Steen Klein's POV:
"Do you want to get up Steen?" my Mother calls up the stairs to which I reply with a groan of soughts.
"Sure, what time is it?" I reply trying to sound as awake as I can.
"I don't know but the reapings are in an hour." I pull my soft hands around the back of my blonde hair and tie it into my usual short and spiky ponytail before getting up. It doesn't take much effort to put on a white dress shirt, a black tie and black dress pants so soon enough I'm downstairs eating breakfast with my Mother.
"So, do you know who the poor souls are that have to take extra tesserae out?" my Mam says in a sad voice but when I look towards her she smiles at me. Her smile is very similar to mine, I think. The two of us are always smiling, happiness makes the world go round my Mam always says. If people aren't happy then people aren't getting along with each other. What's the point of not getting along? You only live once anyway.
"I've heard that a twelve year old is taking some out for all six of his younger brothers and sisters," I respond trying to recall the conversation I had with someone about the occurrence.
"I don't know how his parents cope with seven children. I struggle to take care of you sometimes," she says sadly.
"But you don't have an extra parent to help you," I say nodding towards the back door. We never use the back door. Not since Dad left anyway. My Dad was a deadbeat, he abused Mam sometimes and was drunk... always. When I was nine I did something to him that I'll never forget but my Mam supports me for it. I snapped. I beat my Dad half to death one night when he fell on the couch drunk, my Mother dragged him away from me and when my dad woke up he ran away. We've never seen him since. What made me do it? I don't remember. If I was angry at the day I had or if I was waiting for it to happen. I never thought I could do it but I did. I can't take it back now.
I don't notice until about three minutes after I said that, that my Mam hasn't responded. Instead she is looking at her cup in her hand and clearly recalling memories with Dad. I've heard her talking in her sleep about him. Sometimes she says nice things but sometimes she screams. I've never had nightmares about what I did. Does that mean I don't regret it? When I think about it, I can only think of the bad things he did. I can't think of how he was the person that brought me into this life because that makes him sound nice. He's not.
I quickly finish off my breakfast and I begin to think of the reaping. It's been thirty years since the rebellion and now the games are back. Who will the poor kids be that are reaped?
"Did you know anyone that was killed in the games?" I suddenly blurt out to my Mam which takes her out of her trance.
"Yes," is all she says and I realize if I want her to develop her answer I'm going to have to ask more.
"Who?" I ask after the short awkward silence.
"I knew a girl named Finch. She was my best friend," she says and a smile comes across her face. I can tell that memories are flooding into her head and she wants to tell me them. "She was in the 74th Hunger Games. The commentators likened her to a fox. She was sly and her red hair and amber eyes made over tributes give her the name foxface," my Mam adds on and tears begin to appear in her eyes. I know what's going to happen next, I'm going to hear how she did in the arena and how she died. It's obvious that she died, everyone knows that the 74th Hunger Games was the one where two tributes from district 12 won.
My Mother continues to speak with tears streaming down her face, "When she was in the arena she didn't go into the cornucopia but in stead just ran. For the next few days she was clever avoiding traps that the careers had set and when it came to the feast she hid in the Cornucopia," my Mother pauses for breath and I can what's coming next, "she got to final four, which was amazing for a district 5 tribute and it was her slyness that led to her... downfall. She was following the district 12 tributes and the boy was gathering berries. Finch thought they were edible but they were nightlock..." my Mother trails off. I never knew my Mam was such good friends with someone who was so involved in one of the most important games ever. "Anyway let's go to the reaping," she says and with that we walk out of the door with our smiles plastered on our faces.
Isabelle Rayner's POV:
I'm fast. I'm good at long range combat. I have great navigation skills. Unlike most tributes I can swim. I repeat this sequence in my head over and over and over again as I walk up to the stage. I stand next to Pryer, the fat man who is our escort.
"Thank you very much Izzy," Pryer says. It's bad enough that he's reaped me now he's making stupid nicknames up. I quickly scan my eyes over the crowd for Elliot. How must he feel. He must feel like I feel. Lost, alone but watched. Like everybody's eyes are focused on me but they can't stop what is happening to me. I give a smile to Elliot and continue to tell myself what I'm good at but soon my weaknesses soon to seep in as well. I don't know what to eat in an arena and I'm terrible at fighting. How do I stand a chance?
"Now for our male tribute," Pryer says stomping his way over to the male bowl and picking out the first slip that comes into contact with his hand. I cross my fingers and hope that it won't be Elliot. It isn't Elliot though, it's the boy that I would never want it to be. We've never spoken to each other but I know everything about him.
"Steen Klein," Pryer calls. Steen makes his way onto the stage smiling, as he usually does. It's quite creepy, his smile that it, but he always makes an effort to be friendly and kind and he'll do anything for his Mother. Including half beating his Dad to death. Damien, Steen's father, turned up on our doorstep that night begging to be let in. He told us how his son beat him half to death and he had to run. As soon as my Mother saw him she was love-struck. At the time she was still married to Dad and the next day Dad mysteriously died of food poisoning. Damien moved in and never leaves the house. I hate Damien as much as Steen does. He gets drunk every night.
Suddenly I'm told to shake Steen's hand and I'm take out of my trance. We are taken into district 5's dirty justice building and I'm told to sit in a room which, judging by the smell, someone has recently had a cigarette in. I sit as close to the window as I can and soon Elliot walks in.
"Are you okay?" he asks drawing me into a long kiss.
"I'm just shocked," I say. "It comes back and I'm reaped the first year and can you believe who my district partner is?"
"I know, I know," Elliot says running his fingers through my long black hair. "You'll win it though Isabelle. I'm sure you will," he says those two sentences to me about twelve times and soon he is dragged out. I pick myself up and head to the door where the peacekeeper is standing.
"If my Mam turns up don't let her in," I say before returning to my seat. Thankfully when the door opens next it's my friends Rachael, Sara and Kleo that walk in. They wish me the best of luck and after they leave the next person that walks in is Steen and Pryer.
"I'm happy to say that you..." Pryer pauses for dramatic effect, "get to choose your own mentors," he says clapping his hands. I turn to Steen who clearly has no idea who I am and he is simply smiling as he always is.
"Well can I have Elliot, my boyfriend?" I ask and soon enough, like magic Elliot is heading to the Capitol with me and Steen picks the strongest man in the district, Monek Dry. I can tell this will be awkward for me but how about for him?
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews I'm getting. I know it's fast updates but it isn't taking me long to write the chapters :) I think I'll have every tributes POV but next chapter I will have the escort's POV because he was the guy who slapped President Derisse.
I hope you liked these two. They weren't planned to be linked at all but I hope the tributes creators like the idea. So tell me what you think of the two of them in the review :)