Careers Who Need Luck

Sera Dront (District 2)

I get ready for the Reaping in my house at Victors Village. My mother, Lenme Dront, though she was Lenme Hart before she married, and my father Brute, are both past victors of the Hunger Games. The games they won were pretty close together and my father was a mentor to my mother. A lot of people are jealous of me because when it comes to training for the games, I have the best and if I were to volunteer, chances are one of my parents would be my mentor.

The odds are definitely in my favour, even more so than the typical tribute from District 2.

Once I have pulled on the light blue dress I am wearing to the Reaping and styled my grey, brown curls into a presentable fashion, I hurry out of my room. I almost slam into my twin sisters when I walk out. Jona and Alma are always fighting so it is no surprise to me. It's pretty common but that doesn't mean I like it.

"Stop it!" I hiss, grabbing both my twelve year old sisters by their arms and pulling them apart, pushing them into the walls on either side of the hallway outside my room.

"But..." Jona proceeds to try and win my sympathy but explaining what happened but I let go and walk away because I don't really care. Gosh, they could make an effort to at least be decent around me for the morning. I may as well enjoy my last day in District 2 because I won't be coming home for a while.

Not until after the Victor's interviews once I've won the 82nd Hunger Games.

With both our parents as victors, Jona, Alma, my brother Sleath and I have a lot to live up to. As the oldest in my family, I am going to be the first to volunteer for the Hunger Games, but in a matter of years all my siblings will have followed after our parents and I. Sleath will volunteer for the 84th Hunger Games at seventeen, Jona for the 87th at seventeen as well, and Alma for the 88th when she is eighteen.

"Are you ready for today?" My mother asks as soon as I walk into her sight. I give her a cute smile followed by a wink.

"I've been ready for this for year's mother."

Ever since I started training when I was five years old, I had been looking forward to this moment.

"Well I just can't wait for you to move out." She smiles, referring to that fact that while I have grown up in Victors Village, I will get my own house when I win.

"I'm not that bad." I reply with a sweet smile. "I'm going to go to the Reaping now. I want to get a good spot as close to the front."

I don't say goodbye to my mother and she doesn't say goodbye to me because in both of our minds, there is no doubt that I am going to win.

I get to the square where the Reaping is taking place and while it doesn't start for an hour, plenty of people are already packing into the area. There are an abundance of people taking and placing bets on the person who will volunteer, as well as what kind of person who will be reaped but have no opportunity to participate.

I smile as I sign in and take my place, not even caring how early I am.

"Hey." My best friend, Flox, runs up to me after I have been waiting for a few minutes. "I knew you'd be early."

"Why are you here right now?" Flox is the kind of person who does like to sleep in a lot and she has no desire to volunteer. According to her, she still has another year if she changes her mind.

"I'm your fan club today." She smiles. "You excited?"

"Of course." I tell her and for the next forty five minutes we talk about everything from how I am going to win, to what I am going to say in my Victors Interview.

"Oh hey, they're starting." Flox whispers, drawing my attention to the stage as the escort begins to talk. As soon as he announces it is time to draw the names you could hear a pin drop in the silence. He draws the boys name first and proceeds to read it out, but he doesn't get to complete it. He never does.

"Trip St-"

"I volunteer!" A tall and vicious looking eighteen year old lunges forward to the stage. He fits the typical profile of the volunteers from District 2 and I know that he will be one of the most feared in the games without a doubt. "I'm Ace Bender."

"Well congratulations Ace. Now let's see who you're District partner is going to be." The escort draws out another names and just like the first, he doesn't get to finish it.

"Ka-"

"I volunteer!" I yell, running forward as fast as I can. I am glad that I wore flats, unlike the morons who showed up in heels, because I can be ten times faster than them. I hurry up to the stage, smiling happily. "I'm Sera Dront."

"Dront? As in Lenme Dront and Brute Dront?" The escort asks.

"Who else." I flip my hair over my shoulder with a charismatic smile.

"Well these are our tributes. Sera Dront and Ace Bender. Shake hands now." I turn towards Ace, my eyes lingering on the scar that runs across his face that I didn't notice before as I shake his hand. I smile at him.

"Good luck." I tell him with a wink.

"Keep it. I'm not going to need it."

Ace Bender

Before the Reaping, I spend the morning in my room watching a previous Hunger Games. I'm not really interested in anything before or after the actual games so I just watch the arena parts, which lasts for about two hours.

I smile as I watch the final fight between the girl from District 1 and the girl from District 2. I have seen these games before and I know who wins, but I always get a thrill from watching the final moments of any arena.

It is obvious that the District 1 girl, Diamond, is going to die. The girl from District 2 has pinned her to the ground with several knives that she has run through her feet and hands, and is now proceeding to cut into her skin with the ones she has left, drawing pictures of Diamond's to mock her. This goes on for a while because they always play the last death in full. Diamond is a few seconds away from probably dying of blood loss when the District 2 girl finally stabs her knife into her chest.

The cannon fires. The trumpets play.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you Lenme Hart from District 2, the winner of the 62nd Hunger Games."

I always love the game where tributes from District 2 win.

"What are you doing watching TV?" My father Felix yells when he sees me in front of the TV in my room. "Get ready for the Reaping."

"What? Are you worried I'll miss my one chance to volunteer?" I say, my words dripping with sarcasm. Like hell I was. This was the year for me to volunteer and win the Hunger Games at eighteen years old. It was my last year in the reaping so like hell I was going to be late.

"Just get ready Ace." He says, leaving them room.

I watch Lenme Hart for a few more minutes before I switch the TV off and begin to get ready. It doesn't take long and in a few minutes I am looking pretty presentable in a pair of slacks and a black collared shirt. It doesn't matter to me what I wear. The sponsors aren't going to care what I look like. All they're really going to care about is if I can win.

I look like someone that everyone will fear, someone who can crush the others with their bare hands.

Translation: I look like I'm going to be the one to win.

I am going to be the one to win.

I leave pretty soon after, making my own way there instead of with my family because I know that they will come to say goodbye to me and I can see them then. I make it to the city square pretty quickly, an advantage of living inside the city instead of scattered outside like some of the poorer people. Soon enough I am standing in the eighteen year old section, getting ready for the moment when I will volunteer for these games.

The escort takes the stage and begins to go on about the same stuff we hear every year, but a few minutes later he is picking out a boy's name from the reaping bowl and I get ready.

"Trip St-" I don't even let him finish the boys name but people never do.

"I volunteer!" I yell, running up to the stage and standing beside the escort. I take the microphone from him. "I'm Ace Bender."

The escort gives me a stupid smile.

"Well congratulations Ace. Now let's see who you're District partner is going to be." He proceeds to grab a name for the girl's reaping bowl and opens it up. He had barely opened his mouth and begun to talk when someone cuts him off.

"Ka-"

"I volunteer!" The girl bursts out of the seventeen year old section and runs up to the stage like I did, her grey brown hair bouncing and her blue dress rippling around a little bit with the movement. As I watch her I get the idea that I've seen her before but I can't pull a name to my mind. She just seems familiar and in a few seconds I have my answer. "I'm Sera Dront." She says confidently.

"Dront? As in Lenme Dront and Brute Dront?" The escort asks, coming to the same conclusion as I do.

"Who else." She flips her hair over her shoulder, smiling a beautiful smile.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you Lenme Hart from District 2, the winner of the 62nd Hunger Games."

Lenme Hart, the District 2 victor who later married another victor named Brute Dront. So this was their oldest daughter and she was going to be my District partner.

I can't help but smile because things have taken an interesting turn.

We will be in an alliance first, but eventually it will break down, and when it does I will be the one to kill the daughter of two of the best victors our District has ever seen.

"Well these are our tributes. Sera Dront and Ace Bender. Shake hands now." Sera turns towards me, smiling a little as she shakes my hand.

"Good luck." She gives me a little wink.

"Keep it. I'm not going to need it." I tell her with a returning smile.

Trust me, I don't need luck. When she faces me, she will need all the luck she needs.

And it still won't be enough.