The morning is a hot one, but that is the usual in district four.
My ebony colored hair sticks to my forehead as I work on repairing a sailboat.
Most thirteen-year-olds, don't have jobs, but I have a family to help support.
I got a job last year helping to repair boats, the same year I was able to take out tesserae for the first time.
This year my name will be in ten times, one for every year I am eligible, and four more, one for every member of my family. My parents and younger brother and I, multiply that twice, and my name is in the reaping bowl ten times.
I'm not worried, I've trained my whole life, and I am planning on volunteering someday, so If I get reaped, I just wont have to wait as long.
I wipe the sweat out of my dark grey eyes, and collect my tools.
"Leaving already Bruce?"
My friend Charles asks. Charles is sixteen, and his tall figure is slim, but strong. His red hair is cut short, and his blue eyes always sparkle.
"Yeah, I am going to go train. I'll see you around."
I wave, and put my tools away. Then I jog to the training center. After several hours of training, I walk home.
I live in the poorer section of district four, but once I volunteer and win the hunger games, I can move my whole family into a large house in victors village.
I reach the small wooden house, and walk in to the sound of shouts.
Great, they're fighting again. They always fight, usually about money, or something like that.
"We can't afford for you to buy anymore clothes!"
"I can't help it! We need the clothes! The boys are in rags!"
"Well let them wear rags! They're no better than street rats anyway!"
"Don't you dare say that!"
My parents are in the kitchen, which unfortunately I have to walk through to get to my bedroom.
They both grow silent when I walk in, my mother's face is red, it gets like that when she's stressed, which is almost all the time. I inherited her black hair, but all my other features are my fathers, the brooding eyebrows, square jaw, and hooked nose. They both look at me,
"Hey honey, how was work?"
I roll my eyes. How can they act like nothing just happened?
"Fine. I'm going to my room, so you guys can start arguing again."
I start to walk across the kitchen, but my father blocks my way.
"Don't talk to us that way young man!"
I sneer, facing up to my father. He's medium height, and I am only about six inches shorter than him.
"I can talk to you any way I want! After all, I'm no better than a street rat!"
He raises his hand and slaps me, but I'm used to it. My mother runs up, and grabs my father's arm.
"Brutus don't!"
I turn to her.
"Why did you ever marry this troll?!"
Before she can answer, or my father can hit me again, I duck around them and run into my bedroom. Slamming the door shut, I lock it quickly.
I can hear them start yelling at each other again, and I run my fingers through my hair, and slam my fist into the wall.
"Bruce?"
I turn around, and see my ten-year old brother huddled in the corner. His fair hair and blue eyes set him apart from our family, we aren't exactly sure where he got his coloring from.
"Hi Quin"
He is sitting jammed into the corner, hugging his knees.
I walk over and lean against the wall, looking down at him.
"Did you go to school today?"
He shakes his head, talking in his quiet way.
"No. I didn't want to come out, they were fighting and I was afraid..."
I slide down the wall until I'm sitting next to him.
"Yeah. How's your arm?"
He cradles his left arm, which our father broke several days ago. We can't afford to go to a doctor, so I have tried to care for it. The swelling has gone down, but the arm is still slightly crooked, and from the wrist to the elbow is black and blue.
He winces as I feel it.
"Does it still hurt a lot?"
He shakes his head.
"I can hardly feel it anymore. But I can still wiggle my fingers, that's good right?"
I smile, and ruffle his blonde curls.
"Yep, you'll be back to normal in no time."
I say positively. Then I add.
"Have you had anything to eat today?"
He shakes his head. I grab his hand, and help him up.
"Come on, don't forget your sling."
I take him to a diner, and get him some food.
"Bruce how are you going to pay for this?"
I push the plate towards him.
"Don't worry, I have some money mom and dad don't know about. Eat up now."
He cleans his plate, and after I drop him off at one of his friend's house, I head over to the richer district.
I make my way to a large house near the training center, and knock on the door.
A tall extremely fit man answers, he has his brown hair in a military cut, and everything about him suggests that he is a man used to giving orders.
"Gilroy! What are you doing here?"
He barks out in a stern voice.
"Good afternoon Mr. Triton, I have a tutoring session planned with Felicia."
He raises an eyebrow,
"Felicia didn't mention any tutoring session."
His voice is suspicious. Luckily Felicia runs up and breaks the awkward silence.
Her bronze hair bounces in loose waves as she comes to a stop beside her father.
She lifts her green eyes to look at her father.
"Daddy, Bruce is here for some help in school."
Mr. Triton immediately softens around his daughter. He places his arm around her, and smiles.
"Alright Felicia, you two behave yourselves. I'm off to take care of some business."
He kisses Felicia on the top of the head, and walks past me.
"Sorry about that. Being head of the training center, he tends to be a little stern, and since I'm his only child you can add overprotective to that list."
I smile,
"No problem. At least he cares about you."
She shrugs as she lets me in the house.
"He only loves me when I am his perfect little angel and do everything he says. I think he would be different if mom was still alive. Anyway, why don't we work upstairs?"
We go up to her bedroom, and begin the tutoring session.
Although we are the same age, Felicia is one of the smartest kids in our grade, and so she's been helping me out.
She is funny, smart, and the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. We have gotten to be pretty close friends, and she has helped me through some hard times.
After we are done studying, we talk for a while, then I tell her I should get going. I tell her goodbye, and walk back home.
When I get back, both of my parents are in their room, which is fine with me. I don't really feel like explaining where I was to them. I go straight to my room, and slip in quietly.
Quin is asleep on the large bed that we share, and I slide in beside him. He stirs, and half sits up.
"Bruce? Where were you?"
I pull the covers back up around his chin.
"Shush, go back to sleep."
He yawns, and snuggled down against me.
I sigh, and pull the covers up over both of us.
Quin sinks back into a deep sleep, and I think over the past couple of years.
My parents fighting has grown steadily worse over the years, and my father has beaten us more since he lost his job, he's been skipping from one odd job to the next for the past year. I have always looked out for Quin, and that is one of the reasons I need to volunteer and win the games. I need the money to take care of Quin, he'll never have to worry again if I win. But however, If on the slim chance that I don't win, Quin will be left to fend for himself. That isn't an option, I have to volunteer, and I have to win. But not yet, I need to grow older and stronger, then when I am ready I will win the games.
All of these thoughts go through my mind as I drift off to sleep.
The next morning, I take Quin to school, and go train. I train harder than I ever have before, I have to be ready.
Over the next couple months, I spend most of my time raising Quin, and hanging out with Felicia.
Quin's arm is completely healed, but it is permanently crooked. I tell him once I win the games, I can get his arm fixed at the capitol.
"Bruce I don't want you to go. You need to stay and protect me. Don't leave me alone."
I tell him not to worry, that everything will be alright.
"Don't worry, I wont let anything happen to you."
But that was then, and this was now.
That was four years ago, and since then my father got drunk and outright defied the capitol, he was taken to the district square and executed. I was told that he was a traitor, but I spat in their face and said he wasn't far off. I was surprised when I didn't receive any punishment, but oh was I wrong, they were just waiting. Waiting until Quin turned twelve, when he was reaped, there was nothing I could do. I tried to volunteer for him, but peacekeepers grabbed me and held me back. When I was forced to say goodbye to him, he told me not to worry. Then he died in the bloodbath. It has been almost three years since his games, and the whole time I spent training. Felicia asks me why, she says that I have no reason to go, it takes just a look, and she understands. I need to go in the games, because I don't want to make it out.
"Bruce, killing yourself isn't going to fix anything! He's still gone, and nothing you can do will bring him back!"
"I don't care anymore! I just want it to be over!"
Since that fight, we have grown apart. She studies, and I train. We talk occasionally, but never like we used to.
One day I catch her crying behind the school.
"Felicia? What's wrong?"
She looks up startled.
"Bruce! I..."
She bursts into fresh tears, and throws her arms around me, and sobs into my neck.
"Shhh. What happened?"
"Bruce...I'm...I'm pregnant!"
I stare at her in shock.
"What? How did this happen? Who's the father?"
She covers her face in her hands, and continues to sob.
"It was the mayors son...he made me do it...he said if I didn't he would kill my father."
The mayors son. He is one of the most despicable people I know, and it doesn't surprise me that he would bribe Felicia to sleep with him. He always gets what he wants, and no one has ever taught him a lesson. He has powerful friends in high places. As I hug Felicia's sobbing form, I grind my teeth together. Well, someone who has nothing to lose should teach him a lesson.
"Don't worry Felicia, everything will be alright. How far along are you?"
She wipes her eyes, and sniffs.
"The doctor said I was a couple of months along. What am I going to do?"
She starts crying again.
"My father will be furious when he finds out, and he wont care who the father is, I'm afraid he'll do something that will get him in trouble."
I sigh, I know what I have to do.
I give Felicia one last hug.
"Don't worry, I will take care of everything. You just take care of yourself okay? You have to think about the baby now."
She nods, and I leave her to go take care of some things.
The first thing I do is find the mayors son, and teach him a lesson. Needless to say he wont be walking anytime soon.
Then I walk to Felicia's house, and knock on the door. Like always, Mr. Triton answers.
"Gilroy? I haven't seen you around in a while. What do you want?"
I take a deep breath.
"Mr. Triton. Please don't be mad at Felicia, I am the one to blame."
He narrows his eyes dangerously.
"To blame for what?"
I swallow hard, and do what I have to do.
"Felicia is pregnant, and I am the father. I am prepared to take full responsibility for my actions."
For a while, he is to angry and shocked to even speak, finally, he explodes in a roar of curses and oaths, ending in.
"Don't you ever go near my daughter again! If I catch you even looking at her I will kill you!"
I fight the tears threatening to flow, and nod. Then I turn around, and walk away. I hate doing this, but it's the only way to keep him from getting into trouble. The only reason he didn't kill me on the spot was because Felicia and I have been friends for so long, and I think deep down he might have had some respect for me. If he ever found out that she was forced by the mayors son, he would most definitely murder him.
Despite his words, I check on Felicia regularly. I watch as her tummy swells, as she gets closer and closer to her due date.
This year her and I both turn eighteen, our last year that we are eligible for reaping.
On reaping day, I give her a reassuring hug.
"This is our last year. We are almost safe."
She is a week away from her due date, and her tummy is the size of a basket ball.
She gives me a small smile, but I see the fear in her eyes.
The mayor gives his speech, blah, blah, blah, the escort bounds on stage. Hand reaches into the reaping bowl.
"Felicia Triton!"
My heart stops. They can't send her! Not like this! I look over, and see the mayor smiling wickedly. It's a setup, the reaping was rigged. She isn't coming back alive. I barely catch the reading of the boys name, before I automatically shout.
"I volunteer!"
Felicia is on the stage, staring at me with wide scared eyes. As I shake her trembling hand, I whisper.
"It's going to be all right."
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