Avery Thrush •D2• FINISHED

My hair is a light shade of chocolate brown, but in the sunlight you wouldn't be able to tell--that's when each ray of light catches every last hair, transforming them into shining strands of golden wheat as they cascade around my face and rest upon my shoulders. That's only when I let it down, of course; it's often pulled up in a ponytail, a braid, or some sort of messy bun, out of my face where its soft waves are unable to impair my vision. Once in a while, however, a rebellious strand will escape from its restraints, falling down to lightly tickle my cheek, only to be pushed behind an ear with a quick swipe of a slender finger.

Some people, if they don't know me, describe my eyes as pretty, or shiny, or sparkly. Me? I call them piercing, sharp, inescapable. Once you've been locked in my gaze there's no way you'll get out unless I let you out. They're dark brown, much darker than my hair, and sharp as knives too--there's no getting past them, they take in every single detail, every slight movement, each falling leaf, allowing me to lock onto my prey. That's not all I use them for, of course; these eyes can lure you in and trap you, manipulate you or motivate you to do things you might not normally do. But their most useful aspect? They perfectly mask my every inner thought.

I'm a lot shorter and skinnier than most of the other girls my age, but I don't pay attention to the way they tease me about it--they're all too stupid to realize that smaller things are harder to catch. I use it to my advantage, I strive to be faster than my peers, and what I lack in height I make up for in agility and dexterity. Even though I don't look strong, even though I lack the ability to lift heavy objects, I can carry my own weight. My legs are strong, and my body is light, so when I run, I almost fly. My arms are lean and small, and yet I can pull myself up into trees and swing through their branches. People can tease me about my height and it won't bother me. But it does hurt when people think I'm a little kid. I do have a bit of a baby face--it's rounded slightly, with rosy cheeks and a small, slightly upturned nose. They call me cute... They wouldn't if they knew me at all.

I don't care that my shoulders are too broad for a girl my age. It doesn't matter that my lips are too plump, sticking out from my face like two bee-stung, swollen rose petals. I don't mind that my hair looks too frizzy sometimes. And so what if my ears stick out a bit too far from my head? I'm still pretty. What's that? You disagree? Didn't think so.

I've tried to be friendly in the past. I've tried to make friends, I've tried to make people like me, momentarily letting my guard down and allowing my mask to slip away so that people could see what's beneath. But perhaps they didn't like what they saw, because most people tend to avoid me. That's okay, though, because I now realize that I don't need friends. Getting attached to people is only a disadvantage, and I won't allow myself any weaknesses. However, I wouldn't call myself emotionally detached. I feel things just like everyone else--love, hatred, envy. There have been times when I've allowed a few burning tears to slip past my eyelids. But most of the time, I try not to show my emotions, my inner weaknesses.

My mother always told me to be careful when trusting people. I don't trust anyone but myself and my family, those who I'm closest to. I might as well exercise that now, because when I'm in the Games I won't be able to trust anyone. Sure, I could join an alliance, but that doesn't mean I'd have to make friends with anyone. At any time, they could turn their back on me, and would I blame them? No, I wouldn't. Because, truthfully, Ia would do the same to them if, in the end, we were pitted against each other. It's all about survival, and only one person can get out alive. So what's the point in making friends?

I guess I have a superiority problem. For some reason, I have to be at the top all the time. If someone is better than me at something, I have to beat them, I have to one-up them. The feeling of inferiority will fully encompass my body, it will blur my vision and ring in my ears until I just can't take it anymore. Constantly, every moment of every day, I'm striving to be the best, to conquer all others and surpass my peers in every way. I have to knock down the competition until nothing stands in my way. I will not be the weakest link.

That way, my parents will be impressed. I know, it sounds dumb, but then again, I am the youngest out of five kids. I'm a small, skinny thing, I don't look like someone you'd be afraid of, or someone with any kind of remarkable strength. My three brothers, on the other hand, are tall and muscular. They do well in training, and they'd have a good chance in the Games. My older sister's strong too, you wouldn't want to get on her bad side. I'm the youngest and I have to live up to the standards set by my older siblings, so my parents will love and appreciate me just as much as they do my brothers and my sister. I know I'm the baby of the family, but I don't want my parents to see me like that.

My temper... it's kinda short. Let's just say, if you piss me off, it won't be pretty. I tend to lash out rather violently, and I don't think you'd want to get in the way of that. So yeah, stay on my good side, dig? Other times, like when I'm upset, I tend to get really quiet. I'll go into a state of reserved silence where I just stay by myself and brood without telling anyone what's wrong, ocassionally crawling up in a corner or just staring out a window for a few hours. Not that anyone ever cares about my feelings anyway.

As I've already said, I was born into a family with four other kids. I have a brother who is about ten months older than me, so he's 15 right now, and I have a sister and another brother who are both 16. Then my oldest brother, he's almost 18. Yeah, I know what you're probably thinking. My parents sure do have a lot of fun, right?

My mom and dad are both Peacekeepers, like a lot of other people in District 2. I hope to be one someday too, if by some chance I never get to go to the Games. I didn't see my Dad much when I was younger, he was stationed in District Three up until I turned twelve. My mom's never left Two, though.

We have lots of money, I'll just come right out and say it. I live in a huge house (thankfully big enough for a family of seven) and there has never been a time where I've had to go hungry. My parents... They're nice, I guess. I can say this: they always push me to do well in everything I do.

Let's see... Well, I started training when I was about ten. It's too young to enter the Games, but not too young to start learning valuable fighting and survival skills. Sabian trained me until I was twelve, and then I started training with the other kids my age.

It might seem strange, but I've always been closest to my oldest brother, Sabian. He helps me out, you know, stands up to people when they make fun of me. He seems to understand what it's like being on the end of the age scale--he's the oldest and I'm the youngest. He has to set the bar for the rest of the kids in the family, and I have to make sure I can reach it. We're a lot alike, Sabe and me. He helps me with training, too--I wouldn't be nearly as good of an athlete if not for him.

Someday I'm going to be in the Games. If I'm not reaped, I'll vounteer. I'll sign up for tesserae if I need to, anything I have to do. I need to prove to everyone that even though I'm small, I'm powerful. I will be victorious and I will come out on top, I will bring honor to my family and to my district. I will win.