District One Male - Causimodo "Claude" Alqui (18)

I open my eyes to see light streaming through the windows. When I fully adjust to the light, I sit up and look around. Great. I'm alone again. I know I'm always going to be alone, considering my parents are out working and I'm an only child. Ever since I was six, when I was able to take care of myself, they began leaving for the whole day, claiming it's their busy schedule. I would say it was okay.

I make my way over to the kitchen and grab myself and apple. With the apple in my hand, I walk outside and sit down on the grass, munching on my breakfast. Once I'm finished, I throw it beside me and watch as the sun sets in the middle of the sky. Today's the reaping, and I just want to get this over with.

I see a young boy walk by and I realize it's Tyson, someone who calls me their "brother" because I'm always taking care of him since his parents are in the same situation.

He turns around and looks at me. "Claude!" he says. His hair is cut short and he's short, too, since he's only twelve years old. He's eligible for the Games, and I'm kind of worried for him.

I smile and hug him, but that doesn't work out as planned. We both land on the ground and we begin laughing. I get up and hug him, holding him securely. "Are you scared?" I ask. If he gets reaped next year, I won't be able to save him because I'll be too old to participate.

He looks up at me and shakes his head. "I'm not scared. Remember? We would go to my house and practice?" he says. That's right; when Tyson was six his father built a small fort of some kind. Since I played and took care of him, I was able to go there and practice. My family is kind of poor, so I wasn't able to train for these Games.

"Yeah, I do. Come on, let's go inside and you can get something to eat while I change, okay?" I say. He nods his head and we walk inside. When we're in the house, I walk to my room and Tyson stays in the kitchen. I smile before actually taking a step in there.

When I'm in my room, I walk over to my drawer and grab a pair of black pants, white shirt and suspenders. I change into my clothes and look at myself in the mirror. There's really nothing I could do with my hair, considering it's curly. I grab a small stone and put it in my pocket. The stone represents my grandmother who died when I was young, but I was very close with her.

When I'm finished getting dressed, I walk back into the kitchen. "Let's go to the reaping now," I say. He nods his head and we walk to the door. He goes out first. Before I walk out the door, I look at the holes in the wall across the room. I smile and walk out the door and follow Tyson.

We make out way to the reaping without any words. We just stand next to each other, consuming our on fear. When we have to go in, I get on my knee and hold Tyson's shoulders with my hands. "Tyson, you can't be scared, alright? I know you're not going to be picked, so whatever happens, you can't freak out."

He nods his head. "I know that, big brother," he says. He smiles and we go into our own crowd. We stand a while until the mayor comes up and speaks of our history. When he's finished, he shows a video of how Panem became how it is today. Seriously? This video is probably a thousand years old since this is the 1000th anniversary of the Games, and I'm kind of scared to know the surprise. But I must be strong. Almost everyone has trained for these Games for their lives.

This year's escort is a plump male. He's short. His suit is orange, red tie, and his skin is tainted a light yellow. He smiles and walks onto the stage. "Welcome District One to the 1000th Annual Hunger Games. As you all know, I'll be your escort, Adolph Sich."

The crowd is silent, not really enjoying the happiness of this guy. He continues, "Now, it's time to choose our girl tribute." He walks over to the girls' bowl and swishes his hand in circles. He grabs a paper and plucks it out. He smiles widely which is creepy. "Alessandra Celeste Jones."

A petite girl with waist-long hair walks up the stage. As she walks up the stage, she looks around nervously. I feel bad for her because she looks scared. Suddenly, she breaks down crying. She tries to cover it up by hiding her face in her hands, but it clearly isn't working.

"Next is our boy tribute," our escort says. He grabs a slip out of the boys' bowl and reads it out, "Causimodo Alqui."

My mouths drops and I look everywhere. This can't be happening! I need Tyson! I walk up the stage and look around. The girl before me is actually very pretty.

"And these are our tributes for this year's Games!" Adolph Sich exclaims. Suddenly, we're led into the Justice building. It's obvious I have no one but Tyson to expect.

Before we head into the justice building, I lean down near Alessandra and whisper, "You'll be alright."

District One Female – Alessandra Celeste "Nessa" Jones (16)

I look up at the sky. I find it beautiful right now. I lift my arms up in front of my eyes and play with my bracelet. When I was young, my grandmother gave me this bracelet. It's very pretty. She said it was her lucky charm, and she passed it onto me. Right now, the bracelet is my lucky charm.

I sit up and walk down the hill. It's where I usually go after getting into fights with my dad. After my mom moved away to work, things wouldn't go right without her around and I'd try to start a simple conversation about mom, but it'd start into a fight and I'd go up the hill, crying. It's kind of lonely, so spend my days outside or in my room.

As I make my way up to my small home, I look around at the vast scenery around me. It's pretty. I walk inside and into the cluttered kitchen. Almost immediately I walk out. I mean, it's too small. It'd be nice if my parents were rich, but they aren't; I'm one of the kids who live in the poorer side of District One.

I'm about to walk into my bedroom when my dad comes out of it. I'm about to walk past him until he taps my shoulder. "What is it?" I ask. He hands me a pretty dress that is sky blue and a pair of black flats with a small ribbon on the front. I must admit it, it's gorgeous.

"Here, it's your outfit for this year. Your mom sent me all the money she got from her job. It's all I could afford. It's for you, Nessa," he says. I look up in his eyes, but I look away. I've done this many times to know his colour. His eyes are a pretty hazel like mine, and his hair is blonde, unlike me. But my mom has black hair and onyx eyes.

I take it and smile. "Thank you, daddy," I say. I try not to cry because my mom did all she could to raise me, and I was so close to her before she left, and she sent the money she earned to my dad so he could buy me a dress. I bite my lip slightly. I walk into my bedroom and take a shower.

After I'm done showering, I slip on the sky blue dress and twirl around, letting the dress spin in circles with me. I fall onto the floor and begin giggling. I open my eyes to see the whole room spinning around me. When the room is finally still, I stand up.

I make my way over to the mirror and straighten out the dress. The fancy sky blue dress reaches just above my knees and the bottom of it has water-like vines trims near the bottom. It's a very strapless dress. My long, wavy black hair with blue undertones reach waist.

I twirl in a perfect circle. This won't do. I begin to knot my hair back. When I'm finished, I'm pleased. I smile in satisfaction and slip on the black flats. I walk out of my room and into the empty hallway to see my dad I follow him, but I just peek into the kitchen.

"Dad," I say. "Could you please pass me an apple?"

He nods his head and tosses me an apple. I immediately grab it and smile "Thank you." I'm about to walk outside until dad stops me.

"You better eat it fast because the reaping is going to start soon. You go on ahead, I'll be there soon, Nessa."

That's right! "Bye," I say before running out of the house. I quickly eat my apple. Before I go to my section, I see an older boy on his knees, talking to a younger boy. Quickly I turn and make my way over with the other girls. I stand there alone. I'm not technically alone, I'm just alone. Girls are around me, but I'm not talking to any of them because I don't have any. I've always been a loner in school.

I bite my lower lip for a while until the mayor snaps me out of my thoughts. He makes a quick speech and goes on to show us a video he's been showing us for decades, I think. This video must be old. I ignore the video until our escorts makes his way onto the stage.

"Welcome District One to the 1000th Annual Hunger Games. As you all know, I'll be your escort, Adolph Sich," he says, smiling. The crowd is silent. Sure, if anyone is chosen, there's sure to be a volunteer, right? It happens almost every year in the Career Districts. "Now, it's time to choose our girl tribute."

He walks over to the girls' bowl and plucks out a piece of paper. He unfolds it and smiles brightly. "Alessandra Celeste Jones."

What? This can't be happening. No, there has to be another Alessandra Celeste Jones, right? It can't be me. It just can't!

I feel tears spring to my eyes and people pushing my shoulders. I look around to see the other girls pushing my back to go forward. I ignore them and walk up to the stage. Once I'm up there, I finally process everything. I feel tears stream down my cheeks. I break down and cover my face with my hands.

The last word I hear before being taken away is, "You'll be alright." But I ignore it and I continue to cry. When I feel hear a door slam, I look around, the room is gorgeous but blurry.

"Nessa!" a voice cries out.

I turn around to see my dad running over to me. I smile slightly and hug him back. More tears stream down my face because I'm reminded of how much I'll really miss him when I'm gone. When I break the hug, I say, "I'll miss you."

He smiles. "I'll miss you too, my dear little girl." He turns me around and I see a woman with dark eyes and long black hair like me.

"My dear, sweetie," she says. She walks up to me and hugs me tight.

Almost immediately, I have her tight in my grip. This has to be a dream. There's no way my mom came back just to see me. I haven't seen her in years. But why now?

"I missed you so much," I say. I dig my face into her shoulder until the tears fade. I look up at her and smile. "Why are you here?"

She giggles slightly. "I come every year, my dear. But when it's over, I have to leave right away to go back to work when it's over, so I can never see you."

I smile and hug her once more. Suddenly, the Peacekeepers come and they say it's time to go. I look at my parents and frown. Before they leave, my dad smiles. My mom comes up to me and says, "Be strong out there, my little girl. I'll be watching you. And remember that grandmother's bracelet will always protect you, okay Alessandra?"

I nod my head. I feel her arms release and she walks out the door. Now she's gone. I need to come back. I'm going to fight and train. I'm going to come home for my parents – for my mom.

District One Male - Causimodo "Claude" Alqui (18)

I sit in the Justice Building alone. Right before leaving the girl named Alessandra, I felt so bad for her. And I still feel bad for her. I think she's only sixteen, yet she looks so fragile.

Suddenly, the door opens and in comes Tyson. His eyes are blood-shot red. He runs over to me and hugs me tightly. "Don't leave, Claude. Please, don't leave."

I caress his back and smile. "I'm not going to leave, Ty, I'm not going to leave. Don't worry little guy, okay? I'm going to come back. If I don't come back, you can take care of yourself. I know you're strong, and you've been practicing since you were six."

We break apart and he looks me in the eyes. He nods his head and says, "Thank you, Claude. But please, come back. I don't want to lose you; you're the best big brother I've ever had."

I smile and this and playfully mess with his hair. We sit in silence until the Peacekeepers come to retrieve Tyson. "Be good, Tyson," I say before he leaves the room, waving goodbye.

Now I'm committed to come back. I need to come back for Tyson.

To Be Continued…