I wake up feeling dizzy and hear "LIAM! Liam, are you ok?!" I see a little girl with cute chubby cheeks standing over me with a look of panic in her eyes. I look around trying to get my bearings, hoping I get some memories about my situation or things are gonna be pretty awkward for everyone. The second that thought comes to mind I get hit with another wave of dizziness and a mild headache. The thoughts come pouring in and immediately sort themselves, almost like I've lived it all before and just woke up fully.
I sit up a little and notice I'm surrounded by a few kids, all with the distinct brown hair of residents of the Seam. Kids of the coal miners and poorer folks in District 12. Basically residents of the slummiest part of the slummiest district. We seem to be in the middle of a dirt 'field' with a rough, patchy, egg-shaped ball laying right beside me. Looks like we were playing a District 12 version of football when I took a line drive right to the back of the head.
Now that the world is no longer spinning and my head no longer throbbing, I stand up and dust myself off while turning to the girl who woke me up. "Hey, I'm all good now, just a little dizzy. Thanks for checking Katniss." She calms down and throws a grin my way "Well maybe you shouldn't daydream while we're playing next time! Are you sure you're OK?"
"Yeah I'm fine, but I think I'm gonna head home now. It's almost time our dad's get home from the mine and Mom and Lila probably need help with something or other." I say to the mumbled groans of the other kids. They know what I say is true but the few hours after school and before the workers shift ends is the only real time us kids get to have any real fun. Life in District 12 is hard for everyone. Even the merchant families, or Merchies as we call them, struggle when winter comes around. Food is a constant issue as is illness due to the lack of basic medicines. Hell, some families would be lucky to be able to afford bandages, much less alcohol or disinfectant. Honestly if it wasn't for the Everdeen family a lot more of us Seam kids probably wouldn't have made it this far.
"Ugh, fine you're probably right. I need to get home and make sure Prim's done her school work. Walk together?" Katniss asks.
"Sure" I reply.
We live across the 'road' from each other and have been neighbors with them and the Hawthornes for as long as I can remember. We've all been friends for a long time, each family helping the other as much as possible because that's all that truly matters here.
In a place where everyone works the same nightmarish job for the same nightmarish salary and goes home to a rinky dink shack with no heating and barely any possessions, family is the only thing that will keep you going. Blood doesn't make a difference because when your life is on the line, the distinction between neighbor and brother is nonexistent.
Anyways, enough of my rambling. Katniss and I are winding down the dirt road leading to our little corner of the Seam. I see a few more children doing chores outside, some attempting to sweep the ever present coal dust off of what remains of their porch, some leaving clothes out to dry. As we come up to our houses we say goodbye to each other and head home.
Our front door makes an ungodly noise as I force it open, something we've been meaning to fix for a while now. I hear my mother, Annabell Blackstone, messing around in the kitchen no doubt getting our usual bread and squirrel ready before my father, Lary Blackstone, gets back from the mines. I may not have personally lived this life before but something about this place feels nostalgic. It feels strange to already have an entire life that I both know and know nothing about but it feels comfortable all the same.
"Liam is that you? Come in here and help me lift this pot will you?" I hear my mother ask from the kitchen.
I walk into the kitchen to see a larger mess than usual. There is flour all over the floor and scraps of veggies and wildflowers strewn about. "Woah what happened in here?!" I ask as I move over to the other side of the pot my mother is struggling to place on the table. "Nothing, I'm OK dear. Just caught a chill and dropped what I was working on. Thank you for helping me, why don't you go and get cleaned up and check on Lila?"
Whoever 'I' was before today may not have noticed before but I can see the signs of trauma she is attempting to hide from me. The shakes in her hands, pale face, and tendency to space out every now and then. It takes a moment for me to realize why because, from my memories, this is how mom always was. Yeah she was loving, extremely so, but there was always a frailty to her that 'I' never understood or questioned. Now I remember that her sister was a tribute in the Hunger Games in the past. Her parents, my grandparents, didn't live much longer after that. Whether intentional or not I'm not aware, but my nonexistent money is on the former. This must have left my mother partially broken. It's honestly inspiring that she has the strength to keep moving though I guess I should thank my father for that.
After what felt like a minute of introspection but was actually a couple seconds I say "Actually Mom why don't you go sit down and grab some water? I can start making the dough and the stew is already done so there's not much left. Go ahead and rest for a bit."
She looks at me wide-eyed but I can see a glimmer of something. Guilt? Reluctance? Pride? I have no clue but I guide her towards the poor excuse for a couch and get her a cup of water. "My little man, already starting to take care of his mother. You make me so proud, my little sprout."
"Sigh Moooom please stop calling me that, it's such a lame nickname!" I whine. She calls me her little sprout because apparently I would throw brussel sprouts across the room anytime they tried to feed them to me as a toddler, and also because I started 'sprouting like a tree' from an early age. I've been the tallest of everyone my age and even the age above me for years now. Now I know this is because in the character customizer I chose to grow to 6'4" (193.04 cm). An above average height for someone from a starving district but nothing out of the ordinary across the nation. Right now, at 10, I stand at 5'3" (160 cm) which makes me quite the standout most of the time.
"Haha get over it my boy, you'll always be my little sprout!" I roll my eyes and head back to the kitchen where I gather as much of the wasted flour as I could while picking out any debris in it. Wasting food is a big no no in this household… hell in every household. After doing that for about 10 minutes I start to actually make the bread. After throwing it in the stone 'oven' I head to my room and see my sister Lila sitting on her bed doodling with a chalk-like rock on the wooden wall with the most concentrated face possible on a 6 year old. "Hey squirt, whatcha drawing there?" I ask, breaking her attention from her masterpiece. "Liam! Finally you're back! Look at this cute bunny I drew! It looks just like the one we saw in the field a couple days ago!" She points at a drawing of a white bunny in a field of what I assume is grass. Not much color selection in a single rock but at least the color of the bunny is accurate.
"Oh wow it looks great! Will you draw something on my side? Maybe a deer or a bird?"
"Sure! Once I finish the grass here I'll draw the cutest bird on your side, right above the pillow so it looks like it's flying!" She seems so excited just at the idea it makes me giggle and become filled with a type of warmth I never knew in my old world. I might have mentally accepted them as my family before I really registered what that truly meant. Now seeing my new little sister glow in excitement really hits me that yes, these people are my family now, and I have to protect them through all the shit that's gonna go down in the upcoming future. I leave Lila to her mural and head back to the kitchen, taking out the loaf of bread right when the door opens and my father walks through the door.
"I'm hooOOOOoOOooome" he does his dramatic entrance that apparently his father did before him and I will be obligated to do to my kids in the future. We've already had that talk.
"Daddy!!!" Lila bolts out of our bedroom and launches herself into his arms.
"Hahaha hello sweetheart did you have a good day today?" He asks as he tries, and fails, to knock some of the coal dust that got onto Lila's clothes.
"Yep! Today I met with Rory, Vick, and Mary at lunch and we had the longest game of rock, paper, scissors EVER! It took half of lunch for Rory to finally win! And after school I found a rock I can draw with!"
"I'm glad your day was so fun sweetie. Just make sure not to turn your room into a mess with all the drawings this time!" Dad gently but sternly tells her in the way only a parent really can.
"I promise Daddy!" She says with the biggest grin on her face.
"Well what about you bud, anything fun today?" He turns and asks me.
"Not much out of the ordinary, boring classes on the history of Panem and another lesson on the types of coal. After class Katniss and I went to throw around the football with the other kids for a bit but Gale had to go pick up his younger brothers." I gloss over me getting nailed in the head with the ball, instead focusing on how boring our pathetic excuse for a "school" is. I mean it's 50% Capitol propaganda, 45% coal and mining education, and 5% life skills like 4th grade math and a very brief history of the other districts. It's like they couldn't be more transparent in their intentions of keeping us ignorant and subdued. I can't wait till I can make a change in this world. Those fucking classes will be the first to go. I start my training tomorrow.
I might have gotten lost in my thoughts because I hear my mom clear her throat and glance at my dad. He gets the hint and asks "You sure you're ok buddy? You look like you're thinking of something pretty serious." There's some worry in his eyes but mainly curiosity. It's my next sentence that really changes the atmosphere.
"Yeah I'm ok, just… the reaping came up today in class and it made me remember this is my last one before I'm in the drawing. Same with all my friends." It's currently February 12th, my 11th birthday is June 5th, and the reapings occur on July 4th every year.
Both of my parents pale a little bit, especially my mother who seems to almost shut down if it weren't for my father taking her hand in his. After a few beats of silence my father speaks in a soft voice, "Yes, next year your name will be in the bowl, but only once. We make enough money right now without having to take tessera. The odds of you getting picked are the lowest of anyone." He says with a small grin that doesn't reach his eyes. Trying to convince himself as much as me. Lila looks saddened by what's being talked about. She doesn't have a full picture of the Games but she knows enough. It's impossible to get to 6 and not have a rough understanding with the mandatory viewings, victory tour, and propaganda being spewed over the TVs nearly every day.
"I know, just feels like life is changing now." I say with a calm, almost relaxed expression. My mom and dad glance at each other, both surprised at the maturity of their little boy.
The rest of the night goes by fast. After finishing up our meal, Lila and I cleaned up the plates and pot and started getting ready for bed. Tomorrow was the beginning of my training.