"Wasn't it easier in your lunch box days

Always a bigger bed to crawl into.

Wasn't it beautiful when you believed in everything

and every one believed in you."

District 2:

Kadence and Colby Marquet

I am going to be just like Tyson Wayford when I am big!" Colby jumps off the table in the lunch room at school waving a paper towel roll like a sword.

The girl sitting across the table stares at him with a blank expression on her face before turning to to Kadence.

"He is crazy. My daddy says that The hunger games is the best thing since sliced bread." the little girl takes a not so little bite out of her sandwich.

"Sliced bread?" Kadence crinkles her nose.

"Papa says he doesn't like the games but my momma told me that he helped plan the first one. Maybe that's why his eyes get so sad when he talks about it." Kadence unfurrows her eyebrows, shrugs and eats the last little bit of her chips just as a paper towel roll hits her in the back of the head.

"Colby, you better run!" she giggles as she gets up and chases him around the terrace where lunch time is held.

"I am going to be the best victor that ever lived." Colby swings his make believe sword in all directions creating a whipping sound.

"I am going to be a peace keeper just like mommy and daddy! Papa says that they are to be feared because they are the head peace keepers. I don't want people to be afraid of me though." A sullen look spreads across her face as she smooths out her skirt and heads back to her lunch table.

"Did you say that your mom and dad were the head peace keepers?" asks the TA who has been supervising as he calls it to make himself feel better about eavesdropping on children.

"Yeah. We don't really see them much." Colby says dropping the roll and shoving a handful of grapes into his mouth.

"But our papa takes real good care of us. He's my best buddy." Kadence's face lights up at the mention of her grand father.

"Right.. your papa. You said that your mother told you that he helped plan the first games didn't you little lady?" The TA asks suspiciously.

"Yeah, momma said that he was a Game maker for the first whatever it's called. But when I ask him about it he won't tell me. He just gets a real sad look on his face and his eyes change into something real sad." Kadence looks concerned as she says this.

The teachers assistant nods, taking this all in.

The bell rings signifying that lunch time is over and all the children scramble back to class.

The school day drags by for Kadence but Colbys mind is filled with ways that he can start training himself for the games.

When it is finally time to go home the kids can barely sit still. The walk home seems like it takes forever.

"There's my girl!" papa kneels down with open arms willing Kadence to run to him.

"Papa! I missed you today." She wraps her arms around his neck.

"What did you munchkins learn today?"

"Well, apparently bread comes in slices." Kadence giggles.

"I learned that the best way to take some one out early in the games is to stab em' right in the chest!"

Papas eyes change and he leads the kids into the house quickly.

"You may think you see who I really am

but you'll never know me

every day

It's as if I play a part."

Dahlia Franklin, 16

District 11

Victor of the 1st annual hunger games.

Dahlia is so sick of all the interviews. She doesn't want to do them. Everyone is all in a fuss over the third annual games coming to a start. Enough innocent people have been slaughtered for the entertainment of power hungry officials.

She wears a fake smile plastered to her face in hopes of keeping up the image of a girl who is proud to have come out on top over 23 other children who meant just as much as she did. The last thing she needs is to have people questioning her.

"Dahlia, it's time for you to get out of bed." her friend hides sheepishly behind the door as she says this obviously afraid she is going to bite her head off. She isn't so far off.

"I'm not going." Dahlia says as she pulls a pillow over her face.

"You have to. The president is expecting you to be an active member of society today and help bring attention to the games. It's just a little while longer and then you can waste away in your bed." Tiegen steps into the room and sits on the edge of the bed.

Dahlia sits up, all the images that she tries so hard to suppress flash in her brain.

Twenty four kids ranging from the ages of 12-18 being thrown into an Arena against their will and told to kill each other. Told that only one of them would be leaving by the end of this. At first, none of them knew what to do. They stood around looking at each other for way longer than was acceptable to the game makers. They were all sitting around a temporary camp that they had set up in the middle of the woods when an arrow shot through the girl from district 1's chest.

"I can't believe I just did that... I'm so sorry." the boy from district 7 stammered.

"What the heck?!" Dahlia asked him completely astounded by the situation that occurred.

"They aren't going to let us go home. That much is clear and I'm sorry but I have to get back to my family. They need me." He raised his bow again and took aim at the group. All 22 of the other tributes scattered quickly and Dahlia wasn't going to be the one to wait around to die. She gripped the knife that was in her pocket and promised herself from that moment on that she would do every thing she had to do to stay alive.

"Are you okay? Tiegen asks jolting her out of the morbid memory.

She wipes the sweat off of her brow and rolls out of bed.

"Just peachy."

Dahlia stumbles into the bathroom and is thrown into another gruesome memory as she sees her reflection.

"Please.. don't do this." the boy from district 2 gasps for breath as her foot pushes down harder and harder onto his throat. His arms are flailing and tears are slowly rolling down his cheeks. She gives him a smirk knowing that this is the last obstacle to getting the hell out of there. His arms stop flailing and he goes silent. Dahlia smiles a genuine smile for the first time. Tears of joy start to flow from her eyes as she realizes that she gets to go home.

She splashes water onto her face hoping that it will wash away that rancid memory with it.

"I miss when I could look in the mirror and not hate what I see looking back at me." she said out loud as she dusted her pale skin with powder.

"Dahlia, seriously. Come on. We need to get going." Tiegen knocks on the door gently.

"I'm coming!" She tossed her still perfectly curled black locks over her shoulder, pulls a dress over her head and takes a deep breath.

"Dahlia, over here, do you have any words for the possible tributes for this years games?" A man shoves a microphone in her face.

She plasters on the fake smile that she is so used to wearing and prepares herself for the series of questions to follow.

"Winning the Hunger games is the best thing that will ever happen to you. You have the opportunity to bring honor and respect back home with you to your district and the opportunity to change your own life in every aspect imaginable."

"Do you think that going from being a plain Jane in district 11 to this is hard to adjust to?"

ouch.

"It's really quite an amazing feeling knowing that people all over Panem know my name now. I am a role model for people now and it was weird at first but now there isn't a single thing that I can think of that I would rather be doing." She flips her hair, pops her hip and gives the camera and award winning smile.

"Last question Ms. Franklin, when you think back to the moments after you won the first annual hunger games, what was going through your mind?

Regret. Hatred. Sadness.

"I was just overjoyed that I did something honorable for district 11. There is no greater honor, really. I couldn't wait to get back an be involved with helping out with the many games to come in the future!" I hold back the tears willing myself to wait until I am alone. I rush off of the platform I am on and the tears start falling.

"Great job Dahlia." Estelle Geofferson pats her on the back.

"Right. Great." she wipes away her silent tears before the Head Game maker notices.

"What a shame we all became such fragile, broken things.
A memory remains just a tiny spark.
I give it all my oxygen,
To let the flames begin"

Estelle Geofferson:

Head game maker:

"This year needs to be different,We need some pizazz if you will." she taps her pen on the desk in front of her as she complains to her assistant.

"The last two were good Estelle." her assistant Gregory chimes in.

"Exactly. They were just good. We want great. We want amazing. We want the best yet. Besides, there is something special about the number three, don't you think?" Estelle has a crazed look on her face.

"I mean I guess." Gregory states plainly.

"We need to show the citizens of Panem that this isn't a joke."

"With all do respect mam, I don't think anyone thinks it's a joke." her assistant says meekly.

"Do I pay you to question my thinking Gregory?"

"No mam." Gregory replies with an offended look on his face.

"Then stop the sounds that are coming from your face and just nod." her short blonde hair shakes as she laughs and her deep brown eyes shine with anticipation.

"This year, is going to better than ever before. I can see it now. Ugh I am such a genius. I can't handle it sometimes. I'm surprised my head isn't the size of a blimp to be quite honest with you Gregory."

Gregory nods.

"May the odds be forever in their favor... it's about to get real... sticky." Estelle says slamming shut the laptop she was looking at.

I enjoyed writing this chapter because now more and more ideas for the rest of this part of the story are coming to mind.

I also just wanted to say that the Prologue chapters and the Capitol chapters are going the be the only ones written in third person. The Rest of them will be in first. I confused the heck out of myself for a second so that is whats going to happen.

Sooo Y'all should submit. :) It will be a lot of fun for me to get to work with them so ya know, please :) haha

There is a form on my profile.

xoxo

Jenna!