Cassius Svenson, District Two (18)
I held my back straight as I bent my knees and held my fists in front of my face. Chief West looked my stance over.
"Remember to keep your fingers on the outside," he said. "Good stance."
The Hunger Games have been here for five years. It's safe to say they aren't going anywhere. We in Two decided to fight back the only way we could. Our new Training Academy opened its doors eight months back, and I've been training ever since. I could hit a target from across the room with a spear, and I was growing quite prodigious in hand-to-hand combat. I wasn't unstoppable, but it doesn't take much to overpower a bunch of scared children. If the Capitol wanted us to kill, it was time for them to see what happened when we did.
When Reaping Day came, I was the only one in the crowd who wasn't scared. I wasn't the only one who had trained in the Academy- thought it was a small class, since it wasn't exactly legal to train. However, I was the only one who was about to be the first Tribute in Panem to volunteer. A Capitolite woman reached into the bowl and called out a name.
"Cliff Bradford!" she announced. She waited a moment as the boy stepped onto the stage, then continued. "Do we have any volunteers?"
"I volunteer as Tribute!" I shouted. Half the people in the crowd gasped in unison, and everyone turned to face me. The woman stared openmouthed at me.
"It, uh… it seems we have our very first volunteer! Come up here, young man," she said. She tittered as I walked forward.
"And what is your name?" she asked through a plastered-on smile.
"Cassius Svenson," I said. The female Tribute, Anna Pick, peeked sidelong at me and reluctantly took my hand. I raised hers with mine and stood proudly as the woman announced us.
"Let's hear it for Anna Pick and Cassius Svenson!" she said. She swept her arm over us like she had planned for this all along. The crowd was silent. It wasn't that they had anything against us. They were just utterly stunned.
My father wasn't pleased when he came backstage.
"What did you do?!" he blurted. "What on Earth were you thinking?"
"You knew I was training," I said.
"I didn't expect you to volunteer! That was just to prepare for the worst," he said.
"Don't worry. I'll be back. They won't know what hit them," I said.
"I hope you know what you're doing," he said before he left. I guess we'd find out.