"Wake up. Myranda, WAAAKE UUUUPPP!!!!!!!" screamed my best friends, Kathryn and Sierrah.  

"Why must wake up to that beautiful sound every morning?" I asked sarcastically. 

They laughed as I got up and got dressed for our hunting time. I wasn't into the fact of killing animals, but you've gotta do what you've gotta do, right? 

My friends and I have been like sisters for as long as I can remember. And gone to school together, too. You'd probably never guess it, but we live together with Kathryn's mother in the newly built district twelve, Panem. (It sure doesn't look newly built, though.) 

As soon as I walked into the tiny kitchen for my tiny breakfast of leftover berries and deer meat, Sierrah whined, "Why do you have to complain every day. Besides, we need to go hunting and gathering just in case one or more of us gets reaped tomorrow." 

"Good Sierrah," Kathryn applauded, "you know what day it is!" 

"And you can use big words, too!" I added playfully. 

Before Sierrah got a chance to murder us on the spot, Kathryn's mom grabbed both Sierrah's wrists and pulled her over to the table.  

"Be careful while hunting, girls. Especially you two," she said, giving me and Sierrah a quick glance. "Now eat your breakfast and go fetch a few deer for us." 

Sierrah and I finished our breakfast quickly so we could escape the tension of the room. Kathryn just gave us apologetic looks and ate as quickly as her mother would allow. When I finished, I ran out the door as fast as I could, hoping Miss Henry wouldn't follow. 

When I was outside, I tried to forget the horror and guilt I felt when Ms. Henry had glanced at me. The whole reason me and Sierrah live with Kathryn and her mom is because of a stupid mistake I'm scared I may make again. 

A few years ago, in the middle of a cold, snowy December night, I decided that we didn't have enough food to make it through the winter. So I was able to talk Sierrah and her mom into going hunting with me. Well, the hunting went great, but on the way back, we got caught by peacekeepers, people from the capitol here to make sure our district doesn't rebel again, and Sierrah's mom got killed on the spot because they thought she had brought us to help carry the load. Eventually, word got out that my mom had been letting me go hunting for years. And she was killed, too. 

A few minutes later, I heard the door slam behind me. I looked up and saw Sierrah running toward me. She hugged me and said, "Don't worry about it," but we all knew that was all I ever worried about. If we got caught, they would kill me for sure. 

"I'm sorry," I heard Kathryn say as she walked out to join us. "About...... that." 

I wiped my eyes after I noticed I'd been crying. I try usually to hide my emotions from my friends. And even after three years, that was maybe the one topic that always brought me down. 

"Are you ok, Myranda?" this from Sierrah, who looked on the verge of tears herself. 

"I'll be alright." I said with a forced smile. "Let's just get out of here and into the woods."  

They nodded and came along right behind me.  

"Wait a minute," I said, stopping suddenly, "do you hear that?" 

"W-w-what?" Sierrah asked, sounding scared to death. 

"I don't hear anything." Kathryn asked, sounding a little jealous. 

"Exactly. Don't you think its a little quiet for Saturday?" I asked. 

Sierrah seemed to calm down a bit at that. "It is the day before the reaping. Maybe everyone is waiting for the 'special' announcement about the 4th quell." 

"Maybe," I said. 

I started walking towards the electric fence, and then stopped dead in my tracks. Sierrah and Kathryn ran into me from behind, and we all fell to the ground.  

"Hey, what gives?" Sierrah and Kathryn said in unison. They laughed out the word "Jinx!" which made them laugh even harder. 

I just sighed, muttered a quick sorry to them, and stood, rubbing my head. 

"Is everyone okay?" asked Kathryn, looking mainly at me, since I was the one who stopped us. 

We nodded, and I looked for what had frightened me only seconds before. But it had disappeared. 

"Maybe we should go back to the house and watch for the announcement." Sierrah said cautiously, when she noticed I was looking everywhere except straight at them. "Myranda? What are you looking for?" 

"I..... I thought I saw three people standing a few yards away." I stuttered. "Maybe the heats getting to me." 

"Then that's another reason to go back." Sierrah said. Then she and Kathryn grabbed my arms to help me back to the house. They held me gently, like they were scared I might break. 

"Its no wonder you're seeing things. It's like 125 degrees out here!" said Kathryn. "That may be one of the reasons that no one's out here." 

So I let them help me back to the house, silently hoping that Kathryn's mom wouldn't scream at me for us coming home empty handed.