Chapter 7: I don't care, I love winning

Alisha Crowney, District 5 female, morning of the reaping

Wishin' you the best, pray that you are blessed

Much success, no stress, and lots of happiness

I'm not gon' blast you on the radio

~~Survivor by Destiny's Child

District 5 was an ugly place. Solar panels lined up and dried up the grass. At the dam, the river fell into the depths in a loud sledging. On the south side were two nuclear power plants, which produced the electricity for most of the industrial districts. Alisha didn't like living here.

With a snort, she walked away from the window and turned on the radio. The weather forecast was on the district's official news channel. Annoyed, Alisha switched over. At first it was rushing, but the reception of Capitol stations was easy to get. District 5 was less than fifty miles away, so the harvest would not be carried out until dark. Alisha was already trying to press the button when the presenter's voice caught her attention.

"Today we have a very special guest. Good morning, Miss Rutherford! How are they doing, so close to the reaping's?"

"I'm doing wonderfully, thanks to the demand. Today is an important day, because the games depend not only on the arena, no, but also on our tributes. I'm excited and looking forward to seeing who is fighting for the crown this time," she said.

Alisha shrugged. The Head Gamemaker gave an interview? Energetically, she turned on the volume wheel. Alisha turned the radio up as loudly as possible. With a quiet crack, the cog broke into two. Swearing, she slapped her hand on the dresser, but Alisha bit her lip. Perhaps Rutherford would talk about the appearance of the arena?

"Have you ever considered anyone? For those who do not know what I mean, a brief explanation. Harvests have already taken place in districts 11 and 12 furthest away from our beloved Capitol. The one in District 8 will start right away," the moderator said.

"I have already seen the reapings of Districts 11 and 12. The tributes all seem healthy and I'm sure they're good for surprises. Just think of Haymitch Abernathy, who was also underestimated four years ago and still has A 12 winner after 44 years! I can't tell you anything specific about the tributes yet. We will speak again after the parade," Miss Rutherford said. She sounded enthusiastic, which left Alisha feeling unwell. She turned off the radio.

Her grandmother was a joyful nature despite her age and the experiences in her life. Thanks to her, Alisha had a roof over her head and more than she could have dreamed of. The older woman stuck her head out of the kitchen door. Her grey hair had been put into a dull, her hands stuck in thick gloves. It smelled of freshly fetched currant cake brought on the oven.

"Have you heard the radio again?" asked Her Granny. Her Granny knew that Alisha was secretly tapping Capitol radio. She didn't like it, but Alisha would need all the information she could get about the Capitol and the games. Just relying on her grandmother's word would be negligent. The old woman was not seen to see the horrors she had already seen. Everything Alisha knew about the Hunger Games, her grandmother had told her.

As the granddaughter of a winner, it was likely that Alisha had to go to the arena. However, Alisha did not have to put her life in the hands of the Capitol. She had other plans. Alisha knew she would go to the games in three years at the latest, so she trained every day. She practiced throwing knives in the garden by throwing on an old wooden slab with a painted target. She jogged for several kilometers before returning to learn all about former arenas. Her grandmother had teamed up with other winners who organized DVDs about past games. There was nothing Alisha didn't know.

Sometimes she even imagined sending innocent children to the craziest arenas as a gamemaker. Alisha often dreams of such things, but most dreams are about revenge. Revenge on the cruel Capitol that took a little girl's parents before she understood what parental love was. Alisha did not train to bring wealth and honor to District 5, no, she trained to punch a dagger in the back of the Capitol on the appropriate occasion. Her parents had been taken from her and she had to watch the hanging in the marketplace at the age of five.

Whenever Alisha pinched her eyes, she could see the blue lips of her mother, who was still silently shaping her last words. Alisha had never heard anything, but when her father looked at her with lifeless eyes, Alisha knew it was a farewell. The memory of them was painful, but nothing Alisha could not cope with. She knew she was going to avenge her parents, so Alisha just imagined her pushing a dagger into President Snow's heart. As the victor, she would easily have access to the president, and a murder would be an easy thing to do. She would be killed afterwards, but knowing that Alisha could exact her revenge, she would fall asleep in peace.

"Go and take a bath. If you go through this today, you should give the best impression of yourself. I'll put something out of it," her grandmother said with a sadness that immediately left Alisha in debt.

"Can I have a slice of cake before?" asked Alisha. Her grandmother laughed.

"Come to the kitchen. The Capitol can't spoil your mood and the St. John's cake just lifts it!"

Wayne Thompson, District 1 male, three days before the reaping

I got this feeling on the summer day when you were gone

I crashed my car into the bridge, I watched, I let it burn

I threw your shit into a bag and pushed it down the stairs

I crashed my car into a bridge

~~ I love it by Icona Pop

Wayne was aware of the fact that he was good looking. He didn't need to hear it everytime he met his girlfriend. But somehow it made him proud.

"You know, we could go having an ice-cream at Daisy's instead of training!" Mina said and looked at him with big puppy-eyes. Wayne tried not to look at Mina because he knew that he would give in. Today was the last official training day in the academy and yet his girlfriend wanted ice-cream. Wayne knew that he needed everyday of training he could possibly get and that it would pay out for him in the arena. On the other side, he was the design male volunteer for his district, and this wouldn't change overnight. Wayne was the best trainee the academy had. Not sending him to the arena would be stupid. Nobody there was better than him and his brother Roger promised him that he would be loved by the Capitol and sponsors equally.

In theory, Wayne already won the Games. Well, there was no way he wouldn't. Wayne was trained with weapons, good-looking and his brother was a victor. The Capitol had to love him. Anything else couldn't happen.

"Please Wayne! It's our last date before you're going to the Capitol", Mina said and squeezed his hand gently. Wayne knew he'd get in trouble for passing classes, but Mina was right.

"Let's go. I don't have all time in the world", he said. Mina smiled and dragged him down the street. District 1 was a city made of glass and glitter. Wherever you look, you'll see little shops and cafés, next to a jewelry shop. Roger once told him that people from the Capitol use to visit District 1 first when they are on vacation. District 1 was the gate to the other poorer districts. Wayne had never been to the Capitol, but he was told that District 1 looked like a miniature of it. Mina laughed and stopped to look in a shop.

"Why are you stopping?", Wayne asked.

"Can you see the golden ring with the little ruby? When we marry after you win the Games, I want this to be my engagement ring", Mina announced. Wayne tried to relax. He promised Mina to marry her, which now seemed to be a foolish idea. Wayne would like to tell her that he was drunk when he told her but seeing Mina heartbroken was nothing, he could endure.

"Come on Mina, I thought you wanted to have ice-cream," he said with an annoyed tone. The girl shrugged her shoulders and moved on.

Daisy's little café was a hotspot in District 1. Everybody knew this place and how fantastic the ice-cream tasted. Wayne often came here with other trainees after a long exhausting day in the academy. Daisy, the owner, was always there and brew coffee like no one before. When Mina and Wayne entered, the woman waved and hold up two cups.

"With or without caramel?" she asked with a big smile.

"Today it's just ice-cream for us," Mina told her. Daisy opened a cool box and let them look at the variations of ice-cream: Vanillia, Strawberry, Caramel, Chocolate (his favorite) and Lemon.

"Chocolate and Strawberry for me," Wayne told Daisy who took a big spoon and spooned the ice-cream into a glass. She took marshmallows and topped the whole thing with whipped cream.

"For the next victor from district 1," she said, and winks at him. Wayne thanked her and Mina ordered. They sat on a couch, which seemed to be older than Wayne, in the corner. Silently, the two spoon the ice.

"You really want to go there, don't you?", Mina said with a bitterness in her voice that made Wayne frown.

"It's my biggest dream. Everybody tells me to make my dreams become true. Of course, I'm going into the Hunger Games", he angrily answered. Was she thinking he couldn't win this? Did she think he was weak? "Why are you asking?"

Mina shrugged in horror. "It's just... I mean, if you don't win, you'll win. And I don't want you to die."

His blood began to boil. Did she really think there was somebody who could beat him? Mina saw him training, cutting training dummies into pieces and yet she still thought he was going to lose? If they weren't in public, he would have shouted at her. Wayne's cheek turned red and he felt the familiar anger rising. Control yourself, she's just worried. She loves you.

And why does she still question my abilities? I'm the perfect tribute! She should shut up!, his inner voice told him. Wayne often felt insecure about himself, with his temperament and anger and even a bit jealously of his brother, who impressed their parents. He needed to control himself, otherwise there would be consequences.

"What makes you think I couldn't win?" he said, ramming the spoon into the ice, slowly melting away. He had lost his appetite. Wayne looked to Mina who was visibly uncomfortable in this situation. He thought of seeing tears in her eyes, but he wasn't sure.

Let her cry - Oh, shut up - Don't tell me what to do! You're just afraid she's right!

"I know you're an amazing tribute, Wayne. But even the best sometimes doesn't win. The odds are never completely in your favor. I just wanted to make sure that this honor and fame don't get to your head and make you careless," she said with a soft calming voice and Wayne felt how his anger slowly died. Mina was the only person, next to his brother who could calm him down. He tried not to sound angrily or aggressive.

"Mina, I love you. You know that, don't you? Just in case you didn't. And I will do everything to come back to you. But I need to know that you're completely convinced of my victory. If I don't know that, maybe I will struggle in the arena."

Oh man, this completely sounded like he learned by heart this book from English class, called "Romeo and Juliet". But Mina seemed to feel better and this made him feel better too.

He knew that in one year he would go down on one knee and ask her to be his wife. She would get her golden ring, and everything would be alright. There was just this little thing called Hunger Games in his way. But Wayne Thompson was sure that he would easily take this hurdle as well.

Thanks for submitting these two tributes! I'm excited to see what kind of way they're going.

As the Submitters can see, I changed a bit of the tributes' personalities, backstories, or behavior. Sometimes I need to find a scene which portraits the character and sometimes I don't. If you don't think they were written like you imagine them, please let me know!

Ps.: I already have plotted some of the alliances and the parts of the Pre-Games. Drama's coming! ;)

Love Athena