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This chapter is of Kellan Bronz's reaping, submitted by Cloudoffeathers.

Disclaimer: This is a FANfic, clearly we're fans not Suzanne Collins the hunger games universe belongs to her not us (however much we wish otherwise).

~The Lonely Geek and Cct0331

Kellan Bronz's POV (District 1 male)

Reaping day

Yawning, I look up at the ceiling and listen to the sounds of my younger brother, Lorrick, sleeping in the bunk below me. I'm glad he was able to sleep, I certainly wasn't. I hardly got any sleep because I was up all night worrying about the reaping. I have mixed feelings about going into the arena because I wish I could stay here in my bed. But I can't. I have to bring honor to my family, or something.

I realize the rhythmic breathing has stopped. Lorrick must be awake. I roll over and look at the bunk next to mine and see that Fritz, Cash, and Coin are all awake. Fritz, as usual, is twisting the bedsheets together to form some sort of knot, and the twins, Cash and Coin, are whispering to one another. I rub my eyes and sit up, shaking my hair out. The room is still dark, but I might as well turn the light on and get ready. I hear loud groans of complaint from Lorrick as I reach over and flip the light switch.

"Uurrrgg…" he grumbles, "Turn it back off!"

"Nope!" I say, clambering down onto his bunk. "Up you get! Its reaping day!" By this point Cash and Coin have left the room, presumably to fulfil whatever they were scheming earlier. Those two will have to behave a lot better when I go into the arena. Honestly, they are probably the world's most cunning 5-year-olds, ever! I grab an elastic from my closet and tie back my hair. Cooper, my dog, runs up to me and starts lapping at my ankles, begging to be fed. I pour some dog food and water into his bowls and rub his stomach.

When I get downstairs, I see my whole family, except Lorrick. Somehow, Fritz must have slipped out of the room while I was changing. My father and mother are in a quiet conversation at the head of the table, my sisters, Allie and Glinte are both eating, Fritz is reading the newspaper, and Cash and Coin are 'washing' the dishes with a suspicious looking fluid. Everyone stops when I walk in.

"Son! Ready to make us proud today?" my father says in a loud voice.

"Remember, I'll love you whether you win or not, though if not, you'll be dead, so i-" my mother rambles, not realizing how disheartening her statements are.

"Lollin!" my father exclaims, "Don't say stuff like that! Of course, he'll win!"

"Thanks, dad" I say, fresh fear beginning to take control of me. I take a few, deep breaths and remember why I'm doing this. I have to win to bring honor to my family. It's the only way to get rid of the scorn surrounding us. It wasn't always like this. Back when it was just me and my older, now gone, brother Tyler, we were like a normal district one family. Now however, my parents are mocked for having too many children. By the time Cash and Coin came around, we were laughing stocks. I have gotten into many fights to protect my family, but this is the first opportunity I have to really make a difference. I must win.

As the capitol worker injects my arm, I scan the crowd, quickly locating Al, my best friend. Her real name is Allebast, but she says that has too many syllables. I find her, already in her roped-off area and wave. She waves back and mouths Are you ready? at me. I shrug and she nods, acknowledging my worries. You'll do great she reassures me, and turns back to the stage.
I join my group, the 18-year-old males, and attempt to mentally prepare myself for the weeks to come. Hopefully, I will be in the capitol very shortly! The hard thing is that if I want to have my whole family join me, I will have to kill 9 people. Thankfully, I am saved from thinking of that horrific thought by the beginning of the reaping.

"Welcome!" our district representative yells, "I am very honored to announce the tributes from District 1! First, the female tribute."
She walks over to the large glass bowl and plucks a card from the side.
"The female tribute is… Tilsee Sky!" the crowd gasps and I see a little 12-year-old girl burst into tears as she squeezes her friends hand tightly. Thankfully, this is district 1, and no one who is reaped ever actually goes into the arena. Sure enough, an 18-year-old, tall, muscly, girl steps forward and volunteers in her place. I see the friend of the 12-year-old girl comforting her and whispering soothing words into her ear.

The volunteer, Gabrielle Duponte, walks, head held high, to the stage. She has the appearance of someone who has attempted to detach themselves from the rest of the world.

"Now, the male tribute!" I hear our representative announce, "Argon Lowcreek!"
I experience a moment of hesitation. Do I really want to do this? Am I willing to put my life at risk, just for honor? But then I think of the countless fights Glinte has come home from, claiming that the other person was worse off than she. I think of the hope in my parent's eyes, and my whole family sitting around the dinner table. Anything is worth it for them.

"I volunteer!" I shout, stepping forward. I see Al nodding and smiling and I know that I will make it to the Capitol, just to see that smile again.

The seat I sit at in the visiting room has got to be one of the best things ever. In fact, the entire room has a very cool, soothing, swirl vibe to it. The seat and walls are made of lava lamp material, and are slowly flowing and bubbling. Probably, this room is specifically designed for calming down the tribute. It certainly seems to be working on me. By the time my family and friends show up, I am almost completely relaxed.

First, my parents and younger siblings arrive. They hold me close and my dad whispers words of encouragement in my ear. All too soon, the peacekeeper is signaling that my time is almost up.
I turn to the twins saying, "You guys have to be good for mom and dad while I'm gone, okay?"

"Okay!" they both reply. Allie starts to leave, but then turns back and says, her eyes welling up with tears, "I know you can win, just make sure that when you come back you are still the brother I love." Glinte gives me one last hug, and then runs after her older sister.

"Fritz," I say, turning to my 12-year-old brother who just survived his first reaping, "Can you feed Cooper for me while I'm gone? Remember, I always admired your calm attitude while the rest of us were neck-deep in trouble. Stay chill, little bro."

"And you, Lorrick, I love you, even when you are a pain" I say, half chuckling, half crying. Next, I am visited by Tyler, my eldest brother, who left the house a year ago. He comes in and gives me a hug before telling me some random stuff about how he always wanted to be in my place and that I need to live up to his standards. Mostly, I realize that he is jealous that I am going into the arena, because he was never able to.

Lastly, Al runs in and gives me a big hug. She and I have always been the closest of friends, and I will probably miss her more than anyone else. She won the female volunteering rights, but didn't want to compete with me, so she decided not to volunteer.

"You have to win for both of us" she orders, shaking my shoulder, "I'll sponsor you as much as I can and am waiting for you to make it to the Capitol. Don't make me have given up my spot as tribute for nothing." She pauses and I know what she will say because she told me this before every fight at school,

"Win for me, win for you, but most of all, win for your family, Kellan!"