Linen is from Queenofinsanity and Felix is from Pierana.

District 8

Linen Baird

I dart around the crowded workspace, diving beneath tables to gather bits of fallen fabric and other refuse. The factory is large, but yet all of the tables are so tightly packed, it's almost impossible to get from point A to point B unless it's closing time.

I've heard that in other Districts, like 6 or 12, they get the day off on Reaping day. Not here. We do get to leave early, though, to make it to the Reaping. I would think it's unfair, except for the fact that my job is really fun.

Since I'm so young, I'm in charge of picking up scraps and trash from the ground while everyone else works. A lot of people compare us to janitors or maids, but we're very different. Our job requires us to be quick, tiny, and nimble. Otherwise, you'd constantly be bumping into people.

It's actually really fun, since it requires me to stay alert to make sure I don't knock into the whole thing. I prefer it to school, since I can actually move around here. Unfortunately, Mom says that when I get bigger, I'll no longer be able to do this and will have to get a regular factory job. I'm dreading that day.

I squeeze between two really close workers and pick up a fallen bit of thread from the floor. I look up and see someone moving a sewing machine direction toward my head. I duck, and it barely misses me.

I manage to escape the tight corner I'm in, and dive toward the ground. On hands and knees, I crawl underneath a table, picking up refuse and stuffing it in my pocket as I go. I'm very mindful not to crawl on any pins or needles, because that would be very painful.

A few other kids have this job, but I'd consider myself the best one. I'm the quickest and the sneakiest, so I never get in anyone's way. My little sister, Magenta, also has this job but she's really clumsy and always bumping into people. I reach the end of the table and pop up. A guy almost walks directly into me, but changes his path at the last minute. Sometimes, I can really go unnoticed. It's almost a gift.

I squeeze through some workers and reach the trash can. I dump all of my fabric bits into the bin entitled "extra material" and the rest of the trash into the trash can.

I gaze down at my hands and knees and sigh. They're both really dirty from crawling around on the floor, and Mom doesn't like it when I'm dirty on a Reaping day. We're not exactly rolling in dough, so it's not good when we have to take extra baths. Dad calls it a waste of water.

I look up, ready to continue with my job, when I see Magenta stumbling around with mounds of loose fabric in her hand. A tall guy backs up from the sewing table, and knocks right into her. She falls backward, slamming into another worker. This guy gets really mad and turns around, all indignant. He begins shouting at her, but I can't quite make out what he's saying.

Curious, I get close to the situation.

"Stop stumbling around, you clumsy kid!" he shouts, bits of spittle flying from his lips. "You might hurt someone! These machines are dangerous, you can't just knock into people!"

"But, um…" Magenta begins stammering, unsure of what to say or how to stick up for herself.

"Apologize!" the guy yells.

"I-I'm sorry!" she exclaims. I shake my head in disappointed and head over toward the two of them. They don't see me approaching. The guy continues to lecture my sister about courtesy and attentiveness, while she looks terrified.

"Look, dude," I say, butting in. He turns to me with an angry look in his eyes. "She wasn't doing anything. Somebody else knocked her into you. She didn't do anything wrong, and you didn't get hurt, so drop it."

"I'm not listening to a twelve year old!" he guffaws. "This is ridiculous! You can't act like I'm being all immature and talk down on me! I'm your elder."

"Actually, I'm thirteen," I correct. "And if you mess with my little sister, I will talk down on you."

The guy looks shocked that I actually stood up to him. The people surrounding us have dispersed, so I figure now is a good time to leave.

"Come on, Magenta, let's go," I say, and pull her away. I glance down at her for a minute and see her big, brown eyes gazing up at me adoringly. Magenta's only nine, so she still idolizes me and my older sister, Cotton. She thinks everything I do is cool and incredible. I have to admit, it makes me feel good to know that someone has that much adoration toward me.

Magenta deposits her armfuls of scraps into the bin.

A moment later, the work bell rings.

Normally, this signals the end of the day, but I guess today it's telling us that it's almost time for the Reaping. I'm a little nervous, because I'm pretty sure I only have one hour to ge home, get ready for the Reaping, and arrive before the escort starts making her speech, so I know that Magenta and I need to get out of her.

"Come on," I whisper, and yank her away from the crowd of people beginning to shuffle toward the door.

I don't like lines - they're too confining. We're supposed to exit the factory single-file, but I would never do that, especially at the snail pace everyone's traveling at. Instead, I travel by leaping over tables.

I climb up onto the table's surface and race across it. I leap onto the next one, narrowly avoiding an old woman walking by. Magenta follows me, but she's not nearly as quick or nimble. She manages to leap across, but almost hits the same man who yelled at her before.

He glares at us in anger, but continues on with the line. I'm sure he's too impatient to get out of here to worry about us.

When Magenta has caught up with me, we jump off the table and push our way toward the door.

Finally, we're free.

District 8

Felix Camacho

Destiny and I make our way through the crowd. I'm a little overwhelmed by the great number of people crowding the streets, but not too offput. I like people.

"Are you nervous?" Destiny asks me. I shrug, unsure of how to answer the question.

"Not really," I admit. "This District is so large, the odds of me being picked are so slim, they're almost non-existant. I didn't even take out any tesserae this year, and over three quarters of our class took out at least one tessera. Are you scared?"

"A little bit," Destiny concedes. "It's always a little bit scary, you know? I mean, while the odds of my being picked are small, somebody does get picked. And why shouldn't it be me? After all, I took out a lot of tesserae this year. You know - with Evan being sick and all, I had to do my part and chip in for the household."

I nod in agreement, but feel a lump form in my throat. I suddenly feel bad about stating my lack of fear. I'm not in a lot of danger, but Destiny kind of is. Her family is much less wealthy than mine is, and her little brother has a really bad illness that's using up all of their funds.

"So, anyway…" Destiny continues, dropping the somewhat uncomfortable conversation of money and her brother. "Have you told your parents that you're gay yet?"

I immediately shake my head.

"Why not?" Destiny asks, concerned.

"Why not?" I repeat. "You know how they are. Last night my dad made a really offensive comment about homosexuality that I don't have the decency to repeat - I don't even want to imagine how they'd react if they discovered their own son preferred men."

"But what about when you actually meet a guy that you like and likes you back? What are you going to do then?" Destiny asks me. "You have to tell them at some point."

"I will!" I assure her. "But not yet. Not until I have to."

"Okay, then," Destiny shrugs. We've reached the front line of the check in, so she extends her hand for the Peacekeeper. The Peacekeeper roughly grabs it and jams a needle into the tip, drawing a considerable amount of blood. I get queasy just looking at it, and am forced to turn away while the scanner confirms her.

"Next."

I step up and hold out my hand. I shield my eyes so I won't have to look at the needle or the blood, because that kind of stuff makes my stomach feel upset. I feel a short, sharp pain in my fingertip and wince a bit.

"Felix Camacho," the machine confirms.

"Next."

The Peacekeeper waves me on, and moves onto checking in the next person in line. I walk into the pen and see that Destiny has waited for me, even though we'll have to split up in a moment, anyway.

"Good luck," I tell her, before stepping into the seventeen-year-old boy's section. She goes up to the front, with the rest of the eighteen-year-old girls, and disappears in the large crowd.

I guess I could look around for Wes, since he's also in this section, but the Reaping's about to start, and it would take forever to find him in this crowd.

Our escort, Akantha Blount, taps on the microphone, shocking me and sending vibrations of noise down Town Square. She smiles at us with her painted face, looking genuinely overjoyed to be in our District.

"District 8, welcome to the Reaping for the 248th Hunger Games!" she announces and the whole crowd tenses up. "This year, I feel like we'll have a Victor on our hands!"

"Just like she did last year?" a kid behind me whispers to his friend, who chuckles in response.

The escort shows us the dreadfully boring video and lists through our very limited number of Victors. By limited, I mean we have two. I think we have less than any other District. All we have is Lucretia Wolcott and Velvet Wayke, and neither are people to boast about. Both won their Games by just outlasting the other.

We used to have Rylan, but then he got shot while rebelling the Capitol. Now we can't even admire his Games strategy or technique without getting called out as potential rebels.

"Now, let's choose a young man and woman to represent us in the arena this year!" Akantha suggests. "Why don't we start with the boys?"

Akantha walks toward the boy's bowl at the edge of the stage and kills us all with anticipation by taking forever to choose a name. She finally decides on a slip of paper. She lifts it high above her head, displaying it for everyone to see, and walks back over to the mic.

"Let's see who it'll be…" Akantha mumbles as she unfolds the slip of paper. She looks at the name for a second before reading it aloud. "Felix Camacho."

I feel the breath freeze in my chest. It was me… I can barely comprehend anything as a few hands push me into the aisle. I feel dizzy, but I won't faint. I can't, or else the Capitol will see me as weak. However, I have trouble regaining feeling of my legs and can't seem to walk up toward the stage.

A few Peacekeepers come along and begin dragging me along, but I brush them off.

"I've got it," I tell them shakily, and make my way up toward the stage feeling light-headed. I stand next to Akantha, who smiles and says something about choosing a female tribute.

Her voice seems faint, and I don't bother paying attention as she draws a name and calls up a girl from the thirteen-year-old section. I would feel bad that someone so young got chosen, but I'm still kind of pitying myself. After all, it's me that I have to look out for.

I don't want to die, I want to return home and live the rest of my life. Do you think someone like me could make it to the end?

QUESTIONS:

1. What did you think of Felix?

2. What did you think of Linen?

3. Who do you prefer?

4. Who do you think will make it further?

5. What is your favorite day of the week? (Mine's Saturday).

- Lilah