Seibold Carrington, 16- District Eight male

It's good to be the nice one in the group. People trust me because I keep all my cards on the table. No one is threatened by someone who is easily honest and has clearly visible flaws. I'm a simple guy with simple ambitions. I'm friendly and help people out, so people are friendly and help me out.

"Ooh, that's such a nice outfit on Donatella," I say to my trio of friends as we gossiped at the lockers between classes. It wasn't a leering comment, either- I just really liked how the floral blouse was paired with a solid-colored pencil skirt. Darnell, Tulle and Magenta like hanging out with me because I don't look down on "girly" interests like fashion and because we can talk about cute classmates. I also have plenty of male friends and also talk with them about cute classmates. Cuteness knows no gender.

"How'd you do on the test?" Tulle asks as she shoves books into her locker. Tulle is definitely the smartest of us. She'll probably get invited to the Capitol to be a scientist or something.

"Oh, you know. C's get degrees," I say. I'm known as the nice guy, not the smart guy. I'm a feeler, not a thinker. Math and science are for math and science people. It's important to study and learn so you can do things like buy groceries and stuff, but I was born to be an amateur in those areas, not an expert. But put me on a stage and I'm a pro.

Honestly, there's a lot more in life than surface appearances. Good grades and good recommendations from teachers mean you have a better chance at getting a good job. Good emotional intelligence and good networking skills means you will definitely get a good job. It takes brains to navigate classwork, but a school is its own world. It has a culture and a society, and being well-versed in that is just as important as being well-versed in multiplication tables. That's where my talents lie. I make friends easily and earn the same loyalty I give. I'm not the most high-achieving guy in school, but I'm near the top of the social totem pole. And I try to use it for good, not for peacocking and excluding people.

It's like the Hunger Games, sort of. Knowing how to make water means you'll be able to make water. Having good allies or being likeable to the Capitolite audiences means you'll never need to make water. Nothing is a vacuum. It takes a village to raise a child. All that to say that being a well-rounded and most importantly a collaborative person was better than having one specialized skill at the expense of everything else. That was why I had a decently easy time in classes and went unharassed in the hallway. The school building was an Arena and I had solved it.

Baize Damask, 16- District Eight female

I hate breaking rules.

Everything about this sucks. Panem sucks for leaving people so poor that so many families have to steal to survive. The Peacekeepers suck for enforcing the laws against stealing but not the laws against unsafe labor conditions or unpaid overtime. I suck because if I hadn't gotten us caught a few months ago my big sister Dimity would still be doing this instead of me.

I hate this, I think as I scan the area for witnesses, shading my eyes with my hand against the harsh sun. I'm outside behind the textile factory where I work, taking out the garbage. It took me days to plan and set up this particular scheme. While I know stealing is wrong in general, the thing I worry about most is getting caught. It takes me a long time to put together any plans because I keep checking and fretting and making sure everything is covered. Once I have my plan in place it's easy.

The dumpster are overflowing with garbage. Bags that wouldn't fit in are stacked by its side. I'm supposed to be throwing out the various empty spools and bags of thread bits and all the other garbage that piles up in a day of factory work. I am throwing all that away, but that's not all I'm doing. Earlier while consolidating bags I slid a bolt of fabric into one of them when the overseer's back was turned. I carried the bags out like nothing was out of the ordinary. Now I empty what bags I can into the overflowing dumpster and pile the remainders, including the one with the fabric in it, next to the overflow pile. The garbage truck doesn't come until tomorrow. After work I'll dilly-dally until everyone else is gone and circle back to take the fabric before I go home. We'll sell it and there will be a bit more food on the table.

I furrow my brow and mutter angrily to myself as I work. I've noticed lately that focusing my energy on being angry helps me not think about how scared I am to get caught. Dimity didn't get executed or Avoxed, but she'd spent a few months in jail before they let her out early because they didn't want to spend money feeding her. She got some sort of pernicious cough- in the old days they would have called it consumption- and she still can't work. She also can't steal, so here I am. As long as I was angry at what they did to my sister and angry at the system that made this necessary I don't have to be afraid of being next.

Everything goes as plan. I go to leave at the end of the day and pretend I've forgotten my lunch box. I go back to get it, slip out the side door after everyone else is gone, walk by the dumpster, and make off with a bolt of fabric no one is even going to miss. I never take the fancy stuff like silk- the stuff that gets inventoried and gets us all searched if it goes missing. Just a bolt of black synthetic blend. It's enough for us to make some clothes we can't really afford to buy and to sell the leftovers for a bit of cash. I walk through our door and immediately drop it on the table. I don't want anything more to do with it.

Seibold: Standing at 5'9'' Seibold is slim and relatively toned due to his extensive training in ballroom dancing: His posture is very upright. He has very refined features which are almost feminine. His skin is golden, and his hair is chocolate brown- curly naturally, but styled into an obnoxious pompadour. His facial features are angular. His eyes are blue, framed by thick lashes. His lips are full. His nose is slightly upturned, and both his nails and eyebrows are perfectly maniured.

Damask: shoulder length dark brown hair, paler skin, hazel eyes, skinny, 5'5