rory spark . d3. fin

The Sparks have a history with the Games. Bolts Spark seems to be the name that most think of when they refer to the Spark tributes from Three. He was a cousin of mine. So was Florence, and so was Industria. Yet, none of them are here now. None of them are alive anymore to give me even the slightest bit of hope that if I were reaped I would survive. I provide myself with that confidence, instead. The Hunger Games, for years, terrified me. Now, they're like everyday life.

Typically, if someone from District Three goes into the Games, they don't win. Rather, they come back as a corpse. That's just how it's been here for years. It'll be hard to change that, but I'm determined that if I ever do end up in the Hunger Games, however it may happen, I will change that statistic for us. I will be a survivor and victor of the Games if I must.

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't have the same reasoning for wanting to survive the Games as some people do. I would volunteer if it felt right, sure, but I wouldn't do it because I wanted to kill anyone. No, I'd be doing it to prove that I'm capable of being strong. That the Sparks are stronger than anyone else ever realized.

I have spent so much time over the past few years following in the footsteps of my cousin Bolts. I never actually met him, but from what I was told, he was quite the tinkerer. He was known for his contraptions and inventions, and I wanted to become just like him, in that regard. I wanted to be able to build and create things, so I did, and I became damn good at it, too. I'm pretty well-versed in mechanical things now, I'd say. I'm a tinkerer who builds my own contraptions, just like Bolts was. I can make just about anything that I really put my mind to. It's almost as if the blueprints just write themselves in my head.

The time I don't spend tinkering is spent learning other things. I love to read. It is one of my absolute biggest passions in life. I could spend hours and hours on end just delving into a fantasy novel. Reading about dragons and magic and all those other things that you would find in a fantastical world just amaze me and entertain me to no end. I wish I could live in a world like that. Instead, though, I'm stuck in this world that's most definitely a dystopia. With where things are going, and judging by my knowledge from dystopian books, we're going downhill fast, and things aren't going to end well.

Intellectual interests aren't the only things that take up the time I have in my life. I also really appreciate some good time to be social. I love to spend time with my siblings, my cousins, my aunt, my parents, my friends... you name it. If I'm not reading or tinkering, I'm very much an extrovert. I wouldn't mind being invited to a party or two. I also wouldn't mind if someone asked me out on a date.

A date. Geez. How long has it been since I kissed someone? I don't think I've kissed a person since I was about thirteen. I suppose that's not such a bad thing, though, since at my age, a lot of people haven't kissed anyone, ever. I shouldn't feel bad about people not really being interested in me in that way. I should be focusing on myself, my family and my friends, anyway.

Oh, and I guess I forgot to mention what I look like. I just figured you'd get the idea, given the fact that I'm a Spark. I have the typical red hair that only my father and my nieces are missing. It's long, though. Longer than the hair that most of the girls have. I couldn't honestly tell you what my eye color is. I haven't looked at my own eyes often enough or recently enough to know, and it's changed since I was a kid.

Overall, despite my family's hardships, I'd say we're all pretty close. I live a good life, and I hope that that never changes. I just want to keep my loved ones happy, and I wouldn't give up their happiness for as long as I have the choice.

-----

733 words