I woke up in the morning with the sun on my face. It's been awhile since I've seen it.
I got out of my bed and changed into my mine clothes.
Today marks the 3rd week anniversary of the end of torture, and the beginning of hell. Wonderful.
It was the end of the war and the states near each other became districts. Even if you were visiting someone during the war, you wouldn't be sent back to the state you were previously in. That's what had happened to me.
I'd gone to see my buddy, Ryan, who lives in Florida (KIARA ADD SOMETHING HERE PLEASE LIKE A BACKSTORY OR SOMETHING)
When the war ended, we had a party—but the news reporter said that wasn't the end of it. We had a new president, President Snow, that said we had to be placed in districts and Washington D.C. has become a plce called the Capitol. And the best party? All the districts have to supply it.
District 12, the one I'm currently in, mines coal and jewels. We are the poorest of the twelve districts. Because of this, we only have a few hours of electricity. We do have TVs, but the only channels we have are the Capitol News Station and the Hunger Games Channel. There is no wifi, unfortunately, so I can't record videos anymore. I had to sell the computer to the Capitol for food and money.
Moving on.
According to rumors that have been circulating throughout the districts, there's going to be a competition. The Hunger Games. Two tributes, girl and boy, from each district go to the Capitol to fight to the death. Only one victor.
The district that the victor lives in is showered with food and money. The victor lives with their family in a mansion on the other part of the district. Not to mention how rich they are.
Being rich includes wifi, phones, electricity... sounds nice, if you actually think about it.
And honestly, nobody quite knows why we have the games. The reporter says that it's probably because the Capitol doesn't want a repeat of the war. We actually lost a district because of this. Within about two minutes, it was bombed. Everyone in the district was killed.
The newspaper they give us is telling us that the Hunger Games reaping, which is when they pick the tributes, is tomorrow. Fun.
When you're sixteen, you have to work in the mines—unless you happen to be of the lady gender—or you'll be whipped. Tons of people are being whipped because they aren't used to the new rules.
On the way to the mines, I see Ryan in front of me, walking to the mines, too. "Hey, dude," I say, increasing my pace to catch up to him.
"Hey," Ryan replies.
"It's like real life Minecraft, y'know?" I say to lift the mood. We always joke about the mines on our way there. It passes the time quicker.
Speaking of time, we're there within what feels like the blink of an eye, but the mines are closed. Ryan steps a little bit closer and I notice he's reading a note.
"What's it say?" I ask.
"The mines are closed because of the holiday. Here at the bottom of the note it has the Hunger Games logo and the signature of President Snow," he says, pointing at the bottom of the note.
"Woo! I can go record some hap—" I cut myself off. "Oh. Right."
I walk home to see that my little sister, Katniss, is awake. She's currently twelve years old and friends with Ryan's sister.
"Jordan, I got some milk and cheese from the market!" she says cheerfully, running up to me with a carton of milk and a wheel of cheese. "Old Billy bog Joe said it was straight from Blossom the Cow!" She acts so childish sometimes.
"How much was it altogether?" I ask.
Since it's the beginning of the district, everybody has lots of supplies to make stuff—and it's really cheap. I wonder how many people will starve to death because of no food in the future.
"It was only five dollars," she answers, setting down the milk and wheel of cheese on the counter. "Jordan, can we go hunting?"
Despite being twelve years old, she count hunt fairly well. "Sure," I say, leaving her to go to my room. I take off my mining clothes and put my pickaxe aside, pulling on my hunting boots and jacket.
I return to the living room to see Katniss sitting on the floor, holding a bow and a sheath of arrows fastened to her waist. We left out the back door, going int othe woods. I remembered that the mayor was planning to put a fence there, so we better hunt while we can.
Katniss went to one of the trees, silently as always, and took out the bow. I followed the direction of where she was aiming at, and saw a doe. It was peacefully eating and I caught her eye and pressed a finger to my lips in a signal to be quiet. She nodded and the doe looked up just as the knife embedded itself in its' neck.
After what feels like forever, the doe falls and Katniss rushes forward, pulling out the knife and wiping the blood on the grass. I smile and give her a thumbs up. "Nice!" I say.
"Thanks," she replies.
The rest of the day was spent hunting. We picked a few barries as we noticed it was getting dark. Curfew was at 9 PM, so we headed back to the house. We put our weapons away in their hiding places. I hefted the doe over my shoulder, along with a few rabbits, and placed them in the cellar when we arrived.
Katniss was already in the house and most likely in bed as I pulled off my boots and jacket. I tucked her in and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, Katniss," I say before leaving her room.
I crawled into my bed and lay there for a few minutes.
Tomorrow is going to be hell for the families. Only thirteen- to eighteen-year-olds were eligible. To be honest, I'm scared.
I'm eligible to be in the games, and so is Katniss.
We could be dead in a couple of weeks.