Shine

Chapter 16

District 12 Reapings

A/N: Special thanks to Primrue394 and GrimlyFiendishly for the wonderful Tributes featured in this chapter!

Camelia Lloha –12- -D12- POV

I zip up my gray dress and look at my grey eyes in the mirror. (Grey and Gray are both correct. Fun Fact.) I smile a little bit and look over at Cameron, my twin sister. She has brown hair compared to my blonde, but that's the only difference between us. She nods at me. I know she's telling me she's ready. I return the gesture. Let's go. And off we go.

Char Alfand –14- -D12- POV

I put my white ribbon in my long black hair and look at myself in the mirror. I smile at my blue-grey eyes and walk out into the living room, where my mother, father, and sister are waiting.

"Ready to go?" My mom asks.

"Yup," I say. And we leave.

Camelia Lloha –12- -D12- POV

I arrive at the Reaping with Cameron, and we walk to our section. I have no friends, and neither does Cameron. Soon, Effie starts the Reaping. It's my first Reaping where I stand a chance of getting picked. My twelfth birthday was just yesterday. Yesterday a real

"Everybody, please get to your sections! The Reapings are about to begin!" Effie Trinket says from onstage. Haymitch finally showed up, I guess. "Ladies first! The Female Tribute from District Twelve is… Camelia Lloha!" No. No. It can't be me. So I don't go. I try to hide in Cameron, but it doesn't work. The crowd parts around me and Peacekeepers start coming towards me. "Camelia Lloha, please come on up!" Effie says from on stage. A Peacekeeper approaches me.

"Camelia Lloha, please come up to the stage," he says to me. "We know who you are." I still don't move. He grabs me by the shoulder and marches me towards the stage. We arrive at the stage, and I stand there crying. I can't believe this. No. It can't be me. But somehow it is.

Char Alfand –14- -D12- POV

I leave my family at the edge of the Reaping and start to walk to my section when a hand on my shoulder stops me. I turn around.

"Hi, Char!" Dahla says. "Didn't you hear me?"

"Oh, hi, Dahla. No, I didn't hear anything. Sorry, I was just in my head, you know?" I reply.

"Oh. It's fine," she says. She looks sad. "So, how are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine," she says. "I just wanted to- uh!" She's shoved aside by a bigger boy, maybe eighteen.

"Out of my way, slut!" The boy shouts at her. Oh boy. Wrong move.

"You alright?" I quietly ask Dahla.

"I'm fine," she says. "Char, don't-"

"Hey! Hey you!" I shout. "Yeah, you. Who pushed my friend! Come back here and apologize this instant!" The boy turns around to look at me. He's tall, maybe four inches taller than me. And I'm tall. This kid must be sixteen or eighteen.

"And why should I?" He asks. "Because little baby said so?"

"Because I said so," I say, "and because it's the right thing to do." You could hear a loaf of bread drop now, the area around us is so quiet. I guess they've got nothing better to do.

"Is that so? And who are you, baby?" The kid asks.

"I'm Char, not that it's any of your business," I say. "No apologize to my friend, or we're going to have issues."

"You might have issues, little boy, but I won't," the boy says. He takes a few steps closer to me. "I think you better apologize to me for wasting my time."

"I don't think so," I say. He takes a swing at my head. I duck and knee him in the crotch, pulling my leg back before he can catch it. I make a fist with my hand and jump at his face, hitting him right in the nose. I hit him again with the other hand, and he starts to fall backward. I rebound away from him and put my foot into his chest, pushing him over and onto the ground. I walk towards his neck, stepping on his crotch again, making him cry out in pain and divert his hands from his bleeding nose. I put a foot on his neck and press down just a little bit. "Apologize, Goliath or my foot won't come off until it's unfortunately too late," I say, pushing down a little harder to emphasize my point.

He holds his hands to his sides, palms up, and manages to choke out, "Okay. Okay. You win. I'm sorry, little girl. I'm sorry."

"Okay," I say. "Better. Now scram on out of here." I give him a parting kick before walking away. "Let's go, Dahla," I say. "No use being around people like him." Dahla runs after me. She still has a bruise on her face.

"Char! You didn't have to do that! You shouldn't have done that! It was gonna be fine, I would have been fine. You didn't need to stand up for me. I mean thank you, but it wasn't necessary," Dahla says.

"That guy just annoyed me so much. He shouldn't do that to you," I say.

"Thanks. That temper is going to get you in trouble one day," Dahla says.

"Maybe," I say.

"Everybody, please get to your sections! The Reapings are about to begin!" Effie says from the stage. I see the girl who is Reaped. She looks terrified. She doesn't come up at first, and when she's brought up, she starts crying silently. I feel bad for her. Then Effie reaches her hand into the Male bowl. "The Male Tribute from District Twelve is… Char Alfand!" Well, I guess I'm dead. That's not good. I've never fallen in love, probably never well. I've never had that many friends. At least the last thing people will remember of me is me giving a bully what he deserved. I walk up to the stage, trying to feign confidence. I start slowly, but pick up speed constantly, until by the end I'm walking quickly, hopefully confidently.

"The Tributes from District Twelve are Camelia Lloha and Char Alfand!"

A/N: Only one more Reaping left to go! All of our slots are now filled, so thank you to everyone who submitted! What did you think of these characters and all of our wonderful Tributes so far? How is your day? Who do you think will win?

Tribute List:

D1M: Lustero Aldor, 17, by Yugi-Smallymcsmall

D1F: Diamond Knowles, 18, by Tyquavis (Previous character connection)

D2M: Ares Moretti, 18, by Andii99

D2F: Giselle Serpentine, 16, by Red Roses1000

D3M: Becquerel 'Bec' Grey, 15, by foxfox12

D3F: Clear Palatino, 12, by foxfox12

D4M: Falcon Lockdust, 17, by Nautics

D4F: Thia Zollis, 15, by JustAPersonReading

D5M: Emery Colt, 17, by Hawkmaid

D5F: Serena Holden, 16, by Andii99

D6M: Andrew Spayler, 15, by AspiringSteampunk0909

D6F: Harper Satin, 16, by Primione394

D7M: Aster Ochs, 17, by Red Roses1000

D7F: Vallory Stensland, 16, by Hawkmaid

D8M: Silk Daisly, 16, by IIJamesII

D8F: Rhylee Kaski, 16, by Primione394

D9M: Isaiah Lemont, 15, by edespeedy123

D9F: Athena Rye, 14, by Primrue394

D10M: Kayne Lytch, 13, by IIJamesII

D10F: Kayra Dawnbreeze, 13. by Yugi-Smallymcsmall

D11M: Tontu Heinburg, 18, by CandleFire45

D11F: Reserved for edespeedy123

D12M: Char Afland, 14, by GrimlyFiendishly

D12F: Camelia Lloha, 12, by Primrue394