Euphoria Montague, 16
District 5 Female Tribute

"More!" Euphoria yelled as the machine sent sparks through her body, making her hair literally stand on end. Her younger brother Elias peeked at her from behind the controls of the machine.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked, his brow furrowed as he watched Euphoria caress the spherical part of the machine that one must touch in order to feel the contraption's effects.

"More!" Euphoria repeated, cackling.

Elias turned the dial up a notch, and Euphoria felt a stronger current run through her body. She whooped with glee.

"MORE!"

"Euphoria, we're one setting away from maximum power," Elias said, looking worried. "We could be seriously injured if we continue."

"We could be seriously bored if we stop!" Euphoria countered. "More!"

Elias took a deep breath and turned the dial to its maximum setting. The power flowing through Euphoria felt almost unbearable - almost. She could feel sparks jumping around her frizzy hair. This was awesome!

There was a knock on the door to the garage that served as Euphoria's laboratory. Euphoria grinned.

"Come in!" she called out.

Euphoria's father walked in and nearly tripped over a piece of machinery on the ground. He studied Euphoria and Elias carefully.

"I can see that you're in the middle of… something," Dr. Maxwell Montague said slowly. "I'll leave you to it, but be careful, okay?"

"Careful? What's that?" Euphoria yelled over the hum of the machine. "Can I electrify it?"

Euphoria's father sighed. "Elias, keep an eye on your sister, okay?" he asked. "She's brilliant, but I'd hate to see her get hurt."

"On it," Elias said as he gradually turned down the dial. Euphoria frowned.

"Aw man," she pouted. "I was just gonna ask you to turn it up to eleven."

Maple Marks, 16
District 7 Female Tribute

Maple stood at the end of the deserted school hallway, sighing as she gazed at the place she called her kingdom. There was technically no school today because everyone was supposed to show up for Reaping Day. Maple didn't mind that. What she did mind was spending time in her horrible stepfather's house. Maple still remembered her life before her mother married her stepdad - her mother was kind then, and actually cared. Those days were long gone.

"Maple?"

That was Branchette, one of Maple's friends. Branchette was beautiful but dumber than a bag of rocks. She tapped Maple's shoulder.

"I'm going to go home and spend some time with my family," Branchette said. "Do you want to come with me?"

"Must be nice having a family you actually like," Maple sighed. "You go on ahead. I want to stay here a bit longer. Leava, go with Branchette and make sure she doesn't get into any trouble."

"Are you gonna be okay?" Leava asked, squeezing Maple's arm.

"Yeah, I've got Elmo to take care of me," Maple said with a small smile. She took his hand. "Isn't that right?"

"I'll stay with you," Elmo said gently, squeezing Maple's hand. "If you'd like, I can also walk with you to the Reaping."

"That would be amazing," Maple said, her heart fluttering a little. She looked away. She wasn't sure what her situation with Elmo was, but she sure as hell was going to treasure his friendship.

"Well, I'll see you guys around," Branchette said breezily as she and Leava left Maple and Elmo alone. Maple adjusted her backpack.

"Ugh, I wish I could actually use my locker right now," Maple said with a chuckle. "Elmo, wanna help me get ready for Mathletes?"

"You just had a meeting a week ago."

"Yeah, so?"

Elmo laughed a little. "Alright. Let's find a table."

Cotton Drury, 17
District 8 Male Tribute

Even though many District 8 citizens did not work on Reaping Day, Cotton's father had taken an extra shift today to help pay the bills. He looked tired as he ate breakfast with his children.

"I'm off to work," Jack Drury said, carrying his dirty dishes to the sink. "Cotton, Larina, please stay out of trouble."

"I will, I promise," Cotton said quietly as he finished up his meager food. "Larina, would you like to come with me to Tales of Future Lost?"

"You have to work today too?" Cotton's sister asked, sounding disappointed.

"No, but I'd like to keep Gromit company," Cotton said. "You know he doesn't have a family to stay with the way we do."

Larina nodded, and she and Cotton followed their father out the front door. Cotton held his younger sister's hand as the siblings walked, alert, through the dingy streets. Cotton didn't want to stay on them for too long. He doubted that the Hunger Games would do much to quell the violence of the gangs that he was once sucked into, before he found Twina and her bookstore.

Pretty soon, Cotton and Larina reached Tales of Future Lost. They said hello to Gromit, who was watching the store by himself.

"Thanks for coming," Gromit said quietly from behind the register. "I was getting pretty lonely."

"Of course, that's what friends are for," Cotton said with a small smile. "Is Twina here?"

"Nope, just me today," Gromit said with a sigh. "Business has been slow all morning… Everyone must be spending time with their families."

"My dad had work, so Larina and I decided to come keep you company," Cotton said. "I hope Jax is alright. I know he has a family, but he never told me much about it."

"Yeah… maybe you can catch up with him at the Reaping."

"Maybe…" Cotton blushed and smiled to himself.

Mark Dover, 17
District 9 Male Tribute

Mark woke to a knock on the door. He quickly got out of bed, threw on some clothes, and opened it. His younger brother William was standing at the door, looking sad and scared.

"What's up William?" Mark said gently. "I'd be happy to help."

"The Reaping is today," William said softly.

Mark didn't hesitate. He pulled his brother, who was four years younger than him and therefore eligible to be Reaped, into a big hug.

"What can I do to help?" Mark asked.

"I don't know," William murmured. "I'm just so scared of what will come next."

Mark broke the hug and smiled sadly at William. "Do you remember what Mom and Dad always tell us?"

"To do good, work hard, and be true?" William said.

"Yeah. As long as we remember that and always work towards that, we'll be okay."

"Can we…" William frowned. "Can we train?"

Mark understood completely. "Yeah. But remember, only self-defense."

"I remember," William said. "I was thinking we could go on a run together today."

"That sounds great," Mark said with a small smile. "Let's let Mom and Dad know where we're going, and we can take some laps around the field. Come on."

Mark and William were soon running laps around the nearby field. Mark let his mind wander as he gazed at the scenery around him. District 9 was vast, seemingly mostly empty, but the grain fields were full of sustenance. Mark was found abandoned in one of the fields as a baby. He was thankful that his adoptive parents took him and William in.

He knew that he would do anything for his family. Not everyone was lucky enough to have a family at all.