A/N: And here we have it, folks! The final Reaping! Sorry for the long wait, long story short, I have been sick for ages, so I haven't had time or energy to do anything except scroll discord and watch TV. I'll keep up more often.

Thank you to TheOneToWatch and livinginadream0 for reviewing District 11!

The lovely Bene belongs to lionkingfactsguy3, and Graphite belongs to TheOneToWatch!

TW: Mentions of suicide in Graphite's POV and Bene's Reaping POV

Chapter 13: District 12 Reaping: BOOM Chakalaka

Bene Burns' POV

"Oh my god, Teila. I had to take out tesserae this year."

"Really? Taking it out is so cringe. Tesserae is for poor people."

"Teila! It wasn't my choice. Dad needed some for a fire- Oh my god, Beanie! Go away!"

My eyes flick to Nalan's. "Yeah," Teila agrees. "Go crawl back to your little hole with your useless parents."

I see red.

XXX

"Miss Burns," Miss Ember Holica sighs. "Are you aware that it is inappropriate to crash-tackle your fellow students?"

I blink, and Shazia and Jesse-Rosen grip both of my hands. Shazia adjusts her headscarf and glares daggers at Miss Holica. Jaeger and Meridian, Teila's parents, also glare at her. Miss Holica, caught in the middle, sighs.

"Ember," Meridian huffs. "Don't forget what we talked about." Miss Holica slides into her chair and exhales lightly.

"Miss Burns, I'm afraid that this will be a demerit."

"Ugh." Teila, Nalan, Teila's parents, and Miss Holica all look at Jess. He stands up. "This is corruption!" he snaps. I tug at his sleeve, eyes wide. "You're disgusting!" he yells at Jaeger.

"You're a fat, cheating pig." Jaeger gasps at my friend's outburst. Jess turns to Meridian next, and I don't see what he says, because I stand up and march out of the room.

The mornings in District 12 swing through temperatures like a seesaw. A few hours ago, when school started, it was freezing, with goosebump-raising winds and all metal so cold it was painful to touch. Now it is swelteringly hot, and my skin is damp and dribbling sweat onto the floor. A drop lands in my mouth, and I spit it onto the floor. It tastes like rust, so I spit it onto the floor. It sizzles for a few moments then disappears in a puff of steam.

"Bene! Hello! Tell your parents I gave them my love! Here, I have some milk left." Mrs. Addams smiles at me and passes me a metal tin. I nod and accept the offer.

"Thank you," I return her smile. "I'll tell them."

By the time I am home, I have received two bags of carrots and another tin of milk. Looks like having parents with intense mental trauma gets you bullied in school but laid down with gifts by sympathetic strangers.

"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" No answer. Did I really expect one? Both of my parents are sitting upright in bed, staring blankly at the wall. I stride into my room and flop down onto the bed.

My eyes flutter shut. Maybe I can sleep for a bit before the Reaping-

"OH MY GOD! PIECE OF SH- SHAZIA! CHRIST!"

My friend's face is perched over mine, her eyes owlishly boring into mine. "Hello. Jess is over at Merri's, and Teila went home."

"What happened?" I ask.

Shazia sighs. "Jess chewed out everyone in the office, then gave Miss Holica the finger and left, 'like a champion.'" Her tone is sarcastic, but her smile says otherwise. "I should really be going. Things to do."

"I'll catch up with you after the Reaping." I smile.

Shazia grins and strolls out of the room. I follow her back to my parent's room, and watch her jog off down the street, her headscarf waving.

I turn to my parents. "Are you guys okay? Need anything?"

They stare at the wall, eyes empty and mouths tight. I miss them. I miss when they would talk to me. I miss how they were before...

"Mom! Dad! Please!" I beg. They lay in bed, eyes wide and unseeing. "Please talk to me!" I turn to the doctor, a Capitol man who looks revolted. "What's wrong with them?" I sob.

The doctor, whose name tag gives him the name 'Peter Piccolo,' turns to the Peacekeepers, his face contorted in fury. "What is wrong with you!" Piccolo snaps. "This is atrociously high levels of torture!"

The Peacekeeper shrugs. "They're suspected to head of a rebel organization operating in the district."

Piccolo sighs. "Rebels or not, they're never going to be the same again. They'll be lucky to survive, and even without that, they'll probably never walk again. We need to transfer them to the Capitol, otherwise they'll have insane amounts of brain damage. This is ridiculous!"

"We can't transfer them to the Capitol," The Head Peacekeeper retorts. "They're dangerous criminals!"

"Not like this, they're not. We need to transfer them. I'm going to apply for one right now." Piccolo storms out of the room.

The Peacekeeper is silent, then sighs again. "What are we doing with the girl?" he calls. Piccolo pauses in the doorway. "She's twelve, she can't look after herself." he finishes.

Piccolo rubs his nose. "In which case, she'll have to go to foster care for the time being until she's able to look after herself."

"And how long will that be?"

At the question, Piccolo glances at me. "A few years at least, maybe until she's no longer of Reaping age."

The Peacekeeper pauses. "Where is she?"

Piccolo turns. "Oh dear. Find her!"

The Peacekeepers run out of the room, followed by a frantic Piccolo. From my hiding spot behind the bed, I stand and rush towards the window. I clamber out and escape, running for my life.

What happens when I am found?

By the time my panic attack ends, I am slumped on the floor next to my bed.

What happens when I am found?

Graphite Glades' POV

"Graphite Glades?"

"Graphite Glades is a rebel."

"Graphite Glades is a lunatic!"

"Graphite Glades is a dumbass."

"Graphite Glades is going to get himself killed."

"Graphite Glades is dangerous!"

"Graphite Glades is suicidal."

"Graphite Glades? Isn't he the kid who found the jar?"

"Graphite Glades wants to volunteer!"

"Really? He does want to die, doesn't he?"

I sigh. For someone who is talked about all the time, they sure don't seem to notice my presence.

"Hello ladies," I call. The girls chattering about me immediately stop and anxiously shuffle out of the room, mumbling apologies. By the time they've left the lecture hall, they're gossiping about tesserae or something.

My nap is thoroughly interrupted, so I sit up and stroll away through the door and down the hall. I dodge around a catfight, pass an ex of mine and look for my next class-

"Graphite! Graphite!" The voice stops me in my tracks. Julian, Dustin and Peony are rushing towards me. I sigh, think for a few moments, then take off running.

"Graphite, you piece of-" Peony cries, but I'm out of earshot before she can finish. I keep running through the maze of corridors until I reach a crossroads. To my dismay, Julian and Peony are dashing towards me from one path and Dustin is behind me. I take the only ex-friend-free option and run down the third corridor. I pass a classroom and duck into it, my heart pounding.

I hear Dustin's heaving breath get louder and then quieter, followed by Julian's angry pants and Peony's quiet gasps. They all stop in front of the door.

"Graphite?" Julian calls. "We know you're in there, please come out. We need to talk."

I stay silent, hoping they'll think-

"We know you want us to think you're not in there, but it won't work!" Peony yells. Damn.

I stand and walk over to the window. This can't happen. Not now. Not on Reaping Day. Classes are all off for the day, but an empty school is a top hub for hanging out. I know they won't leave until I come out, and they know I have to come out eventually for the Reaping. I'm trapped, and they know it, and they know that I know.

"Stupid friends and stupid school and stupid-"

A poster catches my eye. On it is a cartoon of a pointing President Snow, and the text around it says THE CAPITOL IS ALWAYS WATCHING. The image's bony fingers are just so angled towards-

Ah. Bingo.

XXX

The vent cover pops off with a clunk. I crawl out, check the coast is clear, and when I see no ex-friends, I sprint out into the garden and towards the Reaping.

Towards my fate.

Bene Burns' POV

Once upon a time, we had two Victors. Then the Victor of the 10th disappeared into the forest, and Haymitch Abernathy got his skull cleaved in two by Johanna Mason during the Bloodbath of the third Quarter Quell. Now we have absolutely none.

Instead of Victors, our tributes have two Capitol women, Bellatrix and Aphrodite Vickers, that act as mentors. Of course, they have no experience of fighting or the Hunger Games, so our tributes have been even more pathetic over the past few years. Yay for us.

Our closest tribute to Victory since Haymitch died was Daedalus Flick in the 81st Games, who despite dying in the bloodbath, placed eleventh. It was a tough year. All he did that year was sit on his pedestal and cry. Then he was cut down. He didn't even try to survive, he just cried. Maybe he didn't even want to survive.

This boy obviously doesn't want to survive either, as he has just volunteered, VOLUNTEERED, to go into the Games. He snatches the microphone off Effie Trinket, who just sighs and looks at the floor, and announces himself as Graphite Glades. Oh dear.

I know Graphite Glades. Everyone in District 12 knows Graphite Glades. He's the boy whose mother was sick, and when a jar of heavily expensive medicine turned up on the doorstep and his father went missing, everyone knew what happened. A few weeks later, their theories were confirmed when his father's half-eaten corpse was found in a ditch. That very day, his younger sister killed herself and he was left with two dead family members and one deranged mother.

Everyone suspected him of being suicidal, but no-one except a few overly dramatic gossiping schoolgirls would have expected him to volunteer.

I'm paying so close attention to this madman, one of two volunteers in history, that I miss the next name a downtrodden Effie Trinket calls.

Shazia turns to me in horror, and my stomach flips. The expression on her face means only one thing. I have been Reaped for the 83rd Annual Hunger Games.

I walk towards the stage, trying to plug out the whispers that echo through the crowd.

"Bene Burns?"

"Who is she?"

"She's the kid with the parents that-"

"Oh god, not her."

"First her parents deluded and now this, poor thing."

"Weren't her parents rebels?"

"I just feel so sorry for them, they won't even know when she dies."

"When she dies?"

"Look at her, she won't survive the bloodbath."

"You're right, the dear."

"She was the only one looking after her parents!"

"Really? When she dies, they'll starve!"

None of the whispers even seem to acknowledge the fact that I may win. They're probably right. Looking at Graphite, I sigh. I might as well already be dead.

A/N: And that's it! The Reapings for the 83rd Hunger Games are complete! What do we think of Bene? Of Graphite? Think either could win? Tell me all your thoughts in a review.

Sorry again for the wait, but I promise this will keep updating. Speaking of which, here's the chapter plan for the next bunch of updates:

Reaping Recap

Goodbyes

Train Rides

First Arrivals at the Capitol

The Chariot Rides

Capitol Night 1

Training Day 1

Training Night 1

Training Day 2

Training Night 2

Training Day 3 + Scores

Interviews

Last Night

The Games, 1 day per chapter

And as a final note, it tastes like sweat. If you know, you know.

Next up will be the Reaping Recap, which will be nice and easy.

Then the goodbyes, with SIX POVs from Justin, Twila, Lida, Jaston, Lorena and Dandelion, you lucky duckies. See you in the next one! Bye!

-Luke