Ashira Marlstone, 16, District 12 Female

The stray cat walked once more through the sweltering heat of the house, mewling pitifully for a scrap of food. I clucked my tongue and tossed it a piece of the bread I had been nibbling on, letting the cat pounce onto the piece. "Aye, cat, you can be a handful sometimes. You won't always find food here. Grandmother's going to toss you out one day, no matter what Mother says. You better run soon, cat."

The cat purred in delight, rubbing against my leg before exiting through the open door of the house. I sighed and waved the pieces of paper around me again, letting the cold breeze from my makeshift fan cool me down. Twelve got hot in the afternoons, and even though our family lived in town, we still could never find an air conditioner that worked for the summer.

"Ashira, come and peel these potatoes! Even if they have eyes, they have no hands to peel themselves and get themselves ready for our dinner." A low laugh came from my Grandmother's chair in the corner, and I stood up to get a peeler. "Of course, Grandmother. Sliced as well?"

"Child, you know I can only eat them mashed with these teeth of mine! Slice them and set them out to boil." Grandmother laughed again, and I walked to the sink, peeling the potatoes over and over. The skin fell to the bottom of the sink, and I kept slicing away at them all. It was a mindless job, but it was a good job. Life was good when you could just focus on one and one thing only.

"Ah, seems as if the Capitol is implementing harsher security on District 6 for riots. Tsk, I always knew that District 6 was no good. The city is no place for us, Ashira." Grandmother continued to read her newspaper, occasionally pointing out information she deemed necessary to announce to the house. The only reaction was from Grandfather, as he snored through the afternoon on the couch. Grandmother ignored him and continued to read, looking at interest at the interviews of the new mayor. "Looks like the mayor wants to put a crackdown on the Seam. Hmm, they deserve it. Sometimes Seam children can just be filthy messes, running around without any care in the world for education. They need to be put in place."

I dropped the peeler, cutting myself as I picked it back up slowly. I ignored the blood dripping off of my thumb and touched my face slowly, feeling the olive tones of my skin. The blood left a mark on my face and I wiped it off on my pants, ignoring the wound. It was just blood.

Wasn't the blood your grandparents wanted, Ashira…

"Child, could you come here and read this out for me? My old eyes aren't able to read that tiny script." Grandmother beckoned me over, pointing at the page of her newspaper. "Read this, Ashira. The wretched newspaper doesn't have enough money to enlargen that script, although Mr. Jameson has enough money to buy off half of the businesses in town. Pft! That's what happens when you're paid off by the Capitol to write lies."

I walked over to Grandmother, taking a look at the newspaper and starting to read. "Yesterday, Mayor Jones declared a new sanction upon the curfew, declaring the miscreants and ruffians running throughout the town were causing too much trouble for District Twelve to be allowed to stay out overnight. Now, he has decided on a new… "

I kept reading the article, not really paying attention to what I was reading. Why did these senseless words even matter? It was your actions, your knowledge that was important, not learning about the mayor's newest curfew. But it was what Grandmother wanted. I couldn't disappoint her.

As I finished the article, Grandmother sighed with relief, patting me on the back. "You're a good reader, Ashira. If you spoke up more, people would listen more."

I nodded, going back to the potatoes and starting to slice them into pieces for dinner. They quickly were finished and I dumped them into the boiling pot, waiting for them to become soft enough to mash up for dinner. I sighed, stirring around the water idly. It was the same thing every day; help Grandmother, make supper and watch Mother and Father come back from work. Mother would be taking off her high heels, claiming that her feet were too used to the ground to stay in shoes all day, and she'd run to the house like a child, laughing with my father and wrapping me up in a big hug, squishing me against her soft, olive skin and her brown hair that smelled so like almonds and soap. She'd talk about her day with Dad, and then we'd all go to bed. It was monotonous, but it was nice. I liked it. At least I didn't have to worry about where I belonged.

Grandmother got out of her chair and walked towards me, pointing at the pot. "Child, you're going to overcook the potatoes! I swear, if you got reaped for those Hunger Games, you'd be dead in the minute."

I shrugged, taking the potatoes out and starting to mash them in the now-drained pot. It wasn't as if the Hunger Games were that bad. After all, even with my mother being from the Seam, I was still one of the merchant class. I wouldn't be reaped, right? Right?

Right.

Hey guys! Back with another chapter, and we've only got two to go before the train rides! Woop! What did you think of Ashira? I hope I did well with her, goldie031, and thanks a lot for her ;) Keep reviewing, and here are the points thus far.

RoadieMcRoadface: 20 Points

Iridescenteverdeen: 20 Points

Goldie031: 35 Points

LongingForRomeo: 20 Points

Jailynne: 10 Points

Sponsor System

Small food item (Apples, crackers, etc.): 40 Points

Large food item (Anything!): 60 Points

Medicine (Poison cure, fever medicine, aspirin, etc.): 55 Points

First Aid (Bandages, healing cream, etc.): 70 Points

Small Weapons (Knives, poison, etc.): 70 Points

Large Weapons (Sword, spear, etc.): 100 Points

Have a good day! Until next time, TheAmazingJAJ