Rex Carper, District 3
I'm known as the Shadow. Why? I'm pretty tall for 16, have black hair and plain blue eyes, and never make myself known. I'm also pretty deadly. I've got skills with a sword and knife, but a bow could also be useful. I've got one sibling, a little brother named Le. He walks into my room early in the morning, hair all mussed up, to find me all dressed and ready for the Reaping. Of course, it's already 11:30, so I've got a right to be ready.
"Reaping?" he slurs, scratching his straight black hair and attempting to neaten it.
"Yeah." I say. Truthfully, there's not much more to discuss. He knows that I've kept myself enrolled in TCTC (The Career Training Center) by working at the dress shop lifting the heavier boxes from the back. It's pretty tiring, but it'll keep me alive in the arena, this training. My mom, Tina, walks into the doorway, pushing Le away from the door gently.
"Ready, boys? Oh, Le...come here sweetie. We need to get you dressed properly!" she fusses. Le flashes me a still sleepy alarmed look before I see my best friend Ethan walking up. We agreed to step into the Reaping area together, fully knowing that we'd both try to volunteer for the male spot. I wave at him through my room's creaky, gothic-style window then head outside. He's the picture of perfect, or so say the girls at the school (remember, I'm the Shadow.).
He has wavy, ash-blond hair and brown eyes so dark that they look black most of the time. He also has a dusting of freckles across his face, and matching dimples. The only reason that I ever earned his friendship is because...well, I don't really ponder such things. I'm kinda happy how they are. He runs ahead of me, taking his place in the 16-year-old section. Our "house" (aka shack) is right oustide the town square so that my Dad can run his small grocery shop from our home. Our escort, a fairly normal lady named Terrah, takes the stand.
"Well. Let's just get this over with, shall we? For the male tribute..."
She waves her hand delicately.
"I volunteer!" I shout, in unison with Ethan. Terrah narrows her eyes and flits them between the two of us. She nods, almost unseeably, to me. I walk forward solidly, feeling Ethan's cold stare on my neck. Terrah leans over to me.
"Name?" she asks in a whisper.
"Rex. Rex Carper." I say, stepping out of her immediate distance.
"Rex Carper!" she shouts into the microphone. A few quiet claps echo from the audience, though there's as least 400 people in it.
"For the female tribute..." she says, smiling with her rose-pink lips for effect.
"Sydney Lendley!" she finishes. A girl from the 15-year-old section trudges forward. She has wavy brown hair, long bangs, and russet (a/n: google this) brown eyes. Her face already shows slight smile wrinkles, suggesting that she laughs alot, though she's not showing emotion right now. She crosses her arms over her chest defiantly.
"May the odds be ever in your favor!" Terrah blurts into the microphone, then quickly ushers (shoves) us into the waiting train car. Terrah holds her hand out, but I just stare at it.
"You'll wait here for an hour and get to know each other." she commands, and we sit down on two velvet bench seats. Sydney cuts her eyes at me. She could be a model or a nobody, for all I know about her.
"Hi." she says blankly, drawing out her Token, a book.
Who brings a book to the Games? Apparently, her. I've only brought a compass, and I hope that they don't strip me of it.
"What are you reading?" I ask. She smiles.
"Fairy Tales. I've had this book since I was three. It was my first book, and it'll probably be my last." she sighed regretfully. She must really enjoy it, then.
"Skill?" I ask tenativly. She leans forward.
"Bows and arrows." she states. That's it? Wow. Maybe she thinks that her looks will coast her through the Games. First strike. I lean back into my seat, grinning a little myself. These Games were already about wrapped up.