Kennedy Alderidge

"Jamieson! Please! Just come back home to me!"

- Kennedy's last words to Jamieson

 is a female tribute from the Capitol. She is grieving her boyfriend, Jamieson, who died in the previous games.

Backstory
As a child of the Capitol, you'd expect the usual from Kennedy. Her family is rich, she is popular, she is a snotty stuck up bully, and she doesn't care about anyone but herself. That isn't the case with Kennedy, nor has it ever been. Her family was wealthy, but they lived fairly modestly for a Capitol family. As an only child, her parents and her were naturally close. She trusted them, and vice versa. She never kept anything from them and in return, they trust her. In her toddler years, Kennedy was an unnaturally calm toddler, along with being an easy baby for her parents. She was a quick learner, and began to speak earlier than most children. Even as a baby, her parents found Kennedy to be kind, happy, and loving. That continued as she grew older, and led her to getting a boyfriend, Jamieson. They met when they were both freshman in high school, and connected instantly. Jamieson made Kennedy happier. Her parents liked him, they complimented each other, and everyone was happy for them. Kennedy was on the top of the world, happy as can be. And just like any good love story, she was knocked down. They were both 16, in their second year in high school. The chances of either of them being reaped were slim, as they only had their names in the bowl minimal times. After they pricked their fingers, they hugged, looked each other in the eyes, and went to their own groups. It seemed as though an eternity had passed as Kennedy stood there, listening to the Escort drone on and on about the same thing as always. Some girl was called to the stage, and even though she felt guilty about it, she sighed a breath of relief. Her eyes bounced over to Jamieson, who gave her a look that calmed her down. His face told her everything would be alright, and Kennedy took in a deep breath. The Escort had made her way over to the boys bowl. Her fingers whipped in, and ripped a name from the bowl. She called those two words Kennedy would never be able to remove from her mind. "Jamieson Bay." As he made his way to the stage, holding a strong, unafraid face for Kennedy, the tears began to stream down her face. As the Escort raised their hands together, Kennedy looked into Jamieson's deep green eyes, and the tears began to flood down both of their faces.

As soon as the Peace Keepers were letting visitors in, Kennedy made sure she was second, only after Jamieson's mother, father, and little sister. As Kennedy burst through the doors, Jamieson pulled her into his arms, and for the first few minutes, they just cried in each other's arms, as if nothing else mattered. Kennedy finally found the words to break the silence.

"You can win Jamieson." she started as she pulled away. "You are fairly strong. Just pay attention in training. You can come home."

"Kennedy, you know I want that as bad as you do. I'm sure I could pick up a few things, but how will I ever find the courage to kill another tribute." Jamieson spoke with a sad, defeated tone.

"Just try. I love you. I love you so much Jamieson." Kennedy had to choke out the last few words, as the Peace Keepers came in, taking her away.

"Jamieson! Please! Just come back home to me!" Kennedy screamed the words through the doors as they shut.

It didn't get any better as the days went by. Kennedy began to lock herself down. It only became worse as they showed the reapings on TV. They had highlighted the eye contact between her and Jamieson, only making her cry that much more.

Over the next few days, they finally began to prepare for the chariot rides, and Kennedy took every waking moment to search through the coverage, pausing at moments Jamieson was on the screen, staring at it for sometimes hours at a time, crying until she had no energy left to cry.

On the night they showed the Chariot rides, Kennedy locked herself in her room, and watched as Jamieson and the girl rode down the track, leading the tributes out of the tunnel. Kennedy could almost swear she saw Jamieson making eye contact with the camera, looking right at Kennedy. She paused it, and took in a moment to look into his eyes again, getting lost.

A few days later, as the host for the Games prepared to announce the scores, Kennedy turned on the TV, remote in hand, waiting to see Jamieson's score pop onto the screen. The announcer called out the girl's first, a 5, and then stopped for a moment.

"Oh, looky here folks. We have an interesting one here. It looks as if Jamieson has received a..." The announcer took a pause, and Jamieson's picture popped up, getting ready to display the score.

"He has been scored a 9! We may just have a fighter here folks." Kennedy once again paused the screen, crying. But for once, it was out of joy. Jamieson might just be able to come home.

The next day, they had been advertising the interviews, which promised to be an amazing event. Kennedy came home from school, and turned on the TV, making sure she hadn't missed a thing, even though she knew they weren't due to start for another couple hours. As the two hours drug on past, Kennedy did nothing but look at old photos of her and Jamieson.

Finally, after an eternity, the TV showed the Capitol seal, and the host was shown, sitting in his chair, with an empty one next to him. The first interview went by fast, and finally it was Jamieson's turn. Him and the host bantered back and forth, and then finally, the host asked a serious question.

"What would it mean to win Jamieson?" The host had a deep, serious tone. Jamieson looked directly at the audience as he spoke. "It would mean love. And before you ask what I mean, let me tell you. You see, everyone wants to survive the Games. Yes survive. Lets be real. No one wins. And to me, surviving would mean I would get to go home. I would get to see Kennedy, my girlfriend again. I would get to spend the rest of my life with her in a mansion. I would get to hold her in my arms forever. I would get to hold her close forever, never letting her slip away. I don't care for the money, nor the fans, or anything else. She is all I want."

The entire audience was in tears, as was Kennedy as she listened to him. She watched as he only let a single tear slip, and then the host thanked him, and that was it.

Kennedy never saw Jamieson like that again. The next time she saw him, he was rising from the ground into the arena. They were in a snow covered forest. Time seemed to itch by, slowly. Jamieson was gone as soon as the gong sounded. Kennedy watched as he disappeared into the forest. Days passed, and Jamieson was never shown, nor did his picture ever show up in the sky. Finally, when all hope seemed lost, an interviewer came knocking on Kennedy's family's door. He had made it into the top 8, and they wanted to talk to Kennedy.

Kennedy spent the day, recalling how they met, talking about Jamieson and how kind, loving, charming, funny, and just perfect he was. After the interviewer thanked her, and Kennedy had returned to her bedroom, the water works started again.

Three days later, as the Games had reached the final 4, Jamieson was finally on the screen. He was shown making a fire, and the scene was bouncing back and fourth between him and the 3 careers hunting him. Kennedy knew what was coming, but refused to accept it. In less than an hour, they had found Jamieson, and Kennedy watched as Jamieson ran. They followed. Jamieson tripped. Tears rolled as Kennedy closed her eyes, refusing to watch. She heard the cannon sound and let out a screaming sob. She blinked her eyes open for a moment, to see Jamieson laying there. His green eyes met hers one last time before glazing over. Jamieson was gone.

Kennedy shut the TV off, before reducing to a crying mess.

Nearly a year later, the reaping came around, and Kennedy was only reminded of her loss. She stood, getting her finger pricked, exactly where she had a year before. She knew what was coming. She didn't have to volunteer. She knew she would be reaped.