Chapter 1- The Reaping

I was in my assigned age group, It wasn't as crowded as last year...probably because the tributes from the 73rd hunger games were my age, and neither survived. That was one girl and one boy gone who died in an icy tundra, which wasn't the most exciting of games for the capitol. That's why they changed the rules. Eliminated gender from the Hunger Games equation. This allowed two boys or two girls to be tributes from a district which helped spice up the blood bath, and allowed boys to volunteer for girl tributes and girls to volunteer for boy tributes. None of this really changed District 12 attitude. It just offered a higher chance of a tribute fighting against a family member of the same gender. It just brought more sorrow to the district and more enjoyment to the Capitol. There were about 20 kids in my group. I didn't know many of them, I mostly kept to myself seeing as I was in the richer part of the Seam and I never went hungry while most of them did. Katniss was one of them. She wore a beautiful dress that probably belonged to her mother for the sides of her dress were pinned up slightly. Her long black hair that was usually braided down her back was pinned up for the "occasion". All of the children were dressed like this, wearing special clothing, hair done up in a fancy way. It was required, it was a law. It was the Capitols way of punishing us for the uprising that started the Hunger Games, it was a way to make us pretend that we enjoyed sending children off into the arena to fight to the death. The only celebrating that District 12 would be doing tonight was to celebrate that their own children were not selected. Two families would draw their curtains, and mourn. Their children were already dead to them. The chance that their child would live was 1 out of 24 and the other 12 children or so have been training for this since birth. To them, winning the hunger games was honor, unlike to the poorer districts...like us.

Effie Trinket was ready to begin so she stepped up to the mic and begin the usual speech of how an honor it was to be here and how she was so excited to announce the 74th Hunger Games tributes, the history of Panem, and how the games have come among us, the glory that could be brought upon our district, along with showers of gifts and prizes etc... I wasn't amused, the only thing that brought me slight joy was that Haymitch, District 12's only surviving tribute tumbled onto the stage drunk, as he is every year and fell at Effie Trinkets feet and slobbered on her pointy green shoes. You could see the disgust and terror rising in her face as she let out a squeak thick with the Capitols strong accent.

"Ehh, sorry." He mumbled as he tried to get to his feet. "Oooh its Effie, ooh hello you wern here wen I was a tribute but 'ell I was a good one aight? Better then you, a pink fuzzy lill girl, wha are you? Fift'en? Haha you must think I'm drunk? I'm always like this, beeutifful, ooh look sweeha't you got sumthin on your shoe, leeme ge it off for you." Haymitch bent down and began scrubbing her foot with the end of his dirty tunic which just dulled the green sheen and smothered her foot in muck. With a few steps she hopped around Haymitch and began to continue her speech quite frazzled.

"I guess since everyone is here we shall begin then." Effie jumped over Haymitch again as graceful as a capitol swine and went to the large bowl which held 8 slips of paper with my name on it. Although my family was getting along fine and I was a strong and healthy boy, a couple of years back, business was slow and my mother was pregnant, so I was forced to take tessarea, just twice but enough to increase my chances of being reaped. This was nothing compared to the other kids in my age group, Katniss must have at least 20 and Kaeb, another kid from the Seam had at least 40. Everyone's eyes were on the bowl as Effie stuck her hand in and dug for a slip...everyone except for Katniss. Her eyes were intently on another age group the one for 12 year olds, the one with her sister who just became eligible for the Hunger Games. I knew for a fact that Katniss shouldn't worry, her sister only had one slip inside that bowl, she wouldn't let her take tesserae, the odds of her being chosen was one out of the thousands of slips inside that bowl. Effie Trinket pulled out a piece of paper, smoothed it out and walked over to the mic and read out the name.

"Primrose Everdeen." She said with a smile. Not one person returned the smile, even though there was the usual clapping required from the district everyone had a sad look on their face. Katniss was frozen and she slowly looked up to see her little sister Prim walk on the stage.

"NOOOOOO!" she screamed. Katniss Everdeen began shoving through the crowd screaming the whole way until a boy from the 18 year old age group stopped her and managed to yell over her screams.

"I'll, volunteer! I'll volunteer for Prim!" I knew this boy. The black hair, olive skin tone. Gale. Katniss whose struggle against him finally softened looked at him incredulous. If I didn't know any better I would mistake the two of them for relatives, but I did know better, I knew that they were as thick as thieves, true best friends. Kaeb, walked up and took Katniss by the shoulders and brought her back to her seat since she was obviously physically unable to move as she saw her best friend take her sisters place on the stage. Primrose was screaming begging Gale to go but I knew she was relieved, anyone at her age would be. Her mother ran up on the stage her face pale as she took her daughter in her arms. Even from here I saw the somber nod she gave Gale and that he returned as she took her screaming girl off the stage and off into the crowd were it vanished into District 12's silence. Gale's face was stone, he showed no emotion, just like many before him. Effie Trinket, wanting to increase the excitement for this tribute tiptoed toward him with the microphone her face with an ecstatic smile.

"Wowie! I haven't seen a volunteer in District 12 for years! What's your name young man?"

"Gale Hawthorn." He replied, his voice as monotone as his facial expressions. Haymitch stood up from the pool of drool he was temporarily sitting in and put his arms around Gale and Effie and began to speak into the microphone making it shriek for a slight moment.

"I-I think I like him! He's a good strapp'n young man! He's a fine tribute, a lot better then you pink head." He said leaning over Effie. The way her nose twitched suggested he smelled of alcohol and body odor. Seeing as a moment to escape back to the drawing bowl, Effie ducked under Haymitch's arm leaving Gale to support more then half of the drunk mans weight. Wanting to end this quickly she drew a slip from the opening of the bowl and quickly walked around Haymitch to reach the microphone.

"Okay District 12! Our second tribute is..." she peered at the slip of paper, "Peeta Mellark!" Before I knew it my legs followed the Capitols orders and walked up to the stage despite my mind screaming for me to run. As I reached the stage Haymitch ran up and embraced me in a large hug.

"Hey Haymitch, haven't seen my uncle for a while huh?" I replied. I managed to unstick myself from his filthy body and resume my place next to Gale. Nobody would volunteer for me, I wasn't the golden boy, Gale could win...will win I should say, I was no competition.