Chapter One: The Day of Reaping

My hands shake as I pull on my dress. I look at myself in the mirror. This is not Nalin Brinner. This girl in the mirror is a girl who looks like she had no hardships. That is not me. I have so many hardships. I work hard every day just to put food on the table. I toil endless hours in the field, pricking my hands in the process. The only happy thing about this is Rue, my best friend, who sings like an angel to the mockingjays. And this is the thanks that the Capitol gives us for providing them with an abundance of food?

I brush my thick black hair back into a ponytail. Still doesn't show the real me.

"Nalin? Time to go down to the square," Lobelia says softly.

I turn to face her. This poor, poor little five-year-old. If my name got chosen in the Reaping, she might as well be dead. I hug her. This is the first time for my name to be put in the lottery, at the age of twelve. We had to also add my name four more times for tesserae. My family is undoubtedly poor, as is many of the people in District Eleven. Our lives are hard enough already. And if I had to enter the Hunger Games…

No, I think to myself. Don't think that way. You will not get chosen. You will not, you will not…Lobelia and I walk down the streets silently, our parents walking even more slowly than us. This is the first time for us to worry. We have always worried about the other tributes, and about their families, but we have never worried about our family. My aunt Acacia and Uncle Alder have no children.

I walk towards the roped off areas. I see scared children, desperate mothers. This whole business is so unfair. Why do we have the Hunger Games? I know that it is because it is the Capitol uses it to keep us from rebelling. I know that I would rebel if I got the chance, but I am so scared. What if the Capitol kills me? Then it would have all been for nothing.

Rue gently takes my hand. The two of us friends stand close together. We know that our lives depend on this slim chance. I look around to see who else was here. Zinnea and Bloom, the twins. They were clinging to each other, fearful that one of them would be sent to a certain death. Rowan, my friend who's a boy. Everyone teases me about having a crush on him. I do have feelings for him, but what could they mean? I feel mournful. If my name or Rowan's is chosen, I might never get the chance to confess my true feelings for him.

I search around for others. Ash, Juniper, Azalea, Jessup, and Armando, Rue's five other siblings. What would become of them if she was chosen? Juniper especially, she's the youngest at the age of four. Finally, I look at my parents, at everyone's parents. The scared and worried looks on their faces. No one was going to enjoy the festivities that were to come. I know I won't.

Finally, Mayor Bluebird comes up. He talks about the history of Panem, the country that was created out of what used to be North America. He lists the disasters, both natural and man-made. He tells us the horrors of the war. The result of this was Panem, he says. Then came the Dark Days, when the thirteen districts rebelled against the Capitol. Twelve districts were defeated, the thirteenth destroyed. The Treaty of Treason was constructed, giving us new laws to guarantee peace. And it also gave us the Hunger Games.

The Hunger Games are terrible. I hate watching it on TV; I hate seeing kids die; I hate the fact that the Capitol sees it as entertainment. Entertainment! Watching innocent kids die, that's their gruesome idea of entertainment. And I've seen some of these Capitol people. Our escort, Glitter, who says the same old darn thing every year. Wearing that ridiculous looking cardigan made out of mockingjay feathers. That's another thing I hate, people using animals for decoration. It's okay to use fur for warmth, but when it comes to deliberately doing something for fashion…

Speaking of Glitter, here she is now.

"Hello, District Eleven! It is such an honor to be serving you!" she chirps in that nasty sticky-sweet voice.

Rue and I look at each other. An honor? That couldn't mean anything good.

"Happy Hunger Games!" she continues, "And may the odds be ever in your favor!"

She clears her throat. We stare at her.

"You know how wonderful it is to be with you all! It is my pleasure to be serving you!"

Why does she always emphasize at least one word in every sentence that she says? And it is so annoying to hear her say that it is her pleasure, and that it's an honor to be serving us when I heard her last year talking to Mayor Bluebird about how she couldn't wait to be promoted to a better district. What a conceited, self-concerned person!

Glitter made her way up to the reaping ball. I became very afraid again. What if she chose me, what if she chose me…?

"Let's switch it up a little this year!" Glitter squealed. She seemed like she was too excited to wait much longer.

"Boys first this year!" Glitter squealed again.

She fumbled with the slip that she took out. Then she announced:

"Thresh Leaferman!"

Thresh! I remember him from the field. He was always solitary, never speaking much. He is fifteen, and not as sociable as the other teenagers. The gang I hang around with at the field, my assigned planting partners, calls him "strong and silent." My boy-crazed friend, Zinnea, has a crush on him. I couldn't believe what Zinnea was feeling inside. Would she cry? Would she scream? I look over at Zinnea. She remains impassive, but I know her. I know all my friends. Zinnea must feel so afraid, so sad. We all know that District Eleven doesn't have much of a chance of winning, being the poorest.

"Congratulations, Thresh!" Glitter says as Thresh walks up silently.

"And now the girls!" Glitter rushes over to the other ball and grabs a slip of paper ever so casually.

I cross my fingers. But I suddenly gasp at the name that Glitter calls out. It's not Nalin Brinner. But it's someone even worse.

It's Rue Brightman.