Chapter 1: Basically the Same Person

The first few rays of sun in the morning sink through my window, and into my room, filling it with light. I have been up for hours now, and I am sure I am not the only one in District 8. I would say that most, if not all, the children of Panem are awake. Scared, frightened, and some even exited. Today is the day of the reaping.

I haul myself out of bed, careful not to wake my twin sister, Lea. When I am worried. I can't sleep. However, when she's worried, all she can do is sleep. Our personalities are different, but our looks are exactly the same. We both look young for our age. We are 13, but we look like 11 year olds. We both have shoulder length dark blond hair, and dark brown eyes, a strange combination some say. We are basically the same person. Sometimes, we would switch our names in school for days on end.

I grab an old cloth from the kitchen, and start toward the back of my house. There I find my small strawberry bush that I planted when I was younger. It is hidden underneath a small barrel that Lea and I found one day. If we didn't hide it, all the neighbourhood kids would come and strip it of its berries, leaving nothing for us. That happened with our apple tree once. My family were left with no breakfast for 3 weeks.

I pick some berries and place them in the cloth, careful not to squash them. When I'm finished, I head back into the house. When I walk through the back door, my mother is up. She is carrying two light yellow dresses to mine and Lea's bedroom. When she sees me, she stops in her tracks. Reaping day has been hard for her all of her life. She was reaped once. However, her best friend volunteered for her. She was the fifth to be killed. Nothing was the same ever again.

"Your dress will be on your nightstand, okay?"

I nod. When she leaves the room, I let out a breath I did not know I was holding. I start to wash off the berries. I start to think about how it must feel to be a victor in the games. The kids in the richer Districts volunteer as tributes, for some weird reason. I guess they were raised to volunteer and bring pride to their family, but I could never even imagine my mom or dad telling me to volunteer.

Once I am finished, I lay them on the table, and head to my room to get dressed. Lea is up and already dressed. She is brushing her hair in the small mirror on the wall that we share.

"Good Morning," She says. Her voice is shaky. She's scared.

"Good morning," I reply. I find my dress on my nightstand, where my mother said it would be. My dress is the exact same one as Lea's. I take off my night gown, and haul my dress over my head, and start to comb out my hair.

My family doesn't talk at all that morning. My father keeps trying to make small talk, but no one responds. At 12:00, a bell rings, telling the people of District 8 to go to the town square for the Reaping.

Lea and I get our blood taken, and go to stand with each other in the roped off section for 13 year old girls. We stand together, hand in hand. The Mayor reads about the rebellion, as always, then our escort, Katri Maylaw, takes the stage set up in front of the Justice Building, her blue hair in a high ponytail. She wears so much makeup, I can see the green mascara from down here.

"Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Welcome everybody to Districts 8's reaping for the 67 Hunger Games!" She says as she does every year. It is sick how the Capitol citizens find kids killing each other entertaining. "The time has come for one brave, young man and woman to represent your District!" She starts to clap, though no one joins in. "Lets start with the ladies, shall we?" She walks over to the giant glass ball, in which contains the names of every girl in District 8 from ages 12 to 18. She dramatically reaches into it, digs into the pile of names, and, finally, chooses one.

She walks back over to the microphone, and slowly opens up the slip of paper. My name could very well be on there. My hand start to sweat, and I start to pant. What if it is me? Please don't me, please, please, please!

Katri take a breath and says with her strong capital accent "Lea Galloway."

My head spins to look at Lea. She looks zoned out, in her own world. Slowly, she turns her head until her gaze reaches mine. Her breaths are heavy. Katri is calling the name again, as though no one has heard her. Heads turn in our direction. Suddenly, Lea faints and falls at my feet. I bend down next to her, Every one is watching us now, and most likely, so are all the cameras. She can't go into the games now. She will be seen as a easy target. She will be killed. Why? Why her instead of me? I could have at least walked up to the stage! Then, a crazy, and could be considered suicidal, thought comes to my head. Why can't it be me? Why can't I take her place? We are basically the same person, right?

I stand up. I turn my head until I reach my mothers gaze, who is pushing her way through the crowd. I look her in the eyes and nod. She knows the difference between us, but she is almost the only one. Her eyes, are filled with tears. Every parent is looking at her with sympathy. She looks like she wants to say something, or scream, or cry, or maybe all three, but she just shook her head frantically. My father pushes his way to my mother and pulls her into a hug. He looks at t me, and nods. He understands that I need to do this.

I turn and start walking away from the crowd of 13 year old girls, and into the small walk way they have laid out for the tributes.

A half dozen Peacekeepers are surrounding me within seconds, escorting me to the stage. I reach the steps, and slowly mount them. Lea is still unconscious. Good. Now no one will now it is me and not her. Katri is waiting for me. "Come on!" She says, "Don't be shy!" She grabs my hand and hauls me the rest of the way. "Lea Galloway, Is it?" She asks.

I nod.