Archibald Pell, District Eight male (13)

People change. The world changes. The Games could take anything and we would find out for certain in just one more day. But worms don't change.

It wasn't just any worms I was working with. They weren't even really worms at all. Silkworms are, of course, juvenile moths. Thousands of years ago people discovered what they could make out of their cocoons and for thousands of years the process had barely changed. It's regular, it's safe, and the results are magnificent.

It wasn't every day I got to come to work with my father and help with the silkworms. Even though I was just a mediocre student my parents insisted that I at least finish high school. As soon as I got out I wanted to get a job at the silkworm factory. I would be perfectly happy working there all my life and staying with my family in our little apartment. It wasn't much but it was enough and I was happy.

You don't need to come, you know, my father had said in the morning. You should do whatever you want today. Whatever I wanted was helping out. I loved the cute little maggot-looking bugs. I even had names for some of them. Of course I wanted to say goodbye before… well actually I didn't want to think about tomorrow, which was another reason to surround myself with monotonous and soothing work.

My favorite part was unwinding the cocoons into long strands. I liked seeing how a little white pellet could be transformed into the beginnings of a strand of beautiful silk. I teased apart the cocoon with two gentle fingers and started to gently tug a strand free. It was as thin as a spider's web and very easy to break if you weren't careful. I kept going until the whole cylindrical cocoon had turned into one long thin strand and then set it aside to be collected and spun on the wheels.

Somewhere in the Capitol people were wearing beautiful silk clothes that I helped make. I often thought about that as I dipped sections of fabric into dye. It was hot sweaty work and it was hard to picture what the completed dress or shirt would look like when all I had was an uncut bolt of fabric. From what I'd seen of the Capitol it sounded like a really weird and artificial place. I was sure it was nice to be rich and all but it seemed so bizarre I was happy just to be where I was. Everywhere had its good parts and bad parts. Most of the bad parts in Eight were the crowded apartments and the smoggy air. I didn't like the smog but I actually enjoyed the cramped apartments. I liked having my family near me all the time. If I ever needed help or if someone else needed my help we were right there. I guess mostly it was just that I didn't want things to change. A change could be better or it could be worse. I liked my life enough that I didn't want to take that risk.


Kjole Schmeichel, District Eight female (16)

It was a nice sunny day. The few clouds in the sky were the pretty feathery kind. The grass was green and it was cool enough that working up a sweat felt bracing rather than stifling. It was a perfect day to play soccer and that was what we were doing. The only thing not perfect about it was my teammates.

"Come on, let me have a turn!" Mathias said, having left his position wide open to come and harass me in the goal.

"You always get to be goalie," Anja said across the field from him.

"I do not," I said. "And I didn't even pick it. Simon's the team leader."

"They always pick you to be goalie," Mathias complained.

"Because I'm the best at it. Maybe you should get good," I said. Most people enjoyed playing soccer but out of my family I was the most passionate. If there was any chance of it I would have tried to get onto one of the Capitol teams. They were technically open to Districters if a talent scout recruited you but I knew I wasn't good enough for that. I was good, but not "top ten in the entire country" good.

Mathias and Anja kept muxxing at me while I tried to ignore them. I didn't know how someone could just talk so much. Sometimes it seemed like I was the only one in my family who got tired of people once in a while. I loved my cousins, even when they were annoying, but I just couldn't bear to be with them 24/7. At family gatherings like this I always ended up sneaking away eventually to hide in my room or in the attic or something. I just needed a little me time.

Andreas snuck closer to the goal as I was trying to focus over the sound of my cousins haranguing me. I turned to look at Anja and Andreas took the chance to launch the ball toward me. I jumped toward it but missed it by an inch. It rolled into the goal as his team started cheering.

One of the worst things about me is definitely my temper. My father says it's the last bit of our Viking ancestors in me. I was starting to get that boiling-hot feeling as I fished the ball out of the goal and turned to toss it back onto the field. I knew I was about to say something I'd regret to Anja so I blurted something else out before I could lose my temper.

"Okay, your turn," I said. She looked at me in surprise and then scurried into the goal before I could change my mind.

I carried the ball toward the pitch line we'd scraped into the dirt, squeezing it and taking out my anger on it. I set the ball down and got ready to kick it back into play. I focused all my anger on it and clenched my fists as I kicked it as hard as I could. I opened my eyes as the ball flew across the field, high above most of the players' heads. It kept flying until it was right next to the opposing goal all the way across the field. To my surprise it rolled right in.

Oh. Well… that worked, I guess.


All right, I think that's everything but Ten!