A/N: So, um, hi! I know it's been awhile but I have been suffering from writer's block and therefore... yeah. It's been almost a year and I literally have 14 chapters. So that's kind of embarrassing. Sorry! But I will finish this story no matter how long it takes me to do it. I just hope that you guys will stick around. So, onto the chapter!
District Five
Hallie Newton, 17, District Five Female
Hallie tried to reassure herself that nothing was going to happen, nothing was going to go wrong, that everything would be fine. She was unsuccessful. It was like this every Reaping day, every time that she had to stand in a group of her peers, desperately afraid that her name was going to be picked, or her brothers', or Mercy's. At least she would only have one more year of the Reapings, but Mercy had just started last year and Penny and Aria hadn't even experienced it yet.
"Hallie!" Hallie's mother, Felicity, called. "Hallie, remember that you can't leave Mercy until you know she's with her friends, all right? We'll be in the back of the spectator section, and we'll meet you once the Reaping is over."
"Ok Mom, I got it. We'll be out as soon as we can." Hallie responded, leading Mercy towards the Reaping-age section. Mercy was trembling. She was obviously scared.
"Hey, Mercy, it'll be ok, you know that. You only have your name in the bowl twice. You didn't take out any tesserae, and there are thousands of slips. You'll be fine."
"I know," Mercy sniffled, "but what about you? You've taken out two tesserae a year, and now you're seventeen. You have lots of slips in that bowl, and if you get Reaped, what will we do? You know that Mom wouldn't be able to do anything, and Dad would get so sad! And you do like half of the sewing for the shop, so we'll lose so much money! And then if Penny, Aria, and I have to take out loads of tesserae, we'll probably get Reaped and then Mom and Dad wouldn't- they wouldn't…"
Mercy's words trailed off as she tried not to cry. Mercy was a worrier, and Hallie knew that, but this was going far even for her.
"Mercy, I know that this is hard for you, but we'll all be fine, ok? Look, I see Paige and Emily over there, I'll drop you off and then the Reaping will be done before you know it."
Mercy nodded shakily, and set off to find her friends. Hallie watched her go for a minute, and once she was certain that Mercy had made it, she turned to go to her section.
Luckily for Hallie, she made it just in time before the Reapings started.
"Hello, District Five!"
District Five's escort, Rodrigo Fabuloso, took the microphone off of it's stand, and gave himself a smattering of applause. No one else joined him, all of District Five was annoyed with him already for his 'I'm so important' attitude and obvious fake persona. Hallie knew that if she were ever picked as a tribute, she would despise him.
Rodrigo, obviously disappointed with the lack of positive response to his entrance, pouted dramatically before continuing.
"As we are allowed to skip all of the boring and tedious long parts, we shall immediately get into the Reapings! Ladies and gentlemen, your mentors, Marisol Turbine and Eric Westman!"
This time, there was applause from the crowd. Marisol had an… interesting personality, as Hallie had experienced firsthand, but Eric was said to be a charming and polite man. Lucky for whoever got Reaped for the boys.
"All right, all right," Rodrigo said, annoyed that the victors had gotten more applause than he did, "now let's pick the tributes!"
He sauntered over to the girls' bowl. "Hallie Newton!"
No. No, this could not be happening. She couldn't have gotten picked. She simply couldn't. She would die in those Games, and then what would happen to her family? No. No, this could not be happening. But it was, and Hallie needed to get up to the stage before the entire district got annoyed with her for taking too long. Hallie managed to move her frozen legs, and slowly walked up to the stage.
Peter Miller, 13, District Five Male
Peter Miller was fidgeting, wishing for the Reapings to be over already. He had plans with his friends to go to the bakery in Five, as a sort of treat after making it through their first, second, or third year of the Reapings. Peter's friends ranged from twelve to fourteen, with himself straight in the middle. He searched for his best friend, Cherry, in the twelve-year-old girls' section. He couldn't find her.
"Hallie Newton!" the escort, Rodrigo Fabuloso, called out. The guy was super obnoxious, and everyone hated him. He thought he was above everyone else, and was a frequent source of amusement in Peter's friend group.
A girl walked up the steps to the stage, and as was his custom, Rodrigo gave her a mini interview.
"So, Ms. Newton, how do you feel about your chances in the Games?"
"I think that I have at least a little bit of a chance, as long as I keep my wits about me and prepare adequately." she responded, looking uncomfortable with Rodrigo's proximity to her.
"Hmmmm. And as a girl, how do you think your chances are changed?"
Hallie looked insulted, but not surprised. Rodrigo was known for being sexist, so she took his question in stride.
"I think that I am just as capable, if not more so, than the boys I may be faced with."
Rodrigo made a face. He evidently didn't believe her response.
"Well, how quaint. Now onto the men!" He strode over to the other bowl, and made a flourish with his hand before grabbing a slip.
"Peter Miller!"
No. No, no, no. He couldn't be Reaped. He only had two slips in that bowl. It was such a small amount compared to the hundreds, thousands, that were in the bowl. Thankfully, he collected himself quickly and became once again the popular, charismatic boy that his friends and father knew. Who he was, of course, but deep down he was vulnerable and caring too.
Peter made his way up to the stage. He couldn't let his district, the other districts, the Capitol, see his disbelief and horror. He could tell that Hallie was giving him a once-over, and that Rodrigo was coming up to him, ready to inflict his idea of a 'fun way to meet the tributes'. Wasn't that the entire point of the interviews in the Capitol?
"So, Mr. Miller, you seem young. How old are you?"
"Thirteen." Peter kept his answers short.
"Ah, so young! How do you think this impacts your chances in these Games?"
"Well, I think that while it gives me a disadvantage, if I'm smart I can use it to my advantage. Surely some tributes wouldn't want to kill a kid who might be as old as their sibling."
Rodrigo laughed. "We've got some spunk in this one. Ladies and gentlemen, Hallie Newton and Peter Miller! Your tributes for this year's Hunger Games!"
A/N: Our first young tribute! I hope that you liked this chapter, we've seen Hallie before, but this is the first introduction we get for Peter! Thanks to wandering princess for Hallie and Auralia Dawn for Peter. I enjoyed writing both of them. I would like to remind my readers that I would love it if you guys could review, and reviewing ups your tribute's chances of winning. Not much to report, um, I'm working on my novel, which is coming along very slowly and if you read it on Wattpad... don't expect much in the new year. I also had a wonderful idea for a trilogy I have a basic idea of, set in my own magical universe, that I probably shouldn't be working on but like. Fantasy! Enemies to lovers! Daggers and badass feminist princesses! Disbanding the patriarchy! All things I want to have in this story. So. Yeah. You aren't here to listen to my ramblings, so I apologize, and now onto the questions. There will be more this chapter, and they will be more technical.
1. Combining two questions in one here. Who do you like better, Hallie or Peter? Why? Who do you think has a better chance of winning? Why?
2. How do you like Rodrigo? (personally, I had a lot of fun writing him, but just because he goes against many things that I stand for)
3. Would you like to hear my answers to the questions and/or behind-the-scenes things?
4. Do you want to hear about my other projects? (probably not, but I'm asking anyway)
6. What things could I improve about my writing? What do you like?
7. Any questions for me? (this will be repeated to remind you that I will be answering questions and I want lots)
That's it! Love you all! If I don't update before then Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate, Happy (? Idk what the proper term is) Kwanzaa to those who celebrate it, and Happy New Year to all of you!
Annabeth