District 6 female – Cindy Trimmers, 18

"You did vote for me, right?"

"Of course I did, Cindy! You'll win it for Six! I know you voted for you!" said Melissa excitedly, the day after the voting was opened. "And I voted for George Caron, too!"

"George Caron... that kid in the gang, right?" I said.

"Yeah! Will he be a good district partner?" she asked me.

"Yeah, I'd say so," I said. "I'm going to have breakfast now."

"Alright, I'll come with you," said Melissa.

"Ugh, can't you go later?" I said to her. "I don't want to be seen with people who spend three weeks in jail without breaking out."

"I... I will break out!" she said. "After you get reaped I will. I'm just keeping you company for now."

"Well, I don't need or want your company, thanks," I said, standing up. "Goodbye."

I walked out of the cell, and she followed me only because it was our designated chance to eat, and we wouldn't get another chance until noon.

I walked far away from her when we reached the cafeteria, however, and thankfully she didn't follow me and found her own place to eat, and I began to think about a strategy for the games.

Surely since it was a Quarter Quell where everyone was being voted in, there would be a lot of tributes who, like me, had been voted in for the crimes they committed. And we'd all form an alliance and pick on the weaker ones who were there as victims of some kind, wipe them out in the bloodbath.

As I sat alone at a table in the cafeteria, my mind raced with thoughts of the upcoming Hunger Games. The Quarter Quell was set to be notorious for its twisted and challenging twists, and this year being the first one would be no exception. The fact that all the tributes had been voted in meant that there would be a diverse mix of competitors, each with their own story and motive for being there.

I couldn't help but feel a mixture of excitement and apprehension. On one hand, this was my chance to prove myself, to show the Capitol and the entire nation of Six that I was more than just a criminal. On the other hand, I knew that survival in the arena would be a brutal and ruthless battle.

But that was what I wanted. There would be other tributes who were scared of that sort of battle, but I felt more confident about it than I had in my whole life about anything. I knew I wasn't afraid to kill anyone. I was the perfect victor for a games where everyone was there after being voted in. Some of them would be too afraid to kill.

"What are you going to wear to the reaping?" Melissa asked me the day before reaping day.

"My prison jumpsuit," I said shortly.

"You're not going to dress up? You're the one who will be reaped!" she said.

"I'm not dressing nicely," I snapped at her. "Leave me alone for once, god!"

"I just..." Melissa started, but I shoved past her before she could finish her sentence, heading towards the prison gym.

It was an extremely old and dusty gym, and half of the equipment didn't work, but I managed to get a good workout in. If I was going into the Hunger Games, I needed to be as strong as I possibly could be. In that case, I would be able to lift all of the other tributes and throw them to their death.

"You wanna squat for me, honey?" came a gruff voice from behind me. I spun around to see a heavily tattooed prisoner, right behind me with a huge grin on his face.

"I do not want to squat for you," I said coldly, pushing past the man, but he stepped in front of me again.

"Where are you going, baby?"

"God, away from you, you creep," I said, going to walk past him but he grabbed my arm. I snatched my arm away from him straight away and kneed him in the groin, before looking to the peacekeeper on duty. He simply stood there, watching me with a smirk.

Anger flooded my body at the sight of that, and I stormed over to him, grinning as he flinched as I was closer.

"There are security cameras!" the peacekeeper said, his voice shaking.

"I don't care," I snarled. "I'm going to the Capitol tomorrow, and when I come back, I'll be a hero. Why would you just stand there and watch that, not intervene? You're here for security reasons, it's your bloody job!"

"OK, OK, I'll do better!" the peacekeeper said, his voice whimpering a little. What a pathetic man.

"You're useless," I snapped, and he opened his mouth to say something else, but I knocked him out before he could, and then walked away.

The next day was the reaping, and I took the chance to sleep in until the last minute before making my way to the town centre. The crowd was full of little children, which made me physically cringe. I actually hated those grotty little creatures.

I got in line with the other eighteen-year-old girls, glad to be away from the younger kids at the front. The other girls around me were whispering anxiously as if thinking that they had somehow done something to make the district vote for them. The sight of them being worried made me laugh. Did they not know that they and everyone else had voted for the criminals of the district who had volunteered? God, they were stupid.

The escort came onto the stage not too long after I arrived, and began to talk to us about the history of the hunger games, before saying, "The votes have all come in and it is time for the tributes to be announced. So... ladies first. The selected female tribute from District Six for the twenty-fifth Hunger Games is... Cindy Trimmers."

I wasn't surprised of course, but I still let out an angry scowl to the crowd, before storming through the crowd and towards the stage. Once I was close enough to it, I spat at the stage, then walked onto the stage and spun around to the crowd, flipping them off.

"Alright, now time for the boys," said the escort, Kian, once I was on the stage, not even bothering to tell me off for the spitting and the rude finger. "The male tribute from District Six voted in for the Quarter Quell is... George Caron."

I snickered. No surprise there. George came onto the stage, and we were taken behind the stage into the goodbye rooms.

My parents were the only people who came in to see me. I didn't have any friends, and I was glad of that.

"Please come back, Cindy," my mother sobbed, clutching onto my arms.

"I will," I said, grinning. "I promise."

District 6 male - George Caron, 18

If I was able to vote for myself, I would. But unfortunately, the rule stood that I was only allowed to vote for someone else. Everyone else was voting for one of the criminal boys, but I wasn't going to vote for any of them, because that would take away my chances of being voted in.

So, I was voting for the boy I'd once considered my brother, Archie Montand, just for the satisfaction of giving him one tiny chance of being in the games, even though there was no way he'd be voted in.

I wrote Archie's name and age onto a slip of paper, then put it into the glass ball, then grabbed a slip of paper for my vote for a female tribute, and then wrote Suzie's name. If she went into the games with me, she was too soft and caring to kill anyone, and I'd be able to kill her in the bloodbath. That was if she had the guts to stay at the cornucopia.

After writing her name down and putting the slip of paper into the other glass ball, I was escorted back to my prison cell by the peacekeepers. The reaping was only two days away, meaning that if I was chosen for the games, I only had to stay in this cell for two more nights.

On the day of the reaping, I woke up bright and early, even before the peacekeepers came to my cell to wake me up and take me to the reaping area.

Like in previous years, I had to line up with the other boys my age. This year, since I was eighteen, I was right at the back and ended up right next to Archie. I cringed when I saw him but painted a smile on my face and greeted him.

"Hey, Georgie," he said. "I just wanted to say... I'm really sorry you got arrested and I couldn't help you, I just... I thought you'd be able to get free, and I needed to help get the others out..."

Yeah, right, I thought to myself. Your cowardly ass just wanted to get yourself out of there.

"It's alright," I said. "Who did you vote for?"

"That guy called Kaleb who was in jail with you," said Archie. He didn't even vote for me, of course. "And a girl called Cindy, who was in jail as well."

"OK," I said, looking up at the escort, Kian Normady, who was now coming up on the stage. "Let's just see who's been voted in."

"Welcome, District Six, to the twenty-fifth annual Hunger Games, and the first Quarter Quell," said Kian. "The votes have all come in and it is time for the tributes to be announced. So... ladies first. The selected female tribute from District Six for the twenty-fifth Hunger Games is... Cindy Trimmers."

I grinned. Cindy was the same age as me, and also a criminal who killed the innocent people of the district. I didn't know her well, but I had respect for her and wouldn't mind going into the arena with her.

"Alright, now time for the boys," said Kian. "The male tribute from District Six voted in for the Quarter Quell is... George Caron."

I felt the corners of my mouth lift in a smile at the sound of my name, then walked through the crowd and to the stage, standing next to Kian, with Cindy on the other side of him. We shook hands and then were led to the back to say our goodbyes.

Archie came in first, and I had to restrain myself from physically pushing him out and away.

"Hey, Archie..." I said, painting a smile for him. "How's it going?"

"I guess I'll see you in a few weeks, Georgie," he said. "Are you going to win this thing?"

"Yes," I said.

"Great. Win it for the gang," he said.

Yeah, that was my intention, I thought to myself. But the 'gang' I'm winning for does not involve you.

"I will," I said.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry again... for letting the peacekeepers get you," said Archie.

"It's fine, it's fine," I said, shaking my hands in a dismissive matter. "I completely understand."

Despite what I was saying, the thoughts running through my mind were just, 'Fuck you, Archie' on repeat. I wanted to make him suffer. And I would, once I was a rich victor.

After Archie left, the rest of the gang came in small groups because there was a limit to how many people could say goodbye to me at a time. First was Bozo, Kit, and Carson, the three members from Les Voyous who were school dropouts.

"Good luck, man," said Bozo, embracing me in a bro-like sort of hug. "We all believe in you."

"See you in a few weeks, Georgie Fly," said Kit.

"See you, guys," I said.

After they left, another member of the gang, Jax, came in, with his four younger sisters trailing after him. It had always annoyed me how soft Jax was with his sisters, and it annoyed me even more now when he let all four of them hug me. Gross.

Suzie came in next, along with another guy from the gang, Bruce, who brought his grandmother with him. All three of them were soft and annoying, so my goodbye to them wasn't very emotional because I didn't really care.

The next three Bumper, Neal, and Hum-V came in next, and after them, and the second last group, was Neal, Rosa, and Mickey. After those three, Piper came in, a determined look on her face.

"Are you ready?" she said, and I nodded firmly. "Alright, we don't have much time, so let's get straight to it. I think you should make allies during training. Make alliances with all of them who are similar to us. Don't gang up with soft bitches. During the bloodbath, work with your allies to kill as many people as you can, including the ones from Districts One, Two, and Four. They'll be the Careers who've been voted in."

"Alright," I said.

"It will be just like Les Voyous, but no softies, and you should be the leader," said Piper.

"Of course, I'll be the leader," I said. "I'm done with being second in command."

"Alright," said Piper. "Well... I'll see you when you're a victor."

"See you."