Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark won the 74th Hunger Games, with their star cross lovers' story. The rebellion began at the Victors' Escape in the Third Quarter Quell a year later. This will all happen in about twenty years. I have to survive and make my family survive until then. I don't remember district 10 being important. Not like 12 where the main characters in this horror show live, or 11 where a fight break out in their victor tour, or even worst district 8 that was bombed until the point it had almost no survivors.
No, my district was calm, out of the picture. I guess I can even dare to say safe, as safe you can be in Panem, not a single person from 10 has their name in the books if I recall correctly. But first things firsts, I am not a fighter, in the world of before my country suffer from a dictatorship that ended short before I was born, because of this my mother was always worry that I get myself involved with the police. She didn't want me to be a martyr. And even though I already died I didn't want to have the experience again. So even if a fight breaks out in the district I will probably run to the other side.
Which brings to the most important point. I cannot be reaped. Die or kill in that arena. I don't think I can do anything.
The panic paralyzed me. For weeks I did everything into the automatic mode. Always holding my hands to the nearest person so they would hug me and I can see they were alive, there, with me. I could see that my behavior was strange for my parents, until then I was an independent child. Right now, it looks like I was going to throw a tantrum every time I was left alone.
Just like when I was on the darkness scenarios keep playing in my head. Sure, I could keep my life like normal, and when the rebellion ends maybe I can even go to the university and do something I enjoy more than taking care of livestock, for what my father said to James I suppose we will not need to take tesserae, so our choices are slim.
But Primrose Everdeen name was there only once. And she was reaped.
I cannot trust the odds. If I end there, I cannot blame myself for procrastinate to the point that cost my life. For me, in the world of before, exercise sucks, I, as all the society, value more intellectual knowledge than physical abilities. But even if you know how to make a bomb it would be useless if you die in the blood bath. I need to get in shape. At least the baby body will be worth for it. I can already hold my feet (something that my sibling think is funny) which show more flexibility than I had before, now I need to keep it. And start walking. And running. And climbing trees.
Oh god, I wish I could nap the whole time. Well, I guess exercising sucks, but dying sucks more.
Since my discovery of where I was and what the future holds, time flew past me. There was so many things to do and so little time. I spent the days running from one side to the other in the farm. To the point that my brother Will told me I was the official messenger of the Gadeer clan. Taking notes and flowers from one family member to another. Dad, weird that now he is dad, but he is one of my people so I should call him accordingly, likes to give me flowers and poems to deliver to mom, who always blushes and laugh shyly. Chris and Charlie made me deliver "I am the best brother" card one to another until I was all of breath.
As I grow older, I also got responsibilities in the farm, but since the twins already reclaim the pigs, Chloe is taking care of the chickens alone and Harper is starting to fix clothes for other people in the district, there wasn't much for me to do. Sure, there was the cows, but mom and dad believe you need to be at least eight to be trusted in a horse alone. At the age of six I didn't fit the criteria.
So, my job was to find and identify herbs around the farm. See what could be used to give an extra flavor at food and what was poison for the animals and we need to get rid of. Weird that I ended up doing this, at the world of before I bought everything in the supermarket and didn't know anything about herbs that didn't came in a pot with instructions.
And now I start school. I guess it would be useless. The education on the districts is poor and mostly focused on the thing we are responsible. Our case, we will learn about cows, pigs, etc. And the kids I will meet, well I think my mental age is way older than my body. Not exactly 22 as when I died, but definitely not older, somewhere between six and twenty-two. Too old mentally to interact properly with kids my age, and too young physically to interact with older people.
It's alright, I have my brothers and sisters. I was an only child before, and honestly six siblings are great, friends that you can fight as much as you want and still say I love you in the end of the day. But they make me go mad. And I don't have a single quiet moment for myself, not that I really want to. It's weird that since I discover where exactly I was reborn – and this still makes me wonder, why did I reborn? Or at least why did I keep my memories? – I became really attached to my family, but I'm natural an introvert type, alone time is important.
"Ophelia! Stop daydreaming and come here! Do you already pack every thing you will need?" My mother scream from our living/dinning room. One good thing about the district 10 is that we have free space to build our homes. Of course, we were not carpenters, but it allowed a little bit more of comfort than the other outside districts, that were limited by land or money.
Chloe finally decided which ribbon she would put on my hair. At the age of 11 she saw me as her own doll to dress up. And we made our way to met the others, I cling on her hand during the whole time.
My interaction with other kids, outside my family, were never that great in this life. Since I'm not mentally their age our interest are not the same. I tried to talk with some children in the center square, but little girls' problems are going to drive me insane if all the reincarnation thing did not. I mean, yes, Jalel is cute, for a child, you guys are six, common. And the boys only talk about the field and the farm. District 10 grew up on me, but that doesn't mean I am not going to a city in the first possibility.
During my overthinking and self-pity to pass for school again I did not realize we went down the road in the direction to the second education building until we were almost there.
Here there is three schools, at first, I thought it would only have one like district 12, but the segregation of class is bad. The first school is where the sons and daughters of merchants go, their curriculum is different then ours and they learn about business and have a more diverse education, similar to the world of before. The second school is where we go, kids from the farms, but kids that have animals, we learn about the animals, best way to make them fatter and all, and the basic of the rest, most of us do not finish education. There isn't really a point, we can't go out of the district and class movement only happens through marriage, so the majority of us study until 16 and them go to work all time. That was what James and Will did. Last school is the worst, who goes there will probably become a butcher for the Capitol meat or work in temporary jobs in the farms, they are the poorest in the district and the ones that are reaped almost every single year for the Hunger Games. Almost all of them do not last more than the blood bath.
Is easy differentiate between us. Most of the people in the district have brown hair and eyes, with olive skin tan because of the intense sun that plagues us every day. But if you see someone with blond or red hair, they're probably a merchant. If they look athletic and healthy, they are probably from the farm. My body is still of a child but all my brothers are going to be tall, the two oldest ones are already as big as the guys I tried to avoid in the gym in the world of before, and the twins are growing like weeds, at thirteen they were all clumsy, their legs and arms growing faster than they could get used to. And if they look like they starve they went to the third school.
As I stare at the building, trying to find courage to enter my personal hell for the next ten years, my siblings disappear to find their friends.
Is not that I hate school. I like to learn. Most things. But if kids are anything like the before they are going to be cruel with anything different and I cannot pretend like I do in our short's trips to the center square.
"Just like ripping a band-aid lets finish this fast." I murmur to myself.
A boy two years older than me gave a strange look. Talking to yourself is not consider normal. Great start.