AN: Thanks for these two! Writing this chapter came naturally to me.
Emberly Layden
District 12 Female
13 Years Old
Did I sound weird? I probably did. It was just a simple "hi." Why am I always so awkward?
Thoughts like these run through my head as I struggle to finish reading the dusty little book in front of me, with its pages yellowed over the years.
But it's fine. I'll be ready the next time he says "hi" to me. It'll be natural.
My thoughts are interrupted by the playful screaming and laughter of a few younger children just outside. They seemed to be playing tag or something, and they looked so happy. Sometimes, I wonder what it's like to have so many friends to laugh and talk with. Most of my time now is spent with my family or here at the library.
Anyway, the book I'm reading is a love story about a poor girl from Ten who falls in love with a dashing Victor from Two during his Victor Tour. But she's not allowed to move to Two and live with him, and he's not allowed to settle in Ten.
And so, the two don't see each other for a while after the Tour. Due to his looks and popularity, the Victor ends up spending most of his time in the Capitol, a fact that becomes well known to most people in Panem. One day, while at an upscale hotel in the Capitol, he recognizes one of the Avoxes. It was the poor girl from Ten – she had gotten herself Avoxed for a chance to go to the Capitol and find him.
The part I'm on now has their relationship picked up by the Capitol, who celebrate their love and allow them to live together.
Maybe the Capitol isn't all bad after all. It'd be absolutely amazing to visit and see what it's really like, beyond what's shown in standard Hunger Games programming. Just imagine the things they could do with all their technology.
Of course, for any of us out here, there was only one way to get to the Capitol.
Cardiff Hriver
District 12 Male
15 Years Old
I lean towards the metal wiring of the fence, listening for the low hum that meant it was powered.
"It's not on. We're good," I motion to the others.
It was the five of us. The squad. Juniper, Harlan, Lucian, Katy, and myself. We'd spend most of our afternoons like this – sneaking out beyond the fence and exploring some of the ruins we come across. The fence is consistently without power around this time, and there were rarely any Peacekeepers in sight around these parts (you might call it the "rich" part of Twelve), not that most of them cared anyway.
"Alright, let's do this," Lucian says.
I watch as the four of them duck through the metal wiring, one after another. I usually go last because it takes a little more time, given my stature.
"So, what's the plan for today?" Katy asks once we're all on the other side.
"We should finish exploring that office building from last time," I answer, "Could be some good finds in there."
"Yeah, gotta keep the exhibits at the Hriver Museum of History nice and refreshed," Harlan jokes.
"That's how I like it," I reply with a smile.
"Let's get a move on then. We're wasting daylight," says Lucian.
And so, we begin our trek through the woods, with myself at the front of the pack. I estimate that it's about a mile-and-a-half to the office building ruins. We barely got to go inside last time, since it was getting dark and Juniper finds the sites too creepy at night.
"So, how'd exams go for everyone?" I ask, breaking the silence.
"Just great. I might actually pass this one," answers Harlan.
"Wasn't my best one, to be honest," says Katy.
"Well, I bet Juniper killed it. As usual…" Lucian adds.
Juniper looks unsure how to respond, so I do it for her.
"She should be. She's studying to become a healer after all."
"I just do what I can," Juniper says modestly.
"Normally, with grades like mine I'd be sent headfirst into the mines…" Harlan begins.
"…If your father weren't the deputy mayor. We know," says Katy with feigned impatience.
"Hey, looks like we're here!" I call back to them.
Ahead of us is a flat clearing, probably the parking lot back in the day. The deep gray office building stands at the end of the clearing and is about five stories tall, with all of its windows cracked or shattered over the years. The surrounding vegetation has really taken over the place, adding to its already eerie look.
"Let's go in a different way this time," Lucian suggests, "There's a bunch of vines over there. We could climb it up to the second floor."
"Seems a bit risky…" says Katy.
"That's what makes it more fun. C'mon!" Lucian replies as he begins running over.
"I guess we're doing this then," says Juniper.
"Almost nothing can stop Lucian once he's got his mind set on something," Harlan remarks.
And so, we all climb the mess of vines, again with myself going last.
I worry about whether or not the thing will hold my weight, but it turns out to be fine.
We're in a big room, dimly lit and incredibly dusty, with many shorter walls separating the countless cubicles throughout the room.
"Imagine being stuck in one of these for most of your working life," Lucian says.
"Might as well just throw me into the mines," replies Harlan.
"At least working in a cubicle won't make you die early," Juniper counters.
"It'll probably make you want to die early though," Harlan says back.
There's a part of room where the floor has collapsed, leaving a gap through which you could see the first floor. Without warning, Lucian begins to spring towards the gap.
"Lucian, what are you—" Katy cries out, just as he leaps across the collapsed part, barely landing on the other side.
"Are you crazy?! You could've been seriously hurt if you landed a few inches short," Katy scolds.
"But I didn't," retorts Lucian. He's now searching through some of the desks on that side of the room.
"Hey Cardiff," he shouts, "Look what I found!"
Lucian throws some small metallic back across the gap towards me.
Catching it in my hand, I see it's a small, gold pocket watch.
This would be a nice addition, I think to myself.
"Nice find. Looks like gold," I say while inspecting the watch, "You know, there used to be this place not too far from where Twelve is now. They called it Fort Knox. The American government would store their gold reserves there – thousands and thousands of tons."
I look up to see that only Juniper is still listening. The others are exploring the various cubicles in the room. I smile at her.
Emberly Layden
District 12 Female
13 Years Old
The library's not open today, so I have to head home.
The walk back isn't too bad – only about 20 minutes.
I usually walk through a small part of the "rich" neighborhood of Twelve. The scent of homecooked food is common here, which makes my stomach growl. Sometimes I daydream about the kinds of dishes that produce these scents, foods that I would probably never get to eat during my lifetime.
Most of my family's diet was tessera bread, with occasional fruits or vegetables from the market as a special treat. Once, a few years ago, we even bought some ham from the market (with that being the last time I ate any meat).
As I'm busy thinking about food, I see a group of kids in the distance, near the perimeter fence. One by one, they cross to the other side and walk off into the woods.
I guess what they say about the fence never being powered during the day is true. I wonder what the world is like outside of Twelve. Not that I'd ever dare to venture outside anyway.
Before I even step foot inside our house, I can hear the shouting.
Oh no. Father's home again.
I open the door as quietly as I can, hoping that no one would notice. My sister Edana and father are by the stairs, arguing.
"Mom and Aris work their asses off every day for what? So you can get up at three in the afternoon and drink until sunrise?" says Edana.
"And what are you gonna do about it?" Father shoots back, already visibly drunk.
"You don't think this is disgusting behavior? You think this is okay?"
"No one gives a fuck what I think! If they did, we wouldn't be in this situation right now."
"This situation? The situation of you being an unemployed drunk living off your wife and son's income?"
At this, my father hurls a vase toward Edana. She barely manages to dodge it, and it shatters against the wall.
My heart is pounding and my breathing speeds up. I can't go upstairs without passing by them, so I hide under our small dining table, closing my eyes and covering my ears, even though I can still hear them.
"I never wanted this, alright?!" my father shouts, "I didn't ask for any of this!"
With that, he storms right past me and out the door, slamming it with such force that one of the picture frames falls off the wall onto the ground. It was one of my pastel drawings from a few years ago.
I open my eyes to find Edana knelt beside me.
"Hey Ems. Sorry you had to hear all that."
I look up at her as tears begin to cloud my vision.
"Tell you what, let's go take a walk with Flint and Rocky. How's that sound?"
I nod silently. Flint's my older brother (he's 16) and Rocky's our pet dog – a big, incredibly furry dog, but one that would protect you for sure.
We're all quiet for a while, until Edana breaks the ice.
"Mom and Aris will be home early today because of the Reaping tomorrow."
"I'm scared, Edana. My name's in there a bunch of times now…"
"Mine's in there a lot more times," Flint replies, "And same with countless other kids in Twelve. We all have to take out tesserae."
"He's right," says Edana, "There are 18-year-olds who've been taking out tesserae since they were 12. Their chances are definitely worse than yours."
"But I could still get chosen! I wouldn't last a minute in there…" I say, fighting back more tears.
Edana leans downs and hugs me. "Don't worry about that, Ems. It's only your second Reaping. And I made it through all of them alive, didn't I? You will too."
Cardiff Hriver
District 12 Male
15 Years Old
"Anyway, at the beginning of the Civil War, Virginia wanted to leave the Union and join the Confederacy, which was the South. But the people from the northwestern part of Virginia wanted to stay in the Union, so eventually they decided to break off from Virginia and become their own state, called West Virginia. And I believe, based on the artifacts I've collected over the years, that Twelve is located somewhere in what used to be West Virginia."
My little history lesson is met with a nods and grunts of acknowledgement.
"Alright, well I'll see you guys tomorrow," Katy says as she begins to walk off in another direction.
We were back in Twelve after our trip to the office ruins, completely exhausted. Of course, not exhausted enough to stop me from talking about history.
"See ya, Katy. Don't get Reaped!" Harden calls out to her.
"You too!"
With that, Harden and Lucian (who live near each other) walk off in the opposite direction.
Juniper turns toward me, "Well, guess I'll see you tomorrow Cardiff."
"For sure. And, uh, good luck."
"You too."
I walk a short distance back to my house. By District Twelve standards, it's definitely on the large side, but it still feels crowded for us. That's probably because my parents are both over seven feet tall, with my siblings and I all being at least six-foot-three.
I head up to my room, aptly described by Harlan as the "Hriver Museum of History."
On the walls are a few flags I've found, all with their colors seriously faded and fabric torn. There was a West Virginia state flag, a 50-star American flag, and a 48-star American flag.
There's a small bookcase with about three dozen books I've managed to get ahold of over the years. As long as they were pre-Panem, and the pages were readable, I'd add them to the collection.
Finally, my desk is covered in little trinkets: a few silver lockets, an action figure, a small globe without a stand, just to name a few.
I place the pocket watch next the silver lockets before hopping onto my bed.
There's still so much more to that office building. I wonder if I can convince the group to go there one more time, maybe tomorrow after the Reaping…
AN: Thanks for reading! What are your thoughts on these two? Please leave a review!
Also note that I often won't be able to include everything in your Tribute form in the intro chapters. But don't worry! A lot of the other stuff will be mentioned in later chapters.
Thank you so much to everyone who's been reading along. It's for you that I take the time to write every week. You guys are the best!