DISTRICT 6 REAPINGS

Tyra Benson, 13

"The Capitol is not trustworthy, and we are disposable pawns."

"You don't have to do this, you know…" My older brother whispers. "It's not like—" He's cut off by harsh coughs. "Yes, I have to. There's no other way, unless you want me pickpocketing again." I whisper back. He shakes his head sadly at me, and reluctantly passes me the expensive camera and walkie-talkie that look out of place in the old apartment that I call home.

But hey, the Capitol spares no expense when it comes to catching criminals that steal from the trains packages meant for Capitol people.

I walk briskly outside into the cool morning air, and look at the rapidly lightening sky.

If I don't hurry, I won't be able to catch the gangs. They usually break up at dawn to go collect the early-morning packages. I sigh, if my brother and mother hadn't forbade it, I would still be sneaking into one of the warehouse crates to record the gangs plans. It made for even more money, because then the Peacekeepers would know where to patrol before the gangs could even make a move.

Even better, if the Peacekeepers caught twenty gangs a year thanks to my spying and recording, I would be out of the Reaping for that year. This year though, thanks to my brother tipping off my mother, I only managed to get eighteen. But it wasn't only my mother, it was Aliya as well. Aliya is another girl who the Capitol 'hired' to spy on the gangs this year. She's been tailing me and then tipping off the Peacekeepers before I can. I bet she got twenty gangs. Or more.

I shake my head and climb up the stairs of an abandoned apartment building, pulling myself up onto the roof. Just as I peek over the ledge to look down at the alley where the gang meets, I see four of them flank the gang leader and enter the apartment that I'm hiding on top of, as the rest break off. I tail what I gather to be the gang leader's second-in-command, and use the walkie-talkie to notify the closest Peacekeepers of where I think they will be approaching the train, only to see them already there. I turn around and scowl at the figure behind me.

Stupid Aliya stealing my job. I try to convince myself that the Capitol probably wouldn't have had the time to extract my name from the list, even if I had caught two gangs this morning. It doesn't work, and I still angrily slink back home.

Toph Reading, 12

"Trains are pretty awesome."

"Mooommmmm!" my nine-year-old sister, Toyota, wails. "Moooommm! Toph stole my dress for the Reaping!"

When my mom reaches the doorway, I sit innocently in Toyota's bed, wearing her bright-pink dress. "Moooom!" I wail mockingly, "Toyota doesn't need the dress! She's not even in the Reaping Ball! I neeeed it! It's my first Reaping!" Sentra sighs good-naturedly, and as I expected, she asks me to give Toyota back her dress. I smile gleefully as Toyota takes back her dress and wears it. "Buh bye!" I shout to Sentra and Laine before Toyota realises that there's itching powder in her new dress.

"Hi Toph." Bender calls shyly. I smile and wave him over. Bender is fairly new to the neighbourhood, and can be painfully shy and quiet, but he's a good friend and has opened up a little. "Do you have a board game with you today?" I ask, and he smiles a little and shakes his head. The first time he met my friends and I, he was carrying a large Monopoly box. He had gotten so flustered at the sight of all three of us that he accidentally dropped his game on the tracks and got the entire thing squashed.

"Guys! Wait up!" calls Linus, and we wait for him and Penn to reach us before continuing to walk towards the train station. It's our first Reaping, and all of us are nervous. Linus tries to get the rest of us to smile by armpit farting, and it works. Penn pretends that there is a bad smell, and I almost fall over laughing. Bender laughs and says: "Hey, guys. Last night I was playing Monopoly with my family, and do you know what I found out? I found out that all four of our names are related to the railroad names in Monopoly!" We all stare at him blankly, not knowing the names of the railroads in Monopoly. "You know, Reading Railroad, Pennsylvania Railroad, B. & O. Railroad, and Short Line?"

After a pause, where all of us stare at him blankly, Penn exclaims: "Oh! I get it! Oh! Toph Reading, Linus Short, Bender Olson, you know, his initials are B&O, and because my last name is Silva and my first name is Penn…I'm Pennsilva!" He laughs, and the rest of us join in.

Tyra Benson, 13

I walk slowly to the tram that will take me to the courtyard in front of the Train Museum, which is were the Reaping will take place.

I glare half-heartedly at Aliya who's standing, semi-relaxed, against the tram, waiting for her family. I envy her knowing that she can't be Reaped, while I…while I have at least 30 slips in there. And this is my second year.

I climb aboard the crowded tram, and stare at the passing city. District 6 was never the most beautiful district; it doesn't have the green, rolling fields of Ten, the golden wheat of Eleven, the thick, peaceful forests of Seven, or the crystal clear waters of Four, but it's my home and to me, it's the best place in Panem. The technological wonders that we have here, the towering skyscrapers in the richer part of Six, are all beautiful in their own right.

As I climb down the tram, I walk alone to the courtyard. My mother obviously is out of the Reaping, and my brother got out last year, and they will watch from the small roads designated for the people who are out of the Reaping. Some people think that it's useless to call all of of us out if only the 12-18 year olds are involved, but I feel comforted knowing that my mother and brother are out here, just like me, instead of me being out here alone and them at home. Anyways, I'm pretty sure they use the Reapings to calculate the population of each District. After all, the people who aren't getting Reaped have to sign in as well.

The area where the other kids my age are is as crowded and confusing as it was last year, and I find a less noisy spot at the back of the roped off area meant for the thirteen-year-olds. Unlike last year, I'm nervous.

"Hey!" says Aliya. "Why are you nervous? I mean, we aren't getting Reaped, are we?" She winks and I stare at her blankly. Either she's doing this purposely to be annoy me or completely stupid. How the heck am I supposed to bust twenty gangs a year with her constantly stealing my work? Even if I managed to get twenty gangs, does she really think talking about not going to get Reaped is a good idea?

"I actually might get Reaped, Aliya. And you may too." I manage to mumble. I can tell she isn't sure If I'm faking or not, and that she doesn't know what the second part means. But I mean exactly what I say. She may get Reaped. The Capitol is not trustworthy, and we are disposable pawns.

"Tyra Benson!"

She stares at me in shock.

Toph Reading, 12

"As soon as you get home from the Reaping, mister, you are going straight to your room, you hear me? You are grounded for a week. And don't you dare talk back to me!" Laine exclaims.

I close my mouth, and pull a silly face a Toyota who's standing behind Sentra. She's still scratching, and I smirk amusedly. She scowls back. "Ugh just go, Toph! You're gonna be late if you don't leave now!" Toyota sneers. "After all, you're gonna hafta walk there! I'll be taking the tram with Laine and Sentra."

"What? Seriously?" I shriek "I can't walk there! That'll take forever! I'll be late!"

"Of course not, silly! I was just joking!" Toyota laughs. "I should've taken a picture. Your—your face!"

"Kids! We gotta go now, or we'll really be late!" Sentra calls out.

Once we get to the courtyard, I spot Linus. "Toph! Where were you? Bender, Penn and I wanted to go and check out the trains in the museum! But now that you're kinda late we can't." He frowns a little. "Anyways, I guess we can go after the Reaping, huh?" He laughs weakly.

Knowing what he's thinking about, I say "Don't worry, Linus! I'm pretty sure we'll get through. Bender and Penn only have one slip, and I have two. How many do you have?"

"Three." He makes a worried face.

"Well, that means we in total only have…eight slips?"

"Seven."

"Even better! What are the odds that any of us are gonna get picked?"

"You're right, I'm worrying too much. We'll get through, then we can go and check out those train models in the museum, then if we have extra time we can go and check out the car museum near here. Bender's dad will drive us."

"That's a great plan! I'll have to check in with Laine and Sentra after the Reaping though."

"Okay!"

Tyra Benson, 13

The three of us sit in silence. Ryder, Mom, and I never were much for words.

I sit in between them, with Ryder attempting to hide his coughs and Mom hugging me tightly, as if this way she could keep the Peacekeepers from keeping us apart.

Aliya stands in the doorway and wishes me goodbye, but I don't answer. It's partly because I'm still slightly angry at her, partly because I don't know how my family is going to survive without me, and partly because I don't know how I will survive in the arena. Aliya lingers awkwardly in the doorway for awhile, but the three of us do not respond to her presence. She leaves quickly after that.

"I'm going to start working." Ryder says quietly. "I won't be able to go back to fixing the trains, but I spoke to someone, and they said that they need more people to load up the parcels." I turn my horrified eyes to my mother, expecting her to say something against Ryder working again.

He damaged his lungs after an accident with a train and some gas leaking out, and they have been extremely sensitive, even after the expensive treatments that cost our valuables. The parcels are not as bad as going back to the trains, but the parcels are dusty, and that will not be good for Ryder.

However, Mom says nothing, and Ryder opens then closes his mouth, as if to say something then deciding against it. The two of them watch me intently, but I don't say anything. Even though I don't agree with this, this is the way things have to be. My mother has been working day and night, and grabbing any shift she can at the train station. She has a dozen odd jobs in addition to that, and she somehow manages to squeeze them into her time.

She can't continue like that, and with me gone, they won't be able to last.

Ryder closes the circle that is formed by us three.

Toph Reading, 12

Toyota is crying as Laine carries her in. Sentra follows them, and helps Laine seat Toyota. Toyota clings to me as I shift closer to her, and I pull her onto my lap. Laine clears her throat. "Toph…we're very very sorry…"

"Hey… Mom. Mother. Toyota. It'll be fine. I'll find a way." I say, hoping that it won't turn out to be a lie, but knowing that it is. I'm too young and small to win. "Um…Thanks, Mom and Mother. Thanks for taking me and Toyota in after we got dumped at the Home. Thanks." I say in a rare moment of sentiment.

"Thank you for being in our lives, Toph." Sentra says softly. "I know you'll try your best to come home, but Toph…" Her voice cracks. "Don't lose yourself in the arena. Stay true to you. But please…" She closes her eyes, and stops abruptly.

"Toph, we'll forgive you. But please don't…don't…not more than you have to. We'll miss you, but we'll cheer you on. Don't forget that we're watching, and that we love you more than you can imagine. You'll always be my little Toph Reading, my funny, smart, outgoing, train nerd. I love you." Laine reaches over Toyota and gives me a warm hug.

"For you." Toyota sniffles, and hands me over a slightly sweaty small toy train. It's bright blue, with small blue accents. It fits perfectly in my hand. "Thanks, Toyota. I'll miss ya." She smiles a bit, then continues to snuggle into my side, sobbing. I feel like doing that too. We've always been together, from the orphanage to now. But now I'll be gone, and I can't protect her and teach her all the things I wanted to. I choke down an uncharacteristic sob. I can't afford to break down now.

"Well, I guess my grounding will have to wait, Mom." I say. She laughs shortly.

After that, the Peacekeepers ask them to leave, and Toyota is dragged out by a crying Laine and a stoic Sentra. My three friends are ushered in, and told that they only have ten minutes.

"Hello." All three of them chorus. There's a pause before the laughing starts. Even then, the mood is sombre and dampened. After it stops, the silence is awkward and painful.

"Wow, Toph. I can't believe it." Linus blurts out. "You got reaped."

Penn elbows him sharply. "Way to go, Captain Obvious."

"Well, you weren't going to say anything! You were just gonna sit there and stare like he grew a third head!"

"Couldn't you have been more subtle? Dude, he's in shock!" Penn retorts. But I'm not in shock. I know exactly what's happening, and my mind has never been clearer, and emotions as sharp.

"Guys, could you not argue right now? We're here to say goodbye— no, see you later, and not argue!" Bender exclaims.

Surprised by his outburst, the two quiet down. "Hey, Toph. We'll miss you a lot, okay? I can't believe this is happening. You've been my friend for so long, I can't imagine a life without your constant companionship. You've been an amazing friend, and…we have your back. We'll be rooting for you. One hundred percent." Penn says in a rush, then half-hugs me awkwardly.

Bender sits up a little, then begins. "Um, Toph? Thanks for welcoming me when I moved. It was really hard because the move was so sudden, and I had to leave all these people I've known all my life. You made it a bit less scary, so thank you for that. And like Penn said…I'll miss you." He sits back, and takes a gulp of water, unused to saying so much at once.

Then it's Linus' turn. "We'll go to the car and train museums when you come back." He says simply. "We'll go, then you can geek out over the trains, and—"

"Linus can geek out over the cars." Penn breaks in.

Linus mock-glares at him, then continues. "Then we'll go back home. Then we'll go on like usual, except you'll be super rich, and we'll be begging you for cool stuff." His voice breaks. "Who am I kidding…" He mutters and pauses. "I'll miss you a lot." He finally says.

The three of them slowly walk out.

A/N: Guys, you don't know how sorry I am. I'm so sorry for just disappearing for months on end, then come back with a crappy chapter. I didn't get it beta-d yet, but I will soon. Sorry guys, especially since Tyra's backstory is kinda confusing now. I mean, I'm her creator and writer and I find her backstory underdeveloped.

Thanks to AmericanPi and Hopps for giving me the motivation to finally continue.

Thanks again to AmericanPi for Toph, who was a pleasure to write.

~Broken