District Two Reapings

Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games, but I do own the characters of the 38th Hunger Games and Capitol viewers. However, the idea of the Hunger Games isn't mine.

"District One careers are so boring!" Julia said, watching Aaron on screen.

Valerie nodded her head in agreement, but Jeff protested loudly.

"Are you serious? That guy's totally going to win! I'm for him!"

"You're always cheering for the District One tributes," Valerie reminded him.

"Well they win, don't they?"

"They do, or the other Careers," Brandon agreed. "I don't like that one much, though."

"There's still Districts Two and Four," Julia said.

"Maybe if all of you stop talking, we'll actually hear what they're saying in District Two!" Randy said, drawing the attention of the group to the screen, where an escort was walking forwards to draw the names of the tributes.

"What's the escort's name again?" Jeff asked.

"Brooke, I think. Was she the same escort as last year?" Julia answered.

"No, I think she changed districts."

"You're missing it!" Brandon said.

The escort reached into the ball with the names of females. "Aquaria Impetus!"

A young girl walked towards the stage, her eyes wide. She had long blonde hair that swung behind her as she climbed.

Brooke crossed over to the male reaping ball.

"Adrian Caumen!"

The second tribute entered the stage proudly, looking pleased to be in the spotlight. He wasn't as old as Aaron, and despite his swagger, Jeff didn't think he'd come out on top if the two Careers got into a fight. Still, he'd probably be able to collect a couple kills. Disappointing, in Jeff's opinion. District Two was supposed to be better than that.

"Volunteers?"

"I volunteer!" a male stepped forward, wanting to take Adrian's place.

"Good, maybe he'll be better," Jeff thought.

Adrian narrowed his black eyes, trying to look intimidating. In Jeff's opinion, he wasn't pulling it off particularly well. The other potential tribute stared back, refusing to let Adrian win.

"Adrian, would you like to back out of the 38th Hunger Games?" Brooke asked. Jeff loved the way she phrased that, making it sound cowardly not to compete.

"No." He hissed the word through clenched teeth, and Jeff gained a bit more respect for Adrian.

For a moment, it looked as though the opposing boy was going to start a fight, but he chose to angrily back down, contenting himself with a scowl.

"That was a shame!" Randy said, drawing Jeff out of the world of the games.

"That other one would have been much better. It looks like both the tributes from District Two are going to be out before the final eight this year," Jeff agreed.

"I don't know," Julia said. "That little one, Aquaria…It's not like District Two to have such a wimp."

"Someone should have volunteered for her, too," Jeff said. "Look at her, she's pathetic."

"At least she seems to know it, unlike that other kid," Valerie said. "I don't know about you all, but I'm hoping he gets taken out pretty quickly. He's got a horrible ego with nothing to back it up."

Randy laughed. "We'll see."

Back on screen, Adrian and Aquaria shook hands, Aquaria looking even smaller next to the large boy. Adrian looked down at her, squeezing her hand, hoping she would wince.

To his surprise, she did not. Instead, she squeezed back, almost matching his strength. For just a moment, her wide eyes narrowed, and she stared at her District Partner with a ferocity that surprised the older boy.

They turned back to the crowd, and Adrian watched as the look on her face became innocent once more. He smiled. Perhaps his partner wouldn't be as useless as he thought.

Ex Diversitate Vires - From Diversity, Strength.

Author's Note: What did you think? I'm trying to keep the Capitol Viewers from becoming those characters that are sometimes re-introduced halfway through the story and you have to go back to the beginning to find out what the author was thinking. I don't want the reapings to become too monotonous, so if they seem to be getting that way, let me know and I'll either go through them faster or try and change them up a bit. Anyways, feedback is always appreciated. Thank you so much for reading!