Chapter 1: Preparation

As I slowly got out of bed I started blinking rapidly, unsure why everything was so blurry, still trying to get my thoughts together from my

dreamless night. I grabbed for my glasses on the end table next to my bed, only to remember my dad was supposed to pick up a new pair since my old

ones broke two days ago. Today was reaping day and I wasn't as nervous since my name was only in there four times plus tesserae, seven times. District

3 was not necessarily rich but we were not poor, just middle class. My family personally was higher middle class since both my parents where one of the

top computer technicians in all of Panem, but they get 40 coins a week, and that is not that much. My mom went out earlier today to buy me and my three

brother's suits and me and one of my older brothers our glasses.

It was seven thirty; we still had another half hour before the horn would go off. My dad took a picture of us before me and my eldest brother went

upstairs to work on a project that we were going to send to District 6 to make the transportation trains even faster than 200 mph, this was the only

bonding time I get with him since he is starting computer classes that take all went by fast because what seemed like ten minutes was actually thirty

and I and my brother made our way down the stairs. This was my 4th year of being at the reaping while this was the 2nd of my younger brother, the

5th of

my older brother, and the last of my eldest brother. We made our way down the streets, four brothers with matching light lavender suits. We were at

the

finger pricking stand, I jumped as the tiny needle was inserted into my finger I gathered with my brothers in the left section of the three.

As everyone gathered in the escort of district three, Aelius Spodumene walked to the stage. Though the speech is usually the same every year,

it changes slightly unintentionally. "Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! Happy hunger games and may the odds be ever in your favor. Before we begin we

have a special film, brought to you all the way from the capitol". The minute film played, this is when everyone starts to get butterflies in their stomach.

As the film ended, I nervously looked back to Aelius as he was about to reap innocent children of district 3. "Now the time has come for us to pick one

young man and woman, to represent district 3 in the 35th hunger games, as usual, ladies are first." He had walked to the large glass bowl with tiny

steps before picking a name gracefully, with his gem implanted golden he coughed as to start another grand speech he had read, Ada Pascal.

An eighteen year old girl walked up onto the stage she turned and faced the crowd. Aelius quickly nodded and went to the boy's bowl without

saying a word. He picked up a slip, and went back to the podium. Beetee Latier. I looked at my brothers before walking to the stage. I was a little

shocked that my name was picked out of the thousands of people in district 3. I looked at my brothers waiting for one of them to volunteer for me, but

no one did. After me and Ada shook hands we went into the justice building just as my second to oldest brother looked like he was about to say

something, but it was too late. I waited in the small gray room for them to let me say my good-byes. "You have three minutes." A peacekeeper said

before putting my family in the room with me. As I hugged each one of my brothers, then my mom and my dad, we said nothing. Both of my parents

started crying, when the peacekeeper took them away. My friend Mac came in the room and we hugged, which we only do in extreme measures, he

said that my skill in electronics gave me an advantage. Then the peacekeeper took Mac away. Then a separate one took me to take me to the train

station. Me, Aelius, and Ada sat in the cab in silence, then boarded the train with news reporter cameras, flashing in our face.