Namid Ortiz, 18

District 5 Male

"What looks better, the baby pink or the orange?" Sally asks me, showing me the two colored hair ribbons in her hand.

"I don't know. Why do you ask me for fashion advice?"

Sally gives me a look, and rolls her eyes.

"Because you're my boyfriend." She says. "You should know what suits me better."

I lay my head back onto her ivory-sheeted bed and sigh.

"Pick the one you feel like, Sal."

I can almost hear defeat in Sally's voice when she replies to me.

"I'll go with the orange then, since you obviously don't care."

Our relationship has become more rocky these past few weeks, and I've begun to realize that our personalities don't match, and they probably never will.

I sit up again, and watch Sally tie her blonde hair into pigtails with the ribbons. She turns around and smiles at me, before walking over and straightening my tie.

"We both look great. What's on your mind babe?"

I avoid her gaze. "I'm just thinking about it… I can't believe Pyre is dead."

Sally brushes my stray dark hair away from my face with her fingers.

"Namid, he killed our mayor and his wife. He killed his girlfriend's parents because he couldn't have her anymore."

"I know Sal, but It's sick that we were all forced to watch him be hanged yesterday!"

"I think It's justice. He deserved it."

"So you believe in all that Capitol propaganda now? Bullshit!"

Sally looks away from me, and back at the mirror, studying her reflection.

"Regardless of what you think, if they had enough evidence to prove he committed the crime, he should be charged willingly."

"I bet they didn't even question him." I barge in. Sally doesn't respond, and just sits still on the bed.

She wouldn't understand it. My dad was killed by peacekeepers for a crime he didn't commit. Nobody else knows that but me and my mother, but it's true. I'm not saying that Pyre was innocent, but Sally has no clue about the justice system here in Panem, and how messed up it is.

Sometimes I forget that me and my girlfriend come from two different worlds. My mother works multiple jobs just to get by, while Sally never has to worry about having food on her table, or a roof over her head. She never has to worry because her father is the most successful nuclear scientist in District 5.

After my father was killed when I was five, my mom had to give up my baby brother Samuel for adoption. She didn't have enough money to feed us all. I still search for my brother every day, but there's so many people in the streets. For all I know he could be dead as well.

After a couple moments of silence, Sally gets up and smoothes down her flowy white skirt. She reaches for my hand, and we walk out of her room to leave for the justice building.

It's my last reaping day today, and I don't feel good about it. Due to Sally's father being generous enough to lend me money sometimes, I didn't have to take out tesserae this year. But what worries me is that I am 18, and I am strong. District 5 has had a bad track record these past few years, and it's not surprising to see names of stronger tributes get pulled when the Capitol decides they need more contenders. I hope they don't use my dad's execution as an excuse to rig my name in the bowl this year.

I can only hope.

Sally Arnold, 17

It was a quiet walk to the justice building. Convenient too considering I live just a few blocks away. We both check in, and I wave goodbye to Namid, who frowns at me.

"What's the frown about, sweetie?" I yell from across the aisle.

However the crowd increases in size, and chatter is heard from everywhere, and I lose him. So I walk to the 17-year-old section to meet up with Kinnon. Her red curls are tied back, and she wears a lovely green gown that matches the color of her eyes. Overall, she looks beautiful, and I do not hesitate to compliment her appearance.

"Thanks girl!" She beams at me. "How's it going with your beau?"

"He's still sad about Pyre. He can't believe his best friend would kill the mayor."

Kinnon scoffs and then diverts her attention behind me. The entire crowd appears to have turned silent, and I assume the escort is coming to the stage. But everyone's eyes turn around so I do as well.

Walking towards our section, with her head down almost in shame, is the mayor's daughter herself, Alberta Cadence Lee. Everything about her appearance screams that of someone who doesn't want to be seen. Someone who wants to hide in plain sight.

She wears big black sunglasses, shielding her eyes from the sun. Her long pitch-black hair falls down her back, and her ghastly pale skin shimmers in the sunlight, but she doesn't seem to be sweating much, despite the desert heat. She wears a formal black dress, and it appears more to me that she is dressed for a funeral.

That reminds me, her parents were laid to rest a couple of weeks ago, and as our family was required to go, Alberta wore the same exact outfit. I knew it looked familiar.

Alberta always struck me as a quiet, but caring girl. Our interactions always seemed a little off however. Maybe it was the fact that Kinnon was always a little harsh on her, teasing her for being the mayor's kid and all. But she was just joking! We never meant any harm.

But now Alberta appears totally cold, and I can't help but get chills down my spine at the sight of her now. Kinnon whispers something to me.

"There she is in her funeral dress again. Probably celebrating her ex-boyfriend's death."

I roll my eyes. Kinnon can be quite blunt sometimes. But I do feel bad for Alberta now. Her parents are both dead, she only has her sister now, and she is probably expected to take over the role of mayor eventually. I don't know much about her relationship with Pyre, because Alberta has always been reserved about her personal life, but I've heard the rumors of the things he'd done to her. For a split second, I feel like I can almost see a scar near the top of her back, where the hem of her dress begins. Then, as if she knows I'm watching, she pulls her dress up to hide the scar.

Then, the doors of the justice building open, and our veteran escort Consus Near walks to the microphone. He is a tall and slender man who is bald and has an assortment of piercings throughout his body. He has definitely aged as he's been escorting throughout the districts for as long as I can remember. He was only promoted to District 5 a few years ago.

Consus gives us all a grin. "Hello District 5, and this is the reaping for the 99th annual Hunger Games. Before we begin, we shall play a video provided by the Capitol."

Consus plays the video, which depicts the dark days as well as the failed second rebellion, and how the Capitol would continue to prevail, no matter what. At this point, I know I won't be getting reaped so I just want this to be over with so I can maybe grab coffee after the reaping with Kinnon.

He walks up to the female bowl, and pulls a slip.

"Melody Lee!"

My mouth opens, but I realize everyone else in the crowd has the same idea. Melody. The 12-year-old daughter of the now dead mayor, and sister of Alberta. Everyone goes into a frenzy and moves back so the crying girl can walk to the stage.

However Alberta, who was once expressionless now screams for her sister to come back and part of me is unsure of what her next move is when I see her hand reach for the sky.

"I volunteer!"

And then once again, everyone is silent. Melody runs toward her sister, crying and hugging her, before a peacekeeper has to escort her away. Alberta walks to the stage calmly, and before Consus can even ask her anything, she speaks.

"My name is Alberta Lee. Alberta Cadence Lee." She then takes off her sunglasses and reveals her dark brown eyes, and a tear falls down her face, causing her mascara to smear down her pale face.

This has got to be a sick coincidence. I feel sympathy for Alberta, and now she gets thrown into the Hunger Games. I know she probably would've fought to save her parents, as she fought to volunteer for her sister. Maybe I underestimated this girl.

Consus nods, and then turns to the male bowl.

"Namid Ortiz!"

And then suddenly my world feels like it's following apart. I can't tell if this is a fever dream or reality.

I know it's a reality when Namid begins to walk up to the stage. My beautiful boy. But I don't even feel the tears fall. Kinnon whispers a quick apology, but I'm just here trying to catch a glance at Namid.

He's strong. He can win, I just know it. But the worst part is that I also know if I lose him, I could get over it just as easily. I have a great family, and a great best friend. Do I need anything more?

"District 5, your tributes this year are Alberta Lee and Namid Ortiz!"

Namid Faceclaim: Pedro Guca

Hello everyone, and I hope you enjoyed Chapter 2! I have half of the spots reserved, and once I get tribute submissions I can start to continue this story :) This is really fun to write and I can't wait to do more. And please remember to review, I love hearing what y'all think! I like both of the tributes from 5, and cannot wait to showcase the plans I have for this story!