District 3 female – Thia Vernata, 15

"No, I swear there's no mud on my jacket. I don't know what you're on about, Thia."

"Look harder!" I cried. "There's literally mud splattered all over your jacket!"

"Stop, are you seeing things?"

"Are you blind?" I asked, crossing my arms at the girl in my class who I was talking to. We were standing across from each other in the school bathroom, and she didn't believe me when I told her there was mud on her jacket.

There was a good reason, however, for her to not believe me. That reason was that there was no mud on her jacket after all, but I just found entertainment in playing with her mind and her sense of reality.

I had always been a bit mischievous, and sometimes I enjoyed messing with people's heads. This girl was one of my favourite targets because she was always so gullible. I had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to prank her, and when I saw her walking into the bathroom with a white jacket on a rainy day, I knew I had to take advantage of it.

So, before she had a chance to take off her jacket, I splashed some water on the ground and flicked a bit of dirt onto her jacket. It was a subtle move, but enough to make her doubt her own perception.

As I watched her scrutinize her jacket, trying to find the non-existent mud, I couldn't help but chuckle to myself.

"Wait... I see it, this tiny little bit of dirt? It's not exactly mud..." she said, and I just shrugged. She just put her hands on her hips and then walked out of the bathroom.

I walked back to the classroom with just a few minutes left before the school day was over. I sat down next to my best friend, Dax, and, with a glance at the clock, began mouthing my countdown to him.

As soon as I got to zero, we both stood up. We didn't have a bell, our district couldn't afford that, so the teacher would usually dismiss us, but Dax and I would always go as soon as the clock struck three. The teacher didn't even bother arguing with us about it these days.

We both knew where we were headed as soon as we stepped out of the classroom. We were going to make some quick cash by selling drugs. It was risky business, but it was the only way we could afford to make ends meet.

We walked down the hallway and out of the school, trying to blend in with the crowd of students leaving for the day. We made our way to a corner in the small deserted park where we knew our regular customers would be waiting for us.

Dax pulled out a small bag filled with pills, while I had a stash of morphine in my backpack. We started making our rounds, trying to sell as much as we could before the peacekeepers showed up.

It wasn't an easy task, but we had become experts at it. We had a network of customers, and we knew how to avoid getting caught by the peacekeepers.

As we were making our way back to our different houses, feeling quite pleased with ourselves for making some extra money, we saw a few peacekeepers walking towards the park. We panicked and started running in opposite directions.

"See you later!" I cried to Dax as we ran our different ways.

I ran until I was far enough away from the peacekeepers to stop. I took a deep breath and made my way back home, trying to shake off the adrenaline. While it wouldn't be ideal for the peacekeepers to find out that I was dealing drugs, I was more worried about them finding out about what I did to that boy.

I wouldn't call myself a good person, no. I enjoyed stealing things and causing trouble just for the fun of it. But I had never intended to kill that sixteen-year-old boy.

He was part of a rich family, and I'd broken into his family's home, intending to steal some money and other valuable goods that I could sell. I had known that their parents were out doing some rich people things, and I'd assumed that the boy and his twelve-year-old sister would have gone with them.

But they hadn't. The two siblings were in the house when I went to rob it, and the boy had come out with a kitchen knife, wanting to defend his home. I'd fought back with my own knife, thinking he would just leave, but before I knew it I had stabbed him and he was dying before my eyes.

Robbing people and lying to people was something I didn't have trouble with or feel any remorse for. But ending someone's life? That was something even I never intended to do.

Sure, if I was put under enough stress and pressure I'd do it again, but I wasn't one to go out of my way to kill others.

Pushing the memory of that day out of my head, I opened the door to my little house. I flashed my eyes around the house, and sure enough, she wasn't home. She would still be at work, just like always.

I slumped down onto my own bed, which was just across from my mother's bed, and began counting out the money I'd made from that afternoon. Perhaps it was bad to be selling illegal substances, but I didn't really care. My mother's work made enough money to get us food, as well as tesserae, but selling these drugs and stealing things gave me money for myself and my future.

I laid down on my bed and had a nap to pass time while I waited for my mother to get home. However, when I woke up, she still wasn't home. I just sighed, then grabbed a can of soup from the kitchen for my dinner, and just ate it on my own.

District 3 male – Jonas Unix, 18

CW: Suicidal thoughts

I let out a long, low breath, and looked up at Fionna as she pushed a large sofa towards the truck. The muscles in her arms clenched as she did so, and I couldn't help but feel attracted to her, with her bright brown eyes, and that perfect strawberry-blonde hair that practically glowed in the sunlight.

But there was no use in being in a relationship with her. She was one of my best friends, but she had people who loved her. A family, something I hadn't had since I was fifteen. I didn't want her to be spending less time with her family and being with me.

"You alright, Jonas?" Fionna asked me, walking away from the truck after she'd pushed the sofa into it, and wiping sweat off her forehead.

"Of course," I said, smiling at her.

I couldn't let her see the turmoil inside me, the conflicting emotions that were tearing me apart. It was easier to pretend that everything was fine, that I was just helping a friend move some furniture. But deep down, I knew that my feelings for Fionna were more than just friendly.

As we continued to load up the truck, I couldn't help but steal glances at her, admiring the way she moved, the way she laughed, and the way she interacted with others. She was everything I wanted in a partner, but I knew that pursuing a relationship with her would only lead to heartbreak.

Because it wasn't like I'd be living much longer, anyway. I had thought about death quite a lot. The thing was, there was nothing for me here, in District 3, or anywhere in Panem. Sure, I had Fionna, and my other best friend, Ash, but my entire family was dead. I wished I could just join them.

I'd often considered volunteering for the Hunger Games just so I could go in and die, and protect the boy who was reaped. I was incredibly close to doing so last year, but something had stopped me, something I couldn't quite place my finger on.

Maybe it was because of my friends Ash and Fionna. Maybe it was for a selfish reason. I felt like it was selfish for me to be staying alive. I was just taking food and water away from people who had a purpose in their lives. People with a family.

"What time is it now?" Fionna asked me.

"Erm, it's almost ten. We'd better get home so we can view that announcement thing," I said, and she nodded as we walked away from the truck.

"Alright, well, I'll see you later," she said, her eyes sparkling.

I gave her a small smile, and then we split ways and I made my way to the orphanage. It was stupid that I was still living in that orphanage. I was eighteen years old, sleeping in the same room as six-year-olds. Not that I wanted to do anything to them, if anything I'd want to help those kids, but surely that was a little problematic.

I walked into the TV room, where President Snow was already on the screen. I found my best friend who lived in the orphanage, Ash, and stood beside him. He grinned at me as soon as he saw me.

"Last bets on what the twist will be?" he asked.

"It beats me, man," I said. It was funny how the last year I was eligible for the Hunger Games was the first Quarter Quell. Depending on what the twist was, it was my last opportunity to volunteer to die.

And if I didn't get into the games maybe I'd just run at the electric fence at the edge of the district and let it kill me.

I found myself zoning in and out as the president made his long speech about the reasoning of the Quell until the twist was finally announced as the people of each district voting in their own tributes.

That would be awful to be voted into... knowing your own district hated you enough to vote you in to die.

But then... I could protect anyone else from being chosen, going through the horror and betrayal, by getting everyone to simply vote for me. It wasn't like anyone cared about me enough to not vote me in. I was just doing a service to every other young boy in the district.

The idea began to form in my mind, and I couldn't shake it off. After all I'd been through, with my mother being killed by rebels, my sister being executed for treason, and my father passing from lung cancer, this was my only purpose in life, to protect others by sacrificing myself. I turned to Ash, who was still engrossed in the TV screen and whispered to him, "I'm going to get the district to vote for me. But I need your help."

He looked at me, surprise written all over his face. "Jonas, what are you talking about? You can't do that."

"I can and I will," I replied firmly. "I need you to help me convince everyone in the district to vote for me. That way, I can protect the other kids from being chosen."

"But what about us? What about Fionna?" Ash asked, his eyes pleading with me to reconsider.

"I'll make sure to say goodbye to her before I go. And as for us, we'll always be friends, no matter what," I said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Ash nodded slowly, understanding the gravity of the situation. "Alright, I'll help you. But promise me one thing, Jonas. Promise me you'll come back alive."

I smiled faintly. As if. "I can't make that promise, Ash. But I'll do my best."

Maybe I would try. For the district. But I would hope that whichever girl got voted in from District 3 would win it.

As the holographic screen flickered to a close, I made my way out of the orphanage, my mind already making plans. I needed to convince everyone in the district to vote for me, and I needed to do it fast. I couldn't let anyone else be sacrificed for the sake of the Games.

But deep down, I knew that this was the end of the line for me. Whether I survived the Games or not, I couldn't go back to living the way I had been. There was nothing for it.

Finally, after three years of wanting it, I was going to die.

Thank you to Team Shadow for Thia and AmericanPi for Jonas. What did you all think of these two?

So, that is all of the tributes introduced. Who's your favourite? Who do you want to win? Who do you think will win?

The reaping chapters will be next, starting around April 25. Whose reaping do you think will be the most interesting?

Anyway, have a nice Easter if you celebrate it!