I'm seriously ready for these Reapings to be over. Most of them are boring to write, read, and review, but they're so important.

Also, sorry if your tribute gets one of the 2nd POVs. I feel like I'm not able to represent the tribute well enough in those ones. I promise they'll each be more fleshed out in the pre-games.

Anyway, here are Savanna (Hawkmaid) and Hadley (FairtaleCharming)!

District 9

Savanna Davison

My life is one of solitude, but I don't feel alone. I have my friends to comfort me.

And yes, I may have made them up, but that doesn't make them any less real. They provide comfort and support and love for me, something I don't receive from anyone else, so they're technically the best friends I have.

Sam calls me insane.

Sam is not someone I made up - he's my older brother. I don't think he likes me very much, but that's fine, because I'm not too fond of him, either. Sam is really confident in himself and his abilities, and seems unaware of the fact that everyone thinks he's a total jerk. I know for a fact that his girlfriend hates him - although, I don't think that would bother him too much. Sam has a lot of girlfriends, and never cares about any of them.

I lie in my bed, unsure of whether to rise and get ready for the Reaping or to go back to sleep, so I decide to just stay in bed, awake.

I look out the window at the sun beginning to stream in from the single pane of glass. The Reaping starts pretty late in our District - not super late, but it's one of the later Reapings out of all the Districts. Which means, I have plenty of time before the Reaping actually start.

I'm not sure what to do, though - we don't have a lot of entertainment options in my house. All I can really do is talk to my friends. Sometimes, I swim at a nearby stream, but I don't think I have time for that this morning.

The stream is something I stumbled upon years ago, while trying to avoid some bullies who were chasing me after school. District 9 is a pretty open, flat space but there are some areas pretty far back in the Districts where trees grow thickly and there are more plants than just wheat. People don't usually go back there, under the misconception it's against the law. Actually, we're fine as long as we don't venture outside of the fence.

A girl from my school who enjoys relentlessly teasing me, took things too far when started bringing my friends into this. She didn't say they weren't real, like most people do - instead she started "talking" to them in a really condescending tone. That really bothered me, so I made the mistake of kicking her shin.

I'm not very strong, so I doubt it hurt her at all, but she was pissed. She and her posse chased me off the school grounds and through practically the entire District. Since there were so many of them, one of them always seemed to notice when I tried to slip away. Eventually, we reached the forest area. I didn't hesitate to run in, but the other girls weren't so sure.

They decided not to venture any further, but instead wait for me to come out. I didn't really mind the area. I wasn't scared, since I had my friends to keep me company. We went fairly deep inside the forest. I couldn't exit, or else they would catch me. I didn't mind, though. Eventually, they'd get bored and go home. Until then, I'd just explore.

It was as exciting as I'd hoped. Adults were always lecturing us about how dangerous the forest was, but it seemed pretty mild to me. The bugs were gross, but in the area where I was, most of the wildlife had moved further into the woods and nothing exciting happened. I was honestly a bit disappointed. I had been hoping for more of an adventure.

Eventually, I stumbled upon a stream. It was narrow and mostly shallow, but there were one or two parts deeper than others. And there was one part that was waist-deep because of a dam some beavers built and I was able to wade in it. At first I was a little cautious of that part, because I heard I could get swept away (although that seemed unlikely) but after several returns to the stream, I taught myself to swim.

Now, I'm a pretty strong swimmer. I find the water soothing, especially since there's nobody else there. There's just me, my friends, and the occasional swarm of small fish swimming by.

I wish I could go there, now. Unfortunately, swimming's not on this morning's agenda.

"You should probably get ready, soon," Everett says. I turn to look at the faint image of him. If I look carefully, I can recognize that he's not there. But I want him to be, so I don't look carefully.

"I have hours until the Reapings start," I remind him.

"Sure," he shrugs, "but you'll want to get there early, right? Before the other kids get there?" I consider this - he makes a good point. I might get teased by kids if I have to walk with them there, or wait in line. Getting there early would be best.

"I suppose," I sigh, and get out of bed. I walk over to my closet and begin sorting through the clothes. I'm having some difficulty since most of my clothes are too small or not that nice, so it's hard to find something fancy to wear to the Reaping. Luckily, Violet is really good at fashion so she can help me find something to wear.

Violet clucks her tongue in disappointment as she looks through my small supply of outfits.

"Is this it?" she asks in surprise. I nod, slightly ashamed. Violet spends a bit more time looking before selecting a pale yellow dress that's maybe one or two sizes too small. She holds it up against my figure, and decides that it fits. "Here," she says, "wear this." Violet throws the dress at me and disappears.

District 9

Hadley Moreau

"Cam, calm down," Jude hisses as we walk through the streets. Cameron ignores him and continues to gnaw at his nails in nervousness. I've told him a million times to leave his fingernails alone, but it always seems to go in one ear, out the other, so I've given up by now.

We're all a little anxious, but Cameron especially, since this is his first year in the Reaping. He's been dreading it for weeks, no matter how much Jude and I assure him that we won't be chosen. He didn't even take out any tesserae - Jude and I did, though. The orphanage in District 9 hands out very meager servings, so we never pass up the opportunity to get more food.

I'm getting kicked out of the orphanage next year, though. Here in District 9, there aren't a lot of orphans. Our jobs aren't exactly dangerous, aside from the occasional mishap, and very few people actually starve to death. As such, the orphanage isn't very packed so we're allowed to stay until we're eighteen years old.

I've heard in other Districts where there are lots of orphans, like 7 and 12, they kick them out at sixteen or even sooner. I'm glad they don't do that here, because when I leave, Jude and Cam have said that they're coming with me and right now they're old enough to get jobs. If I got kicked out at fourteen or something, then Jude and Cam would only be eleven and nine and I'd have to be the sole provider.

Jude and Cam aren't actually my brothers. We met in the orphanage when we were very young and practically grew up together, so it feels natural to call ourselves brothers. We feel like brothers and we act like brothers, so we basically are brothers. Although, we definitely don't look like brothers. We're all different races, so we're not really fooling anybody.

"You're going to be fine, Cam," I promise. I don't tell him that I know he'll be fine, because in the unlikely event he got Reaped, I'd Volunteer. The same goes if Jude got Reaped. I know they would both discourage me from doing that, though, so I won't mention it.

Cam nods weakly, obviously not believing me. I hear his breath hitch as we approach the check-in area.

"Come on," I say, and gently pull him toward the Peacekeepers. The line is pretty long at this point, since we made the unfortunate mistake of coming at the exact time everyone else does.

"Does the needle hurt?" Cam asks nervously, craning his neck to see the process.

"Nah," Jude says. "It only hurts a bit and for a second. You'll be fine."

"Okay," Cam says, but there's still nervousness in his voice.

The line clears up and we make it to the front. Jude goes first, and quickly gets his finger pricked without even wincing. The lady scans his name, and he moves on. I nudge Cam toward her, next. He carefully holds his hand out, but the lady roughly yanks it toward her and jams a needle into the tip. Cam yelps a bit. She presses the bead of blood into her notebook and scans his name. He moves on.

I've gotten used to this process, so it's no big deal for me. I extend my hand, only jumping a bit when feeling the sharp pain. She presses my finger into the book and scans it.

"Hadley Moreau," the scanner confirms, and she waves me on. I see that Jude's already taken Cameron into his section, and they're both waiting in place. When I pass Cam, I give him a thumbs-up for encouragement, but he still seems terrified.

I slide into the seventeen-year-olds section. Nobody bothers moving aside to give me more room, so I'm forced to squeeze my way in. I'm slightly excited to find out who our escort will be, but that doesn't trump my fear. Our last escort, Ambrosius Light, has been our escort for years, until President Divine hired him as his assistant. I heard that we got a new escort, although nobody knows who it is.

I try to scan the stage for the escort, but I can't see them over everyone's heads. I'm fairly short, and I've got several tall people in front of me. I suppose I'll just have to wait until they introduce themselves.

The rest of the kids trickle in, and the escort decides that it's time to begin the Reaping. She finally up to the microphone.

"Hello, District Nine. My name's Phoebe Polluck, and I'm your new escort." She beams happily at us. Phoebe wears an extremely bright, colorful dress and an electric blue wig. The sun reflecting off of her outfit is blinding and I feel the need to shield my eyes.

"I'm excited to be mentoring this District. Before we choose the names, we'll review your previous Victors and watch a video from the Capitol!"

I completely zone out during this part. It's the same every year, and it's never interesting. When Phoebe's done listing our few Victors, she announces that she'll choose a male and female.

She starts with the female, drawing the name of a girl from the thirteen-year-old's section. I feel bad for her, since she's so young, but I'm too worried about the males. This could be Jude, Cam, or me.

Phoebe has apparently studied escort techniques because she uses the escorting strategy of creating suspense while we wait for her to draw a name. She selects one and carries it back over to the microphone. I feel a knot of dread settle in my stomach. I have a bad feeling… It's going to be Jude or Cameron.

"Hadley Moreau," Phoebe reads. My head pops up, surprised. One by one, kids locate me and step aside, creating a path for me to go up to the stage. I want to refuse to go up there, but I swallow this instinct and put on a stoic expression. I walk up to the stage with long strides, not wanting to walk down the aisle for longer than necessary. I take my spot next to Phoebe and the girl, suddenly feeling self-conscious about my height and scars.

I don't look into the crowd. I don't want to make eye contact with either of my brothers. That would just be painful, and might make me break down into tears on stage. That wouldn't be good for sponsors.

"Are there any sponsors?" Phoebe asks.

For a moment, I think I see a flicker of movement somewhere in the crowd and I get excited. Could someone want to replace me? But no one volunteers, and my last ray of hope is smashed.

"Well, then. District 9, let me introduce you your tributes for the 248th Hunger Games: Hadley Moreau and Savanna Davison!"

Sorry for taking SO long with this chapter. I have a few excuses, but not enough. Hopefully, I'll be back on schedule now that this chapter's posted.

QUESTIONS:

1. What did you think of Hadley?

2. What did you think of Savanna?

3. Who did you prefer?

4. Who do you think will make it further?

5. What's your favorite TV show? (or one of your favorites, because I know it's hard to pick. Mine's The Office).

- Lilah