Heather Bryony, District 11

Amira curls up next to me. She's so small when she's asleep. I slip out of bed quietly, so as not to disturb her. I move over to the crudely-made bunk bed squeezed next to us and shake Bay awake. He moans in protest and rubs his eyes. He's only 10, so he's just started working in the orchards. He dresses himself in the denim overalls and work boots we all wear and follows me down for breakfast. That breakfast will be made by me, of course. Both my mother and my aunt, who is Bay's mother, passed away from a fever. It could have been cured if we just had the medicine, but we didn't. I've been the "woman of the family" since I was 10. So that means I make the breakfast. This time it's dense, but filling tesserae bread. My uncle and father sit down and eat hungrily with us. I sigh when I think of what this bread is costing me. I have my name in an extra time because, at 13, this is my second Reaping. I took tesserae, which means I'm allowed to take it for each member I provide for. That means my father, uncle, cousins Bay, Acacia, and Berkly as well as my sister Amira. I'm the only kid old enough to take tesserae. It accumulates every year, so my name is in 19 times. The odds aren't exactly in my favor. Everyone places their dishes on the sink; we'll all wash them later. Now we head to work. The sun is coming up over the clouds. Bay hops by my side. "We're gonna collect the most apples today, right?" How many times do I have to tell him that it isn't a contest? Still, we do collect more than the rest. Our methods are a little unusual. My father taught me an excellent way to get the apples down. He taught me how to throw knives. I just use very light rubber tipped ones that couldn't really hurt anyone, but I've also trained my aim well enough to avoid people. Bay stands beneath and let the fruit fall into his basket. That's how it goes. The older kids get the fruit down, the younger kids collect it, and the adults haul the fruit away to be packaged. The Peacekeepers don't really care how I get the fruit down, so long as I get a lot and I do. So everything works out. I send my knife whizzing into the tree and manage to get to pieces to fall down. I've practiced so hard and for so long that my knives never pierce the fruit. Bay smiles as his basket fills up. Suddenly, I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn around and I'm eye-to-eye with my best friend Thresh. "Hey, don't sneak up on me like that!" I laugh. He smiles and shifts his bushel that's full of apples. "You know in the other districts they get Reaping day off?" He tells me. I sigh. Thresh is always saying something rebellious. I don't even mind the work that much, I tell him. He mumbles something and walks away. Well, never mind that, we get to take off work early to get ready. I take Bay's arm (never his hand, he told me) and lead him back home.

Once there, I put on a denim skirt which my father bought. He bought it in the same material that makes our overalls because it won't rip easily. I put on a crisp white blouse that's a little tight at the shoulder and slip into my dress shoes. They pinch and are too small as well because I wore the same outfit last year, but it's not like anyone cares. I twirl for a second because I love the way the skirt swishes. I don't notice Acacia and Amira behind me. Amira looks at me sadly. "I wish I could go wherever you're going. I want to dress up too." Acacia pouts and thrusts her thumb in her mouth defiantly. Amira is only 8 and Acacia is only 5, how could they possibly know where I'm going. They just see that I get to dress up and they don't. I give them both a hug. "Trust me; you guys don't want to go where I'm going. It's not fun at all, and it's very short too. I'll be back home before you know it." I leave the room and head down the room and head downstairs. As I'm about to put my hand on the door, Bay stops me. His face looks very worried. "Can I talk to you for a little?" He says the words quickly, as if he was waiting a long time to get them out. Our fathers will be at work until it's time for them to go to the square and the girls are upstairs. I think the boys are in the other room playing some sort of board game, so I nod. "I know where you're going, Heather. Some kids at school told me." He stares at the floor. I think I learned about the Games around his age as well, so I know how he feels. I give his hand a squeeze and he doesn't even object. "I won't get picked, Bay." He made me promise, so I did. I gave him a small wave and a reassuring smile as I walk out. He'll be okay and so will I. I just have to keep calm. The closer I get to the square, the more kids I see. Eventually, we're all so packed there's hardly any elbow room. I watch Mona Elliot walk onstage, dressed in magenta and acid green. It's really awful-looking and I feel just a little bit of pity for her. I look over to the boy's section and Thresh and I make eye contact for just a second. He looks at Mona's outfit and rolls his eyes. I crack a smile. Her speech is finished, so she makes her way to the bowl. I clasp my hands in front of my skirt. She raises the paper and slowly unfolds it. My hands are so sweaty they can't even stay clasped. "Heather Bryony!"

That's my name. That's my name. I focus on the stage. Just focus on the stage. Stay strong. The whole country is watching you. Stay strong for your family. I tell myself. So I manage to get onstage and say my name with some conviction. As Mona calls for a boy's name, my legs begin to buckle. I can't bear to look out at the crowd. "Rowan Anderson!" I don't know the name, but what I do know is that Rowan is huge. He's probably 18 and when he walks up his face shows no emotion. When we shake hands my own hand can fit in his palm. His hands are worn and leathery, but his handshake is surprisingly gentle. He gives me a look of sadness that I don't think the cameras could capture. Mona leads us offstage and into the Justice building. Rowan goes quietly into his own room, but as soon as the Peacekeepers shut the door to my room I'm in a chair sobbing. Thresh always quiet, slips through the door. He doesn't say anything. He just stares at the ground. "You know, Heather, if it were possible, I would've volunteered for you." He whispers. I turn to him. "I'm so sorry I couldn't but I would've." He says as if to prove himself to me. As a Peacekeeper comes in to tell him to go, he pulls me into a hug. We've never hugged before or even held hands. I never thought of him as that type of friend. But somehow, he's gotten me to stop crying. As we hug, he slips something into my hand. "I promise I'll never forget you" he speaks so softly only I can hear him. Then, as suddenly as he came, he's gone.

I open my hand. He gave me a bracelet made of colored strands of grass. It looks homemade. My father and uncle come into the room next. My father sits on the couch and sobs the whole time. I haven't seen him sob since my mother's death. My uncle sits next to him and tries to offer him some comfort. I find myself next to him as well. The words come out of me before I know they're there. "I'm going to win. I'm going to win for us and for all the kids. We'll have a better life. Amira and the others will never have to sign up for tesserae, so this will never repeat itself." I sound so much more reassuring then I feel, but he looks up at me with red-rimmed eyes full of pride. "That's my girl." He says. "That's my girl." He pulls me into an embrace and we stay like that until he has to go.