Asher Elias POV
I repetitively tilt my book from sides to side to catch a glimpse of the words on the page as it lights up when the lightning strikes. I sit by the window, taking ten minutes just to read one page but there is no other way to do it. After the storm passes I sneak out of bed and grab a torch from the kitchen. I hide under my sheets and hold it up close to the book. Within a few minutes I am feeling tired so I turn it off, put my book on the floor and fall asleep.
'ASH!' I hear a screeching sound wake me. I open my eyes to see my little sister with her face right next to mine. Emily then giggles and runs back into her bed with my other sister Sadia and my brother Joseph. I brush back my short dark hair and flop out of bed. I'm not a morning person. I walk into the kitchen and notice breakfast has been put out for us. I call my siblings and place a bowl of nuts and fruit in front of them. My parents must have already left for the orchards and our shifts start in just under an hour.
After Sadia, Joseph and Emily are already in their work clothes and big straw hats we head of down the road to the fields. We walk together discussing what fruits we might pick today. Then we arrive at the fields. We each are given baskets and told where to pick. I notice my father and my mother not far from where we are. I look up at the orchards and notice apples, cherries, plums, peaches, pears, most of the citrus family and a lot more.
I step up on one of the mini ladders and reach up to the trees. I pull of some fresh-purple plums. I throw the ones filled with holes, are mouldy or have bugs inside onto the ground and then put all the other ripe ones into my baskets that slowly becomes heavy. I drop a few good ones, go to pick them up and then stuff them in my jacket. I have to, even my parents do. We all get less than minimum wage and need some more food to survive.
I hear a yelp and a thud as somebody falls from the stepladder. I quickly turn my head and see my brother lying on the ground having a fit. My parents see him as well and rush over to see what happened. I cover Em and Sadia's eyes and walk them away. I look around at my parents and on Joe's left arm I can see blood. I hear the words snake and I realize he must be allergic or it must be poisonous. My parents tell me to take care of my sisters and bring them home as they will go to the Hob and try to get some help. I think to myself, of all people to see get hurt it was the smiling little 7-year-old.
Grail Vyne POV
My eyes flick open and I sit up, jolting my back. I look outside the window and see the busy streets. I run out of the bedroom and into the living room/kitchen. I see my sister, Cheryl sitting on the couch eating a banana. My parents and Judith, my eldest sister must have gotten up early for work. They all work in the orchards, being in District 11. I look up at the sun it looks like it's about 10 am. I quickly get dressed, brush back my curly, dark brown hair and head off to our meeting place.
I run down the bustling streets, pushing my way through the crowd. All four of them are already waiting for me. I run up to them and give them all a hug. There are five of us me, Cassie, Esme, Aubrey and Jayla. Cassie and Esme are sisters, they both have blue eyes, straight, blonde hair and bronzed skin. Aubrey's parents work in the orchards with my parents and Jayla and I have been friends since we were 2. We all belong to each other, almost like sisters.
'Do you want to play hide-and-seek tag?' Esme says. I nod my head. We all agree to play, even though it is a little bit childish. We sort out who is it the way we do for everything. All of us put our right hands in, the ones with the bracelets on them. Last year we all decided to make friendship bracelets to signify our love for each other. They are braided yarn bracelets with each our chosen gems. Jayla stole five gems from the mayor's mansion. Mine is yellow, happy and excited. Esme's is blue, calm and good with words. Jayla's is red, she knows how to get angry. Cassie's is purple, different from the others. And Aubrey's is green, naturist and healthy. We all sing the song and see who must count and who will hide.
'Someone must be it,
Who will it be?
Land on a different coloured gem,
And that's who it will be.' It stops on purple, Cassie's. She sighs and then turns around and counts to 100.
Sprinting off down the road I heading towards the outer area of the District. I see all the busy stalls and the families working in the fields. And then I reach my hideout, The Victor's Village. Only a few victors live here, no one from District 11 has won in the last 40 years. The houses up the front belong to Chaff who is over one hundred, Ferrer who won the 89th games and then Leslie who was the winner of the 103rd Games when she killed over eleven tributes with a nun chuck. I count the numbers on the house as I run down the lane. I come across the last house in the Village, an unoccupied one and run around the back. I get down on my hands and knees and army crawl on the dirt underneath the cabin.
After an hour or so Jayla, Aubrey, Cassie all walk around the corner calling out for me. A smile comes to my face, as I know I have outlasted them. I crawl out the back and brush off any dirt. I run around to the road and wave to them.
'Where's Esme?' I ask them.
'She had to go home,' Cassie replies.
'We better get ready for the reapings and meet back at the Square,' suggests Aubrey. The three of us all nod in agreement and go our separate ways home.
Asher Elias POV
After I take my sister's home, trying to avoid the subject of what just happened. My parents are there when I arrive home and take care of the girls. I quickly get changed and head off to the reapings not asking about how Joe is going.
All the children of District 11, aged from 12-18 are lined up waiting for the names to be drawn. I look over my shoulder and see a group of girls praying in the corner, if only I had someone to pray to. All I can do is hope that it's not me. The mayor comes to the stage to present a speech to the District. He looks as nervous as hell but I would be aswell if I had to talk to over a thousand people, two of them almost being given the death sentence.
After one boring presentation the escort comes to the stage. His name is Dessida Merry. You would describe Dessida as insanely lively and a goth rock god. His hair is black so is his skin, shoes, jacket, piercings, eyes, pants and his nails are also painted black. He struts up to the microphone, ripping it out of the mayor's grip and screams into it.
'ALRIGHT DISTRICT 11 ARE YOU READY TO ROCK THESE HUNGER GAMES!' pretending like it's a rock concert.
'LET'S SHAKE IT UP A BIT AND LET THE GUYS GO FIRST CAUSE DUDES ROOOOCCCCKKK!' he screams. I freak out knowing that the unlucky chances of my name being called could happen very shortly.
All of a sudden Dessida screams out the male tribute, 'ASHER ELIAS!' My eardrums go numb and I can't hear a thing. I see my parents try and break through the army to get to me and all I do as I walk to the stage is try not to cry. I zone out for a while and then I hear the female tribute, 'GRAIL VYNE!' I know that girl she is quite popular in the District. She wears a dull grey shirt with some nice denim jeans. As she walks to the stage she is holding on tightly to something on her wrist. Dessida then does some air guitar and then we go to say our good byes.
My mother, father, Joseph, Emile and Sadia all walk through the doors solemnly. It is almost silent as I kiss goodbye to my parents and younger siblings. I tell Joseph to get better soon and rub him on the head, even at this time he gives me a little smile. As my family leaves I calculate the chances of me winning. 4.2%. But being myself the chances are probably zero.
Grail Vyne POV
I run out of the house wearing a simple grey top and some denim jeans from my sister. Along the way I tie up my hair in a bun. I can't be late, not again. Jayla, Cassie and Aubrey stand to the right of the crowd all dressed neatly. I wonder where Esme is?
'I couldn't find her and I looked everywhere,' Cassie says nervously. I give a little shake of my nerves as we all know what happens if you don't turn up.
We all wait in the cue together, looking out for Es every second. When it comes to my turn she hasn't arrived so we all walk over holding hands to the 14-year-old section. No one says a word at all. Finally the mayor comes to the stage and breaks the ice of us standing in silence. He pulls at a piece of card and says, 'as you know every year some children don't turn up and that is recorded. Their houses will be raided and there will be brutal punishments for them and their families. The names are Fernando Poperic, Sugar Pain and Esme Bloom.' All my friends and I shriek at the same time. Not Esme she did nothing wrong. All her belongings will be taken away and she will have nothing.
'Now we have Dessida Merry, District 11's escort for the 150th Hunger Games,' the mayor says trying to make it sound exciting but really it's hell on Earth. Dessida beams across the stage with a deafening black smile. He decides to add a twist himself to the Games by making the male tribute reaped first. He draws a piece of paper with one singular name and he screams it out to the District, 'ASHER ELIAS!' I hear screams from behind me and people trying to break through the army of Peacekeepers. The boy however walks to the stage with a look of hatred and fear. He shakes the hand of the escort and takes his place, looking over the thousands of people he once knew.
My hands are sweating like crazy and I tighten my grip onto my friend's hands. We all just hope it isn't us.
'GRAIL VYNE!' I drop my hands and stand in awe. Not this year, any other year but this one. Jayla, Cassie and Aubrey turn to me and immediately start crying. I keep a blank expression for the Capitol's entertainment and walk emotionlessly.
Cheryl, Judith and my parents walk inside together. I run towards them and then I crack. My eyes flood with tears, as I am fearful of what will happen. I know I won't win but I encourage myself to enjoy my last few days. My family however think that winning is an option for me if I try. They are pulled out of the room and then my friends are invited inside. We hug and talk about some of the best times we had as a group and then we put our bracelets into the middle and pray for hope for me to win. I tell them if I die I will never forget them and they will be the last thing I think of.
Who is Peeta's stylist? – 20 points
Who gave Katniss money to buy Lady? – 30 points
Who is Plutarch's assistant? – 40 points
SO WHAT DO YOU THINK! Only one more reapings to go and then I will be open to sponsor questions points, allies and all the other stuff you wanna know about. It took me a while to write this and I'm running out of ideas so I'm sorry if this is boring. Have a great day and I will try to get this next chapter out ASAP! Check out my demigod games as well cause I want to start them too. Btw do you like my little tiggy song I made it up myself and the tune is…
Some-one-must-be-it
Whooo-will-it-be
Land-on-a-different-coloured-gem
And-that'ssss-who-it'll-be!
Signing off, TeamCudgee ;D