District Ten Reaping

Cassandra Walker, 15

I wake up to four eyes staring at me. I jump up in shock to a sitting position and look to see Lacy and Helen as the burst into laughter at my reaction. A smile manages to creep onto my face; I like to see Helen happy. She is just seven and unlike most her at the community center she just recently lost her parents. It is hard on the small girl. I guess it makes me somewhat glad I never knew my family. This way I don't have to remember losing them like Helen does.

Smiling I ruffle Helen's hair and get up. "So what is the reason for waking me up at the break of dawn on a weekend?" I ask giving a yawn and stretching before twirling a red wave.

Lacy frowns. It is unlike her to frown. I mean Lacy is the most talkative and outgoing person I know, frowning isn't really her thing. I have always hated to see people sad and to see the person who is basically my sister frown doesn't really make me happy. "Reaping today." She says. I frown; well now I know why she is so upset.

I let out a sigh and give a thin smile. "Well come on lets go meet up with Jake and get some breakfast then before we get ready." I say and that makes them a little happier but it is hard to penetrate and get rid of the thick cloud of sadness that the reaping brings. District Ten rarely has Victors. It makes my heart sink. Last year we got so close, yet it was a boy from one who won in the end.

Helen puts her hand in mine and I walk next to Lacy with the seven year old trailing behind me. She is too innocent and young to fully understand the Games but I do not underestimate her, after all her parents are dead and she had to live in a random place that isn't too nice with strangers. I feel bad that none of her relatives would take her in. It makes me squeeze her hand tighter.

We walk out of the room packed with old cots that is the girl's room and into the hall just as the door to the boy's room opposite open and out walks Jake. He sees us and smile. These are my friends. All of us live in the community center. Though Jake has become like a big brother to us all. He is just that type of person.

"Come on I got a loaf of bread for breakfast." He says and with that he grabs our attention. We don't starve but we don't eat too well. It is no lie what we have to do sometimes for food. As Jake tells us this he exchanges a look with me. I understand this.

He stole it. We really don't like to steal. We mostly steal from the people who run this place, but we are not complete thieves. We only steal food that keeps us alive and sometimes a gift for Helen for when she needs cheering up. But we just steal from the owners of this place. Who deserve it since many times they have held back food shipped from the Capitol to give to us and eat it by themselves.

Jake leads us into the boy's room. Luckily it is empty and we all sit on his bread and he pulls from under the sheets a warm loaf of bread. My eyes widen at the good find. How did he get that thing? I don't ask questions as he breaks it into four. He gives each of us one and then the last for himself. We don't talk while we eat. But we eat it all quickly. It is warm with nuts inside. It makes me feel slightly better about today.

When finished I give out a tired sigh and wipe my hand on my shirt. "So we should be getting ready." I say.

"Of course meet you guys outside?" He asks us all and we all nod before getting up to leave him there to get ready and we get back to the girl's room and all change rather quickly. A simple worn gray dress, what do you expect an orphan to wear? The people who run the place could care less what we wear; they say we are lucky that we even were donated old dresses to wear.

I walk to the end of the room with the old slightly dusty mirror. I wipe away the dust and look at my reflection. Tousled and messy red colored waves that go past my shoulders. Then a splash of freckles on my skin. I have seen people with a lot more freckles but I do have a little bit on my cheeks. Then bright blue eyes. I turn away and look at Lacy and Helen. Their dresses are no better than mine though Helen's is too big and looks baggy on the small girl.

"Well we should get going." Lacy says with a smile. I nod and we both walk out with Helen between us. Once out of the Community Center we find Jake leaning against the wall in his best dress shirt and pants. Well also his only dress shirt and pants.

We hear the bell that announces to the District it is time to get going and we all walk up to Jake. "Come on guys." Jake says and we all walk through the dirt streets of District Ten. I can see a Peacekeeper keeping a close eye on us. We are obvious Orphans and he might even know that we are trouble. I and Jake have been caught before but we always manage to escape.

We reach the Town Center where we get checked in. The painful part is telling Helen to go and wait by herself and how to stay there before we come to get her. She nods and she goes to sit under a tree. I wonder if she can see from there. But as I am in line waiting to get my finger pricked for my blood I see another orphan girl, eleven, come and stand by her. Good she isn't alone.

Finally I am checked in and me and Lacy say goodbye to before we head off to our different sections and we stand waiting for everything to begin.

Like every year there is a video. Because obviously each year we forget why two kids from here need to be killed. Soon the Escort walks onto the stage, Natta. She has been with Ten for a while now. She smiles. "Ladies first?" She says. I wonder how she can stand smiling. I know she must love this but it really gets me curious how she can like this. I don't get it. But I want to understand. I have always been very curious, just my nature I guess.

I exchange a look with Lacy as she picks a name and opens the folded paper and smiles. "A pretty name!" She says. "Cassandra Walker!" My heart nearly stops. Was that me? Is that my name? Why does it have to be me?

This is not good, this is very bad. I take a deep breath before starting with my head held high; I need to confront this with a brave face. The idea I would look weak doesn't make me feel better and I won't let that happen. I won't be that girl who everyone sees and admittedly knows they are a bloodbath. I reach the stage taking Natta's hand as she helps me up. Everyone is staring at me. I don't like being stared at. It bothers me.

I sit down and wait. Natta goes to the second bowl for the boys and picks out a slip of paper for the boy who will be reaped. She read it out loud into the microphone standing on the stage. "Anthony Underwood!" I skim the crowd trying to see who it is. I nearly gasp when I see who it is.

The crowd of boys part to reveal the strangest looking boy I have ever seen. I think the name is Albino, I know it is possible but it still looks freakish. The albino boy named Anthony walks up through the crowd. I didn't even know someone Albino lived in District Ten. I suppose Capitol people would love to be Albino. Their freakish colors.

Changing my thoughts I exchange a look with Jake. He looks sad but not panicked. He gives me a nod of the head that calms me down. But in the end I am still sitting on this stage, I am still a tribute for the 61st Hunger Games.

District Ten

Anthony Underwood, 15

I walk through the crowd to go and check into the table so I can get into the crowd and have this reaping over with. The Games are such a waste of time. I see the woman sitting at the table take my pale hand and stare at me like I am a freak. I swear some people should at least try to act like I don't look like a freak. It might be rare to be an albino but it isn't impossible. And besides some albinos have piercing red eyes. Mine are a light, strangely colored with tints of red but not as freakish. I can't help how I was born.

Ignoring her stares she takes my blood and I walk away going to the section for fifteen year old boys. People snicker at me.

"Hey snow boy." An older boy says as he bumps into me as he walks to the section for eighteen year old boys. I frown at him before rolling my eyes and then look to the stage. Luckily it is cloudy today, sun doesn't really do well with me. It also earns me the nickname Vampire. Like it is my fault I am sensitive to the sun.

Like how it isn't my fault my mom is dead. Though I have trouble believing that. I just have come to a realization that part of me truly believes it is my fault. And it doesn't help in that accident while I came out alive I came out blind in one eye. Just one more thing to give people a reason to bother me or call me names. There is an endless list of names you can say.

Natta, the escort. Watches the screen with a smile as the same old video plays. I feel my breath getting slightly faster as I see Natta walk to the bowl. But it is fine, girls are always called first. I relax a little but even if I can in no way be called from that bowl since my name isn't even that doesn't stop the fact the other boy does have my name it in it a lot and that people will be taken from District Ten. I really don't even think my tormentors deserve to die a brutal death.

She picks out a slip of paper and reads it for all to hear. "Cassandra Walker!" She says into the microphone. I look to see a girl. She looks brave enough as she makes her way to the stage. Her tousled red waves and bright blue eyes. She gets up onto the stage and sits down. I see her give a look to a boy in the eighteen year old section though I can't see who I just know what area her gaze is directed to.

Time for the boys. I have trouble breathing as she walks and picks out a boy's name. "Anthony Underwood." The crowd parts for me everyone knowing where the freak boy is standing. I swallow and walk to the stage. I was just called, my name was called. This can't be right!

I even see that Cassandra girl staring at me weirdly. It hurts a bit but I just get onto the stage. "Shake hands now!" Natta says and Cassandra gets up and we shake hands. She seems a little bit more put together now with my appearance and gives me a thin smile. We both sit down.

After the reaping we are soon pushed into a car with Natta and then speeding off to the Justice Building where I will get to see my father one last time before I am shipped off to the Capitol.

"So hello you two how old are you both?" Natta asks staring at us.

"Fifteen." We say at the same time and I see her cheeks go red at our harmony and I just look down until we come to a stop at the Justice Building. Possibly the nicest place in all of Ten. Actually it is defiantly the nicest. We are shoved by Peacekeepers and then I am separated from Cassandra and shoved harshly into a room. I sit down and wait.

As expected my first visitor is my own father. He enters the room. I inherited my traits from my mother, though she isn't around. My father has light hair and eyes but is not albino. He come and embraces me in a hug.

I feel bad, that it is my fault mom is dead. We were walking in the night through District Ten. That is when we saw the car, it is rare to see cars in District Ten especially since we are rather poor so I was stunned at the sight of it but my mother knew better. She pushed me into the grass as it came towards us. She saved my life that night from the drunk driver. A drunken victor. But I still got hit and it blinded me in my one eye. Not that I could see well in the other anyway.

"That was your name." My father says.

I nod, "I know dad. It was my name." I tell him. I am taller than him already. I don't know what to say to him to comfort him, there really isn't anything I can say. But I need to try. "Dad I will fight. I will fight as hard as I can. But I probably won't be making it back." I can keep trying to calm hem or comfort him but I can't. He is the adult. "I am sorry dad I will fight but if I don't come home you need to keep on working and hold yourself together."

He looks at me, "I know you will try but what will I do if you die?"

"You will keep on living I say." Then a thought makes me laugh a little. "Won't you be glad to not have the District's freak living with you anymore?" I don't know if this is a joke but I figure my dad we deny it saying I am not a freak but what he says surprises me.

"If I thought people who looked like you were freaks do you think I would have married your mother?" I think it over for a moment. It is true.

I hear the footsteps of Peacekeepers outside of the doors. I hug my father again. "You need to try your hardest." My father says.

As Peacekeepers come in dragging his arm towards the door he is staring at me for my reply. I nod my head in response. "I will dad." I say as the door slams behind him and I am on my own. I am the freak of the District and quiet so naturally I don't really have any friends, which means no visitors. This means I am on my own until they come to get me.

I sit down looking around the room. It is the fanciest room I have ever seen. And the sunlight is peaking through the window I look down into the ground. I need to fight but if I die will anyone care besides my father? I want to believe people will but I don't know. All I know is I am ready to fight for my life.

I usually update at first very fast. Though usually I don't update a lot in one day usually no more than once. As you can see it no longer has the SYOT open in the summary of the story anymore. I made it more legal by having the miniature chapter thing at the beginning of chapter one but I don't want to attract people who just want to get this deleted to this story. So I am just going leave it out. And reviews are awesome and encouraging!It also lets me know you are still here. And also we have the official tribute list! Wow already! This story was put up on Thursday and it is now Saturday! Anyway the last spot for eleven is empty for now but someone is entering a tribute into it so that is why it is empty right now.

So what do you guys think of Cassie and Anthony? I like them. I like all the tributes actually. They are unique and different in my opinion. Though I still need to get use to them all.