Jacob Ezekiel (15) D9M

It was dinnertime for the family, and everyone was excited about it. It was one of the best parts of the day, one of the only meals we could afford to eat together. I had made it, as I usually did. Abraham and Benjamin were studying for college, trying to get into a good school and hopefully get taken by the Capitol. Elijah pretended he was too dumb to know how to use the stove, though all the siblings knew he wasn't. Only Mom got tricked, and none of us were rude enough to tell her she was being duped, so I had made supper, like always.

"How was studying for you two?" Mom asked, immediately turning her attention to my brothers. Sometimes Dad was polite enough to mention that the food was good, make sure that I felt appreciated. It wasn't like I was lazing around the house when I wasn't making supper. I had to go to school, do a shift in the fields, make supper, eat it, and sleep. Yet Mom didn't notice that. She just noticed that two of her boys, the favorites, could be going to college - if they were smart enough to get a scholarship. If they stuck out from the other desperate families.

"Oh, it was great!" Abraham replied, and I believed him. He was smart. He actually had a shot at something better than the life we were living. I stopped listening to the conversation before he had time to continue. Nobody was going to talk to me, and if I ate quickly, I could get to sleep at a healthy time, instead of getting to sleep super late, being tired, and still having to function like a normal human being.

What if someone just walked up to you and handed you a huge diamond? I thought to myself, falling back into the same old fantasy that always hit me. If we were rich, I could afford to get a housekeeper for Mom and Dad, so they wouldn't have to work so much after their shifts. If I was rich, I could send my brothers to college and keep the richness flowing. If someone did... You could move out. You could send yourself to college, you could live your own life. You wouldn't have to worry about anyone anymore. You could be yourself.

Everyone had thoughts that they didn't like, and everyone knew they had to keep some secret. If I actually was rich, I would never abandon my family like I liked to fantasize about. In my fantasies, they didn't exist. Even in a make-believe world, I couldn't leave them behind. In the real world, if I got rich, I would spend all the money on Mom and Dad, making sure they had real food. I wouldn't be able to get myself a better life, no matter how hard I tried. Because I'd have to put my family first.

Jade Hart (15) D9F

The sun was high in the sky, showing that it was nearly noon. That was interesting to me. New record, I thought, almost absentmindedly, while looking for a good stone. I didn't know about other fields, but work in my field was done on a quota basis. Once I had harvested enough grain for the day, I was done. I was almost always the first one done in the field, and Mom didn't really care what I did with my time, so I got to be free for the rest of the day, lurking near the field and disappearing into the nether.

What a lovely rock, I thought when I saw a flat rock about the size of my hand. I could make a good drawing on that. I looked for a good place to sit, knowing how quickly my pale skin would burn in such bright sun. I found a nice tree and sat in its shade, assuming it was the tree I normally sat by. My memory of trees wasn't my strong point. Then I sat down and reached into my pocket, pulling out my trusty white rock. Though not so poor that I couldn't eat, I wasn't well-off enough to buy art supplies, leaving me making hidden drawings using rocks.

I drew the workers in the field, watching each of their bodies move. It was so intriguing to me, seeing how other people lived their lives. I was always a quiet person, but I could see people in the field chatting amongst themselves. It seemed odd to me to waste time like that, not just getting your job done so that you had the rest of the day to yourself. On the other hand, though, I didn't have any friends to talk with in the fields. Being a quiet person certainly had its negative effects as well as the positive.

Drawing was probably the best part of the day for me, because it was the time when I let my mind truly wander. I sat and thought about beautiful little nothings, from wondering why the sky was blue to asking why plants were green. The reasons didn't matter, but it sure would be interesting to know. Other things did matter, like what I would do in the upcoming Reapings, or where I would end up in the Games. I was going to be quiet in the Reapings. That was all Nine knew of me.

"Did you see Jade clock out today at noon?" I heard a voice ask, shaking me from my zoning out. I looked up at the sky, able to see that hours had passed. "How does she get done so quickly?"

"I hear that she uses black magic," someone replied. I looked up, able to see some girls my age from the school. They obviously hadn't noticed me, which I was used to. I was gone, silent as a mouse and hardly moving. People wouldn't notice the motion if it was always the same.

"No way. I don't believe in magic, you doofus," the first person said, and their voices moved away. I was glad when they left. I didn't need them to disturb me any longer. I needed to finish my drawing, which I did without using black magic.

When ya don't update for three days and feel like you took a whole hiatus... Here are the Nines, though!