Trigger warning: mentions of prostitution, drugs and underage drinking in the first POV. Please proceed with caution.

Astrid Balan, 15
District 3 Female

Ten days before the Reaping

"Astrid, where are you going?"
"Out," Astrid replied nonchalantly, turning the handle slightly.

Ester placed her hand on your hips. "You're hanging out with those sluts again, aren't you?'
"You know, Mom, they don't really appreciate you calling them sluts."

"You know how I feel about this Astrid! I don't want you going out there!"
"I don't care! They're my friends and you can't keep me here all night!"
"Astrid Balan, come back inside right this instant-"

Astrid slammed the door shut, cutting her mother off. She tore down the streets, weaving through the crowds of tired factory workers going to from and their shifts. She ducked into a dark alleyway and waited. A familiar shadow slid across the side of the building, but Astrid wasn't scared. She knew exactly who it belonged to.

"Where is everybody?"
Lydia plucked some lint off her jacket sleeve. "Hell if I know."
"It's more fun with them."

"They'll get here when they get here." Lydia perched on top of a wooden crate. "Damn stiff. Tried to rip me off last night. Said I'm only worth about ten coins."
"Hey now, I say you're worth twenty! Don't let anybody tell you different."

The two friends laughed. After a few more minutes, they were joined by another pair of teenage girls. One of them carried a case of alcohol under her arm while the other was smoking a blunt with a bag of pills sticking out of her pocket.
Lydia threw up her hands. "Bring out the booze!"

The alcohol was quickly passed around. Astrid took a quick sip, feeling a slight buzz. "Aw yeah, that's the stuff. Excellent choice, Layla."
"Hey, only the best for my girls." Layla chugged nearly half of her own bottle. "I'd never let any good friend of mine drink that nasty cheepo shit."

"We are sooooo gonna regret this tomorrow!" Lydia cackled, dropping her head in her hands. "Oh, I can feel it kicking in already. Better than what those rich bastards stock in the fridge."
"Hey!" Astrid jumped as Emana suddenly threw her arms around her. "What are you doing?"

Emana slowly waved the bag of pills in Astrid's face. "Look what I scored."
"Where did you get those?"

Emana shrugged; her breath reeked of Layla's drinks. "From someone who doesn't need them." She pulled out a small blue pill and pressed it into Astrid's hand. "Don't worry, they're safe."
"As safe as any old pill from your medicine cabinet can be." Layla scoffed, opening up a second bottle. "I don't mess with that kind of stuff. You never know."

Emana delicately placed the pill onto her tongue. Astrid just watched, entranced. With alcohol, she had way less restraint, because she knew exactly how it messed her up and the wicked hangover she was sure to have tomorrow. Hangovers sucked, whether it was her first or tenth. But they were a necessary price to pay for entertainment.

Drugs, those little ovals of the rainbow that Emana liked to play with...those were a different story. A new trip each time. Some of them were hilarious, some were downright terrifying. There was a small part of her that wanted to say no, finish her drink, and call it a night. Yet, she wondered what exactly she might be missing out on.

One small dose, couldn't hurt, right?

Astrid plucked the tiniest pill, a little red one. It tasted funny, but she quickly swallowed it, washing it down with some alcohol. Emana was already out of her mind, with Lydia and Layla watching on in anticipation. At first, Astrid felt nothing out of the ordinary. Maybe that one was a dud.

Until the whole world began to sway.

She was flying and falling at the same time, and everything was annoyingly bright. Lydia poked her arm, her eye sockets dripping a sick pink liquid and her teeth turned into a hundred little ants that fell from her lips. Astrid wanted to cry and laugh and watch as her hands melted into all sorts of weird shapes. And then she falling even further this time, into the hold-riddled arms of a strange, cartoonish figure that sounded a lot like Layla.

"Woah there! You alright, Astrid? Astrid!?"

Astrid panted heavily, sweat running down her face. "Am I still tripping?"
"You could be. Do you feel okay?"
Astrid gently ran her fingers down Layla's forearm, checking for holes. "I've been through worse. How's Emana?"

Lydia grimaced. "Still hasn't come down yet."
"She'll be fine. Can someone get me another drink?"

The cold bottle was pressed against her lips and Astrid took a big gulp. She was beyond tipsy now, and the pills definitely wasn't going to help her sober up anytime soon. Yep, at this rate, she'd have a hell of a hangover the next day. For sure, her mother was going to be pissed at her. Hell yeah she wanted to do this again.

Too tired for any other antics, Astrid just lay up against Layla's shoulder, holding Emana's hand as her friend continued on in her little drugged-out world.

Maybe her mother didn't approve of this this kind of life, but it was loud, it was fast, and it was colourful. There was always something to do, someone to chat with, and a sense of thrilling danger hidden inside each little bottle and pill.

Astrid was in no mood to ever give it up.

Gear Griswald, 12
District 3 Male

Two months before the Reaping

Class was over. Gear lingered right by the door, waiting for Coyle. The two of them liked to walk home together whenever they could.

So it was a bit surprising when Coyle came up from the opposite direction, a ten year-old girl holding his hand. "Hey Gear. Ready to go?"
"Does she have to come?"

"Coooooooyle! Not fair!" Roslynn tugged her older brother's arm.
Coyle flashed Gear an awkward smile. "Yeah sorry. You don't mind, right?"

"Let's just go."

The school hallways were as crowded as they always were. Unlike Coyle and Gear, many kids stayed after school for various activities and clubs available. Coyle made a bit of small talk, but Gear just ignored everyone keeping his head titled slightly downwards.

"Hey Gear, I heard they're gonna start up a robotics club soon! I'm thinking I might join."
"Good for you."
"Wanna join? It'll be fun!"

Gear shook his head. "And hang out with all these older kids who insist their way is the right way? It's more fun with a smaller team. Like you and me."
"Come on Gear! You never do anything after school! And I bet we can get a lot of cool tips from the older guys."

The club didn't sound so bad, but the idea of so many people trying to make themselves heard in a single classroom was just too overwhelming for Gear. "It does sound a little fun, but not really for me. Plus, you know how my mom is. You can go if you want. But I think I'll have to pass."

"What club!? Can I join the club?" Roslynn grabbed Coyle's arm again. "Coyle, let me join the club or I'll tell!"
"Ughhhh, no you're not!"

Gear listened to the two siblings bicker for a few moments. "Are you guys done? Everyone is staring!"
Coyle gave his little sister a shove. "It's all her fault."
"I'm telling Mom!"
"No you're not!"

"Come on guys!" Gear tried to pull Coyle off Roslynn. "Can you please fight outside? Where nobody can hear us?"
Once they were finally out of school, the bickering died down. Coyle and gear said their goodbyes before heading off in opposite directions, Coyle dragging a stubborn Rosylnn along with him. Once Gear was home, he was suddenly ambushed by his mother who began to pinch his cheeks.

"Gear, where have you been!? I thought I told you to come straight home after school! If you keep abusing my trust like this, I'm going to start picking you up everyday and you'll have to tell Coyle you can't walk home with him anymore."
"Sorry Mom, we got a little sidetracked."

"Well, don't do it again. Do you have any homework?"
"Yes. And I'm going to go do it now."

Up in his room, Gear finished his homework, just like every other day. Then, he flopped onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Maybe joining a school club wouldn't be too bad, because Coyle was going to be there. But then again, his mother was very adamant he come straight home after school every single day. Those were the rules in the Griswald household.

Though Gear always thought that same rules were meant to be broken.

There was a knock on the door. "Gear, are you in there?"
"What is it?"
"Meet me in the backyard in ten minutes. We're going to do some exercises."

Gear sighed. "No, Uncle Ollie. I'm not in the mood."
"I don't care if you're not in the mood, boy! You need to be strong and capable! What if you need to protect yourself or your mother? Don't you want to be able to do that?"

Tossing and turning, Gear grabbed his pillow and placed it over his head. He could hear his uncle stomp into his bedroom, probably standing over him. "Gear, I'm just looking out for you."
"We'll do it some other day-"
"You say this every single time."

"Ollie!" There was his mother. "Leave my son alone! You're not allowed in his room!"
"Come on, Nadia!" Uncle Ollie's voice trailed off. "We've been over this..."

Gear carefully removed the pillow from his face, placing it back behind his head. he still had a few hours before dinner. Shoving up his blankets to give the impression of him sleeping, he opened up his window before dragging stool over and climbing out of it. He quickly kicked the stool to the side before he crawled into the branches of the old tree growing right next to his room. Gear then slid down the trunk.

Once he was safely on two feet and a far enough distance away, he stopped caring about noise altogether. Gear ran down the familiar path he knew would take him to Coyle's house. He knew his mother would freak if she found out her darling little boy was doing something as unsafe as climbing out of windows and down trees. But she didn't need to know. As long as he was back home before she called him for dinner, his secret was safe.

And Gear was always on time.

And the Reapings are finally done! What do you think of our last two tributes? Of all the tributes so far? Which ones stood out to you the most?

Now, it's time for a check-in! Like with most of my SYOTs, this one will have a few check-in questions to be answered during the story. This chapter's check-in question is:

If your tribute could have any animal as a pet, which animal would they choose?

Please PM me the answer either on Discord or Fanfiction. If you have more than one tribute in this story, answer the question for all of them.

Next chapter will be a quick recap with Taurus and Sterling as they discuss the Reapings! Stay tuned for that!

-Vr