A/N: Strong trigger warning - basically this chapter is a doozy of bigotry in terms of content. Specifically there are mentions of rape, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, racism, sexism, slut-shaming, victim blaming, offensive slurs, and more. Please note that I as the author strongly do not condone the prejudiced viewpoints presented by some of the characters in this chapter. If you feel uncomfortable with any of the aforementioned subjects, please don't hesitate to ask me for a summary of the chapter or skip it altogether.

Abraham Smith, age 12
District 10 Male Tribute

Six months before the Reaping

"Abe! Abe, wake up!"

I'm awoken by my older sister Susan shaking me gently. I'm about to bat her away and ask for five more minutes, but then I remember what day it is. My eyes fly open and I bolt upright.

"Is it time for the Victory Tour?" I ask groggily but excitedly, blinking the sleep out of my eyes.

"Well, Camilla won't arrive for a few hours, but we should get going now if we want to sneak out," Susan says with a grin. My fifteen-year-old sister stands up, getting ready to leave the room I share with our brothers. "Hurry up and change! I'll meet you outside. Be quiet so you don't wake anyone up."

"Are you sure about this?" I ask, grabbing my overalls from the foot of the bed. "We could get into so much trouble."

"Listen, if we get into trouble, I'll take part of the blame," Susan says, ruffling my hair. "You're only eleven. They can't blame you too much."

"Alright, but if we get caught, you're going to be the one to explain everything," I say as I put on my clothes.

"Deal. I'll be outside."

"I'm ready," I say with a grin as I throw my overalls over my shirt and rush out the door. "Come on sis! Last one out is gay!"

"Hey, you got a head start!" Susan protests as she quietly but quickly follows me out of the house.

I slip my bare feet into my sandals before slipping out into the cool morning air. Mississippi Town is generally quiet, as it usually is in the morning, but one of our neighbors, Mr. McConnell, stops weeding his front yard and greets us.

"Mornin' Abe, mornin' Sue," Old Man McConnell says with a toothy grin. "What are you kids doing up and about this early in the day?"

I glance at Susan, opening and closing my mouth in indecision. My first instinct is to tell the truth, but there's no way my sister and I could sneak out to the Victory Tour if I did. Thankfully, Susan responds before I can.

"Just gettin' some work done 'cause we woke up early," she says with a sweet smile. "Thought we'd continue patching up that one hole in the wall."

"Aw, that's awfully kind of you kids," McConnell says with a laugh. "Just let any of us grown-ups know if anyone bothers you, okay? Can't believe those black folks have gay marriage legalized. What's next, universalized healthcare?"

"Who knows, the world is ca-ray-zee these days," Susan says with a laugh, though she senses the way I'm tensing up and squeezes my hand. "Don't worry Mr. McConnell, we'll be A-OK. Isn't that right, Abe?"

"O-of course," I say, trying to give a confident smile. "If a trans… trans person tries to come into Mississippi Town, I'll get them to go back to where they came from."

"Just look out for each other, kids," Old Man McConnell says with another toothy smile as he turns back to his gardening. "Come back before your parents worry too much, 'kay?"

"Yes mister!" Susan says, giving him a quick curtsy before dragging me away. I'm surprised at how quickly she wants to get out of the situation, but I don't ask any questions. I don't want to give up my chance at finally seeing the world outside Mississippi Town.

When we're out of earshot of Mr. McConnell, Susan lets out a sigh. "That was close," she says as we continue walking towards the hole in the wall around the Town. "He could've kept us talking for ages until Mom and Dad caught us."

"Yeah, Old Man McConnell really likes complaining about the people outside the Town, doesn't he?" I say. I'm suddenly a little nervous. "Is… is the rest of District 10 really full of those… gays and transsexuals and psychos? Are they dangerous?"

"I don't really know, I've only been outside of Mississippi Town once," Susan says with a shrug. "Well, once besides the yearly Reapings. We're kids so we're not supposed to leave, and we don't really have to anyways. Got all the family and farms we need right here."

"I know," I say, frowning. "But don't you feel curious about the world outside Mississippi sometimes? It can't be that bad. I don't remember anyone trying to kill anyone during the Reapings I've been to."

"I really don't know," Susan admits as the hole in the border wall comes into view. "Maybe that's why I wanted to go to this year's Victory Tour so bad. Because I'm curious."

"I really hope we don't get into trouble for this."

"I hope so too. Hey, go ahead and duck through the hole. I'll keep watch and make sure no one's looking."

"Got it," I say as I take a deep breath and take my first step out into the outside world.

I barely have time to take in the sameness of my surroundings when Susan ducks through the border wall and hurries with me to safety. When we're a safe distance from Mississippi Town, my sister turns to me and takes a deep breath.

"I'm not completely sure where the Victory Tour will be, but I think I remember the way to the trucks," Susan says, looking around. "Wait, we only take those on Reaping Days when the front gate is open. Uh, I'll find another way to get to El Centro!"

"You dragged me out here and you didn't even have a plan?" I ask, not exactly angry but somewhat incredulous.

"Don't worry about it Abe, El Centro shouldn't be that hard to find," Susan says with a grin. "Come on, follow me! We'll just ask around if we get lost."

"O-okay," I say, nervous but excited.

I follow my older sister as she hops, skips, and jumps in a seemingly random direction. I find myself thinking about what will happen next. Maybe we won't find El Centro at all, and we'll have to ask a random stranger for directions back to Mississippi Town. Maybe we'll stumble upon the Victory Tour by random chance, and we'll get to see Camilla Henrikson in person. The Victor of last year's Hunger Games - a girl from District 2 - is so crazy, though. I wouldn't want to cross her.

"Why does Camilla dress like that?" I ask Susan as we walk. "Nobody's supposed to wear that kind of outfit."

"I know, right?" Susan says as we come to a dirt road. "I heard that she was raped. Well of course that's gonna happen if your boobs are hanging out all the time!"

"What's raped?" I ask.

"It's…" Susan looks embarrassed. "I think you're too young to know, Abe."

"Come on!" I beg as we follow the road. "I'm almost twelve, old enough to be Reaped. Is raped a worse version of Reaped?"

"Not… really," Susan says, still blushing. "Abe, I can't wait to see Camilla. Sure she's totally psycho but maybe that's just the way people are in District 2 where she comes from."

"Why would they be that way, though?" I ask, kicking a pebble. "Why would they do things like volunteer for the Hunger Games every year?"

"I don't know!" Susan exclaims. "Maybe when we grow up we can be Senators. That way we can know more about the world outside Mississippi Town."

"We already have two Senators, though," I say with a frown as I realize that I probably won't become a Senator in my lifetime. "We can still go outside the Town when we grow up though! Maybe we can't be Senators, but Representatives can leave Mississippi too, right?"

"Sometimes," Susan says with a smile. "I think we'd be good Representatives. We're smart and sneaky and we know our way around."

"Maybe," I say, smiling back. "Race you to that barn!"

"No fair, you had a head start!" Susan exclaims, though she laughs as she chases me down the dirt road that leads away from home.

A/N: If you needed a break from everything in that chapter, I totally don't blame you. Abraham was raised in what can honestly be described as a cult in Panem, but I hope I was at least somewhat realistic and above all as respectful as I could be. And if there are similarities to the real world in this chapter… those were intentional, sorry to say. As many of you know, I identify as a Democrat living in the United States, which isn't the kindest place to be right now.

Chapter question: What are your first impressions on Abraham, our District 10 male Tribute?

Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you all soon!