New Hunger Games Story!

(So, my friend Hayley has been working on this story for a while, and I decided it's pretty good. Here it is!)

There's Nothing More Important than Family
Chapter 1: District 9

A soft breeze ripples through my hair as I sit, watching the farmers work their fields. I love doing this when I’ve finished my work. My family and I live on a bit of a hill, so when I look out onto the horizon, I can see for miles. If I squint a little, I can even see the market far-far away. I’m pretty sure I can see my father and my brothers on our land. My eldest sister, Louisia, probably would’ve been out there too, but for the last eight months she’s been helping my mom take care of the baby, Katie. That mean I usually have to watch six-year-old Alex, but this was one of the few times I had to myself; his naptime.  I wish I could sit here forever, but I know I can’t. Tomorrow is Reaping Day, and no one is permitted to miss the Reaping.

District 9 is the farthest district from the Capitol. In school, they say we live in a place once called ‘The Prairies.’ It is relatively flat here and the soil is extremely fertile; great for farming. They say District 11 is district of agriculture too, but we could not be more different. Firstly, they’re on the other side of Panem. Secondly, we don’t grow the same things. District 9 grows grains, like oats, barley, lentils, wheat and canola. District 11 grows fruits and vegetables.

If you asked me, I’d say we’re the biggest district in Panem. District 9 is probably close to 190 square kilometers big. That’s tons of farms. In the very middle of District 9 is the village where all the merchants and richer people live. The Mayor lives there, the Justice Building is there and all the shops, from clothes to food. School is held just outside of the village, but only just. The Community Home, for all the orphans, is on the edge of the district, and the rest is farmland.

There are two kinds of farmers; the rich ones and the poor ones. The richer farmers have fancy machinery like combines, and can afford to hire people to do the work for them. The poorer farmers have to use man-powered plows and other stuff like that. The only help they get is from their family.

My family is somewhere in the middle. We have enough money to get by, but we have to use all of the man-powered tools. We have about four acres of land, so it takes a lot of work, but my father say he likes it better that way. He said hard work will do us all good in the future.

I’m not allowed to help in the fields. Dad says I’m too young; I’m only twelve. He said I have to wait until I’m fifteen, like my brother, David. My other brother, Nathan, is eighteen. Nathan is stronger than David, but David is way smarter. People say that David is smarter than most of the adults in District 9. He’s improved lots of my father’s machinery, and has made it more efficient.

“Zania!” My mother calls me, and I groan. “Come in, and wash up. We need to start making dinner.”

“Coming mom!” I call back, but I spend a few minutes longer taking in the view.

When I eventually enter the kitchen, I see Alex sitting on the floor, banging pots and pans together. Louisia is feeding Katie from a jar of mashed-up goo, and Mother is chopping vegetables.

“Finally. I was going to get you to feed Katie.” Mother says sternly when she sees me come in. My mother is the nicest person in the world. Sure, she’s stresses all the time, but I’d be stressed too if I had six kids. I realize she must be extra stressed today, since three of her children will have their name in the Reaping tomorrow.

My mom looks too young to have six kids. She had Louisia when she was sixteen, so she’s only thirty-nine. She has long, light brown hair and large brown eyes, like me. Louisia and I look like her younger twins. Alex looks kind of like mom too, but Nathan and David have dad’s spiky, dark brown hair and blue eyes. Katie kind of looks like a jumble of us all.

“Sorry, mom.” I say. I help her by setting the table instead.

Minutes later, Dad comes in with David and Nathan. They all look exhausted, but my dad looks pretty happy too.

“The crops are doing great!” he says. “We may be able to harvest early.” He kisses my mother on the cheek, and we sit down to dinner. Today we are having stale bread and chopped carrots. I know we have tastier food somewhere, but I also know that mom’s probably saving it for tomorrow, when the Reaping’s over.