Bob Talak

Background
It was a muggy night. I was inside, but I was still sweating. The air around me suddenly seemed to become colder. I turned around and saw my father. He is a very nice man, the best person I know, mom is right next to him. His beard is always welcoming, he is a fishing veteran. He had taken me fishing several times, I loved it. Many people said I was bound to be a successful fisher. It seemed that the air got colder and colder. My sister, Taylor, nudged me; my dad was looking at me dead on. It was after me first reaping, I wasn’t picked. I had trained up well, But I knew that my name would probably not be picked, and it wasn’t.

“Son, you need to become a career.” I would learn to hate those words. I was stunned at first, I had trained nice and good, but apparently, father was meaning all out. I would have to stop fishing and become a person who trained with weapons all day. I knew he needed the money, our family needed the money. When you’re a victor, you get all sorts of special treatment. My sister stared at me; it had been her last reaping. I loved live, and I wasn’t ready to let go of it when I got reaped. With my body strength, I knew I would die maybe on the third or fourth day. It was part of life, people got reaped, and I probably will too.

The next day I had to train. The whole family was silent when I left. They knew my possibility of surviving the games was slim, even if I became a career. I trained and trained in the basement. I got a variety of weapons. I especially learned how to use a trident. The weapon was amazing, but I also used many weapons. I stabbed a dummy and impaled another dummy with a trident all day. I soon became good with many weapons. But again, my specialty was, and is, my trident. The days went by fast, my training got better and better. At the age of 13, I was transformed into a person I never was before.

I took a deep breath when I wasn’t picked at age 13, I had trained, but it was still scary. The years went by fast, each year I could do better with my weapons. My sister gave me a pointer or two during the training. She was a career that never got picked, never volunteered. I understood then, how my father was. I didn’t really know why my father was always mad at my sister before, but then, reality crept on my back. I finally arrived at the age of 17, where I am now. I’m pretty good with every weapon I touched at the age of twelve. No one will want to spar me when I have my trident. I am still waiting for death to knock on my door.

Personality
I am good natured. My disliking of my father has increased over the years, and now it has started to effect how much I get angry. I usually deal with my anger by impaling straw dummies. I am a career, so I am pretty strong. My years of training have resulted in a pretty strong guy. I can deal with people I dislike with a swing of my arm. I still love fishing; I sometimes even manage to go fishing without getting caught by my father. I’ve trained for the games, but the way I see it, I’m only training to hang onto life. My father treats it as an opportunity for money.

Before I became a career, my father was really nice to me. Taking me fishing every weekend, it was the life. But since I became eligible to be reaped, I have been the money gainer of the family instead of being the love of the family. That is the scarred part of my life. My sister has been trying to patch that up. She is really nice to me, and I realized when we got close, that my father only wanted money. The only reason he had children was to get money.

These things have been tormenting me. I have nightmares about the games, but then again, I’m prepared for it. But I will have to face it, to know it. I have a lot of friends. When I’m not at home, I try to act like I have a great life. My friends are mostly careers. We talk about strategies, if they were girls, none of that. But we would never face each other. Only outside of my house am I kind. I love to fish; I sometimes go with my friends even though my father doesn’t like it. I like to be accepted, and to the liking, I love friends. My mother is kind to me, my dad causes a lot of the arguments around the house. I have a good life outside of my home. I act very poorly when I'm not accepted, it frustrates me a lot when I am blamed for anything, even if its wrong.

My personality was scarred big time when I found out about my father. I try with all my might to avoid my inside, horribley scarred nature. I know that when I go to the games, that personality will be set of like a rocket. I usually get my father aggravated with my obssesion over fishing. I have to pretty much sneek out of the house when I want to fish.

Likes

 * being accepted
 * friends
 * sister and mom
 * fishing

Dislikes

 * father
 * the games
 * training all day