things, Crys. It would be better if you opened it." She opens it and inside is a necklace of small, dark rope with a dark blue crystal. She stands there speechless. "I can't take the credit for this one, though. Heath made it for you." I hear the town clock telling us that it's one o'clock. I grab a piece of bread, break it in half, and hand the other half to Crystal for us to eat on the way to the Justice Building.

The Peacekeepers here aren't as strict as they could be. When there were a few traces of rebellion in the districts, we just kept working and doing what we were told. Some of the districts have turned their backs on us because we wouldn't fight. District 10 could practically live on our own if the Capitol didn't limit our supplies.

We get there and sign in. Sadly, we have to sign in with our real names. We o and stand in line with everyone else. We see Lotus and Septimus sit down on the stage. They are the mentors for our tributes. They are supposed to help us get sponsors and give us tips on how to survive the games. Soon after, our mayor and Nerilla take the stand. I feel Crystal's hand tense up. She is still scared to death of him. The mayor steps up to the stand and reads the Treaty of Treason. It's mandatory that the districts hear this same speech every year. Lotus struts up to the podium. "Hello, everyone! Today is that most glorious day; the day when we choose our tributes to represent District 10 in the Hunger Games! I wish you a Happy 100th Quarter Quell Hunger Games! Now, this is a very special games, there will be some tributes chosen who will be ejected out of the games before they start. The day before the games start, they will go back to the districts and choose someone else to replace them. This could give them an added bonus, or have them ultimately fail. If we are chosen, please do remember to pay as much attention as you can for all showings in your homes. Now, let's start with the young women first!" She reaches into the giant glass bowl assigned to all districts with all of our names in it. My name is in there ten times; my sister's name is in there six times. I want it to be anyone but her. She is extremely smart and crafty, but if she even got hit by a branch on her arm, she would probably start freaking out and going hysterical. Anyone but her, please. I don't want to lose my sister. Anyone, please. Lotus has said the name already. I missed it. Who is it? I notice everyone looking around. Everyone except Heath, Nerilla, and Crystal. Heath is staring at me in shock, Crystal is tearing up and on her knees, and Nerilla is looking me dead in the eye, a tear coming down her face. Wait, no one knows except those three people. Lotus says the name again.

"Blythe Amaryllis."