Dionysus Bacchus- District One male (17)

Work hard, play hard. A few hours ago I found out I was District One's chosen male volunteer. It came as a bit of a surprise but the Academy's not as big as some people think. Some years we have thirty people vying for a slot, and some years it's closer to just a dozen. A lot of us just train because our parents make us, or because we think it's cool. And then out of the serious students some of us get hurt or some of us drop out for one reason or another. My friend Soleil, for example, dropped out after his little sister got cancer. He didn't want his parents to have to worry about losing two children. If he hadn't left he defiantly would have gotten picked over me. I was glad I got picked but I wished it hadn't of happened that way.

After the selection it was time for "play hard". Some of the other students and I were having a big party at my house. My mother was out visiting my aunt and my father hadn't been around since I was born. Mom was a cool sort of mom who knew that teens liked to party- she always left the bar unlocked. And if the housekeepers had a bit of an extra mess the next day… we paid them, right? And I always left an extra tip after parties.

"Shots! Shots! Shots!"

When I was in the Arena I wouldn't be able to party. I had to get it all out now. I picked up the little glass and tossed it back. As much as I loved the effect of alcohol I'd never grown fond of its taste. Truth be told I preferred mixed drinks to shots. I was only doing the shots because everyone was hyping me up.

Radiant squeamishly knocked back his shot glass. He coughed right as he drank and sputtered as vodka came out his nose. Partygoers hooted and hollered as he admitted his defeat. Not that there was a prize or anything. I just won the satisfaction of knowing I'd won. Hopefully the Games would turn out the same way.

"What do you think the Games will be like?" I asked as Topaz and I sat half-slumped on the roof. At least I thought it was Topaz. It was hard to tell, with his face all blurry like it was. And my voice was blurry too, so it came out more like "Wha dyo think the Gamesll be like?"

"Iunno, I didn'tet picked," Topaz responded. He hadn't participated in the shots contest but had more than held his own on the keg stand.

"You thin I'll win?" I asked. I stared blearily out at the lights of One. It was a beautiful place to live. I wasn't sure the Capitol could possibly be as nice.

"Yeah, defintly. You're gon be number ONE," Topaz assured me.

"I hope so. If I don't I'll DIE. I don't wan die," I said. Even though I was saying it I dind't really believe it. Death wasn't for people my age. I mean, I saw the Hunger Games every year and people my age died, but… death wasn't for people my age.

"When you win you should ivite me to Capitol," Topaz said.

"Definly. I'm gonna have a big… a big house, what do you call those?" I asked.

Topaz squinted with the exertion of trying to concentrate. "A mansion," he finally managed.

"Yeah, that. A big one," I said.

"They're all big or else they not mansions," Topaz said, looking at me like I was stupid.

"I'm not STUPID. YOU'RE the one who couldn't spell "stegosaurus' in ninth grade," I said.

"That was like… that was like SIX YEARS AGO. And how do YOU spell "stegosaurus?" Topaz asked.

I counted the letters off one my fingers like that would somehow help. "S-t-e-" I thought for a minute, not wanting to let G and J trip me up. "G-a-s-o-u-r-u-s." I finished.

"Nu-uh," Topaz said.

"How would YOU know?" I asked.

"That's not it!" Topaz insisted, trying to rise and put his hands on his hips but only making it halfway.

"Well- Well you're DUMB! D-U-M-B!" I said.

"You know what I think?" Topaz asked.

"What?" I asked.

"I think we're drunk."

Allure Beldam-,District One female (18)

People who won the Games got to live in the Capitol. The Capitol was where the beautiful people lived. There were lots of beautiful people in One but even more in the Capitol. And in the Capitol you could do anything you wanted. I already had purple eyes but if I went to the Capitol I could get gold threaded into my hair or gem dust embedded in my nails or anything else I could imagine. And I could live in a beautiful castle and wear nothing but hand-spun silk. Every day I would go out on the balcony and let the people see me and marvel at my beauty. I would do that just for them because I was a nice person.

I hoped the Games didn't take too long. I didn't like camping. I'd only tried it once, for an exercise at the Academy. We were supposed to learn how to survive in the wilderness. I just snuck some snacks in with my weapons, and lived off those for three days. In the Games, I'd just be sure to finish everything before I ran out of Cornucopia food.

I drew back my bow and aimed carefully at the center of the target. It had taken me years to get good enough to be picked for the Games. I had to have the whole package- I had to be strong, and fast, and smart, and good-looking. Even though I didn't want to admit it, I knew the good-looking part wasn't important for the Games. It was just important for getting picked in One. And important for getting Capitol support. No one wins the Games on their own. I would need people pulling for me on the other side of the screen.

I smiled as the arrow thudded into the center. Archers always impressed the Academy panel. Swords were striking but you needed to get too close to your opponent. Poison was honestly the smartest policy but no one wanted to support a poisoner. Funny how we're supposed to do anything we need to to win but if we poison people we're the bad guys. You're just as dead no matter how you die. Arrows had the advantage of being a long-range weapon while still being pretty to watch. There was nothing quite like watching a slender, well-feathered arrow cut through the air and cut down your opponent. And you look so imposing while you do it- all determined gaze and flexed muscles.

They were going to pick me to volunteer. I already knew it. There were a couple of strong girls this year but I knew I was the strongest. I also knew plenty of people on the panel picked with their eyes instead of their brains. It wasn't for nothing that my parents spent all that money on purple iris implants and stylists. You have to play the game by the rules that are already set down.

It was strange, living in One. I didn't know how things were in the rest of Panem, but I didn't think they were like this. So much depended on your exterior, just on how you looked. People here genuinely thought that a person's inside was no different from their outside. If I hadn't been born looking the way I did I would have had no chance in the Academy. I wouldn't even have been admitted. We had students who were plain but none that were ugly. It was weird to think that if I was ugly I wouldn't have any of the options I had now. I hadn't even ever seen an ugly person in One. Did they get kicked out? Quietly taken care of? Buried under plastic surgery until no one knew the truth? Sometimes when I was alone I thought about how there was more to life than looking pretty. It was juts something I couldn't say in public.

It didn't matter, in the end. We all live according to the rules of the society we're born into. Some people have advantages and some don't. I didn't apologize for the things that helped me get ahead in life. I didn't choose the rules. I couldn't be judged for obeying them.