District 11 Reaping

Hey guys, first of all I just wanna say if some of my spacing is off. I dunno why but Microsoft is being awkward. Also, I was very surprised to see more reviews on my last chapter but I sure do appreciate it. Enjoy the Chapter and May the Odds be Ever in Your Favour!

Jenneth Myra Speare POV

I try to scratch my head under my hat; guess grain isn't exactly comfortable.

"Jesus, my shoes are killing me" complains my sister Beth.

"Shh! Stop moaning and Jenneth stop scratching your head like that; you're drawing attention to us. Now let me do the talking" she walks up to the peacekeeper and looks mad when she sees who it is.

It's Arnold, the youngest peacekeeper who seems to have a thing for Mary.

"If it isn't Mary Speare; you and your sisters look a little hungry. Have you reconsidered my offer?" he looks at her in a way that makes me wanna rip his head off of his shoulders.

"We'll never be that hungry; the answer is no" Mary practically spits at him.

"Well, you know the rules. I'm still gonna have to search you if you wanna walk through here" he searches Mary first and takes too long about it for my liking.

After he's searched all three of us, we run off into a nearby ally.

"Jerk; I hate him" Mary growls.

"We could do something you know; tell mom or dad" I suggest.

"And who will they report him too? Arnold's a peacekeeper remember?"

"What about the head peacekeeper?"

"Pfft, he does the same with the older girls; he'll probably give him a warning if anything."

"Why don't you just kick him where it really hurts? That'll teach the bastard!" Beth says fiercely.

"I've got too much to lose; we've all got too much to lose. Let's just get to The Bud; Luke and Percy will be waiting for us" Mary takes off her gloves to reveal little bottles of morphine inside "Have you still got your stuff?"

I take off my hat, being careful not to lose any of the grain. I got a hat full of it this morning. Mary removes her shoes and takes out the bottles of oil. The Bud is the district 11 black market. To save people getting tesserae, we get it ourselves and sell the supplies dirt cheap at Luke and Percy's stall. Plus, we split the profits so it's worth it most of the time. We found the morphine plant ages ago buried under some rubble. We could probably make a fortune on the morphine alone but Mary and I felt bad about making people addicted so we only sell it once a month.

"Eurgh, do you think Ruby will be there again?" Beth hates Luke's girlfriend but we've never worked out exactly why.

"Why don't you like her again?" I ask jokingly.

"She's just… she's always like she's on a sugar rush and high on morphine at the same time; and that grin. Jesus, it's too much to bear sometimes."

"Come on!" Mary demands "We only have another hour before the reaping. I wanna earn some cash."

I shiver a little. I hate those games; I watched last year's and it was brutal. Both tributes were killed by the district 1 girl. I never knew either of them thankfully, but it's still awful. I wouldn't have a problem with blowing the whole of the Capitol to smithereens.

Luke Matthew Pond POV

"Morning sweetie" my girlfriend Ruby kisses me on the cheek "You still waiting for the stock?"

"You got it" I sigh.

"Sorry we're late" my friend Beth arrives with her sisters Mary and Jenneth "Mary got hassled by Arnold."

"Again? Aw, that must suck. Come on sweetie; turn that frown upside down!" Ruby grins but Beth's expression doesn't move an inch "Or, keep frownin… I guess that works. Lukey, I'm gonna go get some groceries. Seeya at the reaping."

Ruby skips off; I love her more than anything. She may be a little sweet for some people but she's positive and in district 11, that's something you've gotta admire.

"Have you got the stock?" I ask the three girls.

"Yup, plus a few bottles of morphine" Mary passes me what she has "Now where's our share of last week's?"

"Yeah, yeah; hey Percy" I call to my best friend "Get their money."

Percy runs over and gets out their share then hands it to the Jenneth, the third sister.

"Err, morning Jenneth" he says quietly, not looking her in the eye.

"Morning" she replies just as quietly.

After their gone, Percy and I start to spread the stuff out on our table. It's not a bad job; we get the stock pretty cheap and make enough to go back to our families not empty handed. It beats working in the fields anyway, which is what my parents do. The extra money we don't have to get tesserae as much. The only downside is that we have to try really hard to hide the money so the peacekeepers don't get suspicious. The Bud isn't like The Hob in District 12; the peacekeepers don't have a clue what goes on and that's the way we like it.

"Luke! Luke, where are you?" calls a shrill annoying voice belonging to my twin sister Lily.

"Hey Lily Pond" I laugh; I say her full name just to irritate her (our parents didn't realise the joke at the time).

"Shut up; mom says we need to go the reaping" she pauses, looking at me expectantly "Now!"

"Fine, chill out Lily Pond."

Percy stays behind to hide the stock. If you ask me, the games are a waste of time. The rest of us train the best we can but we may as well face it; it'd be quicker for the Capitol to kill all of the tributes except a Career of their choice. Everyone's lives would be better if the Capitol were wiped out of existence.

Jenneth Myra Speare POV

Ok, I'm freaking out. Why did I let Mary convince me into this tesserae idea? What if I get reaped? I can't kill anyone and I don't know how to get sponsors; I don't know how to make people like me. I have enough trouble trying to get Percy to notice me. I suddenly realise Steve Redfern is about to pick the female tribute. I feel myself shaking and Beth suddenly elbows me.

"Don't knock it" she holds out her hand and I see her other hand is held by Mary.

I take her hand and make a half-hearted attempt to smile through my fear. It won't be us; there's so many others with more tesserae.

"Jenneth Myra Speare!"

"Aaa" I let out a short scream and my breath grows heavy "I c- I can't move- aaa!"

"Get on stage" snarls a peacekeeper.

"Hey leave her alone" growls Beth.

She and Mary help me up to the stage and my breathing starts to return to normal. But then the thoughts start. They all use the same words. Fear. Death. Me.

Luke Matthew Pond POV

Not Jenneth; Jesus. Jenneth isn't strong; you only have to have seen her reaction to being reaped to know that. Percy isn't even looking; he's had feelings for Jenneth for a while. My guess is he's guilty; for not saying anything or doing anything. It's not his fault though; he reacted the way anyone would of in his position.

"Now for the boy. The lucky guy is… Luke Matthew Pond!"

What? This can't happen; not me and Jenneth. Are you serious? I wanna do something but I know the best thing to do. I walk up there and I take Jenneth's hand and squeeze it comfortingly.

"Hey Jenneth" I whisper, trying to not to move my lips; she responds with a muffled sob "I'm gonna do something, and you may not like it but you need to trust I'm doing it for us to get sponsors ok?"

She continues sobbing for a moment but then she gives a quick nod. I let go of her hand, wipe away her tears and kiss her lightly on the lips; the audience gasps and so does Jenneth. I feel bad for Ruby and Percy but the Capitol will love it, and as much as I loathe them they're the best way to get me and Jenneth home.

"Well, let the games begin eh?" I mutter to Jenneth while she just looks on confusedly.

I like these tributes; they seem like good people but I'll have to see what I do with them. I actually feel really great about this chapter. I know it's shorter but I didn't wanna make it drag and I'm happy with its length. Honestly though, if you don't like it, please give me your feedback; it's so appreciated. I really hope I get the district 12 reaping up tomorrow but if I don't I'll definitely work to get it up by Wednesday. I'm kind of looking forward to going to the Capitol now.