District 1
Ruby woke up to a blood-curdling scream. Her heart beat out of her chest as she frantically looked around for any signs of trouble. Ruby felt out of breath and her throat was raw. That must of meant that the scream was hers. She most likely had the nightmare again. Ruby could never remember anything about it but the terrified feeling she woke up to almost every morning. She suspected her mind blocked it out because she didn't want to feel vulnerable. She was a career. It was a dog eat dog world. Today was the day she would volunteer for the games. Ruby had been training for this day for 17 years. It was drilled into her mind everyday since birth from her parents, who both were Victors of their own Games. She glanced at her clock and gasped. She only had two hours to train and get ready for the Reaping!
Ruby has always excelled at hand-to-hand combat. The idea of having weapons on her at all times is comforting. That way if the arena doesn't have knives, her second choice weapon, she could easily conquer the competition with just her own body. Her trainer grunted and panted as Ruby easily kicked him to the ground with a sickening crunch.
"Ruby! Get your butt inside and get ready for the Reaping!" Her drunken mother screeched from inside the porch. Ruby rolled her eyes but couldn't help but to feel a small hole deep in her chest where her parents have never been. After they had Ruby, they claimed she was such a brat that they would never do that to themselves again. It really didn't bother her. Much. Ruby collapsed on her fluffy bed and let her mind wonder for a few minutes on who the male tribute would be. She had heard that Cutter would most likely be volunteering. She wouldn't doubt it. He was easily 6'5 and 250 pounds of pure muscle. Not to mention abnormally handsome. He was a sure hit in the Capitol already. For a second her heart stopped when she thought about what she was actually going against, but she shook out of it and hopped into the shower.
For the reaping Ruby simply tousled her wavy dark blonde hair and put on smoky eye makeup. She might as well get used to the stuff, because she would be wearing for a while in the Capitol. Ruby pulled on a black leather skirt, a dark blue velvet top, and motorcycle boots. She was walking out the door when she suddenly remembered her necklace. It was a delicate gold chain with a small ruby pendant. It had been passed down for countless generations in her family. As soon as it was on her neck, Ruby sprinted down to the town square and joined the long lines of eager citizens. She had been doing this for so long she didn't even notice the pricking station. She walked to the age 17 area and pretended to be intrigued in her "friends" conversations about fashion. All girls in the Capitol were stupid and vain in Ruby's eyes. Suddenly, they were interrupted by the tapping of the microphone, and their escort, Winslow Porter began the reaping.
Ruby completely tuned out the dreary show about rebellion and hardly even heard him ask for any female volunteers. The look of pure determination on her face stopped anyone else from saying a word as ruby stepped forward and took a shaky breath as she bellowed,
"I volunteer as tribute!"