Sorry I haven't posted in a while, let's just say, school. Hate it, Homework, stuff, yeah. I wish I had an awesome excuse like my country was sucked into eternal darkness or my cat was trying to kill me, but no, school.


Somewhere In District 3...

Getting out of bed, I rub my eyes and prance around the room looking for something to wear. I stop. Reaping. Reaping? Reaping!

"Nixie!" I scream. "Sirena! Get up!"

They groan as I shake them. "And this is why you don't go to sleep at 3AM and expect to be a morning person the next day!"

"It's only 7, give us a rest" Nixie sighs. "Gosh, triplets are SUCH a hassle!"

Sirena nods as they flop onto their pillows. I grunt as I snatch a floral tanktop, and a light brown pencil skirt. Slamming the door behind me I change in the small bathroom in our house. Cabin more like, we built it ourselves from trees beyond the borders of District 3. It's got 3 rooms, one of them is our bedroom, another is our bathroom-which I'm in right now- then lastly, a small kitchen area. We have a stove, a bowl full of water we use as a sink and a small box I daily fill with ice-cubes to try and replicate the fridge we used to have before mother and father left us to fend for ourselves. Idiots. Yet somehow we got stronger and stronger, going to Hillside Technology School, or what we call Hellside. Our part of the District is called the Hillside Area because it's pretty much a Hillside. A concrete hillside. Fun. There's also a small cliff next to our part, and our school is pretty much on the border, even more fun! I bet you can guess what their school is called. If you guessed Cliffside, then you're wrong. It's Cliff-edge Electronic School. CES.

Only 7 anyway? Who do they think THEY are? The president? The mayor? They woke me up at 1AM because of their giggling on their Technoscreens. They were looking up 'funny' photos. They were so cheesy. And yes, I did say technoscreens. It's a small circle and it has a small keyboard on it, you strap it onto your wrist and type with the hand you use to write, there's a small section where you put your finger so you can move your place, then there's actually a holographic screen! On the side you can choose if you want it to be large, medium, small or tiny. Then you can choose the distance away you want it to be by two buttons combined, you hold the front one to make it come closer, and the back to make it further. Then the horrible SOUND button. Lets just say, they had the screen on large, they made the brightness the brightest, the sound on maximum and the screens the closest, it's a giant wonder how I got to sleep!

I come out the bathroom sighing and grab my leather satchel with my paper and pencil inside, it's a date with me, sketching and the cliff. It's something I do before the reaping, I draw the sunrise to calm me down, they're always different. Once I drew one when I was 12 with butterflies coming past, then another with the trees blowing when I was 14. It's my second to last one and I'm going to add in the details of my past. The same butterflies from when I was 12, the same petals blowing in the wind from when I was 13, the same trees blowing in the wind from when I was 14, the same strange log sitting up in the distance from when I was 15 and the same boy looking up to the sky who died in the games last year from when I was 16. And then something new. Something bold. Something me.

I push the front door of our cabin open and run through the hillside. People stop and stare, remembering moments I did this the years before, before and before. I run up to the cliff dropping my bag and start doing my mini-dance to wake me up. What? I like doing my mini-dance! I start to sketch and end up with a picture to put on my wall, if it's my last one I'd better be happy! I draw a happy face in the sun and run back to my house. I slam my bag onto the floor and slam my body onto the bed to wake up Sirena and Nixie.

"Up up up!" I say. "Why don't you two EVER listen?"

"Because we hate listening" Nixie grins.

I check my watch. "It's nearly two, you two plan your outfits for this years reaping as I change."

I grab my baby-blue dress as I run to the bathroom to change again. The dress falls to my ankles as I straighten the halter that goes round my neck. I come out the door as Sirena runs in. Nixie stares at me.

"'Sup?" She asks as she sits next to me.

"Stressed as usual" I sigh. "I miss Mother and Father."

"They're idiots for leaving us, once we're 19 they'll come begging for us to come back."

"Why 19?"

"I'm ready!" Sirena squeals running out the bathroom with her yellow dress, identical style to mine. Did I forget to mention we always have the same style of dresses but different colours?

"Nixie, hurry up!" I shout banging on the door.

"Just taking pictures with my Technoscreen!"

"Of what?"

"Nothing!"

I sigh as I sit down.

"Ready!"

We stand up and put our shoes on. We slowly walk to the towncenter in the actual city. We sign in with our finger and walk to the reaping slower and slower until Nixie just runs into the 17 year old section with our close-up of the backs of the heads of the 18 year olds and the stage. The stage. The cold, metal below the feet of the tributes, 144 times. 144 tributes, 36 of them died in the games. Others of other reasons, or they're still alive. Lucky.

A woman with Lime Green hair and blue skin walks up to the stage. Diamonds run across her forehead as her hair falls to her feet. I admit I'm jealous of the length but when she sits down her hair MUST get in the way! I brace myself as a clip plays from the Capital, shown every single year. Period.

"Let's choose our female tribute for this year!"

I squeeze my fist harder as I'm breath-taken of whose name comes out.

Me. Lyla Sparks as the tribute for this year.

"Any volunteers?"

Silence.

What happened the same morning...

I drop my phone to my feet. Did he just say that?

Did he?

"What did you say?" I growl and pin him to the wall. "Tell me! Tell it to my face."

"Well, I said, a weakling like yourself would be useless in the games, you'd probably shrivel up and die!" Zac laughs.

Father grins and nods.

"You're encouraging him! You, my father are encouraging him!"

"He's had a true experience Theo! He got us this house, you need to learn to respect him!"

I grab my bag off a hanger. "Well you both need to respect the younger brother!" I start to run out the house.

"Where do you think you're going?" Father yells.

"To mother!"

Our old house is where she lives because Zac didn't let her stay in the new house, but I check my watch, great, can't go reapings on. 2:00, the worst time in the world. I run to the towncenter in the city and sign in. I look at the small mark they left on my finger as I walk to the 17 year old . A scary plump Capital woman rises from her chair, that's when I notice how long her hair is, but look at the colour! She's trying to burn my eyes! The film passes.

"Let's choose our female tribute for this year!"

Our? She's not part of the District, it's more like 'Your tribute that's most likely going to die but we don't care!'

"Lyla Sparks!"

Her? But that's not fair! That's the girl I like.

Living up to my brothers' shadow wasn't easy, but he didn't volunteer. This could either fail or do two things for me. Live up to my brother and win and get Lyla to notice me. But this could have side-effects like, die and maybe Lyla will see me as an enemy.

"Now for the boy!" She walks over to the male bowl. "Martin Selstamin!"

A brunette boy about 12 walks up to the stage with pride, but I can see the fear in his eyes, so weak, so naïve.

"Any volunteers?"

"I volunteer!" My tongue says for me. Whoa what? I was joking never mind! Why aren't I saying this out-loud?

"Come on up!"

My feet walk for me. Let me control where I walk! Stupid feet!

"Name?"

My tongue seems to be pretty lively today. "Theo Markus."

It seems I will have a very sad ending. Very sad.


D1 Girl:

D1 Boy:

D2 Girl: Victory Helbig

D2 Boy: Shinji Sasuki

D3 Girl: Lyla Sparks

D3 Boy: Theo Markus

D4 Girl: Abellona Okhotsk

D4 Boy:

D5 Girl:

D5 Boy:

D6 Girl:

D6 Boy: Raven Ezekiel

D7 Girl:

D7 Boy: Tree Branch

D8 Girl:

D8 Boy:

D9 Girl: Sapphire Hilton

D9 Boy:

D10 Girl: Fern Quest

D10 Boy:

D11 Girl:

D11 Boy:

D12 Girl:

D12 Boy: Connor Armstrong