The 109th Hunger Games

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the start of The 109th Hunger Games.

I don't want to risk it, but I still go to the Justice Building. I have to. My mother died of starvation when I was eleven, so now, it's only me, my 12 year old sister and father. I don't know why I go to get tesserae a day before the Reaping. I've been doing it since I was twelve. This is the year I turn sixteen, so I have twenty slips in the bowl.

After I go to the Justice Building, I go to the market. Not many people have enough money to buy food, so most people trade. That's what we do. My father sometimes sneaks out of the fence to gather herbs and sometimes hunt. I keep telling him that it's dangerous, that he could be killed, but he doesn't care. He only cares about his family.

I trade some katniss for a big squirrel. Whenever I look at katniss, I remember the victor. Her name was Katniss too. Katniss won the 75th hunger games, but was then reaped from the existing pool of victors (she was the only girl) to go into the Quarter Quell, she was the 20th tribute to die. She was our best hope of winning in years, that's was father says.

I wander around the market. I walk over to Miss Sally. She sells lots of little trinkets that I often come to look at. I smile at her, and she smiles back. Almost all of them are silver and rusted brown, but in the corner of my eye I see something gold. "What's this?" I murmur and point to it. It's a bright gold bracelet that has a small bird and flames leaping around it in the middle. "It's a mockingjay bracelet," Miss Sally takes my hand and slides the bracelet on. "It's supposed to give you good luck." She smiles.

I take the bracelet off and put it back. "Oh, no, no, no," Miss Sally picks it back up and gives it to me. "You keep it, Audrey, you'll need it for tomorrow. You keep the luck."

I look at it then I look back at her. "Thank you, thank you so much. What would you like in return?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all, my dear!" She exclaims. I pull some leaves of katniss from my little bag. "Have this." I hold it put to her. "You are a very generous young girl, Audrey Arrowhead. Thank you." I smile and wave to say good bye to Miss Sally and as I walk away, she calls out behind me, "Good luck, my dear!"

When I get home, I give the bracelet to Paloma. I say that I will give her good luck for tomorrow. She smiles and gives me a hug.

We own two goats, so with the squirrel we have goat's cheese and some herbs for dinner.

My sister and I share a bed, and of course, tonight, we can't sleep. Pal always gets scared the night before the reaping. It's hard to calm her down. So, in the end, we just lay on top of the covers hugging each other. Pal asks for a story, so I tell her the one I've always told her. It's about before the Hunger Games, before the riot, when people lived in peace and harmony. Eventually she falls asleep, but I still lay there for an hour before I feel sleepy. I close my eyes and hope for the best tomorrow.

A/N: thanks for reading the first chapter of my story! I hope you liked it.

I still need tributes from:

District 1: boy and girl

District 2: boy and girl

District 3: boy and girl

District 4: boy and girl

District 5: boy and girl

District 6: boy and girl

District 7: boy

District 8: boy and girl

District 9: boy and girl

District 10: boy and girl

District 11: boy