District Five reapings, chariots, and interviews.

District Five; Sera Kauffman's POV

Dear Journal,

This morning is the Reapings, and I noticed that most of the people outside of my window are wearing their work clothes and didn't bother to dress up. I, too, am my normal pants and shirt that is too big. Momma stressed about my lack of body fat during breakfast, but I sighed and wasn't hungry. I'm going outside now.

Signed,

Sera Kauffman

I closed the book. I didn't have a computer like everyone else in the power district. I sat still, butnervously twisted the ring around my finger. After breakfast, my mother pulled me aside and gave it to me. My brother, Clorke, ran outside to play with his friends. He doesn't really care about the reapings and hopes to one day volunteer for it.

"Your sixteen," He told me at the breakfast table as we ate our stale bread, "You should be in the Hunger Games!"

I just sat and stared at the table, counting the cracks.

I sighed and walked outside of our apartment and into the street. I slowly slipped between people of the crowd and into the roped off area for girls my age. I stood in the corner and stopped to observe the rest of the girls.

OoOoO

I high-fived Clorke Kauffman as he finished the tale of yet another imaginary successful Hunger Games. This kid was going to bring home the gold for District Five someday. Of course, both of us are only twelve, and our efforts to get his sister into the games haven't been very successful. But today is a new day and the reapings were about to start.

My blue shirt and checkered pants were old and worn, but it wasn't like anyone else was in anything better. Besides, it most definitely was not like I had anything better. I stood silently while the tall, thin woman on stage spoke. Talk about the attention-span of a twelve-year-old… I couldn't hear a single word she said because I was still trying to smooth down a piece of my orange hair. It kept plopping down into my face.

"Derekk Fringel."

I looked up to see who called my name, but realized it was Auntie Georgette who ran the orphanage, and it wasn't one of my buddies calling me over. It was the escort for district five. I looked at Clorke and he gave me a thumbs up and a grin. I returned the smile. I walked onstage and waved at the crowd. No one waved back, so I pouted a little.

Then came the ladies. The lady reached in with her bony arm and pulled out a slip of paper, I jumped to peak over the woman's shoulder and gasped.

"Sera?" I shouted out, surprised. Sera slowly emerged from the crowd. No expression on her face. She wasn't excited, but she wasn't upset. When I looked over at her brother and my best friend he was super stoked. This was his dream. He always wanted to be close to somebody who was sent up as tribute. I shook her hand, but the serene look on her face didn't change. I cocked my head, confused.

I was ushered off to the Justice Building and sat in the room where the tributes say goodbye. I was honestly a bit starstruck, but mood dampered when I found out that no one had come to see me. All that there was was a box sitting on the sofa. I opened it up and there was a note with a purple and gray bracelet. I slipped it on my wrist and read the note from my parents.

Derekk,

If you are reading this then that means you are turning nineteen and are free of the Reapings forever. Your mother and I are sorry we couldn't be there with you, but you know how traveling is… perilous. If you are not turning nineteen, then you are going to face twenty-three other children in The Hunger Games. Never take off this bracelet and let it remind you how much we love you.

Love,

Dad

OoOoO

District 5, the district of lights. The little boy my brother used to spend time with stands next to me, and I am a bit put down by the fact that we are the same size. He is dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, but woven into the fabric are lights that are so tiny you can't see them when they are off. But right now they are on and his whole outfit seems to glow. As for me, my dress is made of the same fabric and it stretches to the bottom of the chariot. On my head, I wear a silver band, but it has decorations on it to make it look like a jewel encrusted motherboard.

As we travel through the streets, I remember that my mentor told me to not shrink back into the gown, but to let my lights shine bright. Everyone oohed and awed as the lights in our fabric changed colors, symbolically switching to red the most.

I looked out over the crowd and just watched them as they watched me. I struggled to hold in a gasp when I stared at a face in the crowd. Was it Jaine, my mother? The resemblance was uncanny, but I knew in my heart Jaine was gone. Overcome with emotion, I let a tear fall down my dress and onto the dress. There were sparks and a string of lights went out. The short caused a chain reaction and my dress and poor Derekk's outfit were soon cover in sparks and the entire crowd thoroughly enjoyed the show. The lights were so tiny that the shocks didn't hurt too much and we unknowingly gained a lot of attention.

OoOoO

"Please just tell us more about those outfits, even what you're wearing is stunning!"

"Well, I had a great stylist," I gave a thumbs up to the nearest camera and winked, "I don't actually know how it worked, but it was so cool! And look at this tux! It's glowing! Like literally glowing!"

"You seem so enthusiastic about being here! Odd for being from district five."

"Nah! This is great! Me and my best bud, Sera's bro, have always been huge fans of the Games, Caesar. Based on all the scenarios that we've created together, I can win this whole thing fourteen different ways!"

"Aren't you adorable! Let's bring up Sera now!" I ran back to my seat and jumped into it, after bouncing up and down on the squishy seat I turned and gave Sera thumbs up. She smiled weakly and sat down for her interview.

"So, Sera, do you have any strategy going into the games?"

"If I did, I wouldn't share it with you. However, let's just say that I have plans."

"Big plans?"

"No, quite literally small plans," She smiled. I knew what she was talking about. Our mentor Alyx, told us to stick together and hide. We were both so tiny that we can fit anywhere. Not as cool as being in the action, but I don't want to die.

Nobody wants to die.

OoOoO

Good-bye writers' block and hello readers! Surprise I wrote another chapter!