Quinna Moriarty, D2

Quinna climbed out of the bathtub, drying herself off with a fresh towel, which was rare in this house. She quickly changed into her reaping outfit, which was a hand-me-down from her mother. Quinna hated that even when she was dressed her best, she was still wearing secondhand clothes. Many of the others at the Academy came from Higher Society families, the sons and daughters of Peacekeepers, Victors and Merchants. But not Quinna. Her parents both worked in the quarries, breaking their backs to bring home scraps of food. If it wasn't for Quinna's tesserae, she'd be in no shape to even train at the Academy.

"You look wonderful, Quinn." said her mother as she came outside to put on her shoes. Quinna smiled and thanked her, but on the inside it was a lie. This dress wasn't beautiful. It was worn and frayed at the hems. Quinna had pulled what loose threads she could find before she'd left the bathroom.

As she slipped on her shoes, her brother came downstairs in his own Reaping outfit. It belonged to their father, who had been down at the quarries for the past two days, Despite her mother's constant insisting, Quinna had never seen the resemblance between her twin brother and herself. Callan was tall, dark haired like their father, and light skinned and freckled like their mother. Quinna had her mother's skin as well, but there was a distinct lack of freckles and color in her hair, which was near white in it's blue blonde hue. Not even her mother's hair was as light as Quinna's, which made her wonder sometimes where she'd gotten it from.

"You two get going. I have to meet your father at the shuttle stop from the Quarry and then we'll meet you at the Square." Her mother was just about to walk by when she turned and gave Quinna a quick kiss on the top of her head. "I'm so proud of you, sweetie."

Quinna hugged her mother goodbye for now. The real goodbye would come in a few hours, before she boarded the train for the Capitol. Then she and Callan set off for the Square.

Callan was quiet most of the walk there. Quinna knew why, too. He wasn't happy that she was going to the games. Her parents understood her want to train and compete, and even encouraged her, but Callan had never seen the appeal of the games. He seemed perfectly content to live a life of breaking rocks in exchange for bread. That life had never been for Quinna, though. Honestly, the thought of spending the rest of her life in that cycle made her want to die. So the Games were her only other option.

At the square, she hugged her brother and went to check in with the Peacekeepers. The one taking the blood for verification was her friend Jules' father. She'd been over their home, once, after an extra session of training. Jules, or any of her friends for that matter, had never seen Quinna's home. If they knew she came from the poorest part of the District, they might think differently of her. Her situation was only apparent through her clothes, but they were no where close to the degree of poverty her house portrayed.

"Quinna!" she heard from behind her as she walked to her place in the frontmost section. It was Colin, her district Partner, flagging her down through the crowd. Quinna froze, and stood there, shocked.

"You know how odd it will look to see the two people that are volunteering to be talking to each other right before the Reaping, right, Carlton?" She said as he reached her. The boy towered over her, and had one of the most menacing demeanors she'd ever seen, but he was one of her closest friends. He'd been a wreck last year, when his boyfriend Peter died in the Games, coming in second. Second! He'd come so close to coming home, and Colin had been so full of hope, but that Colin practically vanished when Elle had killed him. Only a few people still got glimpses of that old Colin, so full of life and spirit. Quinna was one of those lucky few.

"I just wanted to say good luck." He said, then added, jokingly, "You'll need it." Quinna laughed, although she knew the hidden meaning in his words. Colin would probably be the one to beat this year, and there was no double Victor allowance to save Quinna. Once the games began, she had to let go of their previous friendship and see him, in the end, as her competition, fighting for that one shot at life.

The block on the justice building struck one, signaling the start of the Reaping.

Colin Carlton, D2

Colin stood there in his spot, frozen. The memories had come flooding back with the chime of the clock. This time last year, he'd been standing here in the square, one section back, and holding Peter's hand. He could still feel Peter' s touch. Stong, sturdy, and alive. Warm and alive, a strong contrast to the last glimpse he'd gotten of his boyfriend.

They'd sent his body back to Two in a cardboard box, along with the other five losing tributes from the District. All crowded into one room, the families of these six had grieved, but none more-so than Colin. He stayed there that entire night with Peter, holding his hand and hoping that, by some miracle, he'd wake up. Wake up and kiss him and tell him that it had all been a horrible dream. But sadly, that dream was crushed when his parents, along with the other Mentors that had loved Peter like like family, arrived from the Capitol the next day. Colin left them their time to mourn, but as he left the room, he passed them by. Paxton, his friend from the Academy, the one who was supposed to come home with Peter as Victors, and her. The pathetic, evil Capitol girl who'd taken Peter's life. Colin had fought every urge to kill her right then and there.

Colin snapped back to the present as the Mayor concluded his annual speech, ending with a congratulations to last years Victors. The traitors took their place on stage beside the podium as the whole of the district, save those who had loved Peter, clapped and sheered for them.

"Let's look forward to a two-time winning streak." said Renaldo, as he pulled the first of the two names. He took his place at the microphone again, and called out the name of some girl. He heard a squeal come from one of the farthest groups. The girl must have been young. It didn't matter. He watched as Quinna shot her hand into the air. She volunteered herself, and ran to the stage, ignoring Renaldo's offer to help her up the steps. Colin remembered back to last year, when the last girl to be reaped was the one that was meant to die in the bloodbath. She had never been any real threat to the rest of the tributes from Two. And yet, here she was, standing on stage, her hands intertwined with Paxton's. The sight made Colin want to be sick.

"Please welcome our first tribute for District Two, Quinna Moriarty." said Renaldo, his hand on Quinna's back as he brought her off to the side. She was standing beside Paxton and Elle, and Colin loved that Quinna didn't look happy about it. Renaldo walked over to the boy's Reaping ball and dug out the next name. As he walked back, Colin prepared himself. He knew all eyes would be on him, especially because of Peter. And that was good. It would mean that people still remembered Peter.

"Our tribute for the boys is…Yuri Garfield!" Colin gave the boy named Yuri a moment of panic. Then, he shook his head in a bout of dramatic flair, and shot forward.

"I volunteer." He said. Colin didn't rush the stage like he'd seen so many Careers do. He needed to make an impression. And a slow walk to the stage would do just that. He kept his head low, eyes raised and locked with Renaldo's.

Colin was going to be a tribute that no other tribute would ever want to face.

What did you guys think of this Reaping? How do you feel about Quinna and Colin? Are they going to be a threat in the Games? We got to see a little bit of Elle and Paxton here. We'll see more of them on the train ride to the Capitol. Next up is the district 3 Reaping. I am still missing the male tribute for that district, so if you want to submit something, submit for that slot, because I'm gonna start writing that chapter soon.

If you haven't voted, please vote on the poll on my profile. There are a bunch of little short stories that I wanted to write based off of "The Fourth Quarter Quell", and the poll is to see which one you guys would want to see first.

Please review, they help. Especially in the beginning when you first meet the tributes.

I'll try to get the next Reaping to you guys tomorrow.

- Sarah.