Pepper Brye POV

The girl next to me in the Reaping Center was really nice. She was scared just like me, but she said it would probably be one of the older girls who got picked, since they had the most slips. That made me worried, since I took one last year. Arya didn't want me to, but we were all so hungry. She didn't speak to me as we were getting ready.

Snapdragon was the most beautiful thing in Eleven. Her skin was blindingly pale and her dresses were always gorgeous. She didn't care as much about fashion as most escorts. She had her own style and she looked amazing every year. The sparkles and glitter she was so fond of gave the District more color than it got the entire rest of the year. Last year I rubbed my hand on the stage after the Reaping and carried rainbow dust with me for days.

Even when Snapdragon was picking the names I wasn't scared of her. She just read them, and they always seemed so distant. I was completely unprepared when she actually called my name.

"It's you," a girl near me whispered. I had frozen as soon as Snapdragon said my name, and the girl's words flipped a switch in me. I bolted down the row with no destination in mind. At the end of the row a Peacekeeper darted out an arm and snagged me. I yelped and tugged at his grip, but he pulled me to the stage like a bird carrying away a mouse. A stream of threats and cries, including curses, streamed from me and I kept scrambling as Snapdragon called the boy. A big muscley boy joined me. He looked frozen, like he was already dead.

"You're going to die!" someone screamed from the crowd. Why would someone say something like that? I was already terrified. The boy started to laugh, and I wanted to jump off the stage and smack him. He was lucky the Peacekeeper was there.

Bean, Bran, and Soya came to visit me first. None of us knew what to say, and we spent the minutes discussing everyday things like school and gossip. Maybe we were too scared, or maybe we just wanted one last day together. I'd probably never see them again. I knew it was true, even if my heart couldn't understand it.

It was terrible to see Arya and Angus. As soon as they walked in I could tell they both blamed themselves. I wanted to tell Angus it wasn't his fault that he was too old to take more tesserae, and that he'd risked so much already. I wanted to tell Arya it was my decision to take a tesserae as well, and it wasn't because she didn't provide.

"I told you not to," she spat. "We would have gotten by-" her voice caught and the pain showed through the defensive anger. She covered her face and waved me off as she cried. Mom was still and her eyes were wide. Dad was smiling oddly.

"It will be all right. They'll call it off. They wouldn't kill our daughter," he said over and over.

"What do you mean? They do it every year," I said, but he didn't hear me. That left me and Angus. He handed me a locket.

"Here, they wanted you to have this," he said. "We got it at a pawn shop and added the picture." I looked inside and saw a tiny picture of our family. We looked so much happier, and it seemed like it was years since we smiled. I wanted to say something to cheer them all up, but they were all past that. Maybe Dad was right. Maybe this would pass too, and we'd be happy again someday. I had to believe that.


Jay Dallas POV

I saw Flora in the girls' section and waved at her. It was hard for a merchant's daughter on Reaping Day. The other children mocked her and asked what it was like to be their equal for a minute. I knew she wasn't like that. She was a wonderful girl, and I was the luckiest guy on Earth to be her man. Lucky in more ways than one- being with Flora taught me that connections are everything. A classy guy couldn't have his daughter running with a starved urchin. In weeks my family went from poverty to mild comfort. That made up my mind. When I was old enough, I was going into politics. I liked making friends and being with people, so I was a natural, if I lived that long. I could help everyone and elevate my whole District.

Whoever Pepper was, she was a spitfire. I was delighted that Flora was safe, but I hated seeing a girl so full of like being dragged to her death. Then it was Flora's turn to worry as Snapdragon picked a male name. For that moment, all my charitable aspirations melted away, and I just hoped it wasn't me.

"Jay Dallas!" Snapdragon called. Images of the Games of the past filled my head. Somehow I made it to the stage and stared out at the crowd without realizing it. I hardly remembered any of the Reaping later, but I did recall seeing Flora watching in horror.

My room was buzzing with noise until the last second possible. Dozens of friends and teammates poured past me, telling me they'd miss me and I had to do my best to win. At least, I assumed they sad something like that. I nodded and shook their offered hands, but there was nothing in my head. They might as well have threatened to kill me. Flora came, too, and she kissed me tearfully. I hardly reacted. It was nothing like the loving embraces we'd so often shared before. She was like just another face in the crowd.

My thoughts were finally gathering when my family came in. I counted my siblings in case one had gotten Reaped, but it was ridiculous. Cold and Austin were boys, and Lea was three years old. They were all safe, and I was glad.

I suppose Mom and Dad were crying, but it was hard to make out through the haze. The boys stared at me with the terror of something they were too young to understand, and Lea sat in Mom's arms looking at us all. Will she remember me if I die?

Mom stopped crying for a moment and slipped a necklace on me. She held up the little bird on it.

"You're my Jay. Never forget who you are in the Arena," she said. What did that mean? What would the Arena turn me into? It wasn't important. What was important was that I was about to die. I wouldn't have time to change. All my plans, all the good I was going to do, was nothing. It was gone in a second, and I would be too.


I just started a new job, so I might not update some Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays. I don't think I'll skip all three in a row, since writing doesn't take that long.

This is the second Pepper from Eleven I've written, though the first was actually a Peppermint.