A/N: We're almost there! Huzzah! District 9, then 10, then 11, then 12, then we're in the home stretch. I also just wanted to explain some things. Obviously, this is an AU. In this universe, Cato won the 74th Games and Brutus won the 3rd Quell. Thresh did not go to the Feast, meaning Katniss was killed by Clove and Peeta died of blood poisoning. Thus, Haymitch was the only tribute for 12 in the 75th Games, and he died in the bloodbath, meaning the rebels never got their Mockingjay, Johanna killed Beetee and Wiress, Mags was killed by the monkeys, and Finnick died in the Finale.

Thank you to lionkingfactsguy3 and livinginadream0 for reviewing! Thank you to DoIReallyNeedToChooseNow for June and lionkingfactsguy3 for Lorena!

Let's jump in!

Chapter 10: District 9: Report Card

Lorena Cortez's POV

"Alright, your English, sorry, Panemian results are back and... Angelica, you got fifteen out of twenty. Good job, and keep practicing for next time, alright?"

Angelica smiles.

"Barley, you got an eighteen. Nice work, buddy!"

Barley beams at me from his seat.

"Frida, you got a sixteen. Much better than usual. But you can always do even better, huh? Like we talked about."

Frida nods, her eyes not meeting mine.

"Jaffa, you also got a sixteen! Good job."

Jaffa's eyes flick to mine, then back to his hands.

"Pumpernickel, you got thirteen. Not your best work, but it's still an improvement. We can do some one-on-one sessions if you like, to help."

Pumpernickel smiles weakly.

"Quinoa, you got a seventeen. Incredible improvement from last time! You worked so, so hard for this, and it paid off."

Quinoa, lost in a dreamland, doesn't acknowledge me.

"And Vera, you got a three. I think some one-on-one sessions would really help, alright? We can figure that out in a bit, 'kay?"

Vera nods, her head dipped low.

"Okay, that's it for Panemian. I'll give you your Maths results on Tuesday." The 14-year-olds all nod and file out of the room. Rye, my manager, comes in and sits next to me.

"Hey, Loz." he says. I wrinkle my nose, but sigh.

"Hello Rye. Why are you here?"

"Just filling in the test results. You have the fourteen-year-olds, right?"

I nod. "There's seven of them."

"Right." Rye smiles. "I just have to fill these in. Do you have the files?"

"Yeah, of course! I have them right here..." I open the drawer and take out our files. "Ah! Alright, here's the files. Angelica Wheatley."

"Age?" Rye asks.

"14. They're all 14, you can put that down for all of 'em."

"Gender?"

"Female."

"Disability?"

I shudder. "That's a bit forward, isn't it?"

Rye peers at me over his glasses. I sigh. "Aspergers."

"What did she score?"

"She scored a 15."

"Alright, next?"

"Barley Brown, male. ADHD, he got 18. Um, Frida Grainsworth. Female, high-functioning Schizophrenia. 16 marks. Jaffa Jaxxon, male. Alien Hand Syndrome, 16. Pumpernickel Loavesley, male. Wonderland Syndrome, 13. Quinoa Darrens, male, Bipolar, 17 marks. Vera Scotland, female. Social anxiety. Only 3 marks."

"That was a handful. Can you repeat that but slower?" Rye says owlishly.

I pause. "Really?" Rye grins.

"Really."

I sigh. "Baaaaaarrleeeeeeeeey Brrrrroowwwnnnn. Maaaaaaaaaaaaale. AaaaaaaaaDHDddddd. Eighteeeeeeeeeen maaaarks."

Rye laughs. "I got it the first time, you dummy!" I grin and giggle like a preschooler.

"Come on, you wanna go grab lunch?" I smile and curtsy, pretending to be flattered.

"I would love nothing more."

XXX

Rye cackles. "You have to be kidding me. You look like a tomato!"

I glare at him from my waitress uniform. "Yes, I have a job. I'm not completely useless. Volunteering is noble and all, but it doesn't pay the bills."

"Ah yes, that's because you're a simple volunteer. When you get higher up, like me, then you can get a full paycheck."

I sigh. "Well maybe I can- PRETZELL! WHAT THE HELL IS ON YOUR FACE!" Pretzell, a coworker of mine, is serving tables in his red-and-orange-striped waistcoat and suit pants. His face, arms and hands are covered in multicolored scribbles that resemble skeleton bones, and by all means I hope they aren't permanent.

"Tattoos?" he offers tentatively. "I made them myself? Aren't they cool?"

Suddenly, my mother walks out from behind the counter. "Hello darling! How are you?"

"Mu-um!" I say. "What the hell?"

"I just wanted to talk to you about something."

I shoot Pretzell my best you're-lucky-that-my-mother-is-here-otherwise-I'd-murder-you-here-on-the-spot look. He seems to understand, as he bows his head and sighs.

I walk into the back room and my mother follows me. I turn to her. "Yes, Mum? What's up?"

"I was just worried. It's Sonny's first Reaping, and he's freaking out. Also, was Pretzell wearing a mask?"

"It's nothing. Where's Sonny?"

"He went out with his friends. Wanted a day with them," she raises her fingers in quotation marks, "'Just in case.' He's really scared."

"I'll talk to him after the Reaping. He'll be fine."

"Alright," my mother says. "I have some new workers to assess. Call 'emselves Kev, Corn, Farrow and Sofia."

"A'ight Mum. See you after the Reaping."

"Good luck," she smiles. "And may the odds be..."

"Ever in your favor!" I finish with a curtsy.

June Sheath's POV

Penny Cornsworth walks in with an air of 'I'm better than you.' I whisper to Maizie, "It's on!" She smiles excitedly and whispers into her walkie.

As Penny takes her seat, I duck off the stage and hurry down the corridor. "Hello?" my walkie buzzes. "This is Durumbass, reporting for Epic Prank number 235, object Penny goes Carrie! Over."

"This is June number 2, reporting for duty! Over." I say.

"This is June number 1, reporting for duty! Over." my brother's voice says.

"This is Daisy-Head Maizie, reporting for duty!" Maizie says. "The bird has entered the nest! The bird has entered the nest! Over."

"Copy that, Daisy-Head Maizie. Over." my brother, Jupiter, says.

I settle into my place and watch as Penny chats with her friends. "The moths are mingling, I repeat, the moths are mingling! Over." I say.

"Moths?" Durum asks sharply. "Which moths?" After a brief pause, he adds, "Over."

"It looks to be Osiris, Eclaire and Grainna. Over." I say.

"Eclaire?" Jupiter asks, his voice heartbroken. "Are you sure it's Eclaire?" I sigh. I know my brother likes the girl a lot, and I can see why. Eclaire is a kind, pretty girl, who laughs a lot and loves to laugh, too. Eclaire is there, but looks oddly out of place. She seems uncomfortable, and she is perched awkwardly on her seat.

"It's Eclaire." I confirm. "Over."

I can almost feel my brother's sadness. He pulls himself together, and manages to say, "Materials ready. Over."

"Trap ready. Over." Maizie says.

"Let's start the show now." Durum says, and I can almost hear the grin spreading across his face. "Over and out."

"Copy that, heading for the stage now." Jupiter says. "Over and out."

"Will mingle moth-ily." Maizie reports. "Over and out."

"Copy that, I'll be there in a sec. Over and out." I realise I'm speaking to an empty line, and just sigh and stow the walkie in my pocket. As I run back to the stage, I grab my guitar and the stage lights dim.

"HELLO DISTRICT 9!" Durum yells into the mic. "IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU ON THIS FANTASTIC DAY! NOW, I KNOW THAT TODAY WILL BE HARD LATER ON, WITH THE REAPING AND ALL, BUT BEFORE THAT MY FRIENDS AND I WANT TO GIVE YOU A FEW HOURS OF RAVING!"

The others begin cheering and whooping. "WE'RE GOING TO START WITH A FEW COVERS, THEN WE'LL GET TO OUR OWN SONGS! ARE YOU READYYYYYY!" The crowd goes wild at Durum's words, and begins cheering for the show to begin.

Jupiter clicks his drumsticks together, and launches into a remix of 'Love Me Too' by Angelina Marco.

"You say you love me baby!" Durum holds out the mic, and the crowd finishes. "I LOOOOVE ME TOO!"

"I love me too, more than I love you!" Durum sings. "And you love that I love me too, that's why I love you! Oh baby-" he holds out the mic again. "BABY, I LOVE YOU!"

"I said talk to me baby, I know you-"

"MR. FLAKE!" I immediately stop playing, and Jupiter pauses his drums.

Durum doesn't notice in time, and instead continues. "I know you looo-" he notices Mrs. Lightyear- "OooooOooOOooove me..."

Durum cuts off as Mrs. Lightyear storms up to the stage. "MR. FLAKE! HOW DARE YOU!"

"Umm... surprise?" Durum says.

My radio crackles. "This is Daisy-Head Maizie, moving to phase two. Over and out."

"No!" I whisper into the walkie. "Abort. Abort!"

But the line is dead. And suddenly Epic Prank number 235, object Penny goes Carrie launches into action. And since Penny isn't standing over the X carefully marked on the floor, it becomes Epic Prank number 235, object Mrs. Lightyear goes Carrie. The bucket full of red food coloring hidden in the rafters tips and falls until the string goes taught and all the paint pours out, straight onto Mrs. Lightyear's head. She gasps as she is completely coated in red liquid, looking like a human blood clot. I gasp as she lunges towards the stage, completely blinded. I turn to Durum and Jupiter, and we nod.

I set my guitar carefully on the floor and take off running. My brother and Durum follow me. As we dash down the corridor, we are joined by Maizie, who's in tears.

"I'm so... sorry." she pants.

"No matter." Durum waves his hand. "It didn't matter."

Suddenly, two teacher's assistants appear at the end of the corridor. "Mr. Flake? Mr. Sheath and Mr. Sheath? Miss Breader? I'm Gromit, this is Madeleine. We need to talk."

My eyes flick to Maizie's, then my brother and Durum. "Nope!" Durum chirps happily, then ducks into the nearest room and beckons for us. Maizie follows him, then I do as well. My last glimpse of outside the room is Gromit and Madeleine, their faces fallen. Then Maizie grabs a meter ruler and jams it into the hatch, locking the door.

In the room, which is a maths class as shown by the posters, Durum bursts out laughing. "That...was amazing!"

"We are so getting expelled," Maizie cackles. "But worth it!"

"Absolutely worth it," I agree.

Then Mrs. Lightyear's crimson-colored face appears in the window, and Jupiter screams. "FLAKE! BREADER! SHEATH! LET ME IN THERE RIGHT NOW!" Maizie chuckles and grabs the tape dispenser, then starts taping over the window. Lightyear's voice gets more and more muffled, until it cuts off entirely.

Then another window pops open and Lightyear's voice echoes into the room again. "I SWEAR THAT IF YOU DO NOT COME OUT RIGHT NOW, I'M CALLING THE PEACEKEEPERS!"

"Whoops!" I call out. "See you at the Reaping, Miss!" Then I throw the opposite window open and clamber out. I land in a corridor on the other side of the classroom, and I'm quickly joined by my friends.

We take off running again, but as we pass the art rooms, I stop. "Anyone up for Epic Prank number 236, object Penny goes Carrie: Mark II?"

"Ooh, definitely." Jupiter smiles.

District 9 Justice Building

Lorena Cortez's POV

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" screams Penny Cornsworth as she marches into the Reaping. I notice with a gasp that she's covered in sticky red paint. I almost laugh out loud. Another girl takes her place beside me, and from her proudly puffed-out chest and stained crimson fingertips, I can guess what she's been up to.

Penny storms up to the stage and whispers something into the ear of her father, Mayor Cornsworth. A second later, he waves her away and says something to Terrol Tarantino, our Escort. For a second he waves the Mayor away, but then Cornsworth says something else, and Tarantino nods.

The Reaping begins after that, and after a reading of our five Victors (four of which are dead), Tarantino dips his hand into the boy's bowl and draws out a name. After barely glancing at it, he calls out, "Juniper Sheath!"

A few rows over in the boy's section, a boy is telling a joke to a terrified clone of himself. After the clone looks at him, silent, his face white, then the boy turns and sees everyone staring at him. "What?" he asks. "Not funny? I have others-" then he realises and his face goes as white as his twin's.

He marches up to the stage, and as he stands next to Tarantino for a few seconds with his face screwed up in concentration, then a second later Tarantino gasps for air and waves a hand in front of his face.

"How- ugh, what in the name of Panem? Good lord!" Juniper smiles.

"It's just June, by the way. Lovely to meet you all." June grins and blows a kiss. The crowd starts cheering and laughing.

Tarantino, still gagging and spluttering, draws a girl's name. As the crowd's laughter dies down, I realise the name called. And it wasn't mine. The name was Angelica Christina. As my best friend, student and shoulder to lean on approaches the stand, ready for her life to end, I can't help myself.

"WAIT!" I shout. "I VOLUNTEER! I VOLUNTEER FOR ANGELICA!"

Tarantino's eyes snap to mine, but I push past him and go for Angelica. I hug her, and whisper into her ear, "Go get safe. Go get Rye and Barley, they'll look after you. I love you. I love you so much."

Angelica sniffles and nods. "I'll see you in a bit."

"Yeah, I love you."

"Love you too."

I walk back to the stage, and ignoring Tarantino, snatch the mic and hold it up to my mouth. "I am Lorena Cortez of District 9, and I'm looking for allies!" I wink and blow a kiss to the camera. I flutter my eyelashes at June and smile at the camera.

It's my first step on this surely terrifying journey towards the Capitol, and then the Games, then home. Because I must come home. And if I don't... I cannot accept the alternative. I won't.

A/N: Whew, that's done. Like Lorena says, the Games are drawing ever closer, and I can't wait! Thank you guys for your support and reviews, I say it every chapter, but it truly means so much to me, seeing as it's my first time writing fanfiction. So anyways, what did you think of Lorena? Of June? Either could be Victor? June's section was originally much longer, but I managed to chop it up into a bit of implications, I thought that was funnier in the frame of June's character. Very proud of myself.

Alright, thanks for reading, I'll see you all in the next one!

-Luke

Don't forget to review! It costs nothing and makes me feel super proud.