Tinkra Bram

Tinkra was literally shaking in place. She wasn't good with suspenseful things like the reaping. In the factories, she had been moved to a packaging station because she was too jumpy working the machines. That's how she had gotten the bald spot on the back of her head. Now she had to keep her hair tied back all the time just to hide it.

When Charlotte, the District escort, came out onto the stage to start the Reaping, Tinkra started shaking again. It just happened when she was nervous. The reapings were the worst time of year for her, not that they were much better for anyone else.

"Welcome, District Three!" Charlotte was always overly excited to do her job. No one in the district liked her positive attitude towards the Hunger Games. It was sick. Nevertheless, every year, Charlotte would show up, happy as ever, to rip children away to their death. "Let's not doddle any longer. The suspense is killing me. Our first tribute, to compete for District Three in the 100th Hunger Games, shall be…" Tinkra tried to calm her breathing when Charlotte left her place at the podium, but it wasn't helping much. By the time she had pulled a name and returned, Tinkra had attracted a lot of odd looks. People feared the reapings, but no one lost it like she did.

"Tinkra Bram! Where is Tinkra?" The world stopped. Tinkra stopped breathing. Only one the peacekeepers pulled her from the crowd was she able to take in a big sobbing breath. She let herself go limp, and made the Peacekeeper drag her to the stage.

Danice Holmes

Danice watched at Tinkra, a girl from her neighborhood, was taken by the Peacekeepers to the front stage. She was scared, but so was everyone else. This was Danice's first time in the reapings, so luck was on her side. She saw Tinkra up on stage with the living victors from Three comforting her. Beetee, an old man who had won before the second rebellion, and Lindi, who was younger. Danice just wanted to go home and get back to her family.

Charlotte walked back to the ball, plucked another slip from the pile of names, and called out "Danice Holmes." Danice looked forward into the crowd, hoping that somehow there was another girl with the same name as her. She only had her name in the ball twice. One mandatory slip and one for her tesserae. It couldn't be her. She was only twelve years old, and there had only ever been one twelve year old, over sixty years ago. Danice was doomed.

Alyssandra Collyn

Alyssandra felt bad as she watched the little girl be ushered to the tributes' spot on the stage. The games were never fair to the younger ones, and it was boring to watch. Alyssandra could never admit that she found the games to be entertaining, or she'd be shunned by her district for sure. She tried to come off as brave for her siblings, but here, in the crowd where they couldn't see her clearly, her hands were wringing the blue fabric of her dress nervously. She might enjoy watching the Hunger Games, but she would never…

"Alyssandra Collyn, our third tribute for the girls of Three!" What? What had happened? She thought. Was Charlotte's words in her head, or had she actually been reaped as a tribute? Alyssandra didn't even have time to sort out her thoughts before a Peacekeeper pulled her to the middle aisle. Shit! She thought. This cannot be real! She couldn't survive as a tribute. She'd always bragged how she could win if this happened to her, but it was just that, bragging! She had no experience, nothing like the Careers of One, Two, and Four. How would she survive this?

Emmia Gingrass

"Finally, our last tribute girl for the quarter quell will be…" Emmia watched silently as Charlotte pulled the last name. One more name, and she'd be safe for another year. "Lissa Gingrass!" Emmia looked back quickly to get a glimpse of her cousin, only fifteen-years-old, stepping from the crowd. She couldn't breathe; Lissa would never survive in the Arena. She was missing an arm from an accident in the factories, and that was as good as a death sentence in the arena. The accident had killed Lissa's brother, Liam, leaving their mother with only one child, and an injured one. She was a mess as is, and couldn't lose Lissa too.

"I volunteer!" Shouted Emmia, before she realized what she had done.

Guier Coriente

Guier saw the girl volunteer for Lissa. Was she family? A good friend? Three wasn't a career district, so it would have had to take a serious connection to make that sacrifice and volunteer to be a tribute. As horrible as it sounded to Guier, he could admit to himself that if his brother, who was thirteen, was ever reaped, Guier wouldn't volunteer for him. It was a death sentence, and there was going to be four times as many deaths this year.

"A round of applause for our four girls, and now to choose from the boys." Guier willed his name to slip to the edges of the glass, where Charlotte's small hands hardly ever picked from. But the odds were not in Guier's favor, when Charlotte picked the first name on top and read out Guier's name loud and clear.

Veris Sphene

Veris had never been afraid of the Reaping like everyone else in the district. He had a secret that kept him safe. His father, Head peacekeeper Sphene, and his mother, a high ranking Peacekeeper, had told him when he turned twelve that they had gotten his name pulled from the Reaping Ball, that he was safe. They had enough authority in the district to sneak it. So Veris never worried. He was able to relax, while even his friends were frightened. He wished he could tell them, sometimes, but then he remembered that they'd only resent him for his luck.

He tuned out the world, giving himself these last few minutes of peace, but then he heard it. His friend Cambell was whispering his name. Veris looked around and saw everyone staring at him, the crowd, Charlotte, the Peacekeepers, and he knew what had happened.

His parents had lied to him.

Warner Brackson

Warner stood quietly in the back of his group, just waiting for today to be over. He wasn't as anxious of the Reaping as he was of the huge crowd of people. Warner wasn't good in groups. He figured that the reaping had been happening for oe hundred years now, so he would't be able to change it all of a sudden. Warner's main focus was studying, so that someday he could take the test to try and become a Capitol scientist. He'd be able to get out of Three and live a luxuriously quiet life in the Capitol.

He wasn't worried about the reaping, because knowing the number of guys eligible from three, and calculating their ages and probability of needing tesserae against his own, his chances of being being picked was extremely slim.

Charlotte walked back from the ball a third time, and, looking across the crowd as she spoke, called out the name, "Aaron Sierra."

Aaron Sierra

What? No! This can't be happening! Aaron turned to look for Elizabeth, his now fiance, and he saw the tears already in her eyes. He had proposed to her this morning, before the reaping, while they were walking to the square through the woods. She'd said yes, and once they were eighteen they were going to sign up for their own house. But that plan was just torn away. Aaron wasn't cut out to be a tribute. He was the mayor's son, and if anyone was ever less prepared to be thrown into the arena, it was the child of a district mayor. He couldn't go to the arena. He'd die there, and Elizabeth would be alone. But Aaron put on a brave face for her, telling himself to win, for her. By the time he had reached the stage, Charlotte was already back to the podium with the final name. She motioned for him to take his place, put on her smile, and called out "Warner Brackson". Aaron saw a scrawny looking boy step out from the center of the crowd, all the color gone from his face. He could relate.