I opened up the door to my house. I took some time before opening it fully. What am I going to say to mom after everything that just happened. Maybe nothing is the best thing to say. I finally swung open the door to see my mom preparing food. I walked into our house and sat down at our kitchen table.

After a few minutes Mom placed down a plate and a glass of milk. Toast with butter nicely sliced onto it and a small salad.

"Thanks." I quietly mumbled still trying to be grateful of the food placed in front of me.

"Tonight we are have soup. Your favorite." My mom said.

Soup was my favorite. It may not be easy to get the ingredients but it's delicious and easy to eat. I gulped down the milk. It tasted a little sour but I didn't mind. I finished my toast (Which was slightly burnt) and my salad pretty quickly, since I haven't had breakfast yet. In the middle of our table was a mint bowl to keep our breath fresh after we ate. I grabbed a few mint leaves and chucked them into my mouth. They were almost fully dry but once you get past the dry part it was fine. I chewed on the mint leaves for a few seconds like gum.

I pushed the chair back and hopped out of the chair I was sitting on.

"I'm going to go check on Liza and Louis." I said and went up to the door.

I twisted the doorknob when I felt it forced open. I stood in shock to see who was behind the door. Dad. Out of all of the pepole in the world he was here. I gave a weak, and a fake smile to my dad. Dad looked at me and smiled and gave me a hug. There was no way I could smile, in this moment, this day.

"We have extra." I said, referring to our lunch.

"No, I ate back down at station." My dad replied, let going of the hug.

I gave a quick nod.

"Bailey?" I heard a voice say. 

Sounded like Liza. Our dad moved to the side and I was able to see Louis and Liza. Louis and Liza are twins and my best friends. I do have good acquaintances but I've never had such close friends like them. Liza was the oldest from the set but she was the most free spirited. She always had so much joy swell into her. I almost envy her for having that gift. Louis on the other hand, was the serious one. The one who can make the right and the smart decisions when he needed to. Together they are unstoppable in my opinion.

Liza ran up to me and gave me a strong hug. "Let's hope we don't get picked." She smiled. 

This must be very hard for both of them. Two years ago their cousin got chosen and of course, never came up. We had only 2 victors. A few years back our first victor died from a overdose on the painkillers. Painkillers are small but deadly pills in our district. Each time you have one you are slowly getting closer to death. But that is the reason why most pepole use the drug. 

I glanced over at the clock. 12:49pm. 

"Let's go." My dad said. 

We followed him out and mom stayed in the back. 

"That dress looks amazing on you Bailey." Liza smiled. "Yeah." Louis quietly said. 

I smiled. "The dress you are wearing is beautiful also." I complimented.  "And you look fine Louis."

"Thanks." They both side in unison. 

The reaping chimes went off. Every kid and adult in our district started to swarm the tight streets while we went to the center of town. 

Once we made it to town we got our fingers pricked for Identification and Louis and Liza went to apply for the tesserae. Once they were done we met back up with my and Louis and Liza's parents which met up with us later.  We did our normal and prayed for none of us to be chosen and went into our lines. 

Me and Liza stood next to each other and Louis went into the boy row and glared at the boys who were goofing off. How could they goof off at a time like this? I looked back up to the staged and saw our Mayor Trent. He didn't looked so pleased sitting next to our only Victor left. Slade. Slade had questionable ways of doing things but no one ever disliked him. Watching him win was the most disturbing thing to watch. At the time he had no weapon and he was fighting against a girl from district 5. His own Ally. The way he did it was so cruel and almost unforgettable. 

He had no weapon so he knocked the weapon out of her hand and punched her repeatedly. When she fought back, he bit her. He teared off her skin with his own teeth. It was gruesome and I couldn't even watch half it. 

The problem with District 6 barely any of us had picked up a weapon. So in the Hunger Games we are barely on screen because we are dead in the first 5 minutes or we are hiding like cowards. 

I felt me and Liza slowly getting closer and closer as the remaining pepole fill in the large space of the town center. Soon there was no lines anymore, just some awkward squiggly line. 

The clock strikes two. Everyone made no noise. The Reaping has begun. 

The Mayor stood up and told the same speech every year. The history of Panem. Same threats, same story. By now I know the speech word by word. Maybe Mayor Trent has the speech plastered into his head by know. Maybe it's all he dreams about. He names our two victors. At Least we aren't as hopeless, like district 12. They only have one. 

Then a girl I have never seen before walks up onto the stage. A new reaper I'm guessing. Wondered what happened to our last one, moved up from this horrible district?

"Happy Hunger Games!" She cheered. "And may the odds be ever in your favor!" She finished that in her ridiculous Capital accent. 

Liza tugged on my arm. I counted the number of times she tugged on my arm. 28. Then she stopped. I looked at Liza, was that how many slips of paper has her names on it? Her eyes were teary, was she frighten? Oh yea, her cousin lived with them and did most of the work around the house since their father had some disabilities. Their mom is still trying to find work so, maybe Liza and Louis took the fall by taking the tesserae.

"It's a honor to be with you other travelers." She took a minute to sniff the polluted air and wrinkled her nose in disgust. "My name is Amelie Lovell. Shall we begin?." 

She walked over to the female name bowl. Liza's hand squeezed my hand tightly. My breath got stuck in my throat forcing me not to breathe. Amelie carefully picked up one of the slips of paper then took a breath in, ready to read it out.

"Bailey Weiss." She called out. 

I looked around making sure it wasn't me. It took a quick moment for me to realize that was my name. My heart pounded at my chest, trying to get out. I put my hand over my heart feeling the speeding heartbeat. Liza's hand held onto mine tight then slowly let go. I did  not want her to let go. 

A couple of peacekeepers pushed me up onto the stage. My legs shaked once I made it up onto the stage. I felt myself losing balanced and I almost felled over. This is all a horrible nightmare right? I'll wake up soon. 

"What a beautiful young girl! Time for the males." She said while walking to the male name bowl. 

She put her hand in the bowl and took out another slip of paper. "Lawrence Glover." 

I could tell the boy out right away. He looked just as terrified as I did. But then he did the Unexpected. He ran. He started to push through the crowd and that's when I heard a gunshot. The small bullet hit Lawrence in the back and then Lawrence fell onto the ground breathless. A peacekeeper took his body away. 

"Oh," Amelie replied to the whole thing. She slipped her hand back into the bowl and took out another piece of paper. "Ace Francis."

It was dead silence as everyone looked at Ace. Ace slowly walked up on the stage. 

"What a handsome young boy!" Amelie said. 

I looked to find my parents. I found them, tears gushing down their faces. It looked like they've seen this all before. I was still in shock, not able to think. I turned my head to Ace and we connected eyes. Then Amelie garbed our hands and raised them up high. 

"Our tributes from District 6!" Amelie cheered. "May the odds be ever in your favor."

Guess my odds weren't in my favor. 

 Bailey's look:

Ace's Look: