Azalea Graze, age 16

District 10 Female

There was a knock on the door. Azalea jumped right up, and squeezed past Kira fixing Colby's reaping shirt. Their house was small, and with five people living in it, Azalea felt as if she was always in somebody's way.

Azalea opened the door. She smiled when she saw Vince behind it. They had started dating a year ago, after the reaping last year. He smiled back.

"Hi, Azalea," he said. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," Azalea responded. She turned back into her house and shouted, "Mom! Dad! Vince's here! I'm leaving!"

Her mother appeared. "Take your sister and brother with you," she said, and Colby jumped right up. Azalea groaned softly. She loved her siblings, but sometimes she wished she was an only child.

"Fine," Azalea muttered, and turned back to Vince. Kira and Colby were there in less than a second and they started their trek to the square.

Azalea's house wasn't far from the square, but it felt like she was walking across the whole district.

"Ready for today?" she asked Vince, who's face was pale. The reaping last year had claimed his sister who was only twelve. She'd gone down first in the bloodbath last year. He'd been pretty shaken up for the past year.

"I guess so." The square was in sight.

"Alright, well, good luck today," Azalea said as they neared check-in. She knelt next to Colby, who was trembling. He was only thirteen, and was absolutely terrified of the Games and being a tribute.

"Hey," Azalea said softly. "You'll be fine, alright? You only have two slips in there."

"But you have twenty five," Kira said, leaning over to hug them. Kira was nineteen, finally safe from the reaping, so the burden of the tesserae was on Azalea's shoulders. They wouldn't allow Colby to take any until he was older.

"Yeah, but I'll be fine, too. I'll see you afterwards, okay?" Azalea said, and stood up. As she gave her finger to the Peacekeeper for check-in, Azalea got a nervous spasm in her stomach.

Buck Sadle, age 17

District 10 Male

Buck looked back for his little sister, Mesa. He found her almost immediately. She was very tall for fourteen, a few inches shorter than himself, so she stood out like a sunflower in a daisy field. She smiled, trying to hide her scared expression. Buck knew the feeling.

Buck turned his attention to the stage, where the mayor introduced the district escort, Tiara. The people clapped unenthusiastically. They all hated her after choosing a twelve year old girl to compete in the Quell. Buck did, too, but for a different reason. He hated her because she was always so happy to rip innocent children from their homes and have them essentially killed.

Getting straight to business, Tiara took the microphone and said, "Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor! Let's just go and choose our girl tribute, shall we?"

Tiara pranced to the girl's reaping ball, and the whole crowd fell silent. She made a huge show of choosing the name. The whole time, all Buck thought was, Please not Mesa or Sierra. Please. He looked to the girl's seventeen year old section and saw his girlfriend, Sierra, standing there, pale.

Buck turned his attention back to the stage where Tiara was back at the microphone. She unfolded the paper. One slip with one name, and somebody's life was gone. Just like an open window in the night, a few well-placed footsteps, and somebody's food was gone. Buck did that a lot, just to feed his family.

"The lucky lady representing District Ten this year is Miss Azalea Graze!" Tiara announced. There was a yell from the section behind Buck's. He turned, and saw the girl, Azalea, step from her section, trembling. Buck assumed the boy behind him was her boyfriend.

As soon as Azalea mounted the steps, Tiara zipped to the boy's reaping ball, picked a slip, and read out the name, "Buck Sadle."

No! Any other one in there, any one of them! Buck thought frantically, and stepped from his section. He walked to the stage, a mask on his face that was hiding his real feelings. He was showing the Capitol what they wanted to see.

After his thievery, his couldn't have been a coincidence. The Peacekeepers must have somehow traced all the break ins back to him. His reaping was rigged.

Buck was scared and he was now a tribute in the 101st Hunger Games.

Azalea Graze, age 16

District 10 Female

Azalea sat on the couch, crying and hating herself for taking out so much tesserae. She would much rather die from starvation than have a long, painful, bloody death in the arena. She would rather die in Ten than in the Capitol. Home was where she belonged, dead or alive.

When the door opened, Azalea didn't jump up and rush to her family. She barely acknowledged them. It was only when she heard Kira's soft voice that she looked up. Her parents were in hysterics, Colby was crying into her mother's shirt and Kira was just barely holding back tears. The Graze family was falling apart because of Azalea.

"Why me?" Azalea cried, and Kira took her into her arms.

"Don't blame yourself." Kira knew her sister too well. Azalea was blaming herself and she didn't even realize it.

"Azalea, my girl," her father said. "You're going to have to kill. You don't have a choice if you want to come home."

Azalea looked sadly up at her father. She knew in her heart that she would have to take lives, but she didn't want to. But she didn't have a choice. No victor won without killing.

"I know, Dad," Azalea said. "I know. I don't think I'll be able to do it, though."

"Azalea, you're so strong," Colby said, clinging to her arm. "You can do it. You have to come back."

Azalea smiled. Her family had faith in her. She could do this. They hugged as a family, then the Peacekeeper came to take them away.

Vince barged through the door and swept Azalea into his arms. She could feel his tears on the side of her neck. Her heart seemed to stutter to a stop. The ripple of sadness in her family was all caused by the Capitol. It was their fault.

"I love you," Vince choked out through his tears. "Dammit, Azalea Graze, I love you so much."

"I love you, too," Azalea said. "You know it."

Vince pulled her away, and held her face in his hands. For a few moments, he just looked at her, before kissing her hard on the lips.

Azalea was momentarily stunned. After a year of dating, they hadn't kissed. The most they had ever done was hugged each other. Azalea was getting her first kiss before she was sent to her death.

"Please, please, please come home," Vince whispered. "You can't die. I need you."

"I'm not going to," Azalea said. The Peacekeeper came to take Vince, and he wished her luck.

Azalea stood motionless at the door until it was time to go.

Buck Sadle, age 17

District 10 Male

"It couldn't have been a coincidence," Buck said, his head in his hands. Mesa was sitting on one side of him on the couch, his parents in the other. His mother was rubbing his back.

"Don't think like that, honey," his mother said. "It was just bad luck. Calm down."

"I just want you to try your best out there," his father said.

"I will, Dad," Buck promised. "But I still think the reaping was rigged."

"All the more reason to come home, right?" Mesa asked. "Show the Capitol that they couldn't stop you." Buck smiled at Mesa's optimistic thinking. He may have been a thief, but at least he was a thief with a good reason. And he had a heart.

"You can win," his mother said confidently. Mesa nodded in agreement.

"Thanks, guys," Buck said. "I'm gonna try my hardest. And who knows? I could come home."

Mesa hugged him. "I'll miss you while you're in the Capitol. And you can win. I believe in you."

Buck hugged his little sister back, and the Peacekeeper came in the room and told them that their time was up. Mesa released Buck, and his parents hugged him again, then they left.

Sierra quietly walked into the room. She looked upset, but also kind of confused, like she didn't know what to say. Buck stood there awkwardly, too, for a minute, then Sierra said, "Do you think they figured it out?"

"They must have," Buck admitted.

"Please come back," Sierra begged, a tear tracing down her cheek. She collapsed into Buck's arms. Buck stroked her long hair. "Besides," Sierra said, gently pulling away. "I think you're going to be a dad."

Buck's face must have been more surprised than he thought, because Sierra laughed.

"What?" Buck asked, shocked. "Are you sure?"

"Not totally," Sierra said. "I'll definitely be sure in a few days, though."

"I won't be here," Buck realized.

"All the more reason for you to win."

Almost done with the reapings! I can't wait until the tributes get to interact. Only four more tributes until the train rides!

Azalea and Buck. Who did you like better? Do you think Buck's reaping was rigged? What about his possible fatherhood? Or Azalea getting her first kiss before the Games? Getting new ideas for these goodbyes is becoming tough, since I don't want them to get repetitive. See you Thursday in District Eleven!