Virus Mackinaw, age 15

District 5 Male

I was staring to get fed up with this rain. It was coming down hard, now, and making me clench my fists to keep from lashing out. Or maybe it was because I was turning my hands into fists so that I could hit somebody... It was hard to tell. Too many emotions blending together: hatred, annoyance, the need to just take my anger out.

Pixie hurried to the boy's reaping bowl, and chose the first slip, almost knocking the bowl over. I imagined her knocking it over and all of the papers flying away and her being killed by the Capitol. I grinned wickedly. Call me strange, call be messed in the head, call me anything. That's true entertainment.

Like the Hunger Games.

I tapped my foot impatiently waiting for Pixie to read the name. Hurry up, I thought, glaring at her. Hurry up!

In the brief second before Pixie unfolded the slip and called out the name, I thought about my two younger sisters who were in the reaping with me: Buggie and Telsa. While the six girls on stage seemed like they could put up a good show, I wondered what it would be like with either of them in the Games. Surely, it wouldn't end well. One - or both - of them would be dead within the first few minutes.

Then I looked at the other girls on stage. With placements in mind, I ranked all six of them in terms of how well they did in the Games. There were two girls still crying away, the thirteen year old and the girl who tried to run. Bloodbath for both of them. I imagined all of the different ways that they could be killed, and smirked to myself. Then there was a girl in a white shirt who looked like she was hyperventilating. Maybe just past the bloodbath for her. Next, the oldest, the eighteen year old. She seemed like she could be a real competitor.

"Virus Mackinaw, our first male tribute!" Pixie announced. I sighed, and started moving towards the stage.

Looked like she would be my competitor.

Tomas Spark, age 16

District 5 Male

There was already one boy picked. That lowered my chances by going into the Games by a slight percentage. Of course, that was including the fact that I had no tesserae, and that several boys might have taken it out, perhaps many times. That certainly helped my odds of being reaped. And the more boys who were selected meant that everybody's odds were decreasing.

It was simple.

Of course, I wasn't worried about being reaped. I should have been, but I knew there were other people who were more likely than I was to be reaped. What was there to worry about? A lot, actually. If I was picked, there was no way I would win. I had zero training, and Five was an urban district. There was no way to learn anything about edible plants or plants that could heal, or anything about plants in general. Maybe that was why we only had three victors.

And besides, I couldn't think about the Games. I had my own dreams for the future in Five. Since my family was higher class than most of the district, we could afford to send me to an advanced school where I could pursue my dream of becoming an engineer. My older brother, Tyler, was in the training program to become an engineer now that he was nineteen, free from the reaping. All businesses were always hesitant to take anybody still eligible for the reaping because what would happen if they were picked? Business would suffer, that's what.

As Pixie swirled the slips in the bowl with her hand, trying to create suspense, I glanced back to look for my younger sister, Penny. She had just turned thirteen, so this was her second reaping. She had always been terrified of the Games, and I guessed my way of telling her that she would be fine didn't help. All I had said was that everybody's chances were higher, but she would be fine because she only had two papers, but the first couple drawings were when she should be nervous. In retrospect, I supposed it wasn't the best thing to say. Oops.

Pixie yanked her hand out of the bowl, a folded piece of paper in hand. She walked back to the microphone, unfolded the paper, and called out the name, "Tomas Spark!" Instinctively, I looked around, seeking out whoever it was, before realizing it was me. Fear set in, and, in a daze, I walked into the aisle.

I never would be an engineer.

Preston Gibbs, age 13

District 5 Male

I dragged the toe of my shoe lightly across a puddle, watching the water dance. The cobblestones were easier to look at than people. People were intimidating. Cobblestones always looked the same. People were always different.

I knew one of the girls on stage. Elena. We were in the same year at school. I felt bad for her, being so young in the Games. She was nice to me, and I liked her. But she was nice to everybody. And I didn't like her in that way. Besides, I had Sunny for my friend. Only one friend was good enough for me. As long as they were loyal and didn't tell anybody else anything about me, I was fine with it.

Nobody knew why I was so quiet. The only people I really talked to were Sunny and my adoptive mom, Alexa. My real mom was reaped and killed in the 137th Games, after giving birth to me at sixteen. I liked to think that Alexa was my real mom. It made my life much more enjoyable. I didn't have to think about all the crazy stuff that happened before I was born.

I glanced up towards the stage, to see what was happening, then dropped my gaze. Too many people. The urge to slip away flickered up, but I forced it down. You didn't just run during the reaping. The Peacekeepers would be all over you.

The sound of Pixie's high heels clicking against the stage let me know that she was picking a third name. Another child to die. Alexa always told me that she adopted me because I seemed so small and helpless. I was only three at the time. Her words floated to me as Pixie walked back across the stage, a death certificate in her gloved hand. I looked up long enough to see her unfold the paper and read, "Preston Gibbs!"

It didn't take long for the tears to start. I began moving through the crowd of thirteen year olds. I cried. It wasn't my best moment. My eyes locked on the ground, I walked to the stage. Mounting the steps, I realized everybody was watching me. Quickly, I tried to stop the tears, and it half worked.

All I could think was I'd die, just like my mom.

Issac Tate, age 16

District 5 Male

I watched, fascinated, as a worm inched its way through a crack in the ground, into a puddle. Why did worms always find a way to the surface whenever the ground was wet? How did they know? Was the dirt where the worm lived mud now? So many questions, and I wanted the answers. Questions and answers were what I thrived on, all day, everyday.

Sometimes, I only had myself for company. Actually, it was a lot more than sometimes. It was everyday. My parents worked long hours in a power plant, and my brother was thirty, and had been out of the house for a long time. To keep from losing my mind, I had resorted to just generally wondering about things, wondering why something was a certain way, what would happen if I did something different to a plant or anything like that. That hobby soon blossomed into a full-fledged personality trait.

I didn't mind much. People had never talked to me before, but now, I was even more difficult to understand as a person. Not everybody questioned everything like I did. Not even my own family understood me, but then again, I barely saw them. The only person who I really clicked with was my uncle Watt, but he had been dead for years.

Pixie picked a fourth slip, and I couldn't help but think about what would the Games be like if there were no Careers? if there was a different way of picked the tributes instead of the reaping? If all the districts took pride in the Games like One, Two, and Four? How different would everything be? All of the districts would have a fair shot at winning. Everything would be equal.

If only that was actually true.

"Alright," Pixie said, unfolding the piece of paper. "The fourth male tribute is Issac Tate!"

Why was it my name that was chosen? What had I done to deserve this fate?

Joshua Lazer, age 16

District 5 Male

I still couldn't believe that Destiny was reaped. My crush, the one girl I liked, was being sent off to die, and we hadn't even had a conversation yet! And, well okay, she barely knew who I was. We had one class together, but in her eyes, I was still the new kid, the boy who just came to the rich school and stared at her from across the classroom. Eventually I would work up the courage to talk to her.

In like a billion years, probably. Then I'd be ready.

Why was it so difficult to talk to girls? Some boys had no trouble doing it. Others struggled endlessly. I was one that struggled. If there was a secret to doing it, I would like to know it. Maybe some of my friends knew it. And I had plenty of friends.

That's the thing. Some kids at school are either swarmed by people of the same gender or of the opposite. Talking with boys came easy to me. Even though I was the new kid, I wasn't an outcast. I had plenty of good, loyal friends. Not everybody could say the same.

"Hey, Joshua," my friend Matt said to me. He was seventeen, so he was in the group in front of me, but we were still standing together. "If you get picked with Destiny, how many nights before the Games will you two make out?"

I gave him a dirty look. "Like that's ever gonna happen," I muttered. But the very thought left me shifted from foot to foot, uncomfortable. Sure, I may have thought about that once or twice, but hearing it from Matt just made it weird. But I knew he was just joking around. Most of what he did was a joke, or a prank, or something that just made the atmosphere better to be in.

"The fifth male tribute is Joshua Lazer!" Pixie called, dragging my attention to the stage. Me? Nervous butterflies fluttered in my stomach, but I forced a small smile as I walked up to the stage, my eyes locked on Destiny.

If I was going to die, at least I was going to die with her.

Matt Woper, age 17

District 5 Male

I didn't actualy think that he would be reaped. I was just making a joke! I was only trying to lighten the mood! Oh my god, what if I jinxed him by asking that? Great. I just ruined my friend's life.

Okay, maybe I was overreacting. But nobody liked watching a friend fight in the Games. It was difficult. Personally, I hadn't had to deal with something like that, but I knew a few people who lost siblings to the Games. It must have been awful.

Pixie congratulated Joshua on stage, but I could tell he was completely out of it. He was distracted. And, to be honest, so was I. Without Joshua to talk to, I wasn't sure what to do. Sure, I could talk to the other boys around me, but nobody understood my humor like my friends did. So I bit my lip, looking around awkwardly.

What would I do if Joshua died?

Stop it.

Instead of dwelling on my emotions, I pictured Joshua's face after I asked him about him and Destiny. The thought that might actually happen now made me smile. I laughed quietly, and one kid looked at me strangely. I trained my eyes on the ground, trying not to smile again. I must have looked insane.

Pixie picked the last slip, and walked back to the microphone. By this point, everybody was soaked to the bone, cold, and miserable. Pixie must not have thought her first reaping would be like this. Quickly, she unfolded the paper and said, "The final male tribute is Matt Woper!"

Oh cool, it's not me. It's some kid named Matt Woper. Wait a second... That was me. For a second, I couldn't move from my shock. When I finally stepped into the aisle, I couldn't help but wonder what the outcome of these Game would be. After all, I was going in with my best friend and the girl he liked.

None of the possible outcomes looks good for me.

And there were the males for District Five! I hope you all liked them! Thanks to:

BabyRue11 for Virus,

The AmazingJAJ for Tomas,

66samvr for Preston,

Foxfaceisthebest for Issac,

and gameshungerplayer for Joshua and Matt.

I hope I did them all justice. Today's song is When I Was Your Man by Bruno Mars. Also, if some of you were wondering, Preston's POV was supposed to have all those short little sentences.

I'm so hype right now. Can't wait for the Super Bowl later today. Go Pats! Also, if you haven't voted in the poll yet, please do so. Currently, there is a four-way tie between tributes, so if more people vote, maybe there won't be?

One more thing. Etherealepiphany has a really promising looking SYOT and there are a few more open spots. If you want to submit any tributes, definitely check that out! See you next Sunday in District Six! We're reaching our halfway mark soon!

-D9T