Juki Kearn (15) D8M
I slipped into the shop as quietly as I could; if I made much noise, Janome would certainly force me into a conversation with him. While I didn't hate my brother, I'd much rather get straight to work than have to spend time in a pointless discussion about which animal is the cutest or which color is the best. I knew I would be able to hear him while I was sewing, anyways, which he didn't seem to understand. He was so loud!
Singer was working on her latest find, which was a badly worn skirt. It was gorgeous, and I could tell it would be expensive. It shimmered in the little light there was in the back of the antique shop, and Capitolites would certainly be attracted to anything shiny. They seemed to usually only want the big, shiny stuff we had so little of, and never seemed interested in the truly beautiful things we had. The skirt was probably the only thing I would agree with them on when it came to fashion, and I didn't mind that. We were all our own person.
Janome was talking with Singer, and I could tell she was bored. While she was often more interested in his conversations than me, she wasn't very talkative either. I walked over to her and offered her the shirt I was working on. "We don't have any of this fabric around, what do you think would work best?" I interjected.
Janome quieted down while Singer walked over to the fabric rack with me. While she was younger than I was, she had a better eye for which fabrics worked with each other. She glanced at me gratefully while she looked through our possible selection, choosing a fabric that matched the shirt's almost perfectly. "Thanks," I commented before walking away. I probably could've found the fabric on my own, but now Singer could start a different converation with my brother- hopefully one she enjoyed.
Exclamations of delight alerted me that Calphurnia had come to our store. Janome dropped what he was doing and ran out to greet her. I moved closer to Singer and we sewed in silence. I blushed a little at how much better she was at sewing than I was, but I knew I was good enough at my job. I had managed to mend a lot of clothes and keep them sellable, so I obviously couldn't stink. I just wished that I was a bit better.
Calphurnia was talking with Janome, and while I couldn't make out a lot of the words, I could catch "A good boy!" and "Now don't go out and get Reaped!" Calphurnia seemed to be one of the only Capitolites that understood that we didn't want to go into the Games. She also seemed to understand that life was valuable and not just something to be thrown away. She always promised that if Janome was reaped she would sponsor him. I hoped she would extend the same generosity to the rest of us.
Our customer walked out of the store with a lovely dress that had just been restored. It was a red fabric with a white silk bow. I was surprised that anyone would be interested in it, but Caphurnia wasn't as eccentric as some. She handed Janome a bunch of candy and told him to share it with us. I knew he probably wouldn't, being as forgetful as he was, but it was nice to know that she remembered us. None of us could afford to be forgetful on the Reaping day.
Parnelle Corwin (14) D8F
Freda had another nightmare. I could tell without her telling me, seeing as we slept right next to each other. Sure, the abandoned building we lived in was big enough for us to spread out, but without blankets, we couldn't afford to. We wanted to share body heat, so we were always touching. That meant I could feel her shaking in her now restless sleep, and I could begin to imagine what she was dreaming about.
We hadn't been at the factory on the day Mom and Dad died. We had been in our little house, where we belonged, where we should still be. The fact that we weren't present in the factory accident didn't mean that we couldn't imagine everything that happened. Fabric was very flammable. The fire probably spread quickly, burning Mom and Dad to a crisp. They likely weren't granted the escape of smoke inhalation, instead having to feel their flesh be burnt as their life slipped from them. On some days I felt bad for them. Others, I wished I could join them. Sometimes it felt that that would be better than slowly dying and watching my sister fade.
Freda woke up with a jolt and looked at me. She didn't say anything, instead opting just to hug me and cry. I cried right along with her. She was crying because she was sad. I was crying because I knew what was going to happen. While it could happen on any day, the day was likely approaching fast that Freda would starve. I was fading a lot more quickly than she was; she got most of the little food I had. But she was dying all the same, and I found myself sobbing harder than she was in her embrace.
Like every day, we went out to beg on the streets. Some days we got a lot of money. Most of the time, the people in the District couldn't be bothered to help out ugly street kids like us. I knew they could afford it. Not all of them, by any means, but some of them. Some of them were wearing nice tuxes. Some of them were carrying bags of dresses. If they could afford that, they could help us. Most people never would. Why would someone want to help someone other than themselves? It's not like being kind is a thing.
On that day, we made a shockingly large amount of money. I figured it would be enough to get us large meals for a couple of days. Not large by rich people standards, but not the scraps we usually got. At first I thought it was because we had been crying and we looked particularly pathetic. Then I remembered that it was Reaping day. If I of us was reaped, Freda would die. The passerbys probably knew that. They were just giving her a little extra cash, just in case. It wasn't likely that I would be reaped. I never took any tesserae; I needed my parents' permission. Lack of parents made that impossible. I still had a chance though, and any chance was too much.
I forced myself to separate from Freda and walk to the Reapings. I started to shake slightly, and while I expected to get some weird looks, I was surprised to see that almost all of the other kids were shaking too. It made sense. They all had their lives on the line. I was only going to have my life shortened if I was reaped. All of the kids turned to stare as our escort walked on the stage and reached into the bowl for the females. She cried out, clearly and loudly, "Parnelle Corwin!"
My shaking intensified. I couldn't be reaped, it didn't make sense! I couldn't afford it! I began to cry and sob as I knew I was going to die. I was going to die and never see Freda again, never come back home. I walked onto the stage, still shaking and sobbing, as the male was reaped. I didn't care as he walked onto stage next to me. I didn't pay attention when he took my hand. I just wanted to cry.