I'mma level with you, I'm drunk right now. I'm 24 and thought I should finally see what it's like. So if I get up tomorrow and this is incomprehensible gibberish, I'll redo it. Because right now I can barely type.

Jaydalin Elliots- District Two female

Nobody told me what to do. I did what I wanted, for no one but me. But I loved my baby sister.

Mercura shouldn't even be sick. They had vaccines for things like this. My little sister had the measles. No one even gets measles anymore. Why would anyone get measles when we've had a vaccine for two hundred years? Because the vaccine wasn't free, that was why. It was free for Capitolites, not that they needed it. They had gene therapy before they were born. It was free for Peacekeepers and the families they weren't allowed to have. For the only ones that actually needed it- the District families, the ones living in poverty- it was unreachable. So we died useless, unnecessary deaths.

You needed an appointment to see the Headmaster of the Academy in District Two. I didn't give a rat's ass. I threw the door open and stormed inside.

"You're going to pick me next year," I said to the tan, leanly muscular man behind the desk.

"Miss… Elliots?" the man asked, glancing at the wallet-sized portraits tacked to a billboard on the wall. "I don't remember an appointment with you…?"

"Because I don't have one. I'm just here to tell you to pick me," I said.

"There are many deserving students who want to enter the Arena. You're not unique," the man said, maintaining his composure.

"I don't care about them. I'm the one you're going to send," I said.

"And what makes you so special?" the man asked, glancing at his watch. Two burly security guards entered the room, but he made no move to signal them.

"I…" I hadn't really thought that far. "I'm strong and smart. I'll win."

"Every candidate thinks the same about themselves," the man said.

"But I'm actually right," I said.

"Miss Elliot." The man fiddled with his glasses and rumpled some papers I knew had nothing to do with us. "Your enthusiasm is noted. I see from your performance evaluations that you're doing very well. It's very possible you will be chosen. But the decision lies with the school board. If you'll take my advice, you'll focus on training until you're eighteen. That's two more years of preparation. More training is never a bad thing. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm very busy." He looked pointedly at the door, daring me to make a scene.

I scowled for a moment, then left. I didn't need anyone making me look weak by escorting me out. I'd said my piece, and I knew when enough was enough. I didn't need his approval. The only way to get into the Arena was to earn it. I wanted to be my little sister's savior. To do that, I had to be better than anyone else. No one was going to do it except me.

Kodiak Alward- District Two male

My sister Jess advanced on the skinny Seam boy huddled on the edge of the cliff. His gray eyes went wide as she drew back her arm and threw the axe. He ducked at the last moment, and it went hurtling off the cliff. It was no matter- she could still choke the life from his barehanded. She stepped toward him, and the slightest breeze hit her face. She didn't see the forcefield that bounced the axe back in the air, curving it like a boomerang. She didn't see her own axe hurtling toward her until it buried itself between her eyes. She sank to her knees, then fell facedown, the axe propping her limp head off the ground.

I jolted awake in bed, tears on my cheeks and sweat covering my body. It wasn't often I had the nightmares, but each was like the first time. Being a Career wasn't as hard as being related to one, and that was something people who weren't in the business would never know. When you die, your pain is all done. When someone you love dies, all their pain transfers to you.

Sometimes I wished I was born in a different District. I knew the Games were good and brought prestige and riches to Two, but I felt like an imposter. I loved other people, and I hated seeing people in pain. I felt connected to everyone I ever met, and when they were hurt, I was hurt. It seemed like a mistake that I was born in Two. But then, it was just right for Jess, and it was worth it if I could have her as my sister.

I wondered often if other Careers felt the way I did before they volunteered. I'd asked Jess the week before her Reaping. She said she just felt excited, almost like she was drunk. She expressed it outwardly, cracking jokes and talking to everyone before she left. I felt locked up inside myself. I kept running through scenarios in my head, psyching myself up and preparing myself for anything that might happen. It kept me up at night thinking of all the ways I could die, and it put butterflies in my stomach thinking of all the ways I could win.

It was the day of the Reaping, and I was glad I'd gone to bed early the night before. I wasn't going into the Arena yet, but I was still glad for the energy. I wanted to look alert and ready when I stood on the stage. Sponsors were as important as weapons. I would be up against five other Careers as trained and ready as I was. Sponsors could make all the difference.

I tried to put my sister out of my mind as I got out of bed. My heart was still racing, and my chest still throbbed like it did whenever something reminded me of her. Whether it was the scent of brown sugar like her perfume, or the sight of someone with a brown pixie cut, any reminder of her could sent my pulse through the roof and give me a panic attack.

Many Careers spent a lot of time planning and preparing their Reaping outfits. It was our first impression on Panem, and it could mean a lot. I knew the seriousness, and I chose appropriately. I picked out a black shirt and black dress pants. I had a code I used for myself. Different colors for different mindsets, and black meant focus. That was what would win it for me. A gun could be powerful and deadly, but it didn't mean anything if it didn't hit the target. Focus was everything. Focus separated the enthusiastic Career from the successful one. Last year, if Valerian had been more focused and less enthusiastic, we would have won.

I'd waited a long time for this moment. Jess was selected when she was sixteen. I'd wondered if they might do the same with me. I would have declined. Every second of training was invaluable. I wasn't selected at sixteen or seventeen, and that was the right decision. I'd learned so much in those two years. I'd grown from a by-the-rules student to an assured, independent fighter. I knew what the Games could do to a formidable Career, and I wouldn't underestimate them. Whether or not I really wanted to kill anyone, I wasn't going to put anyone's life before my own. Even if I didn't want to kill, I was ready to stay alive.

Jaydalin: Long, Chesnut brown hair down to her shoulders she usually does in a bun. She has blue-grey eyes, a few freckles here and there, and an althetic build. She is also taller than most girls her age due to her whole family being tall.

Kodiak: Light brown hair that's short and tangled, pale and freckled skin, hints of acne around the hairline and a fairly large and muscled frame. Has a light blue eye and a light green eye, around five feet and nine inches.

PS I don't write normal Reaping scenes because they get really repetitive and there's only so much to write when you've done like 300 of them.

PS I did Two next because I try to do them in order, not that it matters