Thank you stellaslomp and cheerleader114 for District 3's tributes! :D

District 3, Reapings

Elena Rae, 15

Elena woke up with a bright smile on her face, like every other day. But she didn't know that this particular one was different.

Her mother came into her room to help her change for the day. Mum had set out a light pink dress with a fro-fro skirt. She put on a white headband with a little cute bow on it.

Running down the stairs, she jammed her feet into her petite white flats, that went along with her headpiece.

There! She was ready and all set for the day.

She walked outside, looking for someone to talk to. Everyone shied away from her, and it made Elena feel lonely. Nobody wanted to be her friend.

Elena remembered when she had once had a friend. Her name was Ms. Palmer. Ms. Palmer had been nice, and understanding, and Elena saw her every day, until one day. She had asked her mother why, and she replied simply, "She's gone to a different place." That was strange. Why would Ms. Palmer want to move?

Elena looked at her watch. It said 7:48 AM, whatever that meant. She headed back in the house, looking for her older sister Techa, so she could have someone to talk to.

Techa rarely left the house, for unknown purposes. She was always in her room sulking. Elena stepped inside of her 19 year old sister's chambers.

There Techa was, curled up in her bed, still sleeping. Elena tapped her shoulder twice. "Wakey, wakey," She whispered. Techa groaned, and mumbled, "let me sleep". And that's exactly what Elena did. She set out on a mission to find a person to be her friend.

She walked out of the house once more, and this time she saw a girl from her school. Yippee!

"Hello!" She said brightly to the girl.

"Um, hi?" The girl said questionably. She looked... confused?

Elena pressed on. "My name is Elena!"

The girl seemed to recognize the name. Elena thought she was was making progress.

"Oh, Elena! Aren't you that mental kid in Kindergarten? Stop talking to me."

Elena was confused now. She stopped smiling and tried to make sense of what she had said. Only, none of it made sense, so she continued smiling and ignored what she said earlier. She tried to make more small talk, only this time, the town's bell rang. Ding!

"I'm late!" She heard the girl squeal. The girl ran right by her, and headed to the Town Square. Elena followed.

It was a long line. She wondered what they were waiting for.

When she finally reached the front, a mean lady poked her finger. She yanked it back, pouting and she stuck her finger in her mouth.

The people gathered her in the 15-year old area. A colorful lady walked up the stage and started talking. Elena didn't understand.

She clicks a button, and puts on a movie. Elena thought the movie was very cool. After the little clip, the lady strides toward two bowls and takes a slip out of one. "Rya Bolt!"

Oh, she thought. She knew what this was! It was when the colorful people pick someone to win the lottery!

Last year, she saw a girl say, "I volunteer!" It must be the cool thing to do, so she did exactly that.

"I volunteer!"

Shane Richard, 15

"Wake up! It's Reaping Day," his little sister Casey carefully says.

I groan. Another day of boringness.

Slowly, I slide out of bed and flop on the floor. Casey seems to take this as funny, so she immediately starts laughing. I grin widely, despite me being insecure about the small gap in my front teeth. I ruffle her head and push her out of my room to change.

Okay, Shane, I think to myself. Today is Reaping Day= Wear fancy clothes. My math teacher would be proud.

I throw on a red button-on shirt, and black dress pants by mom picked out for me. Casey and I rarely see our parents because they're always at work. I wish they would stop sometimes.

I prepare a breakfast of: bacon and milk. Despite our parents practically working full-time, we can't usually afford goods such as eggs.

By the time Casey is done changing, and we're both done with breakfast, we head out with 12 minutes to spare. Now, what do I do?

Casey goes separate ways, and meets up with her friend. I, however, have a friend named Greta. So I find her and just walk with her along the street.

Our friendship doesn't really need talking. We both are sorta quiet people, so we tread with silence. I occasionally make few comments, and she does the same.

By the time Reapings have started, Greta and I are already at the Town Square. We split into our sections and wait.

Tyra, the escort, shows us the stupid video clip from last year, and last year, and last...

When the mini-movie is finally over with, she heads over to the Reaping bowls. I feel really sorry for who gets reaped.

"Rya Bolt!" she screams.

"I volunteer!" says a cute, girly voice. The owner of the voice happily jumps up the stage, and I recognize her to be the 15 year old girl with the mind of a 5 year old. She's not going to last very long, I can tell.

"Ooh, a volunteer!" Tyra coos. "Well, onto the boys!" She takes out a piece of paper.

"Shane Richard!"

Shoot. I'm not going to last very long, either.

Elena's POV

The men with weird jumpsuits and short gray cane things escort her into the Justice Building. Elena thinks the paintings and carpets look beautiful!

They give her a pink and purple room, her favorite color. There she plops on the bed and stares at the ceiling, overjoyed.

All of a sudden, her mother and sister break into her room. "Hi, Mommy!" she says, and gives her a Techa a big hug.

Techa is sobbing. "Why did you do it?" she quivers.

"Do what?" Elena asks innocently.

"V-volunteer?" Her mother says, crying as much as Techa.

Elena thought about this. "Well, the girl from last year did it, so I should do it too! Right?" she replies. She looks around. "Where's Daddy?"

Nobody answers, and the room is filled with choked sobs and tears. Elena felt uncomfortable.

Soon, her family is dragged out of her room. Techa yanks her favorite locket off of her neck and hands it to Elena. She says it's to "have a piece of your older sister when you die". Elena frowns. She wasn't coming back?

Shane's POV

I'm alone in my room for about 3 seconds, until my parents and sister break in like madden criminals.

"SHANE!" My mother cries, squeezing me, rocking back and forth. Dad just stands there, expressionless like he doesn't care, but a tear leaks out of him anyway.

Casey is crying. "Where are you going?" she says, her bottom lip shivering. "Why do you have to leave?"

"Don't worry," I try my best to reassure her. "I'll only be gone a short time."

Casey furiously shakes her head. "NO! I know what the Reapings are for. I'm not a kid. Promise me you'll come back home. PROMISE!"

I have no choice but to pinky-promise, even though I know I most likely break it.

When my family is about to leave, perhaps forever, Casey wipes her eyes and gives me a little wooden heart. Then she's gone.

I don't expect anyone to come next, but surprisingly Greta does.

She stares at me for a moment. Is she angry?

Suddenly, she's locking me in a choking hug. Usually Greta's emotionless, but a small drop of water falls out of eyes.

She lets go. "Win," She says, her voice strong. "You can do this." Then she exits.

Despite her efforts to make me feel better, I still have a seed of doubt growing inside me.

I stare at my token for a while. After a few minutes, I put it back in my pocket. I make a silent vow to treasure it for the rest of my life- which is not that long.

So... Yeah!

Who do you like better, and why?

I'm still waiting for D2 tributes, and I don't want bloodthirsty bloodhounds, okay?

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