Koa Hartwell,15, District 9 male
The harsh tides of water continue throwing me around and I try to hold my breath, but I panic and can gradually feel water enter my lungs. I can hear distant laughing far away from me but the tides of water continue throwing me around and I feel something rip through my shoulder, but the adrenaline cancels out most of the pain. The water I'm in begins to tint red however and I realize it must be a fairly serious injury.
"Hey! Hey!" I hear a male's voice above me but water continues entering my eyes making it difficult to see.
"Hey reach your hand out to me!" I hear the male's voice.
"I can't, can't!" I manage to choke out.
"You'll be ok! I promise you that, just relax your muscles, and breath, breath slowly ok? I won't let anything happen to you!" I hear the voice and I do as he says and relax my muscles and begin to slow down my panicked breathing and I feel more at ease.
"Good, good! Now raise your hand up towards me, do that and I'll do the rest!" he directs me and i try looking up at him but the sun beams on him brightly which is concealing who he is, but I can tell he's tall and slender. The way the sun is beaming on him though, it's almost like he's an angel…
I do as he says and lift my arm up and I feel a powerful hand grab mines and begins pulling me up but I feel myself fading away afterwards.
Hey sleepyhead! Get up!" I hear my brother as I let out a low groan.
"Bro, get up!" I feel a light tap on my head and my eyes slowly open where I see my brother gazing down at me.
"Hey Zeke, is it really time already?" I groan.
"Yup unfortunately, but c'mon show some excitement, this'll be our first day at this new school!" Zeke tries to cheer me up.
"That's what I'm worried about…" I mumble as I sit up and do stretch and Zeke sits next to me.
"I miss our old home too Koa, but this is home now and I guess we just have to adapt to it somehow." Zeke states and I slowly nod as I look at one of my paintings that I've been working on recently.
"That's all we really can do huh?" I sigh and Zeke nods before jumping back up to his feet.
"All we can do is try, but anyways see you downstairs Koa, breakfast is ready!" Zeke playfully punches me on the shoulder and I only let out a small groan before entering my bathroom and begin washing up. I swear it feels like I was only out for a minute. This'll be my first day at this school though and supposedly it's the best school in the district, as long as no one bothers me, that's fine, but it will be nice to make a few friends there.
After putting on my school uniform, I head downstairs where both my mothers and siblings are and the smell of eggs and bacon fills the air causing my mouth to already salivate.
"Good morning sleepy head, looks like you're finally up, when are you going to learn to stop oversleeping!?" One of my mothers Gwenith greets me, but it sounds more like she's scolding me.
"Cut him a little slack Gwenith, it's a new environment for all of us, it'll take a bit of time for each of us to adjust to it." Cleo my other mother tries to defend me.
"Well it's been a damn week already, you're becoming a man Koa, step it up!" Gwenith further scolds me. As you can clearly see, Cleo is the much more easy going mother, gentle, warm and kind and Gwenith, well she's very strict and takes no nonsense but I know she's only harsh because she loves us and doesn't want us to develop bad habits, she shows her soft side when it comes to my art, often sitting down with me for hours and commending my work, for a while after we moved here, I haven't been able to come up with anything good to paint, but I was able to find some motivation, thanks to him.
"I understand mom, I'm sorry, I'll try not to repeat this." I apologize to my mother Gwenith and she does a faint smile.
"Taking accountability, that's the first step, now come here!" she holds her arms out to me and I walk into them giving her big hug and hug my other mother Cleo afterwards. Also at this table are my siblings Ezekiel who I call Zeke who's 14, a year younger than me and my older sister Menora who's 21.
"It smells great out here though, who cooked this time?' I curiously ask sitting in between my siblings.
"Me of course, we all know I'm the best cook in this house." Menora confidently states and the entire table chuckles, mainly cause it's widely agreed upon that Cleo is the best cook here. I add some pancakes, eggs and bacon to my plate and pour myself some apple juice and proceed to start eating my breakfast.
"So little brothers, you two ready for your first day of school?"Menora asks while putting a mouthful of eggs in her mouth.
"Well hell yeah! why wouldn't I be!?" I Zeke immediately states.
"Language please Ezekiel…" Cleo gently scolds him.
"Oh right, sorry mom!" he downs his entire cup of apple juice.
"What about you Koa? You're getting older buddy, it's about time to get a girlfriend, you know so you can get those motions with the ocean!" she stands up doing some inappropriate maneuvers and I nearly spit my food out from my mouth in laughter, as serious as she usually is, I appreciate the few times she acts silly.
"My goodness Menora, that was very inappropriate!" Gwenith talks over Zeke's giggling and Cleo only lets out a small sigh.
"Well to answer your first question yes I'm ready for school, I guess. But hey after reapings tomorrow, why don't we do something like go for a walk or watch a movie or something?" I suggest.
"Sounds pretty boring." Menora does an exaggerated yawn.
"Well there's not much else to do here, not like we can go to the beach anymore…" Zeke laments, man those were the good times, but I only have myself to blame for the situation we're in now...
It should be pretty obvious by now that we aren't originally from this district, infact we used to live in district 4, and we lived a pretty normal district 4 life there as well. Both of my mothers were renowned fisherwomen and that's where most of our income came from. We weren't well off by any means, but comfortable enough to get by. Menora was a talented career and although she was never chosen as the volunteer, she was considered multiple times. Me on the other hand, well I attended the academy for about a year and half. I learned some techniques but I still wouldn't consider myself a career. I preferred to spend most of my time on the beach instead, watching the roaring tides while i painting. I loved district 4 and the ocean was always so full of life, color and power and it was always able to inspire a new art for me to work on.
While at the academy I got into an incident where I was being hazed by some of the older boys in the academy. I'm the kind of person who just kind of fades into the background, that's why I'll often jump on the opportunity to be one of the 'cool kids' so I can stand out more. The boys that hazed me ordered me to go swimming in the white water rapids, which is one of the most dangerous bodies of water in the district that has claimed the lives of some of the best swimmers here.
I knew the risks but me being a try hard, i just decided to go for it. I was immediately swept away by the harsh tides and rather than trying to help me, the boys only laughed and watched. I thought I was for sure a goner and I have a nasty scar on my shoulder as a propeller from a ship passing by didn't see me resurfacing and struck me, but I was saved. The incident affected my family so much that it led to us moving to a new district shortly afterwards. I've been in this district for about two years now, but we recently moved to a new part of the district so it once again feels like I'm back at square one.
"How about I make some of Grandma's famous apple pie?" My mother Cleo suggests and all of our eyes light up.
"You won't hear any complaints on my end!" I immediately respond, Grandma's special recipe pie is our absolute favorite that we usually have for special occasions.
"Whoa, now I have to cancel my date now!" Menora moans.
"Right on! And wait you have a date already? That was fast!" Zeke gives her a puzzled look.
"All I know is that you kids better not be reckless out there, I ain't trying to be a grandmother for at least another ten years!" Gwenith sternly states.
"Ok everyone we can talk more later, but you boys really should start heading out, don't want to be late on your first day!" my mother Cleo reminds me and Zeke.
"Right, alright see you guys later!" I hug and kiss both my mother's and hug my sister before me and Zeke heads out.
"So Koa, you nervous?" Zeke asks.
"Well a little I guess…" I admit, this is just a new territory for me, I guess it's natural to feel this way, but I don't necessarily miss the other park of the district we were in either, I literally had no friends there.
"Just calm down, you'll be ok once you start making friends!" he pats me on the back. It should be me telling him this considering I'm the bigger brother and all.
It only takes us a few minutes to reach the school and me and my brother's lockers are on different sides of the hall so we have to go our separate ways for now and I reach my locker to take out some books.
"Hey!" I hear a guys voice behind me and I jump a little dropping one of my books, but I still somehow manage to grab it before it hits the floor.
"Whoa nice catch! Anyways sorry if I scared you. My name's Pike!" a pale skinned boy with ginger hair that looks around my age extends his hand to me.
"Oh it's fine, was just lost in thought for a moment, my name is Koa." I shake his hand back.
"Pretty cool name, you're new here right?" he asks.
"Yeah." I respond.
"Well I'm fairly new too, only been here for about two weeks, never saw you around the district before though." He states.
"Well yeah, I just moved to this part of the district last week, but I've technically already been in this district for about two years now." I explain to him.
"Whoa really? What district you from?" He curiously asks.
"4." I bluntly say and his eyes light up.
"District 4? Whoa you're a career?" he excitedly asks.
"Not at all, I trained for a bit but I still wouldn't consider myself skilled." I admit.
"Yeah? Well at least you got some training under your belt, might give you a puncher's chance." He practically mumbles.
"Hmm, what do you mean?" I eye him but he only shakes his head.
"Never mind, so what class you have first?" Pike abruptly changes the subject but I'll just go along with it for now.
"Gym apparently, you?" I look at my schedule.
"Cool me too! You trained at the academy for a bit, so maybe you can show me the workout routine you used to have." He suggests.
"Uh yeah and can we please just keep this between us for now?" I try to ask as politely as possible. Really don't want the entire school to find out about my past…
"Oh yeah, yeah sure bud, your secrets safe with me!" he holds out his fist and I hesitantly pound it.
"Pike you got a new friend!" I hear a girls voice and I turn around to see a pale skinned girl with ginger hair that looks pretty similar to Pike skipping over to us.
"Ha well yeah, guess you can say that right Buddy?" Pike grins at me.
" No, why would you say that?" I curiously ask and there's an awkward silence between all three of us for a moment, I don't think I was supposed to say that, it's a bad habit of mine not being able to read a room but the girl giggles apparently finding this funny.
"Geez, you could've played it off a little at least, anyways though this is my little sister Rose, Rose this Koa, he's new here to this school!" Pike introduces us.
"Awesome, nice to meet you Koa! You're very good looking if I may say!" I notice her face turning a little pink as we shake hands.
"Thank you, you're pretty good looking yourself..." I compliment her back and she starts to blush even more.
"Really? thank you! I don't get compliments often." she admits.
"So am I like the third wheel here now?" Pike grumbles.
"Yes, uh I mean no! Get lost Pike!" Rose playfully swats him away and I start laughing but I hear heavy footsteps followed by several gasps afterwards and I see the numerous students in the hallway here straighten up their postures and rest their backs against the lockers as a look of fear spreads across all of their faces, what the hell is going on?
"What's-" I begin to ask what's going on but I see a tall bulky figure approach from the corner of the hall with a smug grin on his face holding a large bag and the various students begin throwing all their coins and their lunches into the large bag. He stops next to one kid though and the boy trembles profusely.
"Well what the hell are you waiting for!" The tall figure growls at the kid that's like a toothpick compared to him.
"I'm sorry, I…I don't have anything, my mother just died and I don't have anything…" the kid cries.
"Oh well Boohoo, what the hells that got to do with me, you better cough something up or you might be joining her earlier than expected!" he threatens the kid. Yeah it's not rocket science, this guy is clearly a feared bully that's just walking around robbing everyone of their belongings and I ball my fists as I watch this horrendous scene, I cannot stand people like this, I really don't understand how some people can be so mean to others...
"That's Rufus, he's the biggest bully in this district apparently, everyone who's stood up to him has only gotten beaten down and crippled, there's no point in even trying anymore to do anything, just give him what he wants and he'll leave you alone for now, I know you trained a little but I don't think it's going to be enough." Pike informs me but this only angers me more, this needs to be addressed, why aren't the school staff doing anything about this?
"Oh no here he goes again, we really have to give him our lunch again Pike? Mom made those chicken sandwiches that we love, I really don't to have to give it away..." Rose whines.
"Just give it to him and do what he says please Rose, I don't want him to hurt you..." Pike pleads with his sister.
"I'm sorry, I really don't have anything…" the small boy trembles, but with lightning speed Rufus grabs the kid's head and slams it hard against the lockers knocking him out cold and more gasps fill the hall as this poor kid only remains on the floor unconscious. Rufus even spits on him afterwards.
"So does anyone else want to come clean about not having anything, all of you should know the drill by now!" he roars and then sets his sights on a small girl that looks no older than 12 and she gulps upon him reaching her, she's literally a shrimp compared to him.
"So, you're looking a bit empty handed, do you want to prove me wrong?" He hisses at her.
"I…I don't have anything, please…please don't hurt me…" she cries but I'm not watching this anymore, without even thinking I start walking towards this bully.
"Uhmm Koa, what are you doing!?" I hear Rose whisper.
"What the hell, are you crazy Koa!? This dudes gonna mop the floor with you!." I hear Pike whisper as I walk away from him but I ignore him for now, this isnt going to fly with me.
"Hey knock it off!" I sternly say and the bully Rufus only turns around to face me and has a surprised look on his face, it's probably been a while since anyone's tried to stand up to him, but he only lets a chuckle out afterwards.
"And who the fucking hell may you be!?" he walks up to me but I stand my ground, he only has a couple of inches on me. I stand at 5'10 and he's looks about 6'1 so he doesn't tower over me like he does against the others.
"Do you have nothing better to do with your time, why bully on these little kids you know don't stand a chance against you?" I sternly ask.
"Tell you what, how about you get the fuck out of my face before I plant you into the ground!" he threatens me but I only gaze at him, he doesn't scare me, and he's going to have to "plant me into the ground" before he can go back around to being a bully.
"Listen, no one has to get hurt here, and I don't want any trouble so I'm going to give you one chance to walk away, and to change your ways, make the right decision…please." I try to reason with him, but I know he's too far gone...
He quickly tries to shove me but I quickly swap his arms away and shove him as his back slams hard against the lockers and several gasps ring out and there's even a shocked look on Rufus's face but a scowl quickly begins to take over and he throws a highly telegraphed punch at me that I quickly duck under and take several steps back as he throws two more punches that misses completely and follows up with a jab but I block it with my elbow and quickly punch him in the eye causing him to gasp in pain and fall against the lockers. Boxing…that's literally the first lesson they teach us at the academy, how to throw a punch, how to avoid one, how to counter one. I was never some big shot at the academy but all I have to do is rely on my muscle memory and he won't be an issue at all.
"Whoa he's good…" I hear Rose whisper.
"Arrgghh you!" he angrily rushes at me and tries to tackle me but I manage to stagger out of the way and he crashes headfirst into a locker groaning in pain and quickly turns around again doing a sloppy fighting stance and I can already see his eye is starting to swell from the punch I landed earlier.
"You can still walk away from this Rufus…like I said before, no one has to get hurt here." I try to reason with him a final time but he only curses in anger and throws another telegraphed punch that I block and throws a wide looping hook that I duck under before I quickly bury two hooks into his body which causes him to groan in pain and stumbles back slightly but he throws another jab at me which I block with my elbow but he grabs my neck with his other hand and slams me against the locker trying to strangle me but I stomp on his foot as hard as I can and uppercut him into his jaw before elbowing him against his skull to knock him off of me and he stumbles back in pain but charges at me again and throws a straight but I time his punch perfectly as slouch my body over slightly and grab his arm as It reaches me and use his weight against him doing a judo throw and flipping him onto his back and I quickly snap his arm dislocating it and he screams in pain as gasps ring out, but I deliver three swift punches to his face and his screams come to an end as he's knocked out cold.
I stand up afterwards brushing myself off but I look around the hall to see everyone is just giving me a shocked look in silence and I can only gawk at them awkwardly, even Pike and Rose are speechless.
"Yeah that's what I'm talking about brother, you whooped his ass!" I hear Zeke cheering me on clapping and ending the silence, but the rest of the students here follow suit and begin clapping aswell and cheering me on.
"That was fucking awesome Koa! You just took out the biggest bully in this district and made it look easy!" Pike runs up to me and gives me a pound.
"You're such a badass Koa!" Rose squeals aloud hugging me
"Yeah Koas our hero!" I hear a student shout out loud who heard Pike mention my name and it starts a loud chant as my name rings around the hall with loud claps and cheers following.
"Koa! Koa! Koa!" the cheers continue and I look around at all of the students cheering me, being so happy that I finally put an end to this bully's reign and it kind of hits me when I see how much they appreciate me...
"What's going on here?" I hear a loud voice and the cheering ends as I see a tall man in a well dressed suit with a scowl on his face approaching me, yeah this is the principal, I met him the other day, but he looks at Rufus who's still knocked out then shoots me a menacing glare.
"Koa! Your first day at my school and you're already committing violence, come with me, we're going to have a long talk with your parents and you're going to have an even longer suspension!" he demands me.
"Hey Koa is a big bully, it's about time someone put him in his place!" I hear Pike shout trying to defend me.
"Yeah that's right! You knew how much of a bully Rufus was and you never did anything about it! Leave Koa alone!" Rose shouts and within moments all of the students here in the hall join the fray, doing their best to defend me and disapprove of the principal's decision but the principal continues zoning them out and leads me to his office where he immediately begins dialing my parent's number and I can only gaze at the floor as I remember what the students in the hall called me…their hero, it reminds me back to that day where I was rescued.
"I got you! I got you!" the powerful hand pulls me onboard from the water and lays me down on the floor of the boat , the adrenaline is starting to wear off and I can feel a severe pain in my shoulder but the boy who rescued me puts several towels on my wound to slow down the bleeding.
"You're going to be ok, we're going to get you back on shore right now and get you the proper treatment, ok?" the boy gently asks me and I slowly nods.
"T-thank you…" I thank him and I still can't see his face as the sun is beaming brightly on him.
"What's your name?" the boy asks me.
"Koa…" I say before sucking in a breath of fresh air.
"Alright Koa, my name is-" he informs me but a large tide of water roars by and I don't get to hear his name but his face finally comes into view and it really is like an angel saved me.
"You are going to be ok, I promise you that!" he vows. I saw his face several times before around the district and the academy, but I never got his name, it was only until last year where I learned his name, because he was one of the tributes in the 82nd hunger games. His name was Caspian Delamar…and he was my hero.
I couldn't save him the way he was able to save me though, no I had to helplessly watch my hero die as he took his last breathes, but remembering his name was finally able to bring me out of my creative slump. people that have such an impact on my life, I usually associate them with a color and for him, it's Delamarion blue, I even splash some on my clothes for good luck often, Just like the you're ky hero though Caspian, I wouldn't mind being called this district's hero...
Sonya Weller 13, District 9 female
"Sorry I'm short on a few coins, can you just let this one slide please, my daughter really needs the medicine!" a customer pleads with the store clerk as I'm the back of the aisle looking for a snack, I don't have long though before my next drop off.
"Sorry, but I have a business to run. If you don't have the required coins, then I won't be able to let you leave the store with the medicine." The store clerk calmly tries to explain to the customer.
"Please I'm begging you!" the customer pleads and I grab a chocolate hazelnut cake and start walking my way towards the counter where I see the customer, a middle aged man pleading with the store clerk.
"I'm sorry…" the store clerk once again apologizes to the customer but I put several coins on the counter.
"Hmm the cake doesn't cost this much." The store clerk looks over at me.
" That's cause I'll be paying for the bottle of medicine too." I explain to the clerk and the customer literally breaks down crying.
"Thank you, thank you so much!" he thanks me as the clerk packs his medicine and hands it to him.
"Its no problem, I hope your daughter feels better as soon as possible." I calmly say to him.
"She will be, thanks to you. Bless your soul young one!" he hurries out the store afterwards to tend to his daughter.
"You're a good kid, too good for own good I'll even say, but it makes me feel a little heartless…" the clerk sighs.
"Well, you have a business to run right? I guess in a lot of cases that comes before compassion." I explain to him.
"That's the harsh reality of it all, have a goodnight kid." He manages a faint smile.
"Same to you Mister." I nod to him and head out the store afterwards and towards my home. It's already getting pretty late, maybe after this next drop off, I can take it easy, reapings are tomorrow but I wouldn't mind doing this for a little longer. I reach my house soon after and I see my father sitting a wrapped up box on the table with a small note on it.
"Hey Sonya, perfect timing! I just prepared the next package. It's a simple drop off, just make sure they get the package and come right back, easy enough right?" My father pats my shoulder.
"Yup, just business as usual right?" I let out a small chuckle.
"Yeah. I'll probably be alseep when you get back, but either way see you soon Sonya." He pats my shoulder again and I nod before leaving the house with the package. It feels pretty light, but I still can't guess just what's in here. The address is written down here and it's about a ten minute walk from here so that's what I begin doing. I bet you're wondering just what the heck I'm doing though right? Long story short, my parents are "fixers" in this district. Meaning people turn to them to solve their problems for them. Whether it's making things or people disappear, delivering the proper tool(s) to resolve an issue, you name it. My parents for a long time tried to hide this life from me and my siblings but we all got older and eventually figured out what they were doing, and I became involved in it. My parents still does the heavy lifting but often times they'll use me as a runner to deliver packages to the people who need their help.
I don't mind it, infact I enjoy helping people and resolving their problems, there's no better feeling out there than knowing I made a difference, that someone can sleep a little better at night because I helped them. Often times they'll try to tip me for delivering their package to them, but I always refused it, the only payment I needed was knowing their problems disappeared because I was able to help them.
I reach the resident's home several minutes later and knock on the door as I hold onto the package tightly and the door opens moments later and I see it's a middle aged woman with curls in her hair wearing a purple robe. She seems so relieved to see me, well her package to be more specific and she lets out a huge sigh of relief while holding out several coins for me to take.
"Oh no, it's fine really." I kindly reject her tip and she puts the money away.
"I understand, well can I at least treat you to a drink? You look a bit winded." She notices the sweat on my forehead, I guess I was walking a bit too fast since I was overexcited to fix someone else's problem, I am kind of thirsty though…
"Uh, sure…" I accept her invitation and she leads me into her home, it seems like a very antique type of home, almost everything here is made of wood, even the couches but they still have soft cushions on them to sit on.
"Make yourself comfortable dear, I'll bring out some lemonade." She informs me as she sits her package down on the small table In front of the sofa and I do a nervous nod before sitting on the sofa. I wasn't really expecting to stay here, but I guess I can take it easy for a bit, this is my last drop off, and besides, I love lemonade!
She brings out a large pitcher of lemonade afterwards along with two glasses and sits it on the small table that separates our sofas from each other and she lets out another sigh as she fills the glasses up with lemonade and motions for me to take one which I do. I take a sip of the lemonade and it's delicious, very sweet, tangy and ice cold, it's like the perfect lemonade really!
"You seem to like it?" She asks as she takes a sip from her glass as well and also seems to appreciate the taste.
"It's amazing, probably the best lemonade I've ever had." I admit to her and I'm being completely honest here.
"Well I'm glad you enjoyed, it's a special recipe that's been passed down from generation to generation but I… no longer have anyone to pass it down to." She laments as an eerie silence takes over the atmosphere and I shift in my sofa a little as I start to feel a bit uncomfortable.
"I'm sorry to hear that…" is all I can really say.
"That's all you really can be in this situation right? I know who your parents are, I know what they do, how they can just seemingly make anyone's problem disappear, it's almost surreal knowing just how talented they are, and how determined they are to fulfill their tasks no matter how dirty they need to get their hands…" she sips more of her lemonade as she looks at the parcel.
"Yes, it's their work ethic that inspires me to be just like them, just being able to lift a weight off of someone's shoulder and knowing they're life is going to be even just a little bit easier, that's reason enough for me to want to continue," I admit to her and she does a faint nod, seeming to agree with me but…
"Very well said, it's just unfortunate that every problem cannot be solved through conventional means. Tell me Sonya have you ever lost anyone close to you?" she sits her glass down on the table and that's an easy question to answer because I haven't…
"No…" I answer and she nods again, as if she already knew the answer.
"I figured, well I lost my daughter five years ago. She was only twelve when she was reaped…she didn't stand a chance out there and it's been eating away at me ever since, which is why I enlisted in the help of your family. There's no way to bring back the dead though, no way for me to see my daughter again, but what they gave me is the closest thing to the old life I used to have…" she looks back at the package, it makes me wonder just what's in there if there is no conventional means to solving her problem…
"You're a good girl Sonya, and I appreciate that you want to help people. Don't be like your parents though, cause they'll do anything necessary to ease someone's pain, even if it means causing pain to others to achieve that…" she informs me but I let out a nervous gulp.
This is what they tried to hide from me, she's right, they will do anything to ease someone's pain. I still remember the first time seeing my father sneaking into the house covered in blood, most likely from making someone "disappear". I want to help people as well, but I also know how to draw the line, eliminating someone, that's not the way to ease someone's pain, it may ease their pain but what good is that when it's causing pain to twenty others?
"I won't, I know the right way to go about this." I confidently say.
"And I trust that you do Sonya, it's getting late though, you should start getting ready to head home." She suggests as she looks out her window and I remember that it is pretty late.
"Yes…Have a good night Ms. Everson, and thanks for the lemonade." I wave her goodbye and she walks me to her door before seeing me off.
"You're welcome, you have a goodnight as well Sonya." She gently closes her door behind me. I begin slowly walking back home but that's when I hear a loud bang come from Ms. Everson's home and it causes me to jump as I spin around to look at the antique looking home. There's no mistaken it, that was a…
I can only grit my teeth as I hold my head down and plod towards my home, Some people, sometimes there really is no way to solve their problems, sometimes they may not even want it to be solved. I'll need to let my father know about this, so he can make an anonymous report about a 'disturbance' at that address...
When I arrive home, the lights are out indicating everyone here is asleep, so after washing up, I lay across my bed and try falling asleep, but I can't stop thinking of Ms. Everson. Was there anything I could've done, anything I could've said differently for a different outcome surely my parents knew of her situation, was this really their solution to all of her pain? I eventually drift off thinking about all of this.
"Hey Sonya, time to get up." I hear my brother as he gently rubs my shoulders and my eyes opens to send him over me, looking relieved.
"Hey little sis, you alright?" he worriedly asks as I sit up and do a low yawn.
"Yeah why wouldn't i be?"I stretch my arms.
"I heard you went to drop off some more parcels, I wanted to come looking for you, but mom and dad wouldn't disclose your location to me, I still walked around the district trying to look for you though. I came back home and saw you asleep and I was relieved…" he says all at once and I sigh a little. Travis is my oldest brother out of the three I have and he's also the most overprotective to an almost overbearing extent. He once interfered with me making a drop off and knocked the client unconscious as he 'feared for my safety'. Ever since then, my parents refused to give him my location whenever I went for a dropoff. I love Travis, I love my whole family. I know he only wants to make sure I'm safe but just wish he would treat me more like a sister than some damsel in distress.
"Yeah, I'm ok Travis but please…" I begin.
"I know, I know. You can take care of yourself, Dad taught you some moves just Incase you ever got in trouble but you'll always be my little sister…" he explains to me.
"And you'll always be my big brother but just give me space, I'll be ok, I promise you that." I try to assure him and and he sighs before agreeing.
"Yeah sure, I'll give you your space…" he relents, phew.
"Thank you Travis, are the others up?" I ask and he's shakes his head.
"Nope, it's just us right now, they will be soon though." He informs me.
"Ok good!" I jump up and speed into the restroom to quickly wash up. I promised my best friend Kastia that we'll walk to the square together tomorrow, so I should hurry up and get ready cause my parents will literally hold me hostage here to eat breakfast with them. Once I put on my reaping outfit which consists of a white and blue flowery dress with matching shoes, I practically speed out of the house and that's when I see Kastia walking towards my home, perfect timing!
"Sonya what's up my little super hero!" She holds her arms open and I run into them hugging her. Me and Kastia are the same age, but she's a lot taller than me, actually she's taller than pretty much any girl at the age of 13. She's my best friend and while I haven't given her any of the grim details, she has a general idea of what my family does for a living.
"Hey! Gosh you know if it wasn't for Travis, I doubt I would be out here right now." I admit to her and I can already see her starting to blush which makes me roll my eyes.
"Oh Travis, I only wish I was little older, he is so beautiful!" She squeals and I playfully roll my eyes.
"Ewww, anyways what are you doing later on today? I'm going to be walking around the district seeing if anyone needs help, you can come with me if you're free." I suggest.
"Yeah, sure! let's go be superheroes together no problem but can we get some ice cream first!?" she whines and my eyes light up as I remember the ice cream shop debuted a new flavor, hazel nut roast and hazel nut is my absolute favorite!
"Ice cream! Yeah, yeah definitely!" I over excitedly agree with her and she laughs. Kastia knows how enthusiastic I am when it comes to helping others. On a few occasions, she's even helped me with some of the tasks which I appreciated.
"Alright we got a deal then, each a bunch of ice cream and save the word together!" she holds her hand out to me and I laugh a little before I give her a high five. We reach the square soon after and we're still pretty early but we get our blood drawn and join the 13 gear old female section and I have to listen to Kastia once again fangirling over my brother as the square slowly starts to fill up and before I know it, our district escort Violet is ready to start the intros after introducing our six living victors. She plays the usual video afterwards and after they're done shaming our ancestors and blaming them for everything that's happening now, it's time for the reapings to officially begin…
"OK hmmm, lets begin with the gentlemen!" she happily skips over to the males bowl and pulls out a name.
"Koa Hartwell!" she happily announces and I immediately hear woman shriek out loud, most likely his mothee, The name immediately rings a bell though, he's that new student who took down Rufus with hardly any effort yesterday. The entire school considers him a hero now and I'm not even sure where he came from, but he can clearly handle himself well.
I see him slowly make his way out from the 15 year old male section as his mother I assume continues crying. He has tan caramel skin which matches his eye, Medium length curly brown hair with hints of ginger in it with freckles, a prominent jaw, larger than average ears and full pale mauve colored lips. He's pretty tall too, almost 6 feet it seems. He has a slim build with long limbs and there's some freckles on his face. He's wearing a white undershirt with overalls that has some sort of blue paint splattered across it for some reason and matching shoes with a beanie loosely on his head.
After emerging from the crowd, he appears to start heading towards where the crying is coming from but a boy who looks fairly similar to him immediately stops him and he's holds Koa's shoulders trying to calm him down as I can see he's beginning to cry. I can't make out what he's saying but he's most likely trying to warn Koa of the two Peacekeepers heading his way and Koa sniffs, doing a quick nod before making his way to the stage, where he's trying his best to look strong, but I can see how much of a toll this is taking on him…
"Do we have any volunteers?" Violet asks and of course no one does and she walks over to the females bowl afterwards and pulls out a name.
"Sonya Weller!" Violet announces and I feel my mouth drop.
"Oh my god…" I immediately hear Kastia gasp as we both look at each other in shock. I…I was reaped?
I can only stand frozen in shock as I'm still trying to process everything, I don't know how to react really? I've never had to deal with any real problems or adversity since my parents were always so good at making them disappear but… this is different.
"Sonya…" Kastia tries to warn me as tears are beginning to swell in her eyes and that's when I see the same two Peacekeepers heading towards me which motions for me to move and my legs feel like Jelly as I walk towards the stage as I feel like I'm going to collapse any second. I try to keep myself composed and I arrive on the stage still trying to compose myself, apart of me feels like yelling in anger, another part of me feels like crying…I just don't know what to feel or how to feel.
"Cute girl, any volunteers?" Violet asks and as expected no one does.
"Well then, please welcome both our tributes representing district 9 this year, shake hands please!" Violet announces and I turn to face Koa as he also faces me and I'm the first to extend my hand towards him where he gives it a firm shake, I can tell he's a strong guy and that he's also a very approachable one too, maybe I can try talking to him later when things settle down a little. My father taught me some basic self defense skills if I ever got into a jam, but it's still going to be almost impossible for me to survive without some kind of alliance, This is a problem that I need to solve and I won't have my parents with me anymore to help, this is something I have to do on my own…
Bam here we are with the district 9 reapings! only 10 more districts to go before we can start getting into the meat of things uggghh. Anyways I had a ton of fun writing these two and I'm to introduce the rest of the tributes as I once again have a diverse cast of characters to work with. Thank you for your reviews and support guys and I'll see you soon with the next chapter, Till next time!