Arturo Basler
Arturo and his friends stood in the square. They were early which made them angry but they wanted to keep their parents happy. They all stood around and joked about their "strategies" should they get picked for the games. One of Arturo's friend's jokes was that he would kill wild animals with his bare hands, then fashion their pelts into a disguise and live amongst the animals for the entire Games. Arturo planned on playing dead the whole time but was reminded that dead bodies are always removed from the arena, to which he replied "I know that's why it's so genius." The group was able to escape the sadness of Reaping day until the event started which quieted them down very quickly. When Arturo's name was called, he timidly walked to the stage, but was lucky enough not to cry. He stood nervously on stage for the remainder of the reaping and then shook hands with his district partner. As he walked towards the justice building he thought to himself, "Maybe I could play dead."
Julia Wylie
Julia scrambles to find the word in the glossary of her heavy, well-loved textbook, running her index finger down the lists of terms. Her tired eyes can't seem to make sense of any of these words, even though she knows many of them by heart from her years as an experienced researcher. She has been up all night, trying to finish a theory she's been working on all month, but alas the all-nighter has drained her focus and her energy. She slams the book closed in a huff and rubs her eyes. She walks like a zombie to the Reaping, barely awake enough to recognize her own name being shouted over the crowd. Once someone nudges her in the side and points to the stage, her adrenaline kicks in and her eyes snap open, heart pounding. She looks around; slightly confused due to her lack of attention just moments before, but when the escort calls her name again, "Julia Wylie?" she knows it wasn't a dream.