Tesla Emerson, 17 Years Old
District 3 Female
"I hope you know you're doing that wrong".
The boy next to me, Outlet, rolls his eyes before placing down his screwdriver and spitting "Well why don't you show me how it's done since you're so clever".
I thought he'd never ask.
My hands immediately grasp the screwdriver he placed down and begin to rework the atrocity he began creating. Within just a few minutes I have the device, a basic remote control, functioning as intended. That was child's play.
"Show off" Outlet hisses before picking up the remote and leaving.
It's fair to say that I'm fairly unpopular at school and I'm not afraid to admit that when I help people it is usually so I can brag that I can achieve what they're struggling at. This sort of attitude hasn't exactly gained me any friends but that's something I have accepted and embraced. Friends are nothing more than distractions that prevent you from advancing in your intellectual field, plus the people in my District are ignorant. My mother had only just turned sixteen when I was born, my father was only seventeen, which made work difficult. They've always struggled to make ends meet.
I think back to last years winner, Haymitch Abernathy, and how young his parents looked when they were interviewed during the final days of the Second Quarter Quell. They couldn't have been much older than my parents were when there son was born but perhaps its more common for people to give birth at a young age in the outer Districts, it's no secret that life expectancy there isn't as high as it is in richer areas of Panem.
The people of 3 didn't exactly help my parents situation, mostly due to personal judgements they had already made about them and their "frivolous actions", therefore making work even more difficult but we somehow managed even if it did mean signing up for tesserae once I hit twelve years old.
Once I've finished constructing the necessary gadget our teacher assigned us to make, an easy enough project, I begin to pack up my belongings, so I can leave before the reaping. The rest of the District gets the entire day off but those who are in advanced technological education, such as myself, have to spend at least an hour in lesson. As the Capitol says "engineers aren't built overnight" hence why we're subjected to such strenuous hours.
My house lies right next to the District orphanage, it was the only house we could afford. I have to admit I feel sorry for the poor things living in that god awful place but I rarely mix with the children from there, mostly because some of them have odd tendencies that I just simply can't be bothered putting up with.
"How's our little spark doing?" my father smiles at me as I enter our house.
"Bright as ever" I grin back giving him a tight hug.
"Your mother has laid out some clothes, but I assume you won't be changing?"
I nod to confirm what he was thinking. I rarely get changed for the reaping simply because I have little need to, the clothes I wear for school, a simple blue work dress and flats, are formal enough for the public reaping anyway. Plus, it means I don't have to waste time getting changed again afterwards before I can continue working on my various inventions. Once I'm old enough I plan on getting accepted into an Advanced Gadget Engineering course, or AGA for short, to further enhance my technical skills before becoming an official inventor.
For me, the Hunger Games isn't that big of a concern, sure it's a horrific event but it's never had too deep of an impact on me.
It's never had too deep of an impact on me.
It's never had too deep of an impact on me.
The words echo in my head as my name is read out into the microphone, confirming my participation in the games. I know no one will volunteer, no one ever volunteers here. The world seems to blur, I can hear the faint sobs of my mother in the background, but I remain frozen in my own world. It takes the rough nudge of a peacekeeper to eventually get me moving towards the stage. Once I'm there, I take a look out at the citizens watching me, the girls silently celebrating that they themselves weren't picked.
For the first time in my life, I'm not sure how to react.
For the first time in my life, I'm lost.
Nokia Adamar, 17 Years Old
District 3 Male
It's fair enough to say that emotions are a complicated concept to grasp. There's such a wide range of them it's almost entirely impossible to understand them all fully. In fact, I often get confused between which emotion I'm actually feeling since they seem to overlap. Joy is typically followed by sorrow, grief is typically followed by rage, and love is typically followed by loneliness. No wonder it's so hard to recognise what anyone is actually feeling.
The medication makes things even more confusing. That's why I stopped taking it. It makes me feel all hazy and lost, it's not particularly a feeling I like. When I'm not taking them the world seems so much happier, it allows me to forget all about things like the Hunger Games or the fact that my parents abandoned me because, even as a kid, I was a little "off".
It's so much easier to just close your eyes and think of a better world than to actually face the hardships of real life. I get a little lost in my imaginations sometimes, I once spent half a day just thinking about what life would be like if my parents hadn't left or even if I simply knew who they were. I thought so much about it that I believed it was actually true, is it sad to say that the happiest moment of my life was a moment I'm sure didn't actually happen?
I do get little moments of hope however, mostly in the form of Tesla. She lives next door to the orphanage I live in and I can honestly say I've never seen a girl more beautiful in my life. Everything about her is perfect to me. Those large deep set brown eyes, which are always covered by her thick rimmed glasses, are her most attractive feature. It sounds hasty to say but I know, deep down, we share a connection. I know I truly love her.
That being said, we've only spoken once. I was carrying the bundles of tesserae grain that all the orphanage kids have to take, I managed to get just outside the care home before dropping them. That's when she came, the young pretty girl from next door. I recognised her from school but I hadn't taken much notice of her then, how foolish of me.
"You need some help?" she smiled, picking up the grain sacks and carrying them into the home with me.
"Thank you" I struggled to get the words out to her as I was so taken aback by not only her beauty but her small act of kindness
"No worries" she replied "See you around"
And with that she left. We never spoke since but I kept around her, following her wherever she goes. Watching every graceful step she takes, she's beyond everyone else in this District. She is mine and I am hers. I would do anything for her.
So when her name is called out at the reaping, I know what must be done. If she needs a human shield then I am a willing volunteer to be one. The second a boys name is called I thrust myself forward from the crowd.
"I volunteer as tribute"
Most people look at me like I'm mad but I don't care. I only care for Tesla.
As we shake hands, her hands are rougher than I expected, I look into those beautiful eyes and give a small smile. She looks back at me cold and emotionless.
Poor angel, I swear to her that she will be the one returning home.
Thanks to Author-Hime for submitting Tesla and 20 for submitting Nokia! Really fun to write for. I'm trying to not give everything away about the tributes in the reapings so I still have enough space for character development in later chapters.
