Ottie Wellscion, 14: District 5 Male

Staring at two different views on the window ledge

Coffee is going cold, it's like time froze

There you go wishing, floating down our wishing well

It's like I'm always causing problems, causing hell

July 1, 73ADD: 6 days before Reaping

The sun beats down with unrelenting intensity as I walk through the quiet, early morning streets. I really shouldn't be out here right now. Not only is it already entirely too hot, but the wind is not doing me any favors. All it's doing is blowing hot air and kicking up dust. I don't understand why District 5 has to be in the middle of a desert. I have weak lungs, and being outside in this type of climate is only making things worse. I tried to talk Dad out of making me go out this morning, but it was my turn to pick up Mom's medicine.

Mom has been sick for half my life. It started off as what we thought was a bad case of pneumonia. We assumed she would be back to normal after about a month. That was not the case. Mom only got worse as time went on. Eventually, she became too weak to walk. She's completely bedridden now, a complete shell of her former self. Dad, Oleff, and I have been taking care of her the best we can. However, Dad and Oleff still had to work and I still had school. Dad eventually decided to hire a full-time nurse when Mom's illness got too severe for us to manage on our own. Nurse Sheeta has been a huge help for Mom, and I'd consider her to be a great friend. But her presence still reminds me that Mom's time is limited.

I finally make it to the pharmacy, a small building with a façade that blends in with the desert landscape. I open the door, gladly welcoming the blast of cool air from the air conditioned interior. I walk straight to the back and ring the bell on the counter. Dr. Goldberg emerges from his office, adjusting his pristine white coat.

"Good morning, Ottie," Dr. Goldberg says. "Picking up for your mother today?"

"Nah, I'm picking up for the local drug dealer," I respond sarcastically. Dr. Goldberg gives me a little courtesy laugh.

"I'll get the meds for you so you can be on your way," he says. Dr. Goldberg rapidly shuffles through the numerous identical-looking bags of medicine before pausing and pulling one from the bottom shelf. He slides the bag across the counter and I pick it up.

"Thanks," I say before turning to leave.

"Have a good one, Ottie," Dr. Goldberg says.

"You too!" I call out, not even turning back to look at him again. I brace myself at the door for a quick moment before stepping out into the furnace that is the District 5 desert. The sun beats down with even more intensity as I begin the short trek home. The streets are a bit busier now with the first wave of traffic heading to the power plants for the morning shift. I have to dodge a few people walking my way. I try to make as little physical contact as possible, but there are still clusters of people where avoiding a shoulder check is impossible.

The traffic dies down significantly as I walk by the gates of Victor's Village. Five of those houses are occupied now, with Tomaz Wellflower being 5's first Victor in over a decade. Rumor has it that he'll be mentoring in place of Ion Balk. Chances are the tribute he'll end up with will be older than him. I bet being the youngest Victor in history is a daunting title to hold. I'll never forget how much attention he got from the Capitol when he first got home. And with this year's Games right around the corner, that attention is slowly returning. I feel kinda bad for the guy. He rarely ever comes out of his house, in which he lives completely alone. Throughout his Victory Tour he looked nervous and paranoid; like someone was watching him. I couldn't imagine living with that kind of constant stress. Plus, he's a year younger than I am. There's no way that someone our age could handle this well.

After passing Victor's Village, I turn onto my street. It's filled with houses much smaller and much less grandiose. I step into my house, once again escaping the desert heat. Oleff is splayed out on the couch fast asleep. I creep up on him as he snores loudly, mouth wide open and leaking drool. Disgusting.

"Oleff!" He startles awake, quickly sitting up and looking around. His eyes land on me, standing behind the couch.

"What the hell, man?" Oleff says. "What do you want?"

"Where's Dad?" I ask.

"He's with Mom," he answers. "Now leave me alone."

I walk through the narrow hallway to Mom's room. I hear Dad's voice, muffled by the wooden door. Slowly opening it, I see Dad sitting in the chair across from Mom's bed, reading her the front page article of today's newspaper. It's been one of their favorite things to do ever since Mom became too sick to leave the house. Dad must've spotted me out of the corner of his eye, because he stops reading and turns towards the door.

"Ottie?"

"No, it's President Stone," I quip, stepping inside the bedroom. Dad rolls his eyes as he sets the newspaper down.

"And I'm Lucian Sterling," he says, mimicking my sarcasm.

"Oh quit it, you two," Mom says weakly. "Did you pick up my medicine, Ottie?"

"Yeah, I got it." I toss the medicine to Dad. He fumbles the bag for a second before clutching it to his chest. He opens the bag and takes out the bottle of pills. He fills Mom's pillbox with the meds for the week then shelves the bottle.

"So, Ottie," he starts. "Any plans for the week? Don't you want to get out of the house a little more?"

"Oh, heavens no," I answer.

"Why not?"

"It's way too hot to go outside," I say. "I don't want to pass out from heat exhaustion, or even worse, die of heatstroke. That's a risk I'm not willing to take."

"Ottie-"

"Plus, the wind is kicking up so much dust. I could hardly breathe on the way home. I have weak lungs; just imagine what would happen if I got caught in a dust storm.

"Ottie-"

"Then there's all the people I'll have to avoid-"

"Ottie!"

"What?"

"You're rambling again," Dad says. "And I don't think your mother wants to hear all that right now."

I guess Dad is somewhat right. I don't need to be bringing my nervous energy around Mom, especially given how sick she is. But Mom's sickness has really made me realize that I could fall ill at any time. I know I can't blame her for my own worries, but it's difficult when all of this started when she got sick. Watching her health slowly decline over the years has been beyond stressful. Almost everything I worry about seems to be related to her in some way. It's just so hard knowing that whatever she has will eventually take her from us, but it's worse not know when that time will come.

Jamie Somber, 14: District 5 Female

Thought I found a way

Thought I found a way out

But you never go away

So I guess I gotta stay now

July 2, 73ADD: 5 days before Reaping

Five days.

Five days and then it'll be three years since Julian was taken away from me. Three years since our family of four became a family of three. Three years since my life would begin tearing apart at the seams. I used to think that I would be able to move on by now, but things only get worse when you're reminded of it year after year. The image of my brother getting his skull caved in by the boot of the brute from District 2 seconds after the gong rang is still burned in my head. I can still see the way he was thrown to the ground with more force than I thought was humanly possible. Then the 2 boy started stomping Julian's head until he stopped moving. Just like that, my brother died at just twelve years old.

Realistically, we all knew Julian stood no chance in the Hunger Games, but that still didn't lessen the blow when he was killed in the bloodbath. There's nothing that you can do to prepare for that. There was nothing that could prepare me to bury my brother so young. Passing by his empty room every day is something I never expected to do. We grew up side by side. We were supposed to do everything together. Now I'm alone, with no one around to fill the void that has been left.

"Jamie?" I jump at the unexpected calling of my name. I wheel around and see mom standing at my bedroom door, leaning against the doorframe.

"Yes?"

"Lei is outside wondering if you wanted to hang out," Mom says.

"I'm not feeling too good today," I sigh. "I'd rather just stay in today."

"Jamie, you've spent practically the whole summer in the house," Mom says.

"I just don't feel good enough to go out."

"Well, maybe you'd feel better if you got out of the house and got some fresh air," Mom suggests.

"I- I don't think that'll help much," I say.

"You won't know unless you try," Mom says. "Maybe hanging out with Lei will help you take your mind off of whatever's been bothering you."

I really don't think Mom gets it right now. I know she knows that the Reapings are right around the corner, but she's acting like they're not a thing. She's just acting like everything is perfectly normal. How is she not constantly reminded of the fact that Julian is gone? It doesn't make any sense to me.

"Are you sure?" I ask.

"Well, it's worked for me," Mom says. "Especially after what happened to-"

"Julian?"

"Yeah." I was wrong. Julian's death is still fresh in Mom's mind. I guess she's handling it a lot better than I am, but how much can just getting out of the house help me? I can see how it helps Mom since she has to focus on other things when she's at work, but there's not really anything to keep my mind from wandering.

"But how are you so sure things will be the same for me?"

"I'm not," Mom answers. "But I think it's worth a shot."

"If you say so." I slowly roll out of my bed and slip on my shoes, then walk through the house to the front door. Right as I open the door, I see Lei sitting on the front doorstep. She turns around, her eyes meeting mine. She immediately jumps up and hugs me.

"Jamie! I thought I was gonna have to drag you out of the house!" Lei says.

"Good thing you don't," I say. "I wouldn't have gone out easy."

"Yeah right," Lei scoffs.

"Hey, don't underestimate the power of flailing," I retort.

"You got me there," Lei says. "Anyways, what do you wanna do today?"

"Why don't we do something that doesn't involve being outside," I say. "I don't think it's a good idea to stay out in this type of heat."

"Definitely not," Lei says. "Want to go to the market? I bet we'll find some really cool stuff there."

I had a feeling Lei would want to go somewhere like the market. All those people, the sounds, and all the different shops are right up her alley. That's definitely not my scene, and I don't think today is the day I decide to step out of my comfort zone.

"Why don't we do something a little more on the quiet side," I say. "What about the library?"

"The library? Really?" Lei groans. "That's so boring."

"Well I don't want to go to the market," I say.

"Fine," Lei relents.

"Great, let's go." Lei and I begin the walk to the library. It's a good ways away, but at least it's not the market. That is not the place to be today. At the library, I don't have to worry about big crowds or having to talk to people I don't know. Hopefully Lei won't be mad at me for making her go to the library with me, but I could really use the familiar company. This time of year just isn't a great time for me. I don't think it'll ever be. I just need to find a good way to cope. Maybe getting out of the house will actually help a little. Now that I think about it, I miss Julian the most whenever I'm at home alone, but I'm still thinking about him now. I still can't really tell if what Mom told me will work or not.

However, I wasn't thinking of my brother just a moment ago when I was talking with Lei. She provided a good distraction from all my worries. Just talking to her took my mind off of Julian, something I haven't been able to do for days. That has to be what Mom was talking about. But still, what good will just distracting myself do? All that means is that I'm just avoiding the issue. I won't be able to stick around Lei every second of every day. I'll have to be on my own sometimes, and I worry that I won't be able to keep my mind off of the very thing I'm trying to avoid.

How long can I live like this?

Heyyyy besties, I actually didn't procrastinate for a month before updating this time. I'm proud of myself. Now, can I do this consistently? Probably not but oh well.

Big thanks to kremit1000 for Ottie and to fanf1cwriter for Jamie. I'm gonna have a lot of fun writing these two.

Ottie: Middle by DJ Snake feat. Bipolar Sunshine

Jamie: Lovely by Billie Eilish feat. Khalid

See y'all in District 6!

Until next time,

Ty