I suck at grammar, I'm sorry. :(
Disclaimer: I do not on the hunger games universe and its characters. I'd be rich if so xD
I split his chapter in half and the other half is now chapter 2.
The smell of hay and the sun shining through my window, highlighting my small room is what I'm greeted with when I wake up. My room has only a small wooden closet, a desk with a mess of books, a mirror with cracked corners and my bed. I'm happy with my room, so it's not a bad sight to wake up to.
I groan when I sit up, pushing myself to get up and not go back to sleep. It's not that hard, since I had a good nights sleep and I actually want to get outside and do work today.
Most people think district 10 just takes care of cows but they actually take care of sheep, goat, chickens, bees and horses as well; Don't tell me you think the horses in the tribute parade were automatically trained, were the district for livestock, of course they give us the task to train the horses.
And that's what I'm doing today, training horses.
In my family, I'm usually either butchering the cows, wrapping them up and hanging them up for transport to the Capitol but sometimes I'm just training the horses.
Sadly we don't earn that much more for the beef and milk we send to the Capitol but it's enough to keep us living without being starved to death. I personally earn money by training the horses. It's personal because it's my job outside my family business. I work for the Coatrian's which is probably the most wealthiest family in district 10 besides the mayor and Aurora Humbert; Victor of the 56th annual hunger games. Currently the only victor we have alive.
I'm only lucky to get a job from the Coatrian's because my best and only friends are the Coatrian twins, and they wanted me to be around them more often.
I change into my usual work clothing. Jeans and a old t-shirt. They both look obviously worn out.
I grab my pale yellow cowboy hat, and look at myself in the corner cracked mirror. My father had found it in the black market that's in one of the abandoned barns on the outskirts of the bee sanctuary. The black market doesn't have a name, but if it does, I haven't heard of it. I was lucky, the mirror wasn't cracked right down the middle and it was cheap, so my father bought it for me.
As I look at myself, I can't help but stare at my eyes, so very much like my mothers deep brown and with a tinge of maroon. It looks almost red if you looked deep into it. I sadden a little when I think of my mother. It's been nine years since she died. My brother is nineteen and my little sister is thirteen, and I , myself is fifteen.
We had struggled a little when she died, we were mourning over our loss and we were in desperate need to feed ourselves. My father had to sell the horses and the stable so we could get back to living and for a little bit, not worry about starving.
Well, we didn't sell all of our horses, we kept three. A family of three, I'll see them later at the Coatrian's; that's where we keep them until we are in need for them to round up the cattle.
Just as I leave my room, I grab a hair tie and wrap it around my long and straight brunette hair that reaches to half way down my forearm, and tie it up into a pony tail. I walk down the hall, past the rooms where I can hear my siblings getting up as well. My father would be already up, getting breakfast ready so we could quickly get to work. When I get to the small dining area, my dad is already out working. I could tell by the covers on the food.
I lift the cover off the dish in front of the seat, I usually sit in, and study the soup that is lying there. There is also milk beside it, probably fresh from Daisy, our own diary cow. Common name, I know, but my family had always sucked at giving names.
We were lucky to keep her though. We're usually not allowed to keep any of the animals and use them for our benefits, as its against the law. But we saved up for Daisy and legally bought her.
It's weird, the way things work around here. We get the cows, chickens etc. but it's not ours, we only raise them, feed them, make them breed, then butcher them and send them to the Capitol. We have to buy them to keep them for our own uses and that is not cheap. It's the same with horses, raise them, train them then send it out to the Capitol.
It's not like they don't get enough of the food, the Capitol, I mean. I'm pretty sure they even throw the stuff out, if it isn't eaten when it's served. I'm sure I've sent more than one hundred years worth of beef over to them, still they need more, but It's not like we can refuse, as they pretty much have complete control of us. We die, if we refuse and even if we refuse, we're still in danger of going into the hunger games. The silly annual event, the Capitol holds to keep the districts from rebelling. The games which take twenty-four children that age from twelve to eighteen from the twelve districts, so they can fight to death and provide entertainment for the Capitol. It's revolting on how they are all entertained by the deaths of children like its all a game. Which it is, of course but to the districts, it's your worst nightmare to be reaped and be put in the games.
My family are quite wealthy compared to other families, but like everyone else we're still at risk of starving and we still get tessera for each of our family, which means a years supply of grain and oil that will last a year for one person; But since we get four tessera each year, that means that one of our names will be put in the bowl for the hunger games four more extra times along with the amount that goes in because of our ages. This year, instead of Jude doing the tessera because he's now over eighteen, it's my turn for the next three years. This means my name will be in that bowl for the girls name, eight times. I'm fifteen which means my name is automatically in there four times.
I'm not that worried about it, as the chance of my name being called out is very slim compared to others.
My brother and sister sit down at the table just as I finished my milk. I smile at them, which they return.
"Good morning, my lovely brother and sister!" I say, knowing that I would annoy them both for being cheery in the morning.
"Good morning, Alexis," My brother says with a slight grin. Then my sister adds "Our horrible sister" she too had a grin plastered on her face, but she unlike my brother started laughing which he ended up joining in anyway.
I place my hand on my heart as if offended. Then move on to spooning my soup again with smile on my face.
I'd say my siblings and I have a good friendship. We've all been in bad times and good times, and we've all been there for each other everytime, so of course we have a good friendship; but that's to be expected, we are a family.
"Well, I'm going to the Coatrian's" I said getting up, finished with my soup. My siblings just nod as I wash up my bowl and neatly stack it back in the cupboard where we store our bowls, plates and cutlery.
I slipped on my shoes and waved to my brother and sister again when my brother spoke up "Be back soon, we need your expertise for the butchering" his eyes, which are the same colour as mine, stare back at me clearly stern. I grin and nod "Anything for you Judy-wudy".
My sister roared of laughter, almost spitting out her milk.
Her reaction isn't uncommon around here, she usually laughs about everything.
Jude, which is the name of my brother glares at me, not impressed by me using his nickname I gave him when we were younger.
Then I walk out of the house.
I greet the Coatrian's as I arrive at their doorstep before getting tackled by two very familiar blondes. The two obviously twins look up at me with a wide smile of their faces
"LEXI!" Happily screams Mollie, the girl of the twins "We wondering when you'll arrive!" Adds Tyler, the boy.
They both have the same faces but there's differences. For example, Mollie has longer hair and also fuller lips while Tyler has short hair and more of a muscle build. They may be fourteen but they are like any other person in district ten, very hardworking.
"I didn't make you wait that long" I say, walking inside their house and striding to the back door, not bothering to admire the architecturel
The twins walked beside me, they both looked ready to work.
"Your right, he was just exaggerating. We only just finished eating when you knocked" Mollie said, the more mature one of the two.
I smile, "I wanted to ask you guys, Dani wanted to know if you were interested in some eggs?"
The twins brighten up "Sure, we'll buy some" they love eggs, which is a good thing cause my sister sells them and since money isn't that big of a problem for the Coatrian's nowadays, they want to help out families who need the money.
Which is mainly why my family haven't starved for months. I work for them and my sister who is Dani, is selling them eggs.
My family have our own business for eggs in the district. We bought the chickens so we don't have to give them to the Capitol. My sister, Dandelion who is nicknamed Dani, takes care of them. She doesn't particularly like cows or horses so this is what she does for the family. She raises chickens, collects their eggs and sells them with the price of money or some food, but sometimes she gives them out for objects of no value to starving customers. My family don't get angry when she does it, as we all understand how it feels when people try to sell things of no value. Personally, I like it when people sell books for eggs. Mainly because when they do, Dani gives them to me cause she knows my love for books.
Books fascinate me. I had read my first one in school, it was about a girl who loved books like me but she had gotten imprisoned and been made to work by a beast when she was just trying to save her father. In the end of the book, she fell in love with the beast and saved him from his curse which was why he was so cruel in the beginning. The book was called 'Beauty and the Beast' and I forever love this book as it had taught me not to judge people by what everyone else says and to not love someone because everyone else does. It taught me to be myself and not to judge before really meeting someone.
Ever since then, I had been getting books from anywhere. My family too had gotten books for me. No wonder my desk has so many books on it.
Me and the twins walk into the stables with all the horses.
I immediately walk to my own horse, a Peruvian horse, with a light grey coat and black hair. My family own her, she was the third member of the family of horses we kept. She was a baby horse then, now she's full grown horse of almost ten years. She was born when I was almost six and was my birthday present when I turned six. I love her, I spent most of my time with her when my mother died. Whenever my family or a book couldn't subdue my grief, I went to her. Even if she couldn't talk to me, she cuddled up to me like she knew I was having a bad time and I needed support. There was rarely a day I wasn't sleeping in the Coatrian's barn with her.
"How are you, my lovely Katniss?" I softly say to her as I patted her white mark in the middle of her forehead. I called her Katniss, after the flower I encountered once when I was with my mother. She had told me that the flower was called Katniss. I only remember the time because it was last time I spent with my mother before her death. The flower that grew by lake and also means 'arrowhead' will always be glued to my mind as the last thing my mother taught me and the name of my beloved horse.
Katniss leans into my touch with a gentle neigh, already making my day more happier than It was before.
PLEASE DO NOT JUDGE ON HOW TERRIBLE I AM AT MAKING THIS EXCITING!
AND IM SO SORRY FOR MAKING IT INCREDIBLY LONG AND DESCRIPTIVE.
but even if it's bad, please favourite and follow?
