Leah Oakley
I run. As fast as I can, I run for the trees. Run for loneliness, for solitude, for peace and for quiet. All I want right now is to be alone, alone in the trees that District Seven cuts down for lumber. You know you're not supposed to climb the trees, Leah! I tell myself while finding my favorite tree, the one with the lowest branches. The easiest to climb. I, Leah Oakley, age sixteen, love this tree. Its thick branches can support ten times my weight and are low enough for me to climb easily. It would be impossible to cut down, with the branches so low. I swear that someday the lumber industry will just give this tree to the children of the district. I don't need the branches to be low; I can climb any tree I like, which I guess is an advantage, seeing as for another two, long years, I could stand a chance of being reaped for the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games. The Reaping. Tomorrow. The reaping is tomorrow! My brain is screaming at me. My younger sister, Lilly Oakley, and her twin, Luke, turned twelve the day before yesterday. We had a party, which seemed odd, considering the reaping is tomorrow. In any case, their names will only be in the reaping once; I refused to let them sign up for tesserae.
meanwhile
Ellie Rouke
I run through the gate, slamming it behind me. I know Josh will be waiting for me. Sprinting, I make my way down the road, past the Victor's Village houses and down towards the training center. I know it's about four hours early, but we always do this. I, Ellie Rouke, aged sixteen, rush towards my boyfriend, Josh Tirpin, also aged sixteen. Seeing him lounging outside the doors as he always is, I spring into his arms and wish him luck, firstly for the tough training sessions he will go through today, and secondly for the reaping which is tomorrow. "I don't need luck, Ellie. I have you." He tells me.
"I know, you say it every day." Smiling, I give him a quick kiss, almost as quick as the speed at which I was running to get here, but he draws me back in. "You know we shouldn't…" I begin to whisper before his lips touch mine.
"I know," he whispers back. If my parents knew, I would be stuck in the house until the reaping tomorrow, giving me a slight disadvantage in training. But who cares when I've been training since I could walk? I've taken the tesserae to increase my chances of being reaped, but I'm sixteen and there are other girls who are eighteen and will have their names in the reaping more times than me. If I don't get reaped, I can volunteer, but I have to be quick if I want the honor of being in the Hunger games, as the first volunteer gets the spot. Josh has done the same as I have. I don't want to kill him if we are both in the Games, but I would do almost anything to win the glory. Almost…
meanwhile
Abie Karimloo
I walk. Just walk; nothing more. With no real purpose or destination, I continue to walk. Down the road, turn left, past the warehouse, turn right, through the square, turn left again, down the road, dead end. Stopping to take a look at the few trees we have here in District Six, I take the time to think random thoughts. The reaping is tomorrow. I am the youngest in my family and therefore stand the least chance of being reaped tomorrow. My family is my mum, my dad, my sister-Ruth and my brother-Tim. Ruth just turned twenty so she won't be reaped, Tim is seventeen and I'm fifteen so we both stand a chance of being reaped, Tim more so as he signed up for the tesserae when Ruth turned eighteen, two years ago. I'll have to sign up next year… Suddenly my thoughts are interrupted when someone says my name. Turning around, I open my mouth to rant at whoever spoke, but then I see him...
His emerald green eyes, his curly ginger locks over his brow; the cheeky smile across his face that spells mischief.
"Hi Abie." I smile.
"Pippin." He gives me a flash of that grin that spells even more mischief. "You interrupted some very deep thoughts of mine."
"Thoughts about me I hope." I laugh.
"No, sorry Pip."
"What about then?" He asks me curiously.
"The reaping, mostly." I hang my head.
"Don't worry about it, you'll be fine."
"Sure?" He gives me a rare, reassuring smile.
"Positive."
meanwhile
Kayly Scribbles
Sitting on my bed and not really thinking about much, I begin to draw a picture. "A head there, an ear and another ear, a pink nose," I begin to talk myself through what I'm drawing so I don't lose concentration, "Two legs, a belly, another two legs, three tails," I begin to laugh quietly as I draw a fox with three tails. I color it in orange with a hint of red, leaving the tips of two tails white and the other black. One ear black with a bite mark in it. Now for the background, "A star here, a scribble there, A cluster of stars in that space, some more scribbles and a few squares and circles dotted around the place. What harm can it do, really?"
Shading the background green and blue, I laugh even more. Hearing the door open, I look up to see my brother, Jake, walk in my room. "What?"
"Dad wants you." I sigh.
"Why?"
"Dunno. Why were you laughing?" I show him my drawing and he begins to laugh. "A fox with three tails?"
"Yep."
"Awesome."
"KAYLY!" I hear my dad calling me.
"Out of my room, Jake!" I say as I go to see what dad wants...
Downstairs, I find dad waiting for me, impatiently.
"Kayly," I sit down.
"Yeah?" He looks at me, sternly.
"Why were you laughing?"
"I drew a fox with three tails." Dad rolls his eyes at me.
"The reaping is tomorrow, Kayly."
"And? There are loads of other people in district three, dad." He sighs.
"How many times will your name be in the reaping this year, Kayly?"
"Three plus tesserae."
"What's the tesserae each year?"
"Four."
"Four threes?"
"Twelve."
"Twelve plus three?"
I'm getting bored now, "Fifteen, why?"
"Your name is in the reaping fifteen times, Kayly! You should care about such things, not everyone takes tesserae!"
"Not everyone has under fourteen slips, dad!"
"I don't care! You should still be careful!"
"So let Jake sign up for tesserae then!"
"Jake is eleven, he can't!"
"Let him do it next year then!"
"Your brother is NOT taking the tesserae!"
"So just let me die then!" With that, I run back upstairs to my room and slam the door. I want to be left alone...