The Run

Prologue

My family watches the Run every year. I don't know why they call it the Run exactly, but that's what it's called. We love it. Every single one of us loves it.
    We have a family of eight so it's hard for Mom and Dad to put food on the table. Still, we don't starve because they work so hard. They're rarely home so I have to help the kids with their problems and schoolwork, being the oldest. I don't mind sharing a room with Sean, Finn, and Kieran. I've grown accustom to it over the years.
    The Run is like the one thing we all agree on. Though we can't actually afford to play, we love it and that's the only thing that goes on our old box television. The price to even try to get in is twenty kappaz. To save up that much money we'd have to not eat lunch for a month! It also doesn't help that we're poor.
    Hustlerenia is tomorrow and we are all restless. I have my gift for Mom and Dad. I gathered three buckets full of greens, berries, fruits, and edible roots. They will be so happy. The food will last a whole week at least! I'm proud of this gift. All six of the kids will get one gift each and usually it's pretty good. Last year I got a wooden cup with my name carved into it and it was full of buttons. We strung the buttons up with the spool of thread we have and play games with it all the time.
    Wonderful gifts are given to us every year, but my gift this year would tower over them all.
    I didn't know it yet, but this was about to be the best Hustlerenia of my entire, fifteen year long, life.