Nailah Nebit- District Two female (18)

My parents didn't want me to volunteer for the Games. I could understand why they wouldn't, but this was something I had to do. It wasn't the same reason as most of the other students at the Academy. I didn't know most of them very well. I knew Nero was the chosen boy but he was really outgoing so we didn't hang out much because he had a lot of friends and I was usually alone. Most of them wanted to get famous, or be rich. I actually didn't want to be famous. Crowds made me really nervous and I hated it when people paid a lot of attention to me. The Arena felt really anonymous to me. I knew it was in front of all the cameras but I couldn't see them so it wouldn't be as scary. I wanted to go into the Games and prove I could do this, even though I got scared sometimes. In Two we think that the only way to deal with fear was to force yourself past it and beat it. I was going to go into the Games and when I came out I'd be a new confident me.

I sat looking at one of our photo albums, on the day before the Reaping. The sun had just set and the last bits of light cast long shadows on the pages. Like most families in Panem we didn't know much about our past. A lot had been lost in the war and the changes after it, especially from any family members who had been suspected of being rebels. We only had a few faded and worn old photo albums to tell about our past. A lot of the pictures didn't even have labels on the back and we didn't know who they were.

That wasn't the case with the photo I was looking at. My grandmother was one of the bravest people I'd ever met. She never talked about the war. I never knew if it was because she saw horrible things or if she was a rebel. She always said good things about the Capitol but she might have just been pretedning. What I did know about her was that she lost her leg in a firebombing but she carried her little sister to safety anyway. She lived in an assisted living home now but she was still pretty independent.

My grandma looked a lot like me when she was little. The picture was old and worn but I could still see it. I got my dark tan skin from her, and my broad nose, and my full lips. I thought she was really pretty but even though I looked like her I didn't think I was as pretty as her. Grandma showed that my family's heritage was Egyptian. That was a long time ago but I could still see it in her and a little in me. I wondered a lot about what it was like back then. I guess I would have been a soldier. I'd learned a little about Egypt in school and knew they had a lot of wars. In the Academy I used a bow and arrow. They had those back then. I wasn't sure about the shriukens. They also used shields back then but I liked to be stealthy. My favorite part of training was learning to move silently and sneak up on people. It wasn't the fairest way to kill someone but that's just the Games.

It was my grandmother who gave me my token. That was another little piece of our history. The ring probably didn't really come from Egypt. I didn't think we had anything that old. It looked Egyptian, though. It was a gold ring with funny pictures and letters I couldn't read. They looked like the ones in history books but looked like they might have been a different version or something, like those letters were from a certain part of Egypt. It had been in my family for generations. It was my grandmother's before it was mine. She gave it to me when she heard I wanted to volunteer. She told me it was brave just to try.

"Getting ready to go?" I'd noticed my mom came in, since I was trained to listen and be aware, but I hadn't said anything yet. She saw me looking at my ring and smiled.

"I'm sure you'll make your ancestors proud," she said. She sat down on the couch next to me.

"I'm kind of scared," I said. I looked down at my ring and curled my fingers over it.

"It's okay to be shy." my mom said. "I know it's hard to have social anxiety but you've come this far. Just keep being brave."

That was something I had a lot of practice in. I had to be brave all the time because I was scared whenever I left the house. People didn't understand how hard it was to be constantly nervous. Other people could talk to people and make friends so easily and it was so hard for me.

"I know you'll do great and come back to me," mom said. She leaned over and hugged me. "I'm going to go make dinner. Lasagna, your favorite."

"Thanks," I said. After she left I took another look at the photos. My grandmother had to be brave too back in the war. And so did the Egyptians when they were fighting all those wars. Some of them they didn't win, like when the Greeks came. But Egypt survived that and kept going for thousands more years. Some of them were probably scared too. My mother said you can't be brave unless you were scared because being brave meant doing something even though you were scared. When I went into the Arena I would be scared but when I came out I would be brave.

Nero Incutla, District Two male (18)

People always talked about my uncle when they heard my name. My uncle was District Two's first victor. My parents named me after him and as soon as I was born they planned me to follow in his footsteps and win the Games. If you asked me I didn't think he was that great. He spent all the money he got and had to go back to work in a slate quarry. Then a few years ago he died in an accident. I was the only Nero Inculta now but people still always talked about my uncle. That was why I trained in throwing knives and swords instead of arrows and maces like my uncle used.

I was cheerful as I walked to the Reaping. To me it didn't make much difference how dangerous the Games were. If I stayed here I'd end up in the blacksmith shop like my father. He died when someone ran him over with a digging machine. It was such a dangerous job, I would end up dying eventually anyway. I might as well volunteer for the Games and have a shot at being rich and famous. And I wouldn't waste all my money like my uncle did. I'd share it with my family and make us all rich like my father said he was going to. He got picked for the games too but he hurt his leg right before he was supposed to volunteer.

I thought the Games were going to be fun. I was a carefree sort of person, and liked doing things without thinking about them. I had a lot of friends, and I was excited to see them at the reaping so they could all see me volunteer. I was especially excited to see my best friend Mason. Most people didn't like him but I made sure they never bullied him. And when I volunteered I'd make sure to wave to all the pretty ladies and the handsome men. I always got pretty much anyone I wanted because I was handsome. It's not bragging if it's true.

Cavadus was already on the stage when I got in line. She had dark skin and was wearing a green dress, with lots of frills. She was wearing a diamond necklace and had green glitter in her hair which was all poofed up. I found Mason in line and walked over to him.

"Are you excited to volunteer?" He asked.

"It's better than staying home and doing nothing." I said. One thing I always liked about Mason was that he didn't act like I was the best thing ever. A lot of people said I was defintely going to win because my uncle did. I just wanted to be my own person.

"OMG it's Nero! Hi, Nero! I know you're gonna win!" another girl called from across the aisle. I waved at her and she giggled. My father's wedding ring was on my hand. Everyone said I should take my uncle's token. It was a stone medallion. But I wanted something that was mine and not just my uncle's so I took my father's wedding ring.

"This year I'll reap a boy first," Cavadus said. She reached into the bowl and I saw her nails were painted orange.

"I volunteer!" I broke in. I stepped out of line and walked to the stage. I stood on the stage and smiled down at everyone. It was my big day and no one else's. I was the one who trained for this and I was the one who got picked to volunteer. It wasn't easy. I trained eight hours a day and twelve hours on weekends. I had to stay up all night to make time to party with all my friends.

"Sorry, I'm not very patient," I said to Cavadus. I gave her a charming smile and she smiled back.

"How about a lady?" she said. She reached into the other bowl and read a name.

"Tally Metamorpho!" she said. A girl I didn't know walked on to the stage. She wasn't scared, since she knew someone was going to volunteer.

"Do we have any volunteers?" Cavadus asked.

"I volunteer as Tribute," Nailah said.

"What?" Cavadus asked, holding her hand to her ear. Nailah had spoken really quietly. I thought she was going to, since she was really shy.

"She's right there," I said. I pointed her out in the crowd. "It's Nailah Nebit," I added.

Nailah came to the stage and stood beside me. I was happy to be going into the Games with her. Nailah didn't talk much, but she knew her stuff when it came to training. I'd seen her use those throwing stars of her. She could shoot the eye out of a dummy.

"Let's hear it for our brave volunteers Nailah Nebit and Nero Inculta!" Cavadus said. I took Nailah's hand and raised it up into the air. We were going to do great in the Games. I was excited to get started.

Later, as I said goodbye to everyone, my mother came in first.

"Keep yourself safe and stay out of trouble," she said. She sat down and patted my hand.

"I will, mom," I said. "Don't worry, I'll be home soon."

I saw some friends after that and then Mason came in. I was going to miss him most of all. I wasn't sure what would have happened if I hadn't volunteered. Mason was a realyl good friend but maybe we would have had something more. He was really funny and sweet. When I came back we'd have to talk about that.

"Stay cool." Mason said. He gave me his fist and I bumped it.

"You too," I said. "If I win, tell everyone it was me, not my uncle."

"He's been dead for years. This is YOUR games," Mason said.

That's right, I thought. This is MY games.

There's my first Reaping! I PMed Silver to make sure I got Cavadeus right. I skipped District One because both forms weren't in yet. Thanks Max DeLoria and Willuna for Nailah and Nero!