I set out early the day of the reaping. I head to the one place in District 11 where it's calm. The lake.
The sun is just rising when I reach it. It's usually empty; in fact I've never seen anyone there before. But there she is, the little girl who flies across the trees in the orchards where I work. She's not resting, thinking, as I usually do. She's picking something. Berries. It's illegal, I know that. I glance around and see no one else is there. I'm attempting to leave when I step on a branch. She whips around and looks like she's going to cry. She starts talking. "I'm so sorry. I…Just, my family's been so hungry and I saw these. Please don't tell. Please don't hurt me." It's common, really. I'm big and older so a lot of people are afraid of me. I try to keep it that way, but when I see a little girl trying to hide from me, even though I've already seen her. I realize I've been staring at her for a few seconds and she's crying. I crouch down to her level. "Hey, it's alright. I won't tell. I understand." She nods her head and runs off, berries in hand.
After I sit at the lake for a few minutes, I head back to my home. Once I'm there, I head upstairs and take a bath. We aren't poor compared to others in District 11. We have a medium sized house and enough to eat. Enough to eat. That's more than most people here can say.
I get dressed in my old reaping clothes. Brown, long pants and a black buttoned shirt. I hate it. I feel restrained. That's what the Capitol dies to us. Restrain us. But getting mad at the shirt won't change a thing.
I head to the square and sign in. I can't even feel the finger prick anymore. As I make my way to the front, where the 18 year-olds are, I see the little girl from this morning. She looks brave, but under it I can see so many things. Fear, sadness, and hunger. So much hunger for a young girl. You can see it all over her.
Our escort comes up and shows us the movie. I couldn't care less. Then, she's heading over to the boys reaping ball. I hold my breath without realizing it.
"Thresh Albi!" I let out my breath and walk t the stage. Si many emotions are spinning in my head. But, really, I don't mind. I'm strong enough to win if I play it right. And if I lose, it doesn't matter. My family doesn't care for me. My parents did, but they died. An accident at the orchards. It's not like I have any friends, I don't have to win for them. But still, I want to come back. No one likes dying. I realize our escort has picked a name and the girl is heading up. It's the girl from this morning. I still don't know her name.
Change of plans. I'm going to die, and she's going to win.