This is it. District 1 is happening, right now. I know that I'm writing already, but I NEED TRIBUTES! Please keep submitting, guys!

Zella Dempsey, 18. District 1

"There." My mother straightens my emerald dress of fine cotton and tucks a stray hair back into my pristinely assembled waterfall braid, obsessively checking the knot to make sure that it's good and tight. I shrug her off.

"It's fine, Mother," I huff, applying a pale pink gloss to my lips. Being one of the wealthiest families in District 1, we're able to afford such luxuries. "I just want to get to the reapings."

I watch her in the mirror as she raises her plucked brown eyebrows. "Excited? Zella, this is your last chance at the Hunger Games. There's little to no way that you'll have a chance at being reaped. Don't get your hopes up."

"I'll make you proud," I insist. "After Lorraine—"

My mother raises her hand, eyes closed. "Zella. I don't want to hear any of it. What happened three years ago to your sister has no effect on your chances of being reaped, let alone winning. Just…just go."

I frown. My mother, Femma Dempsey, has been irritable and short with me ever since my older sister died in the Games three years ago. I'm determined, though, to regain my family's sense of pride in the world. I stand up abruptly, shrugging off my mother's hands and walking to the door to my bedroom, slipping on my polished black high heels. "I'm going to meet up with Gemma," I mutter, whipping the door open. "I'll see you at the reapings."

With that, I flounce out of the room and slam the door behind myself, ignoring my mother's irritated calls of my name. And who said that all divas are teenagers? I laugh to myself.

Colakis Maphen, 18. District 1

"Don't do it," Marianthe whispers in my ear. I turn my head and kiss her cheek, stroking a tear from the alabaster skin there.

"I won't follow through with it. Just because Neas is telling me to volunteer for the Games doesn't mean that I'll actually do it," I insist to my girlfriend quietly.

She buries herself more deeply in my arms, walking with me towards the main square of District 1. There's the Justice Building, made from white marble and studded with lights that reflect gloriously off of the gems embedded at choice intervals. There's already a large crowd jostling in the square; Marianthe and I must almost be late. I catch a glimpse of my best friend, Neas, a well-built guy of eighteen. His golden buzz cut glitters in the blinding sunlight as he sprints towards us.

"Hey!" he calls once he draws near. Neas locks his eyes with mine. "So are you gonna do it?" he asks, his tone serious and mocking at the same time.

I glare at him. "No."

"Wimp," he shoots back. "And you call yourself a District 1 guy!"

I turn away from him, grabbing Marianthe's hand and pulling her closer to the stage. Neas, the jackass that he is, follows behind at a smug pace. At the moment, I hate him.

The idiot from the Capitol, a certain Ianan Ugg, steps onto the stage to thunderous applause, whistles, and cheers. He's one of the most odd-looking things in all of Panem, tall and gangly like a spider and with these horrid acid-green wings surgically attached to his back. His slicked-back neon blue hair shines with the glare from the sun. "People of District 1," he begins, going on to prattle about the history of Panem, the story of the rebellion, all of the same stuff. Finally, two Avoxes bring the massive glass bowls filled with the names of every eligible teenager in all of District 1. Ianan smiles up at us with unnaturally white teeth, his eyes glinting maliciously.

"Let's begin."

Zella Dempsey, 18. District 1

"Ladies first." Ianan dips a clawed hand into the glass orb and retrieves a single white card, waving it in the air for all to see before examining it. "Our female tribute is...Lana Cartwright."

A thirteen-year-old with her hair in a single white-blond ponytail steps out of the crowd of her friends, walking slowly towards the stage. I feel a pang of sympathy, and my friend, Gemma, gives a sigh of weariness. This girl, despite probably being trained all her life, is going to be no match for the rest of the tributes that will probably come her way. But still, no other girl volunteered, just letting Lana walk to her certain death.

But I know that I can save her. I can do this and still make my family proud, regaining the respect that District 1 had ceased to feel for us when my older sister was the first person killed in the bloodbath three years ago. I swallow and step out of the crowd. "I volunteer!" I yell loudly, quelling all of my nervousness and raising my chin.

Ianan glances at me, and I can see Lana let out a relieved sigh. Ianan regains his composure and throws his arms wide. "Come up, then!" he announces.

I walk to the platform, steeling myself and covering my face with a not entirely genuine smile. Ianan asks me my name. I look out at the crowd and state, "My name is Zella Dempsey."

For a heart-wrenching moment, the mob is silent. My fake smile fades. But then the people of District 1 start to cheer for me, and suddenly I'm grinning and laughing so hard that I can barey hear as Ianan announces, "Ladies and gentleman of District 1, here is your female tribute, Zella Dempsey!"

And isn't that the most wonderful thing to hear?

Colakis Maphen, 18. District 1

I watch as Zella gives the crowd a final dazzling smile before she draws to the side. Ianan motions with a spindly hand and the Avoxes move the girls' orb and replaces it with the boys' one.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen," he drawls. "That was quite the reception for Zella. But now we must choose the male tribute." The crowd hushes as that familiar clawed hand scoops out the card that holds the fate of a single boy. He opens it and smiles. "Ladies and gentlemen, our very own Neas Rinoh!"

My jaw drops and I look behind myself at Neas, who is wearing an expression halfway between shock and elation. His eyes meet mine as he steps into the large aisle that leads to the platform. Do it, he mouths to me, and I can't believe him. He still wants me to volunteer, even for him?

But maybe he's on to something. My dad's been training me for this since I could walk, and he'd be disappointed if I just squandered that all just because I was a coward. And now Neas is giving me a look that seems to hold all the accusations in the world, and I can't bear it and before I know it I'm ripping my hand from Marianthe's and I'm stepping forward-

"I, Colakis Maphen, volunteer as tribute!"

The people of District 1 immediately burst into cheers for me as I ascend to the stage, shoving Neas out of the way. I brush past Ianan, making sure to aim a quick grin at the applauding crowd. I share a glance with Zella. She gives me a fleeting grin and nods in acknowledgement; at that moment I know that we have an alliance, at least for now.

Ianan spreads his arms in welcome and laughs, "Well, District 1, this is it! In just a little while, Zella and Colakis will be off to the Capitol to get ready for the 32nd Hunger Games!" He allowed the applause to draw on before ushering Zella and me into the Justice Building.

Soon after he leaves us in the foyer, my father, sister, brother, and Marianthe enter the room. My dad gruffly pats my back and smiles. "You did well, son," he tells me, gives me one last lingering look, and then leaves.

My ten-year-old brother, Dalton, approaches and gives me a hug, looking up at me with sad green eyes. "You're coming back, right?" he asks. He doesn't know that the Hunger Games are just massacres; we don't let him watch them. I look down at him and nod wordlessly, unable to speak past the knot in my throat. Dalton smiles. "Good."

His retreating figure is replaced by my older sister's. Koda takes my hands and kisses my forehead. "I hate these Games," she murmurs to me, "but I have a feeling that you'll kick ass." She smiles weakly and walks away.

Marianthe approaches last, crushing me in a massive hug. She buries her head in my chest, and I feel hot tears wet my shirt. "Why?" she whispers.

"I had to."

She pulls away from me and grabs something from around her neck. She grabs my shoulders, turns me around, and clips something around my own neck. I look down and see a bronze and gold pendant resting on my chest, dangling from a sturdy golden chain. The pendant is a disc with a diameter of about an inch. "Now you'll always have me," she murmurs to me. I try to reach for her, but Marianthe flees from the room, her sobs echoing against the walls.

"Bye," I whisper to nobody in particular.

Zella Dempsey, 18. District 1

I sit on the train next to Colakis, alternating between watching the scenery flash by and observing my district partner. He's well-muscled and tall, with shoulder-length brown hair. I turn away and fiddle with the round golden pendant around my neck. It is a gift from my father, who is a master engraver.

Ianan walks into the train compartment and beckons us to dinner. I share a glance with Colakis and get up, following Ianan's bobbing wings to the dining car.

The rolling of the train reminded me that I shouldn't be enjoying myself, that I'm on a train taking me to my death. I picked at my food, noticing Colakis doing the same.

It was going to be a long train ride.

Remember, I need tributes! And it'd be awesome if they were either really young (12-14) and bloodbath kids. I need both. Yeah, so I'd love some reviews. (Note: They may help your tribute's survival in the long run. Hint, hint.)