Callista Skylar, 15, Capitol
Unbelievable. That's the first thing that runs through my mind when the Quell is announced. To even imply that the highest class of District citizens are anywhere near the calliper of The Capitol is just ridiculous. Sometimes I feel bad for them- it's not their fault that their ancestors started a war that screwed them over for generations- but to speak out and risk my own wealth? Risk becoming an Avox? Unlikely. Besides, it may not be their fault that they're in a worse position than me, but it's not my fault either. I didn't cause the problem, I'm not being negatively influenced by the problem, so it's not my problem to solve.
I hate the idea of this year's Quarter Quell. The motive behind it is so transparent- to widen the gap between the Districts and the Capitol even further. It doesn't take a genius to see that. It's sickening, but the reason I hate it is just because it's stupid. Killing off a few kids who are rich in the Districts isn't going to make us any wealthier. Besides, their parents have all of the money anyway so it's not like they're doing any real damage anyway. I'd be all for making the difference in class larger as long as it did something to make people in the Capitol better off instead of making the Districts even poorer. The mayor of District 3 losing his son isn't going to buy me a new pair of shoes.
Voicing these opinions would be troublesome though, not just for my socioeconomic status. My father has been the Head Gamemaker for 18 years now- longer than I've been alive- and letting a complaint slip could cost him his job. Not to mention he's the one who came up with the Quarter Quell's theme this year and the last thing I want to do is make him insecure right before the start of the Games.
Of course, the Quarter Quells are always come up with on the spot depending on what will benefit the higher-ups in the Capitol the most in a given year. It's not common knowledge, but I've learned a lot of things that aren't generally known in my fifteen years. The first Quarter Quell, the one where all of the tributes were voted in was to make the citizens of the Districts think that they had a say in how the country was being run. The second Quarter Quell was a way to deal with overpopulation- Districts like 6, 8, and 11 were getting too big for comfort, and seeing so many tributes in the arena caused unrest in the Districts. Fighting increased, people died simply from stress, families lost providers, and some simply gave up. The third was obviously to get rid of Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. Enobaria Magnus was pronounced the Victor Of All Victors, and an underground rebellion was found out and quickly crushed.
My father doesn't know the motivation behind this year's games- the Head Gamemaker hasn't died yet- and refuses to tell me this year's reasoning. But I'm not stupid. I know what's going on, and if I can see it, I don't think it's hard for everyone else to see it as well.
Keep those submissions coming! I don't have very many so far and I'm not putting a limit on how many characters one person can submit, so increase your odds and submit a ton. And tell your friends!
What did you guys think of Callista? She'll be making appearances every so often in the story, and I have a lot planned for her.