Evelyn Jenkins, District 5

The sun was just coming over the horizon, warming the chilly air as I walked home through the grasslands surrounding District 5. I knew I wasn't supposed to be there, but as I walked, swinging my basket from side to side, everything just felt so right. So peaceful. So perfect.

That was pretty much how I started every morning. I woke up before dawn, washed my face with cold water, scraped back my long brown hair into its usual ponytail and snuck through a gap in the district's fence to gather food. It wasn't easy supporting a family of ten.

When people hear that I come from a family of ten, there are only ever two reactions. They either laugh at my parent's stupidity, because seriously, who in their right mind could think that they could have the means to support all their children, or they shake their head sadly. They probably think that most of us won't survive. They're right, of course. If it weren't for me entering the grasslands illegally everyday, half of us would be dead by now. That, and the tesserae I take out every year.

I shuddered when I realised how many times my name would be entered this year. 29 times. That's more then most of the eighteen-year-olds in the district. The odds were definitely not in my favour. I really missed having Joanna and Wesley to share the burden with, but now that they're both over the age of eighteen, it's up to me to claim the tesserae.

I couldn't help feeling a bit angry when I thought about my two older siblings. They left us to fend for ourselves the minute they finished school. Their excuse is that they have no time to visit us because of their work in the power plants and have barely enough money to feed themselves. I didn't believe that one bit. They left our struggling family the moment they could.

Ducking under the district fence, I ran towards the town as fast as I could. One would think that all this running everyday would make me fit, but my pathetic body rejects any form on physical activity and soon I was out of breath. I'm often told my slender build is perfect for running, but people should really tell my 'slender build' that.

"Mom, I'm home!" I shouted as soon as I entered the house. "And I have breakfast!"

A toddler came running into the room at that moment, his fat little legs wobbling with the pressure of supporting his chubby body. Another toddler followed. And then another, who crashed into the second sending them both to the ground. I couldn't help but smile at them. I would do anything to keep them happy, even if that meant taking out tesserae. Watching them just seemed to make it all okay.

An older boy followed the toddlers.

"Mom's out the back," said my brother, Konrad. "She told me to tell you to leave the food on the table and get ready for the reaping. It's early today."

"Alright then," I replied, ruffling his hair as I walked past. "Just watch those three, will you?"

Konrad didn't look please. "Fine," he muttered, looking away from me to the three children sitting happily on the ground. "But you owe me."

I smiled and shook my head. "You'd just better hope that I'm not reaped today," I said, jokingly, "or looking after them will become your full time job."

With that, I turned and left the room, heading towards the back of the house where my bedroom was.

"I hope you get reaped today!" Konrad shouted after me.

I ignored his lame comeback and shut the door.

"You look beautiful," sighed Carter as I entered the living room. "I can't wait until I can dress up all pretty like you."

I couldn't help thinking how lucky she was not to have that opportunity yet. I was dressed in Joanna's first reaping outfit, a simple blue sundress completed with white sandals. Surprisingly, it was still too big for me. I didn't think I was that small.

"Pretty, sissy," said Estelle, rushing over to me so I could pick her up. Out of all my siblings, Estelle is the one I'm the closest with. Just after she was born, my mother became pregnant again, this time with three babies. Estelle became my priority soon after that. I can't complain though. She's the sweetest little girl I've ever met. It was hard to kiss her goodbye as I went to go stand with the other fourteen-year-olds in Town Square for the reaping. What if that was the last time I ever saw her happy?

"How you feeling?" a voice whispered in my ear as I slid into line.

I immediately knew who the voice belonged to. There was really only one person outside my family who would care enough to ask.

I smiled at my best friend. "Hey Bina. I'm alright, I guess. How you holding up?"

Before she could answer, there was a cruel laugh behind me. I groaned inwardly. I was not in the mood to deal with Vida Heller.

Vida was one of those girls who thought the whole world revolved around her and she just loved to remind people about it. Being the mayor's daughter, she's lived a pretty comfortable life and has never needed to take out tesserae. For some reason beyond my knowledge, she's always despised me, always picking on me, always putting me down. I think she takes my shyness as a form of timidness and she's completely right. I could never stand up to someone like her.

"I'd be scared right now if I were you, Jenkins," her malicious blues eyes looking me up and down in disgust. "I heard your name is in there 29 times this year! It will be hard for them notto pick you."

She laughed again and strutted passed me to join the rest of her friends who were all laughing too. Well, if I was reaped today, at least I wouldn't have to deal with all their crap ever again.

Up on the stage, Vida's father had just ended his speech. There was a weak round of applause and our district escort, Hestia Ammon made her appearance. This year, like every year, she was green. Green hair, green skin, green eyes, green clothes. She was like a walking, talking garden.

"Happy Hunger Games everyone," she squeaked in her unnaturally high voice. "And may the odds be everin your favour."

With my name entered 29 times today, the odds were definitely not in my favour.

"As always, ladies first!"

Her little green hand went daintily into the bowl, brushing over many pieces of paper before she finally took one. I knew who it was even before she read the name.

"Evelyn Jenkins!"

And there it was. My name.

Surprisingly, I felt quite calm as I walked towards the stage. Towards my death. I knew I had basically no chance of winning. I wasn't a great athlete, nor was I that good-looking. How would I ever get sponsors? The only thing I actually had going for me was my brain, but how far does that ever get you in the arena? Sure, some tributes get far by outsmarting the others, but they're eventually cut down by some bigger, stronger tribute.

So as I stood there on stage listening to the half-hearted claps of my district, I silently accepted the fact that I was going to die. I just hoped my family would be okay without me.

"And now for the boys."

Hestia placed her hand into the boys' bowl and drew a name.

"Zachary Swift!"

I froze. Why him? Out of all the boys in District 5, why did his name have to be drawn?

As I watched the handsome blond boy make his way to the stage, I was suddenly taken back to my first day of school.

It was pouring buckets that day, but even so I wore Joanna's first dress to school. It was a beautiful shade of red, with small yellow flowers dotted about the fabric. This was also the day Vida and her gang first decided that they didn't like me. As I was walking home, she came up behind me, pushing me hard in the small of my back and sending me sprawling into a muddy puddle. There was nothing I could really do about it. So I just sat there in the puddle, crying my little eyes out as she ran away laughing.

I was so surprised when a hand grabbed my arm that I screamed, hitting it as hard as I could with my other hand. I heard laughter as I was yanked to my feet. Not mean laughter like Vida's, but nice, pleasant laughter. The owner of the laugh was a boy I didn't know, but from that moment I knew I really wanted to know him. He sat me down on a nearby bench and picked a small blue flower that was growing in a nearby patch of grass. He gave the flower to me and told me that pretty girls such as me shouldn't cry. That I should be happy. Then his mother called him and he ran off. But not before I caught his name. Zach.

And since that day, I've had a hopeless crush on the boy who pulled me out of the mud, the boy who called me pretty and gave me that flower. On Zach. But being me, I've always been to shy to do anything about it.

So I just stood there and watched as he walked towards me, wishing that someone would speak up and volunteer to take his place. But no one did. No one wanted that death sentence upon themselves.

Zach and I shook hands, his warm brown eyes staring into mine. Oh how I've always wished those eyes would look at me! I just wasn't expecting it to be quite like this.

Neither of us spoke and when the anthem ended, we were marched off into our separate rooms in the Justice Building. Now comes the part that I was dreading. I didn't want to have to say goodbye to my family.

I sat quietly at the window seat, plaiting a strand of hair that had fallen loose across my face. My tears had finally dried up, leaving my eyes sore and stinging. I had decided I wasn't going to cry anymore, that I was going to be strong. So far it wasn't really working out for me.

Saying goodbye to my family was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Saying goodbye to Bina was even harder. She was my only friend, the only one brave enough to hang out with the shy, outcast girl who Vida had made a target of. But the goodbyes were finished now and I was left alone, waiting for the Peacekeepers to come back and escort me to the station.

The door opened and I turned, expecting to find a Peacekeeper. Instead, I found Vida Heller.

She looked as if she'd been crying, her once beautiful eyes now red and puffy.

I was so shocked to see her that I blurted out, "What are you doing here?" before I could stop myself. But seriously, what was she doing here? Was she here to tease me? Laugh at me because I got reaped? Because if she was, I didn't have the energy to put up with it.

"I'm so sorry Evelyn," she murmured, walking into the room and shutting the door behind her. "I'm so sorry." She started to cry.

I honestly didn't know how to react. This was the last thing I expected. I knew Vida. She was more likely to cut her own arm off then to apologise to me. What was going on?

And then she was upon me, her arms wound around my neck and crying into my shoulder. I patted her awkwardly on the back.

"There, there, it's alright."

Vida pulled away, whipping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"No, it's not alright," she said, a note of true sadness in her voice. "I had no right to treat you like that all these years. I was stupid, jealous of you! You come from nothing, and yet you always seem to be happy about something. Here I am, coming from this well-off family with all I could ever want, but still probably the most unhappy person alive." She sniffed. "I just wanted you to know what it was like to feel like me."

And then she was crying again, bawling into my shoulder.

I was completely taken aback. I was not expecting this from her at all. Vida's life looked perfect! I guess not everything is what it seems on the outside.

"And now I can never make it right," she said into my shoulder. "I'm so sorry. You don't deserve any of this."

This was my moment. My moment to finally get back at Vida for all the years of torture she'd put me through. But I found I didn't want to. As much as I disliked Vida, she was still only a little girl, barely more mature then Estelle. I couldn't do anything mean to her if I tried.

"I forgive you," I said, shocked that I was saying those words. "It's over now."

Vida moved away again, her blue eyes looking up at me hopefully.

"Really?"

No.

"Yes."

She smiled slightly and reached up behind her neck, unfastening her necklace.

"Will you wear this for me? In the arena?"

She pressed her necklace into my palm. It was a pretty thing, a small, silver chain with a lock and key charm on the front. I loved it immediately, even though it came from Vida.

"Sure," I said, smiling weakly as I took it. "I'll wear it." I didn't have anything else to wear anyway.

The whole time we sat there, I waited for her to spring up, to laugh at me and tell me the whole thing was a joke. Laugh at me for being so stupid to believe her act and then tell me how she hoped I'd die first. But it never came. We just sat there in silence until a Peacekeeper came to take her away again.

"I hope you win, Evelyn!" she shouted as she was being lead away. "Maybe then I can make it up to you."