Anthony Morgan, District Four male (18)

[It's not too late to stay]

The words were so small and fragile on my mother's pad. She didn't see how useless it was to try to persuade me. Every time she typed on her little pad no matter what she wrote she couldn't overcome the feelings I got from the mere fact that she had to use it. Mom wouldn't have to use her pad, if she could speak. But my mother couldn't speak. My mother couldn't say a word because of what the Captiol did to her.

My mother couldn't even leave the house because of what the Capitol did to her. She wasn't even a dissenter. She was just related to one. Just a drop of blood my mother couldn't even control, and it was enough to get her voice ripped away from her. It was only because her "crime" was so mild- but not mild enough to not cut her tongue out- that she was able to slip away while her owner was on vacation here in Four. The only reason I still had any faith in human goodness was her romance with my father. She found him and they made a home and I hoped she liked it, because it was all she would ever see. If she even left the house she ran the risk of rearrest. As far as everyone knew, my mother was chronically ill and couldn't leave her house. It was beautiful here in four, all sand and sunsets and sparkling waters. My mother saw it all through window glass.

"I have to go. They picked me." I said. It was silly even to say it. A mother can see right through her son. She knew I couldn't really blame this all on the Academy. I wanted to go. If I hadn't then I wouldn't have signed on as a student. Or at least I wouldn't have worked hard enough for a shot at being sent. As I expected she wrote something on her tablet I shouldn't repeat.

"Okay, okay. I want to go." I said, smiling a little.

"We'll be proud of you no matter what. You don't have to win the Games for that." My father said. My mother nodded in agreement.

"I want to go." I repeated. "I want to make a change. I can only do that if I win the games." I'd told my parents, especially my mother, all about it over and over during the years. I was going to win the games, and that would put me in the Capitol. Victors had a lot of influence. I could use my new position to start making changes in Panem. I wasn't going to try to stop the Games. I knew that was way too big for a Victor, and the games had stopped us from going back to war. It was 100% wrong that so many kids died every year- but a lot more people would die in a war. We could have the games for a thousand years and still not kill as many people as died in the Dark Days. It kind of seemed like a really really bad necessary evil. Or maybe I was just telling myself that because I was too much of a coward to try to fight against them.

But I could change the Avox laws. When I was a Victor I was going to get into politics and start sowing the seeds to get rid of Avoxes. There had to be a better way to deal with criminals. The really bad ones should be in prison anyway and the tiny crimes didn't deserve that. A lot of people like my mother didn't even do anything wrong. That was all I wanted to know I'd lived a worthwhile life. If I saved a single person from being cut off from their family, never able to talk or sing or express themselves outside black text on a white screen, I did something right.

The Capitol could put her back, too. If they could make mutts out of animals, then they could put a tongue back in a woman's mouth. I couldn't back out now. Mom was wrong about that. For years I'd been dreaming of one moment. Not the moment I won. The moment I sat by my mother in a hospital bed, and heard her voice for the first time in my life. When I won the games I would win her a pardon and I would win her a voice.

[We love you] My mother wrote. I reached over to hug her. She always felt so small and frail in my arms.

"I'm going to win this for all of us." I said. For all my family. For all of Four, to give us better conditions for a year and a chance to build on them. And for all the Avoxes all across Panem, and all their families. I was going to be their voice until I could give them back theirs.

Ceto Preston, District Four female (18)

It wasn't fair I had to go into the Games with a partner like that. The Games weren't a charity match and Anthony didn't understand that. Someone like him didn't have the cold rationality needed to win the Games. Even if he did win, he was going to get us all killed with his pipe-dream plans. The Capitol doesn't care about the Districts. If Anthony went there and gave his great rousing speech about freeing the Avoxes all that was going to get him was a dead family. I didn't even know why he cared so much. Shouldn't he be prioritizing his mother? She'd been deathly ill ever since she had him.

Anthony was an unfortunate handicap in an already difficult endeavor. I wanted to win the Games for me. I wasn't one of those people who put on a big show about "I'm here to win this for my family" or "I want to prove to everyone like me that you can do it too". I wanted to win the Games so I'd be rich and famous and not spend the rest of my life catching smelly fish on a boat that made me want to throw up.

Unfortunately, it was pretty clear I was going to be in the Arena with Anthony. He was clearly the best male choice physically, since some of the others had either gotten lazy or gotten injured. We'd already given our physical demonstrations and all that was left was to fill out the written examinations. Since some of the trainers had bought into Anthony's goody two-shoes routine, it seemed inevitable they'd pick him for the games. I shook my head and sighed as I tried to focus on my own paper.

HOW ARE YOU GOING TO WIN THE GAMES? I'm going to stay with the Careers. I know my stuff but going off on my own would just be stupid. I'll stay with them while we kill the others and then I'll split off right before the big Career fight.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARTNER? Anthony's a great guy. I don't think he'll last until the end because he's so nice but hopefully we'll see each other in the pack for a while. As distasteful as it was I didn't want to let them know I planned to kill him as soon as I could. Sometimes it's better to lay low.

HOW DO YOU PLAN TO ATTRACT SPONSORS? Hate to be cliche but I'm sexy and I know it. It's not my fault people like to throw money and supplies at pretty people. You have to work with what you have. So in the Capitol I'm going to get real close with my stylists and let them make me into what the Capitolites want. The social game is just as important as the physical game.

WHY SHOULD WE PICK YOU AND NOT SOMEONE ELSE? I'm strong. You saw what I can do with my trident and my knives. I'll get in there and get the job done, without messing around. We both know I'm the best bet this year. I'm not saying I'm the best in Panem- we'll find that out when I get there- but I'm the best bet here.

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST STRENGTH? Fighting skills. I'm not going to beat around the bush, trying to find some creative answers. The Games are about killing. I'm good at killing.

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST WEAKNESS? I want to find the pair from Five and kill them. I know its' stupid having a side plan in the Arena. My uncle died in a riot in Five and to be honest I want to make them pay. It's not going to matter anyway. A couple of Fives won't be anything compared to me. Don't worry about it.

After I was finished I had the always-lovely period where I boredly waited at my desk for the other students to be finished. Once we were all released, we hung out in the cafeteria waiting to see who got picked. There were some scattered conversations, but not many. It was pretty clear who the lucky pair were. I went through my performance in my head. Solid answers to the test, though that was never the main thing. All that really mattered was the physical demonstration. I'd showed that I knew what to do with my trident and my knives. I fought hard and I fought well. To be honest, I was ready for this. I'd been training since I was ten years old and I knew pretty much everything I could know about fighting in the Hunger Games. When the headmaster appeared in the doorway and called us all in to hear the results I was ready. In a few moments I'd get the good news and the bad news all at the same time.

Almost half done with the Reapings! Hope everyone had a good Christmas but now it's done and I can write fast again!