.:.:Jane Worth, 18:.:.

"Good morning," I mutter, taking a seat at the dining table. My siblings greet me with waves and hellos.

"Good morning, Jane," says my mother. Her voice is strained and tired, more than usual. It was probably her job, my father or the entire family that was frustrating her. Still, even in her bad mood, she doesn't forget her manners. She is eating a plate of pancakes our cook, Betsy, has prepared for us.

Betsy places a plate of pancakes in front of me as I sit down. "Thank you, Betsy," I say and she gives me a weary smile. Betsy is fairly old, in her late fifties or early sixties, with grey hair always in a bun, thin lips and comforting brown eyes.

She leaves. I eat my breakfast in silence as my brothers and sisters yell at each other from across the table. The only ones who aren't yelling are Jessica and Roland, my older siblings. I'm jealous of them because they don't have to suffer the reapings. I still have one more year until I'm free and I'm still terrified. I would have no chance of winning whatsoever.

I make small talk with Rona, my younger sister. It's only her third reaping. She's shaking and her eyes are filled with worry – not for herself, but mostly for the little ones like Jason and Beatrice. They're twelve and thirteen and are nearly as hopeless as me. But not as hopeless – I'm the most hopeless out of everyone in the family. Out of everyone in the district, maybe. Probably, since every other girl my age is at least strong enough to chop down a tree. I can barely lift an axe.

When I'm finished, I stand up and walk away from the dining room. I go up two flights of stairs until I reach my bedroom, my own personal space where nobody can bother me. I take a bath. It lets me clear my head of thoughts.

I change into a simple black dress my mother made for me. I twirl in it a few times in front of my full length mirror. I'm not very pretty. There's a highly unlikely chance that I'll get sponsors in the arena unless I get the Capitol to give me a few facial alterations. And if they can do something about my height.

What am I thinking? I'm not getting reaped. There should be a fairly high chance for me since my name is in there quite a lot of times, but there are plenty of other eighteen-year-olds who have their names put in the glass bowl the same amount of times. There's also the other kids, the twelve-year-olds, the fourteen-year-olds, the seventeen-year-olds… I shouldn't be worrying too much.

I brush my blonde pixie cut until it's perfect. I apply smallest bits of makeup before slipping on a pair of black mary janes and walking out the door. Most of my siblings are in their rooms getting ready, but Jessica and Roland are on the couches in the living room staring at the television. Some program with Dimitri Haaderway as the host was playing.

They completely ignore me as I leave the house. I wait at the sidewalk until Rona comes out. I promised her I would walk with her to my final reaping. She smiles at me. She's wearing a light blue blouse with black pleated skirt and small black heels. She looks so much more mature than me. She's even taller than me and much prettier. Her hair is blonde as well, but it's wavy and reaches her mid back. It's braided today. Her eyes are bright blue compared to my icy ones.

However, despite how much prettier she is from me, I don't feel jealous. I feel relief. Then I get less attention for myself when I'm around.

.:.:Tasi Merkava, 16:.:.

"Your mother died because of you. You've been nothing but a burden to me. I never loved you. You were a waste of time. If you were never born, your mother would still be alive. We'd be happy, just the two of us, and have kids that aren't you. Everything's your fault, Tasi. Get out of my sight."

My hand runs through the mane of dark curls on my head. I'm thinking too much, way too much. It's the reaping and you aren't supposed to be thinking unless it's about the chance of almost certain death that would be coming up soon. There's no reason to think about anything other than that.

Hope is sleeping soundly at the end of my bed. My waking up didn't seem to disturb her.

I chuckle. She looks so innocent when she's asleep compared to when she's up and alive. I stroke her soft fur but she doesn't even stir.

I slip out of the blankets and make my way out of the room, my right leg limping behind me. It has a limp from an accident during work. I was twelve at the time. A tree fell on my right knee, tearing all the ligaments and breaking the bones in my leg. I've been walking with a limp ever since.

After a quick shower, I change into simple clothes. They're simple, but at least they're not my work clothes. They're probably good enough for the reaping.

When I'm dressed, I come out of the bathroom to see Hope lying on the couch, waiting for me. Her tail is wagging and her tongue is hanging out of her mouth. She's waiting for breakfast.

I ruffle the fur on the top of her head and walk to the kitchen. I find some beef from the fridge and place it in Hope's wooden dog bowl. She sticks her head in it and starts eating it. I pat her fur.

I bite on a piece of toast while watching her. Haloti left for work early today. I doubt he would be able to make it to the reaping, but I don't really mind. I know he hates watching the children get reaped. It's better for him not to watch.

I brush off some invisible dust from my trousers.

"Come on, Hope, let's go take a walk."

The sun isn't really up yet. Haloti must have left at around four in the morning. Hope trails behind me as I walk into the forest. It's actually one of the few forests left in District Seven that aren't chopped down.

I pick up a random stick from the forest floor and throw it somewhere. "Fetch, Hope!"

With her tongue sticking out, she races towards the area where the stick was thrown. She comes back less than a minute later with the stick in her mouth.

"Good girl," I say.

I throw the stick again. She chases it once more, and when she's out looking for it, I can't help thinking that this could be the last time I'd ever play with Hope.

.:.:Jane Worth, 18:.:.

It's your last year, Jane. Calm down. You will not get reaped. After this, you'll go back home. In a few days you'll graduate. You'll pack your things and leave the house to find a life of your own.

Freedom. It's a wonderful thing. At least by the way my mother puts it. She wants me to leave the house when I graduate from high school and find a job to make myself useful. I don't get it. My older siblings get to stay at the house. But that's probably because they're going to university. I won't be accepted to any university because I'm so uneducated.

"Did you make any friends?" I ask Rona as the bustle of the town square comes into view.

"I guess…" she mutters. "Did you?"

I shook my head. She nods in understanding. The rest of the walk to the square is silent until a crowd is formed around us and we're forced to hold onto each other's hands to not lose one another. We register at the counter and I tell Rona to be careful.

"I will," she says and goes off to the fifteen-year-olds' section.

Next to the other eighteen-year-olds, I look like a baby. They're all so grown up and so tall and so much prettier. I'm just plain little Jane who looks like she's a twelve-year-old pretending to be older so she won't have to experience the reaping again.

A high-pitched screech can be heard from the speakers and everyone covers their ears. "My, my, what a lovely day for the reaping!"

I inwardly barf at the sound of our escort, Accerro's voice. I look at the stage to see a tall, lanky, skinny man with long arms and legs standing behind the microphone. "It is an honour to be here. My name is Accerro Maldre and I am District Seven's escort! Welcome to the 100th Annual Hunger Games, also known as the fourth Quarter Quell!"

He pauses for some applause and is met by two or three hands clapping. He clears his throat. "I guess people are caught in the suspense I'm building. Silly me! Let's just get to it, shall we?"

He saunters over to the glass bowl to the right. "Ladies first!'

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Exhale. Wait, you forgot to inhale. Inhale now. Exhale. Good.

A small, folded piece of paper is between in fingertips when he pulls the name out. He opens the paper and reads out the name, loud and clear.

"Jane Worth!"

Have you ever felt like you completely forget how to breathe, and when you try to your lungs won't respond? You try to move a part of your body, anything, but nothing happens. Your air supply runs out and you feel dizzy. You feel like collapsing.

Although it wasn't the first time it happened to me, I felt completely alien to the feeling and didn't know what to do. I just tried to breathe again.

.:.:Tasi Merkava, 16:.:.

The girl has short blonde hair. She's dragged onstage by a group of peacekeepers. She doesn't fight back, but she is sobbing a lot. Her face is stained with tears. Her eyes are starting to become red.

I listen to the conversation between her and Accerro. He's trying to comfort her.

"Sweetie, it's okay," he says. "Don't cry, darling."

She doesn't say anything. She just kept on crying and buries her face in her hands.

"She needs some time. Take her to the crying room." She looks up and stares at Accerro as if to say thank you. He nods and she is taken away into the Justice Building.

"Now for the boys!" His smile is plastered back onto his face and he goes over to the boy's names. I take a deep breath.

We wait. All of us do. It isn't like Accerro to keep us in suspense. I lift my head, which was staring at my shoes a while ago. He seems to be trying to read the paper.

"Ta-Tasi… Merkava!"

I don't understand. My name isn't that hard to pronounce…

Wait. I've been reaped. I've just been reaped for the Hunger Games.

After that moment, everything passes in a blur. I walk slowly onto the stage. Accerro says something. A few people clap. I'm put in the crying room. I sit on a chair and wait for something to happen. Haloti comes in and gives me a hug. He says good luck. He's crying. I cry a bit too.

The only time I snap out of the trance I was in was when I realized I might not see Hope or Haloti again.

I make a vow to myself – I will win for them. For Haloti. For Hope. For us. It will be my sole vow until the moment I die, whether or not it be in the arena. If I don't win…

Then I've let them down. And none of us want that to happen.

.:.:Jane Worth, 18:.:.

I am tempted to change my last name to 'Worthless'. Then I would be Jane Worthless. I am exactly that. Worthless.

Only Rona and my older siblings comes to visit me. Rona sits next to me and lets me cry into her shoulder. Jessica pats my back and mutters words like, "It'll be okay," or "You'll be fine, Jane."

I won't be fine. I'm going to the Hunger Games and I am going to die. I won't win. There's no chance I will. I'm weak and stupid. Nobody will want to team up with me. I have absolutely no chance. Zero. Zip. Nada.

Rona clings onto me. She's crying as well. "I'm sorry, Jane," she whispers. "I wanted to volunteer for you but I was too late."

I suddenly pull her away and grip her by her shoulders. "How dare you say that! You should never, ever even think about volunteering, do you hear me? This family can't afford to lose another member after me, okay? Promise me you will never, ever volunteer for your siblings until you are certain you're strong enough."

She stares at me in confusion. "How am I going to be strong enough?"

"Jessica, Roland, I want you guys to take all of our siblings out to the woods every day." Roland, who was sitting on a chair nearby, looks up along with Jessica. "Take them for jogs. Roland, teach the older ones how to use an axe. Jessica, you're a healer, right?" She nods. "I want you to teach them all you know about plants and medicine. Teach them what and what not to eat. Which plants can be used as medicine. Understand?"

They nodded at the same time.

It was a strange feeling to have my older siblings do what I told them to. I felt like I was in charge for once, and it was working. But the feeling didn't last for long. A peacekeeper ushers them out.

I sit there, wondering how the whole training might work out for them. Would it help them? Will it confuse them? All I know is that it could be their last hope. They need to start soon because who knows, there's always a possibility that one of them is reaped next year.

Another peacekeeper brings me to the train. Tasi, the boy for my district who was reaped, is sitting on a couch, his elbows propped on his knees and his hands clasped together. He is in deep thought.

I decide not to disturb him, but just as I was about to walk away, he lifts his head and his brown eyes catch my blue ones.

"You're Jane," he says.

"Yes. Jane. Just plain Jane. You're Tasi Merkava."

He nods. "I'm sorry. I know you have a large family. You've lost a lot."

I smile. "Not really. But even if I lost a lot, they learnt a lot. They learnt that they shouldn't take their chances. My older siblings promised me they'll try their best to prepare my little brothers and sisters for the Games."

"That's a great idea." There's an awkward silence as I take a seat on another couch.

"Um… are we going to be, like, partners? Or do you want to fly solo here?" I fidget with my thumbs and the hem of my dress.

"I'd love to be partners," he says, smiling at me. I smile back.

"I think we could be good friends."