If you've read any of Rubber Rooms and Deadlines, you will know that I enjoy writing reapings out-of-order :) So I present you with District 7, the district of trees. Tributes this year are Barke St. Claire from Acereader55 and Alyx Faith from jakey121.
Bear with me for the first few reapings as I get the hang of writing these things again :/ They get longer each time I write.
R&R!
DISTRICT SEVEN MALE: BARKE ST. CLAIRE
When I wake up, the first thing that I realize is that I'm not in my own bed. Of course. I'm still on the job. I begin to heave a deep breath but I freeze, realizing that the action would disturb the young woman, Miss Autumn Calloway, who is curled up at my side. One of her arms drapes over my bare chest and her head rests on my shoulder. A few strands of her dark hair tickle my nose and, eyes watering, I try my best to hold back a sneeze. I almost succeed, but a small noise still escapes and I flinch. My client stirs but fortunately she remains asleep.
I turn my gaze towards the light that filters through faded curtains and swirling dust to illuminate the bedroom. The house is quiet and peaceful, which is more than I can attribute to some of the other places I've been taken. If I had to choose, I would say that this is one of the best locations for my job.
That's not saying much, though. I hate it all. Everything to do with my terrible career is disgusting to me- and that includes myself. I feel so unclean, so perverted. And there's nothing I can do change what I have been through. I wish I could, but that's just a dream now. And my dreams always shatter and fade when I wake up with a woman- or even another man- at my side.
It's to keep my family alive. I shake away my hatred and remind myself of the reason I go out and sell myself to strangers. Father already works for fourteen hours a day in the lumberyards, Mother's pregnant and can't possibly work, and I won't let Aubrey go through this night after night. She will not sell her body as long as I have breath. She can work with the florists, she can run errands for people- but I won't let her ruin her life to try and help the family.
"I won't let her!" Too late, I realize that I have spoken aloud. I close my eyes again and try to relax as Autumn wakes up. She tilts her face up, shifting her hair away from my face.
"You awake, handsome?" she mumbles, gently tracing my jawline with one finger. I feign sleep for a few seconds before I blink and murmur something about her waking me up. She laughs lightly and rolls away from me, freeing my shoulder. I sit up quickly, faking a yawn. "I think last night was the best you've ever done," Autumn remarks sleepily, "And I didn't think you could get any better!" I turn away from her to hide my blush but I always have to pay attention to my clients sooner or later. Autumn sits up, using the bedclothes to cover herself, and whispers in my ear. "You know you liked it too."
It's not my fault I'm human.
With the pink flush on my cheeks fading, I turn back to Autumn and wink at her. "You're always talking about me like that, gorgeous. If you're not careful I won't be able to visit you anymore because the whole district will want me!"
"Oh, they already do!" she says, flinging away what false modesty she had been using and throwing herself at me in a fierce embrace, "I just want you the most." She kisses me and I halfheartedly return the favor.
After we break apart I snatch my clothes off the floor and duck into the bathroom. With my pants back on I feel a little less disgusting, but it doesn't help much. I splash some water on my face and reemerge into Autumn's bedroom. She hasn't bothered to put on any clothes, but I've gotten pretty good at keeping my eyes on her face. "Leaving so soon, Barke?" she simpers. I nod and she pouts for a moment. "Same time next week then?" I hesitate before confirming, and then leave Autumn with one last kiss.
I move from the little house as quickly as I can. People will be waking up now and I don't want to be caught like this now- leaving a woman's house, slinking back to my family, shirtless… even I have some dignity to preserve. It doesn't matter if the whole district knows about me already, I just feel better if no one sees me now. I make it to the hovel that my family calls home and slip inside before I'm seen. I lean back against the door with a sigh, the rough wood digging into my skin.
Aubrey's awake and starting to prepare the family's breakfast, humming lightly as she does so. When the door clicks shut she hurries to the front of the tiny house and smiles sadly at me. "Good to have you home," she says, running her hands through her fair hair. I rush over to her and hug her, but she squirms out of my grasp. "No hugs until you've taken a shower; you still smell like your client."
"Come on, Aubrey, you're never here when I get home! You're always helping at the flower shop in the mornings! You're only off on Reaping Day."
"We would get home at the same time if you would let me join you, it wouldn't be as hard on you and, you have to admit, the money is better than the stupid florist's pay!"
"You're not prostituting yourself. I won't let that happen." Aubrey huffs in exasperation, but secretly I'm sure she's relieved, "And don't call florists stupid, you work with Justice after all!" I can't stand talking about my job anymore. I just want to push it from my mind entirely and have fun with my baby sister.
"And you like her, don't you!" My sister rolls her eyes and sticks her tongue out at me, but squeals when I lunge at her and hug her tightly, lifting her off the ground.
"Haha! Got you, Aubrey! That's for thinking Justice is my girlfriend!" I let her go after a few seconds and dash into the kitchen to help her with breakfast. She's already put a tray of biscuits in the oven, so I help her slice some apples.
"Barke and Justice, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Aubrey sings, waving a piece of fruit above her head.
"I swear you're not mature enough to be sixteen!" We both laugh.
"So, are Mother and Father still sleeping?"
"Yeah. Last night after you left, they said to let them be this morning. They'll be at the reaping but Father is even more exhausted than normal and Mother, well, she's on bed rest of course." I shake my head at the mention of Mother. She's only thirty-seven, but she hasn't had a child in sixteen years. Pregnancy is hard on her, especially after so many years of fatiguing work.
Aubrey pulls the biscuits out of the oven and puts them in a bowl on the table. We're about to sit down to our meager meal when I spot someone outside whom I recognize. "Hey, sis, we're going to have someone over for breakfast!" She grins as I run outside and drag the passerby indoors. The younger man begins to freak out but relaxes a little when he identifies me.
"Barke!" Stephen splutters, "Come on, I was on my way home!"
"Come on, it's food!" The seventeen-year-old shrugs and follows me to the kitchen. Aubrey smiles at him and tosses out an extra plate. Stephen pulls up a chair and sits down with us, calming down from the surprise I gave him.
He's not that easily surprised most of the time, but when you're doing the walk of shame you're jumpy no matter what. It's even worse if, like me and Stephen, you have to do it for a living. It provides more money for our families than anything else does, so it's what we resort to. He's the only source of income for his little brother and sick mother, too.
It's funny how, sometimes, the thing you hate the most can give you a close friend.
"You're looking very professional today," I quip with a mouth full of food. Stephen gives me a look but just shovels down more food.
"You look marvelous too, Mister Shirtless and Sticky-Uppy Hair!" I make a face and smooth down my light brown fringe. Aubrey snorts in laughter, but the rest of the meal is then spent in silence. None of us want to continue a conversation about my and Stephen's career.
After we're done, I wrap up the extra food in a napkin and give it to Stephen. "For your family."
"I can't take this."
"Stephen, I know for a fact that you spent all of last week's pay on medication for your mom. Take it." At last, he nods his thanks and pounds me on the back.
"See you after the reaping, then?" Aubrey and I nod; Stephen exits.
"Well, I guess we should be off then?" my sister says. I glance down at my outfit- pants are fine, lack of shirt is a little unorthodox but for me it's commonplace- before agreeing. District Seven's early reaping is always terrifying, but there's not exactly anything I can do. Hmph. Another thing I can't change.
Aubrey and I start out. Our little slum isn't too far from town, but it seems like it's miles away thanks to the fact that the only people who go out our way are the folks who live there and Peacekeepers. As I walk, I get an odd feeling. Someone is watching us. "Aubrey…" I hiss. She nods and moves a little closer to me. We keep moving, but warily.
"BOO!" someone shouts. Aubrey squeaks in fright as a mane of red hair and a pair of twinkling green eyes appear from nowhere. It's Justice, poking her head out from the trees lining the road. I double over, laughing. The lithe, light-footed girl falls into step with us and Aubrey jabs me in the side with her elbow. I poke her back and Justice smirks at us.
Justice and I have known each other from a young age, but now she's friends with Aubrey from working at the flower shop. She lives near us, but not close enough to get away with regular visits. And contrary to Aubrey's beliefs, Justice and I are just friends. Close friends who comfort each other and know everything about the other, but friends nonetheless.
The three of us chat on the walk to the town square. Aubrey and Justice keep up a running conversation about flower seeds for most of the trip.
"So, has that shipment of geraniums come in yet?" Aubrey asks.
"No, but we did get the bluebells finally." Justice works a full shift instead of two hours a day like Aubrey.
As we near the check-in stations, the topic changes. "Last year was terrible."
"I remember Laken," Aubrey says sadly, "she always was a little off in school, but then… well, we found out why at her reaping." Personally, the girl terrified me, but the little boy Rowne almost broke my heart. He was frail and young, and he died at the hands of a drunk.
The Peacekeeper glares at me when I go to get my finger pricked, and it's probably because of my lack of a shirt, but I'm told nothing.
Justice and Aubrey meet me on the other side of registration, and I hug them both. "See you later," I whisper to my sister. "And Justice, this is our last year. We can do it, I know we can." The redhead grins at me.
I settle into a spot at the edge of the eighteens section, waiting nervously. This is my last reaping. I will live. I will live!
The escort bursts onstage before the Mayor can say anything. I'm amused to see that it's the same man as before, Thunder. As always, he's dressed in storm cloud gray, but now his hair is yellow and stands on end like he's been struck by lightning.
"ARE YOU READY TO RRRUMBLE!" he booms, "LET'S MIX IT UP A LITTLE AND CHOOSE OUR BOY FIRST!" Well, he's more eager than most years.
He shoves his hand into the blue-tinted crystal bowl and selects his first victim of the day. "BARKE ST. CLAIRE!"
Well, crap. If I die my family suffers; if I win there are rewards for my district but I'm prostituted to the Capitol.
I guess I'll have to win. My family is more important than my body.
DISTRICT SEVEN FEMALE: ALYX FAITH
"Yes, Mother, I am finished with my meal." I wipe my hands neatly on the napkin and begin to collect my dishes from the table. My parents watch me proudly as I clear away their dirty things as well.
"Are you sure that you would not like some more eggs?" Mother frets, glancing at the half-empty bowl on the granite countertop. I nod and smile, assuring her that I am full. "I don't want you to go to the Reaping hungry, Alyx, it will make you nauseous!"
"Mother, I'm fine!"
"Brienne, let the girl alone, we can trust her with anything!" I smile at my father as I remove his plate; he pats me on the shoulder, "Thank you, Alyx." I set the dishes in the sink and turn back to the table.
"May I please take our leftovers to the poor children on the end of the street? I'm sure they're nervous about Reaping Day as well, it might be a comfort to them."
"I'm not sure, dearest. What if one of them is ill-intentioned?" Mother worries, but with some anxious conversation they agree to let me go. I cover the remaining scrambled eggs with a dishcloth and put a few croissants on top of that. This is too perfect!
I duck around the corner of the room to the entryway, where I pull a ragged pair of trousers and a dirty old shirt from under the main staircase. As quickly as I can, I strip off my nightgown and put on the street clothes. Then I pull my long brown hair back into a ponytail and rush out the door with the food. My parents never know that, while they can trust me, they don't know everything about me like they think they do.
I slip out the door and sneak partway down the street before breaking into a run. Here in the rich part of town, I could run into people who will name me as the daughter of the Faiths. Out in the poorer parts of Seven, I'm just Alyx. I'm wild and crazy and I don't have to worry about my manners.
I love my parents, I really do, but I can't put up with wealth all the time. There has to be more than money, there has to be more than the 'fun' of the upper class. It's found with the rest of the people.
In the outskirts of town people begin to recognize me. Kids from ages ten to seventeen wave and cry out, "Hey, Alyx!" I skid to a halt when they call my name, and soon my friends surround me. To them I'm from the other side of town, from the east slums instead of the west and I just keep on exploring all of the other neighborhoods. I'm not rich or special.
"Alyx, is that food?" Eleven-year-old Gamin creeps out from under a makeshift hut, his face smeared with dirt. I laugh and set down the food I've brought, and immediately it's set upon by almost a dozen hungry kids. "Where did you get this?"
"I asked," I smirk, implying that I did not, in fact, ask. The others don't question it, they're just grateful. Every so often I'll do this for them, and it makes me feel better than all the money in the world.
After less than two minutes, everything is practically licked clean. I kick the bowl and dishcloth to the side and we all huddle together. "What's the plan today?" Ashe asks eagerly, hopping from foot to foot. She's sixteen like me, but shorter and, well, less educated. Her dark hair is cropped like a boy's.
"Well, what are we going to do?" Ashe's twin brother Soot nudges me in the side as a greeting while he speaks and I elbow him back, getting a satisfactory 'oof!'. Everyone begins to offer up their ideas in a burst of mischievous imagination.
"Maybe we can explore?"
"We did that yesterday!"
"What about a race?"
"Let's find one of them," I whisper to the others excitedly, and they seem to agree.
Talia, our unofficial leader at the age of seventeen, points us on our course. "I saw one go that way about fifteen minutes ago," she informs us. Whooping, the entire group dashes off into the dense forest. Man, my parents would have hysterics if they ever saw me doing this! It makes me a little sad, but what they don't know can't hurt them. Right?
We split up as we pursue our quarry, with the younger kids up in the trees and the older, heavier teens on foot. Talia and I lead the way on the ground, and I can see Gamin and little Tarie up above, skittering from branch to branch.
"There! Coming towards us!" Tarie hisses from above, pointing ahead. Everyone on the ground stops and dives into the bushes; those in the trees bound higher into the branches, concealing themselves with foliage. When the Peacekeeper walks into the area, no one is visible. The man is completely unaware of us.
That is, until Gamin drops a pinecone on his helmet. It doesn't do any harm, but the man's reaction is priceless. I stifle a giggle as one of the other 'monkeys' unleashes fire, five crabapples bouncing off the Peacekeeper's suit. Then one of the grounders snorts like a wild boar, and the man whirls around. I yip, imitating a feral dog, and Talia's grackle caw makes him whirl around. More ammunition rains down from above, and we keep up a constant stream of noise. Every so often someone will insult the Peacekeeper, but he can't tell where it comes from in the noise. I giggle, throwing my own epithets into the mix.
"Lapdog!"
"Fatty!"
"Bastard!"
"Lazybones!" All insults hit home just like the pinecones did, until…
"Coward!" I shout a little too loudly and he zeroes in on my location. Storming to the bushes, he pushes the leaves aside to show my hiding place. Snarling, he lifts me into the air by the front of my shirt. Even though I'm taller than most girls, I'm hoisted into the air so that I'm dangling inches off the ground. I squirm, but to no avail.
"No!" Tarie drops down from the branches and lands squarely on the Peacekeeper. He crumples beneath her unexpected weight and I collapse with him. Tarie scrambles away and I'm not far behind.
"Wow, Tarie," Soot says as he steps from his place, "You knocked him unconscious. He'll be fine in a little while, but…" he whistles in surprise. Everyone emerges from the trees to see the damage. A bit of blood mats the hair on the side of the Peacekeeper's head.
We never actually hurt them. Never! It's just a game… "I've got to go." Talia and Gamin raise their hands in farewell, but I'm already dashing through the trees, running away from the fact that we actually hurt someone. And he was bleeding! That's terrible!
I grab the egg bowl and run back to my house as fast as possible. I slip inside quietly and change back into my nightgown from my street clothes. I'm not going to let a little upset ruin my secret today. "I'm back!" I announce, placing the bowl and dishcloth back in the kitchen. Before my parents respond, however, I hurry to my room and get ready for the reaping. This is the other side of me, the perfect side that I wish could have all the fun that poor Alyx does.
I wash the dirt from my fair skin before putting on a yellow dress that falls to my knees and brushing out my hair. As I apply my routine makeup, I push all thoughts of the unconscious Peacekeeper from my head, composing myself before attending the Reaping with my rich friends.
"Are you ready to go, Alyx?" my mother calls, and I hurry downstairs. We are anxious, but they worry for me and I for my friends. The odds are in my favor, but Talia? Soot? Ashe? They will need all the help they can get.
We exit the house and turn in different directions- my mother, with her job as a maid to the Mayor's family, is going to the Justice Building to prepare; Father is going to find a spot in the crowd; I am going to register and to find Maybelle and Clara. As it turns out, my to-do list is completed almost instantaneously. Maybelle and Clara, each wearing cute dresses and perfect makeup, are waiting for me at registration. I rush over to them.
"Alyx! You look adorable!" Maybelle gushes, touching the shoulder of my dress admiringly. Clara bounces around me in her lilac frock, bursting with nervous energy. We check in, and Maybelle bids us goodbye immediately, wanting to get to her section with plenty of time to spare.
"Clara, are you still thinking about running away?" I whisper. She nods cautiously. "Well, down in the west side slums, I have friends. If you run, find Talia. She'll help you." I begin to head off to the sixteens.
Ever since I mentioned one of my escapades, Clara has been convinced that she could find so much more among the poor than among the privileged. At last, I've chosen to help her.
"Hey, Alyx?" I turn to Clara. "Let's go stand with Maybelle!" I laugh and grab the younger girl's hand as we enter the seventeen-year-olds section.
"Speaking of Talia…" I point out the Hispanic girl to Clara, who takes note. Maybelle comes up behind us as we're looking around.
"What are you doing here? You need to be with your age group, you're breaking the rules!"
"Too late," Clara smirks as the Mayor steps up for the Treaty of Treason. Maybelle sighs melodramatically.
But the lady never gets a chance to speak. Thunder, our theatric escort, leaps forward. "ARE YOU READY TO RRRUMBLE? LET'S MIX IT UP AND CHOOSE OUR BOY FIRST!"
Please not Soot. Not Soot.
Next year I'll have to worry about Gamin as well, but this year… not Soot. Not Soot.
"BARKE ST. CLAIRE!" I breathe a sigh of relief, although I feel terrible for it. A tall, shirtless boy steps forward. He's kinda cute, actually. Definitely a sponsor magnet. He stands on the steps of the Justice Building, emotionless.
"OUR LADY, NOW!" I join hands with Maybelle and Clara anxiously, but I'm panicking that it may be Talia or Ashe. At least Tarie is safe this year.
"ALYX FAITH!" What? W-what? The world starts to spin, faster and faster until tears rise up behind my eyes. This… this isn't… no, it can't be! I'm going to die!
I take a deep breath. I won't get any sponsors if I break down immediately. With shaky steps I move forward, trying to hold my head high. Nearer and nearer to the steps, nearer and nearer to the Capitol, the Games, and my doom. I turn at last to face the crowd. I can see the others: Gamin and Tarie in the crowd, Soot and Ashe and Talia.
They're all confused. Why are they so bewildered? They know me, why are they confused?
Oh. They don't know me. I'm Rich Alyx now; none of them have ever met Rich Alyx. They probably won't even come say goodbye to me. They don't know me like this.
My best friends don't even know me.
With that knowledge I turn to Barke and shake his hand. "Good luck," I whisper.
It's for both of us.
It has begun! Ahaha, I probably get high from writing. XD
By the way, here's what I'll do with the reapings: I will spend the most time on things that show a tribute's personality. So if you would see more of a tribute that morning, I'll write about that morning. If you'd see more about a tribute during the reaping ceremony, I'll spend a lot of time at the reaping. If a tribute is best revealed during goodbyes, you'll get goodbyes. Rarely will I write these chapters about events that do not happen the day of the reaping, but I might. It depends. :)
Tell me what you thought of Barke and Alyx! :)