You thought you could go free
But the system is done for
If you listen real closely
There's a knock at your front door
Andromeda "Andi" Knox
District 2, Female, 18
(3 Months Prior the Reaping)
...
"Back up!" My father shouts, his glistening sword pressing up against my chest. Sweat trickles down my face as I take back my sword from the training room floor and struggle to get up. I reach out for my Father's hand and I am ignored, I know he's doing what's best for me though, so I smirk and lift myself back up using my strong and sturdy arms. "Nobody wins The Hunger Games fighting like that!" He snaps at me. To most people, this comment would hurt, but I'm not most people. In fact, I'm the best with a sword in the entire training academy, maybe even in the entirety of District 2.
"Go!" I shout as I throw my sword in the air and catch it one-handed. I parry his first couple of attacks before going in for my first one, it's fast but the time isn't calculated and my sword bounces off of my Father's parry. I know I need to work better on my strategy but training has always been more about brute force to me and it's hard to shake off that ideal.
I parry a few more attacks and side step from right to left a couple of times to throw him off guard before throwing a final blow to his side. "How about like that?" I ask, giving him a light punch on the shoulder.
"Not bad. The volunteer announcement will be in an hour, I suggest you wear something a little more formal." He tells me and I follow his words, finding my way to my dormitory. I don't often sleep in the dorm seeing as my home is only a 5 minute walk away but it's a nice area to store extra clothes and food that I can use while at the academy, which is most of the time.
I push the wooden door of dorm 53 open and walk in. It's nothing much, a small comfortable bed, a couple of closets and a bedside table. There's a pantry where I store most of my food but right now there's just a couple of chip packets and a chocolate bar. I take the purple-wrapped chocolate bar and unwrap it. My teeth sink into the rich milk chocolate as I open my first closet to look for an outfit.
I want to be formal and make a statement but I want to do so without being over the top, I think over it a little bit and decide on three options. A white short shirt and black skirt, a dark blue long dress and a short teal dress that puffs at my waist. I think over it for a while. Do I want to stand out or do I want to fit in? Suddenly, my door bursts open and I'm happy to see Cassandra standing in the opening.
Cassandra is the one person I consider to be my friend, I'm not a very social person and much more enjoy keeping my head down and getting to work. There are plenty of people who want to be my friend, especially being the most likely to receive the volunteer spot this year. "Hey Cass." I nod and she runs in, making herself comfortable on my bed.
"Andi! Why aren't you more excited? This is a big day!" She squeals, itching with excitement. I smile at her softly, unlike me, Cassandra loves to talk. However, she does have a lot of self-control and can understand when I just want to get my head down and train, that's what I like about her. She is kind of like a younger sister to me in a way and I can tell she looks up to me a lot. She's an amazing trainee and I can tell in a couple of years time she'll be able to volunteer as well.
"I am excited, I just don't know what to wear." I say, trying to sound as enthusiastic as I can. My social skills really aren't the best but I make up for it in training and that's what matters. Cassandra usually has a good dress sense so I trust her to pick what I wear.
"Eh, none of these." She exclaims with a disgusted face, picking up the clothes I had chosen and throwing them behind her. "This is more like it!" She gasps and I see that she has pulled out a short dark red dress that my mother had got me for my birthday. "It compliments you beautifully, come on you have to wear it!"
As I look at the dress up and down, I know she's right. It's beautiful.
Ryan Lise
District 2, Male, 17
(Reaping Day)
...
The red ribbon tightens around my neck as my dad pushes it through the loop. "You can't even put on a tie...How are you supposed to survive the goddamn games?" He mutters under his breath. I'm fairly sure I had tied it perfectly fine but of course nothing is ever good enough for the Head Peacekeeper of District 2. It annoys me how much he expects from me but I get it, he just wants me to be as successful as he is and I do too.
"Nervous?" My mother asks as I walk down the marble stairs of my home. She smiles at me softly, looking up from the papers lain across her desk. She is a member of the justice system and helps keep things in the District in order, just like my Father. I guess that connection may have sparked the two of them and I definitely share it, I like to stand up for what's right and make sure everybody receives the justice they deserve.
"Not really. I've worked hard and I'm ready." I reply and not a word is a lie, I'm not nervous at all. I supposed I should be, it's a big day to be volunteering for The Hunger Games but over the years, I've been able to prepare myself for this day and it doesn't seem like too big of a deal now that it's here. I've crammed every fighting technique, every survival fact, every strategy into my brain just waiting for this moment.
Surprisingly, I was chosen as a 17-year-old instead of the normal 18-year-old being chosen. Most of the 18-year-olds have it out for me now due to me taking their final chance in The Hunger Games but it doesn't matter to me. I'll be out of here soon anyway and once I come back, nobody will set hands upon a Victor.
I pull up a stool from under the table and climb up onto it, my mother slides me plate filled with eggs, bacon and toast. It's very expensive food but we are very wealthy, one of the many perks of my parents' jobs is that we get to live a comfortable life of luxury. It has definitely given me the upper hand in training seeing as I'm a lot healthier and fit because I can afford more nutritious food rather than a diet filled of bread.
This is the academy's 3rd year of running and I am the 3rd male volunteer to be chosen to participate in The Hunger Games. District 2 has built quite the reputation with 4 out of 22 victors and I plan on keeping that reputation alive. We have also become apart of a sort of pre-game alliance called the Careers. For the first 2 years it was myself and District 1 but I've heard talk that District 4 has started training their volunteers as well so we most likely have a new addition to the pack.c
"Eat up!" My mom scolds and I quickly finish up my last egg, leaving the bacon on the side of my plate. Before she can make me eat it, I slide off of the stall and hurry over to the front door.
"See you guys at the reaping!" I call out before opening the door into the District 2 summer. As I start my walk to the district centre, My eye catches on a couple of kids in an alleyway. I try to take a closer glance and notice one of the kids is bloody and kneeling on the floor while the other kids keep kicking him down. "Hey!" I shout, walking down the alleyway with my most stern face positioned.
The kids turn around, their eyes wide with shock before they begin running. I reach the kid on the floor and he nods at me, I nod back and he runs off - probably toward the reaping. It feels good to be able to feel a sense of justice and I smile my way to the district centre where I line up to get my finger pricked. Once it's pricked, the lady gives me a small smile and I realise she probably recognises me as the male volunteer.
As I pass people on my way to the 17-year-old male section of the reaping, I hear a lot of murmuring and whispering. People smile at me as I walk by them and I try my best to acknowledge them until I reach the roped square where I now stand in the heat
After a few minutes, a small lady with long, wavy blue hair tiptoes onto the reaping stage as she reaches the microphone she screams "Happy Hunger Games!" There are many cheers of applauds, including my own, as well as the odd whistle and a few woo's and hurray's. The escort introduces herself as Iona Stein and then introduces my soon to be mentors: Violet Young and Paula Slater. I remember which years they won from history, Violet won the 19th and Paula won the 9th.
"Now, ladies first." She giggles and places her pale skin into the bowl on the right. "Amanda Dro-!" Before she can even finish saying the reaped tribute's name another girl that I recognise as Andromeda runs up the stage.
"I volunteer." She speaks into the microphone as she reaches the stage.
"We have a volunteer!" Iona exclaims, trying her best to look shocked and excited. "What's your name young lady?"
"Andromeda Knox." She says, yet again sounding a little stiff and bored.
"Well, let's see which male will be joining you in the arena!" She places her hand into the left bowl and fidgets around with a couple of papers. "Manuel Hoarse!" She cries and after a couple of seconds of anticipation, I raise my hand and shout, "I volunteer!" Before walking up the marble stairs that lead to the stage, as calm as ever.
"Your name, Sir?"
"Ryan Lise."
"Ryan Lise and Andromeda Knox! Our tributes from District 2!"
A/N: We love a double update day.
Hope you liked that chapter! I had fun writing it and thank you to Revenant12 for Ryan and Annabeth777 for Andromeda, they were both a lot of fun to write and I hope you like how they were portrayed.
As always, I'd appreciate a review: it doesn't have to be much but I'll give you a couple of questions to base it off of.
Are either of these tributes winner material?
Who do you like more?
Who is your favourite tribute so far?
-Neb