It was a weird morning. I woke up from my king sized bed, took off my hair net and brushed my teeth. Then I lazily got into the shower. It took me about thirty-five minutes to realize that I was being hit by streams of warm water. Then I remembered. Years ago, the President had passed a law making teenagers ages twelve to eighteen competitors on this thing called the Hunger Games. Why they call it hunger games, I will never know. I wash my hair and get dressed. I look in the mirror and realize that I look like I had a hangover. So, I washed my face with cold water and went downstairs. It was then I saw my mom, my dad and surprisingly my older brother. They seemed calm and content, like they hadn't realized that the so-called 'reaping' was taking place.

"Hey mom." I say, unhappily.

"Good morning, Eddy." Says my mom, plainly.

I decided to talk to them about the games.

"When are the reapings going to start?" I ask.

"Twelve o' clock. Hope you don't die on the way there." Says my brother, Terry.

Terry had participated in the games before. He didn't seem to mind that he had killed a few of his friends. But, that's just him. He's twenty-four years old, only eight years older than me. He doesn't care about me or any of us at all. All he does is count his money and reminisce.

"Shut up, Terry. I'm heading out." I say.

"Where are you going?" asks my dad.

"I'm heading downtown. I'm heading to Coffee Calvin's."

"Fine. Just don't get hurt on the way there." Says my mom.

I wave goodbye and grab my bike and leave. Coffee Calvin's is a place where teenagers can hang out and get something off of their chest. Fights have gone on there and it shut down a few times, but not for long. I finally make it there after 15 minutes.

I go in there and check the clock. 10: 35. I arrived five minutes early. I don't care, though. I sit down and get situated.

"Hey, Eddy. Early as usual." Says Jason, the bartender.

"Yeah. You got my stuff?" I ask him.

He goes into his pocket and pulls out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He hands them to me and grabs me an orange float delight. I pay him 15 bucks, and an extra 10 for the cigarettes, and I start my rant.

"So, today's the great reaping, huh?" says Jason.

"Yeah. It's no big deal to me. You know my brother was in the games when he was 16, right?"

"Yeah. I saw those games. Wasn't it on that desert island?" he says.

"Yeah. And they all had just pocket knives." I respond.

So I go on and on about how my brother thinks he's all that and stuff. Jason know way more about the games. He turned twenty-two last year, and we know he was lucky enough not to be reaped. We spend an hour talking about it and then we stop. He eventually pops in a movie. The place is packed with kids who are nervous and scared. I see a group of girls crying in one of the corners of the bar. A few boys are nervously joking and laughing. Then the clock strikes twelve. Time for us to go.

"See you later, Eddy." Says Jason.

"Yeah, you too." I respond.

I neatly slick my hair to the back and get my clothes nice and fancy. Then I grab my bike and head to the center of town.