Elizabeth Paylor, age 16

District 5 Female

I watched, motionless, as the mayor, Five's new escort, and our victors took the stage. The two glass balls holding all of the names reflected the gray storm clouds, and as the mayor stood to give his annual speech, a swift wind picked up. It was almost as if the sky had sensed the mood of everybody in the district. Reaping Day in District Five was like a public execution.

"And, I would like to introduce our new escort, Pixie!" the mayor said with very little enthusiasm. Pixie, however, jumped right up, a bright smile on her face, ready to start her first reaping. She kept glancing at the sky as she walked to the microphone, and ran into it. I smiled. Whenever somebody did something stupid because they weren't paying attention, I couldn't help myself. It was like a reflex.

"Hello, everybody!" Pixie said. "As much as I would like to take this slow, it seems like we may not have enough time. So, let's begin!" She walked over to the girl's reaping bowl and pulled one of the slips. To distract myself, I listened in to the conversation a few girls around me were having.

"I think this may be a thunderstorm," one girl was saying. "Once this thing is over, I dare you to stand outside with a metal rod." I guessed I couldn't hide my horror at an idea like that, because the girl turned to me. "Would you do that?"

"Oh definitely," I said automatically. "Yeah, I love things like that." Lies. They were all lies. Safe in my house was where I wanted to be during a thunderstorm. In every single somewhat dangerous situation there was, I would be as far away from it as possible. And my lying was another one of my reflexes, one that had become a real problem between me and my family, namely my grandparents.

"The first girl is Miss Elizabeth Paylor!" Pixie called, and my head whipped up to face the stage. Some type of horrible flower planted itself in my stomach, spreading it's roots, then blossoming, sending fear throughout my entire being. No, no, no, I couldn't be reaped! I couldn't be a tribute! I wasn't ready!

But apparently the Peacekeepers who came to get me didn't care.

Elena Proessimer, age 13

District 5 Female

Please don't rain. Please don't rain. Please don't rain. Please wait until after the reaping. Please, please, please. I stood in my section, gripping the rope for all it was worth, staring at the gray storm clouds. My least favorite thing in the world? Water. I guessed somebody could say it was silly, but two years ago, I was with my mom in the boiler room of one of the factories when one of them malfunctioned. Water streamed out, and I barely made it out of there alive. It's reasonable. I wanted to live.

A clap of thunder sounded, making me and several other people jump. I glanced over towards the boy's section, and spotted my best friend Jule. He gave my a comforting look, and I knew my face must have been white as a sheet. I absolutely hated the reaping. It just put everybody's nerves on edge.

Pixie quickly plucked another paper from the bowl. One girl latched onto my hand. I looked at her in shock, but my surprise faded when I saw the terrified look in her eyes. I put a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up at me. "It's going to be fine," I whispered to her. "You'll be okay."

The girl quickly nodded, then whispered back, "I'm just scared it's gonna be me. Aren't you nervous?"

I was nervous it was going to be me, but I put on a reassuring smile to calm the girl down. "Not one bit," I said, trying to sound comforting. "We'll both be fine. You'll see." With that, I turned back to the stage, praying that it wasn't my name on that slip of paper. But a small voice in the back of my head whispered, But what if it is you?

It wasn't going to be. It couldn't be.

"The second female tribute is Elena Proessimer! Where is Elena?" Pixie announced, and I felt my heart stop. I pulled my hand from the girl's, and she gave me an accusing look. I trying to ignore it, along with all of the stares that were being directed at me. Tears were building in my eyes as I moved into the aisle. Walking to the stage, I could hold them back with a little difficulty. But once I got halfway there, I lost control, and cried my heart out. Why me? Why was I reaped?

A drop of rain hit the back of my neck, the sky crying with me for my impending death.

Abbigail "Abbi" Archard, age 15

District 5 Female

That poor girl. I felt awful as the thirteen year old mounted the steps, sobbing. Why would the Capitol have a little girl like her participate in their Hunger Games? It wasn't right. My maternal instincts wanted to volunteer for her, but I wasn't that brave. I knew that. And, besides, I had Dana to think about. My mentally unstable little sister who had just turned eligible for the Hunger Games in the year that she was most likely to be reaped. And I had to be ready if her name was called.

Don't think like that, I told myself. Being positive was a much better way to live than being negative, wasn't it? It could brighten anybody's day, and just that knowledge alone made me happy. That was why the reaping was a terrible time in this district. Our tributes rarely won, so everybody was scared. It was awful. As much as I wanted to spread cheer, I wouldn't be able to make a dent in this general gloom.

The rain had started. It wasn't very heavy, just enough to get you wet and cold and uncomfortable. On stage, Pixie sighed, looking out at all of us who were getting soaked while she, the mayor, the victors, and the two tributes stood underneath a cover. Lucky them. They were all perfectly dry. I smiled, trying to lighten everybody's mood. It didn't work as planned.

"Alright, I guess I should hurry this up," Pixie said. A few girls around me muttered something unpleasant towards her, as Pixie quickly selected a slip right from the top of the bowl. She reached the microphone and unfolded it. "Abbigail Archard!"

No. I felt myself begin to shake. It couldn't be me. Quickly, I ran out of my section towards the back, and saw Dana immediately. She was crying, and as I took her into my arms for a hurried embrace, she lashed out, straining to break free. But I held fast. I couldn't go. I couldn't leave her. I just couldn't.

Hands on my shoulders, my arms, ripping me away from Dana. From my sister. Sobbing, I let go, promising Dana that I would come back as the Peacekeepers dragged me to the stage.

You have to win, Abbi. You have to.

Celes Alexander, age 18

District 5 Female

If I was chosen for the Games, I was ready. I knew how to use weapons, mostly spears. Training was all I did, day and night. My mother would always tell me that she barely even knew me anymore, that she hadn't seen me grow up. All in one ear and out the other. I knew my mother was just being cautious. I vaguely remembered her telling me that everybody had a method to cope with grief, but mine should be gone by now, it had happened so long ago. Why she would tell me that, I have no idea.

I pulled on my high socks, pulling the top out and letting go, trying to distract myself. Usually, I'm not like this. Bursting at the seams with energy, always good for a laugh, that's me. Not this moody girl who came to the reaping. But the reapings were a slow time for me. I couldn't train. I had to come here. If I wasn't penned in with all of the other eighteen year old girls, I would be fine.

Just picture wide open space, I thought. Yes, that was better. Open spaces were better than closed spaces. And once this reaping was over, I could leave and go back to my backyard and train. The rain didn't bother me much. I'd been outside in the rain for hours on end. Ten minutes for the reaping wouldn't kill me.

Pixie moved to pick another name from the bowl. Looking at her ridiculous tomato red hair, I cracked a smile. I couldn't help it. I turned to the girl next to me, and whispered, "Hey, why did the tomato turn red?" She looked at me funny, and I gestured to Pixie. Her face softened, and she asked, "Why?"

I could barely hold in my laughter as I replied, "Because it saw the salad dressing." To keep it in, I slapped a hand over my mouth so that my laughter wasn't as loud as I knew it would be. The girl just smiled.

"Okay, the fourth female tribute is Celes Alexander," Pixie said, and with a shock, I realized that was my name. I clenched my fists, and moved into the aisle, nervous before I remembered I had training. I could use a spear better than anybody in the district. I had a good shot at becoming Five's fourth living victor. Excitement bubbled inside me, and a small smile blossomed on my face. I mounted the steps, ready as ever for these Games.

Destiny Lunyard, age 16

District 5 Female

I pretended to scoff at the last girl who was reaped for the people around me. Everybody thought that I was a spoiled rich girl, superior to everybody else. That couldn't have been further from the truth. I just played up to the role because, well, if people thought that was who I was, then maybe that was who I was supposed to be. I don't know.

I hunched over a little, trying to keep my shirt front as dry as possible. Once the rain had started, my white shirt had started clinging to my skin and becoming transparent. It was times like these when I was glad that they separated the boys from the girls during the reaping. If there were any boys near me, they would all be gawking at my soaked through shirt. It was embarrassing enough with all girls.

Sometimes, I wished I was just a normal girl with a handful of friends. It would be nice, instead of having a horde of people following me around everywhere I went. But life doesn't always go the way you want it to.

Still, nothing could stop me from hoping.

As Pixie scurried to pick a fifth slip, I glanced towards the perimeter of the square, looking for my parents and older sister. My sister had just turned nineteen, so she was safe from the reapings, and I was glad. For my parents' sake, having two daughters in this particular reaping would be hard for them. Even though they were two of Five's most prominent council members, they were powerless against the reaping.

Pixie walked back to the microphone, a slip in hand. "The fifth female tribute is Destiny Lunyard!" Pixie announced.

Tears flooded my eyes, as my chest heaved from fear. I couldn't win the Games. That was a fact. There was no way. There would be so many tributes this year, with thirty six trained Careers. Thirty six! The Career pack would be bigger than the normal number of tributes.

I was doomed.

Annalise "Lisey" Hathaway, age 15

District 5 Female

I chewed on my fingernails, overcome with anxiety. Only one more name left. One more and I was safe from another reaping. I was scared that it would be me, but terrified it would be one of my sisters, Lydia and Delilah. I had always been nervous to lose a family member, mainly because I'd heard so many stories about losing siblings and parents from kids at school.

To keep my mind off of the reaping, I thought about the latest place I'd explored: an abandoned hydraulic electricity plant. There were plenty around the district, but this one was the biggest by far. It was so cool, with all of the giant tubes and old elevator systems and giant tanks of scummy water. I'm sure that, at its prime, that plant could produce enormous amounts of electricity. Maybe enough to power the whole district.

I wished that Lydia and Delilah would go with me sometimes when I went exploring. But they were against that. Lydia was usually studying, or reading, or something like that, and Delilah was out with her friends doing illegal things. I guessed that in a way, I was doing illegal business when I went into abandoned factories; I was trespassing. Or, as the Peacekeepers would say, "Trespassing on the Capitol's land."

Everything belonged to the Capitol. Why did it matter where I went?

A bunch of girls around me were moaning about the rain. I didn't really mind it. I'd been out in the rain thousands of times. Outside was where I belonged. I was rarely inside. Even during the summer, I would take a blanket and a pillow and sleep outside.

I had distracted myself so much, I didn't even notice Pixie was back at the microphone until she said, "And the last female tribute is Miss Annalise Hathaway!"

Surprise flooded my veins. That was my name. A single tear slipped down my cheek as I stepped into the aisle. I was going into the Hunger Games. It would be just like one big, dangerous adventure.

There were the females for District Five! Thank you so much to:

BabyRue11 for Elizabeth,

66samvr for Elena,

Red Roses1000 for Abbi,

Professor Boo.k for Celes,

gameshungerplayer for Destiny,

and Fire'sCatching for Lisey.

I hope I did them all justice! I really enjoyed writing these girls. Today's song is (and I'm going for a little bit of a throwback this chapter) Girlfriend by Avril Langrine. That song came out in 2007. That's so long ago.

New poll up. Go vote! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Until next time!