District Nine Intros: Life Isn't Fair
Eliora Abraham, 16.
District Nine Female.
She inhales deeply, letting the thick white smoke fill her lungs.
"I wish you'd quit it with the smoking El," her girlfriend Tizrah murmurs, leaning back on the small hay bale they're sitting on just outside Eliora's uncle's farm.
"Stop this?" she giggles, pursing her lips into a small, round O shape and leaning forward into Tizrah's face. Then, she removes the cigarette from her mouth and blows forward, a thick, white stream of smoke hitting the girl's pale face. Tizrah tries to maintain a stern look but fails miserably, breaking into a giggly fit of laughter.
"Yeah, that. It's going to kill you, you know. All the studies say it."
"Fuck those studies," Eliora replies, rolling her pale blue eyes and sticking the cigarette back in her mouth. "A lot of things can kill me. Stepping out of my house can kill me. So should I stay home all the time? No."
Tizrah sighs, resting her head on Eliora's shoulder. "You're so dumb sometimes, you know that?"
She smiles. "Yeah, I know."
Then they sit in silence for a while, watching Eliora's uncle and aunt water the fields in the back of their house. Eliora should be helping but she isn't—her rule is if her spoiled-rotten-good-for-nothing cousin Adira is off doing something idiotic with her cool and rebellious boyfriend, then she doesn't need to help either. But when her aunt yells at them for not helping them with the crops, she's always the first one who gets blamed. She knows that her aunt favors her own children over her, but Eliora can't help that her mother ran off with some rich conman and left her with no other relatives but them. She knows they love her, but it's hard having one more mouth to feed, especially one that you didn't ask for.
But life isn't fair for anyone. At least they had parents who cared about them and didn't abandon them for some guy they barely knew. That's more then she can say.
"I think I might leave soon," Tizrah mutters, looking up at Eliora with wide eyes.
Eliora feels her stomach drop. She hates it when Tizrah leaves. She always feels like she's doing better stuff without her, and she's a pretty girl too; everywhere she goes Tizrah always has people staring. What if she found someone she liked more than Eliora? What if she cheated on her?
"Where do you need to go?" Eliora questions inquisitively.
Tizrah shrugs. "Oh, nowhere really."
"Then why are you leaving?" she asks, maybe a bit too urgently.
Her girlfriend blinks, a bit startled at how fast she asked that question. "Uh—I just thought I might catch up with some people I haven't seen in a while is all."
"What people?"
Tizrah giggles, rolling her head back and off Eliora's shoulder. "Why so many questions all of a sudden?" she asks, her tone suggesting a hint of playfulness. However, her smile is beginning to fade, her lips curving downward slightly into a frown.
The brunette looks away. "I—I was just curious is all," Eliora stutters, though, her sudden interest isn't just curiosity. Rather, it was a desire to know—or better put, a constant need to know. What if she was seeing another girl? Why did she just divert the question? Was she cheating on her? Was that why she didn't want to answer the question?
"Oh—okay," Tizrah mutters, her normal sunny smile returning. "It's my friend Jane and her boyfriend, Mitt."
"Okay, well, do you really need to go?" Eliora asks, blinking her puppy dog eyes at her girlfriend. If she makes Tizrah feel guilty for abandoning her, then maybe she'll stay. It's a tactic she uses a lot when she wants people to do what she wants. "I'd miss you a lot. And I like spending time with you. It makes my day when I get to see you smile."
"Well—" Eliora begins, trailing off after a second, her jaw hanging open. "I don't need to. But—"
Eliora cut her off, not letting her finish. "Then stay."
The girl nods, resting her head back on Eliora's shoulder. "Alright, just for a little bit though. I still want to see Jane and Mitt."
She sighs, her chest slumping slightly. Is she not good enough for Tizrah? Why doesn't she want to spend time with her anymore? Are Mitt and Jane more fun than she is? Does Tizrah hate her?
"I'll come then," Eliora suggests, not wanting to be left out. "That way, you can see all of us together."
"Oh—okay," her girlfriend replies, looking a bit disappointed. "But you don't even know them. Don't you think it will be a little awkward?"
"Nah," she lies. "I love meeting new people." Another lie. "I'm sure they'll like me." A lot of people didn't get along quite well with her; she drove people away more than anything else, even when she put in an effort. "And you always said I should get out more, right?"
"I guess. . ." Tizrah mutters, trailing off again at the end. After some time, she speaks again. "Yeah, I guess it will be good for you. You'll like them too, they're super nice."
"Then it's settled!" she chimes. "W—"
The loud roaring of a car engine cuts her off. It rumbles like thunder in the distance, growing closer and louder with each passing second. Her and Tizrah glance up at the same time to see an old car speed down the long dirt road that leads to her house, kicking dust everywhere. It swerves closer until it jolts to a halt a few feet in front of them, dirt flying in their faces. Eliora coughs violently, pulling the cigarette out of her mouth and rolling her eyes.
"Show off," she mutters too quietly for anyone but herself to hear.
"Oh-my-gosh, you didn't tell me your cousin has a car!" Tizrah yelps excitedly, leaping to her feet and running forward to inspect the car. "That's so cool! I heard there's only a few of them left in all the districts, let alone Nine. I w—"
"It's not my cousin's," Eliora cuts her off, twisting her face into a grimace. "It's her boyfriend's."
As if on cue, the dust begins to settle and the car door flies open. Out steps Hanover, Adira's boyfriend. He's wearing a black leather jacket and tall boots with ripped skinny jeans that are at least two sizes too small. They're tight in areas she doesn't want to see and Eliora feels like she's going to gag. She rolls her eyes again, not impressed by the show Adira's boyfriend is putting on for them. However, Tizrah has completely fallen for it, staring at Hanover like he is an immortal god with infinite power.
"Son of a bitch, you ruined my cigarette," she grumbles, throwing it down on the ground and stepping on it with her boot.
"Well you shouldn't be smoking anyway," she hears a familiar voice rasp, and a second later Adira appears from the other side of a car, a wicked grin plastered on her face.
"Exactly!" Tizrah exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. "That's what I've been trying to tell her for months!"
Eliora growls, giving her girlfriend an icy glare. "Are you taking her side?"
The girl freezes, then shakes her head back and forth quickly, denying it. "No—I was just saying—"
"She was just saying that you're dumb as rocks," Adira jeers, her sly smile as wide as ever.
"Like you aren't, running around with that wannabee rebel," Eliora retorts, rolling her pale blue eyes yet again. "You're so spoiled you don't even see that you got it good. I hope you get caught and see that you're the dumber one."
Her cousin's boyfriend steps in the middle of them, wrapping his arms around both Adira and Tizrah. "Ladies, ladies. You don't have to f—
Eliora yelps, yanking Hanover's arm off of Tizrah and pulling her back toward her. "Get your hands off of her, you filthy slob!"
"Don't touch him either!" Adira exclaims, stepping forward and giving her cousin a hard shove. Eliora's caught off guard and stumbles backward, tripping over her own two feet and falling flat on her back.
Tizrah squeaks in surprise. "I—I—I think it's best if I leave."
"Stay!" Eliora barks, scrambling to her feet and running back toward Adira. Clenching her fist, she prepares to hit her bratty cousin square in the nose. Adira tries to duck away but Eliora is too fast, her knuckles colliding with the hard bone on the bridge of her nose.
Crack!
Clutching the spot where Eliora hit her, Adira begins to wail like a banshee. Hanover hovers over her, gripping her shoulders and telling her she's okay. Red blood runs down her cousin's lips and chin, dripping onto her pretty white dress. Tizrah is crying a few feet away, her head buried in her hands.
"Who is the dumbass now?" Eliora roars, standing triumphantly over the wailing girl. However, this might not have been the smartest thing to do. Adira begins to wail louder, this time for her mother.
"MOMMMM! MOOMMMM!"
All of a sudden, her aunt comes out of nowhere and grabs her daughter's blood-stained face. Tizrah's now having a complete breakdown behind her, while Hanover has been pushed aside and is now sitting on the ground wondering what just happened.
"Did you do this Eliora?" Her aunt asks, turning around to face her with blazing eyes and flaring nostrils.
"Yes, but—"
"Go to your room! Tizrah, leave!"
"But—" Eliora protests.
"I don't care! Get out of my sight now!"
"She hit me first!"
"And you hit her last! Go!"
She sighs in defeat and turns to kiss her girlfriend goodbye. However, the pale girl is already gone, slipped through her fingers like tiny grains of sand.
Lennox Orseni, 15.
District Nine Male.
He stands outside his best friend's house with a giant grin plastered on his freckled face. His two arms are folded behind his back: in his hands is a small box with a jingling trinket inside. He taps his foot impatiently as he waits, staring at the white door with glowing hazel eyes.
Then, the door flies open and he looks up to see the not-so-surprised face of his best friend, Kari.
"Surprise!" he exclaims, his toothy smile growing even wider.
She doesn't return it, blinking at him with a straight face. "Surprise? You come to my house every day you idiot."
Lennox's smile doesn't fade despite her abrasive comment. "Well, today is different! Do you know what day it is today?"
"Uh, October 10th?" she asks, placing her hands on her hips. She doesn't look amused.
"Yes, and what day might that be?" he asks, trying to lead her on.
"Uh, Saturday?"
"No silly, it's your birthday!" he exclaims, jutting his hand out from behind his back and showing her the blank brown box that was in his hand. Despite being from a wealthier family in Nine—they're still poor compared to other districts, and the plain box is all he can afford. He saw a pretty one with green and blue stripes at the market but it was a few pennies too expensive, so the brown one had to do.
She smiles slightly, grabbing the box from his hand. "You know you didn't have to get me anything," she mutters, staring down at the gift. "I don't really like birthdays either. It just means I'm one year closer to dying."
Lennox shook his head back and forth vehemently. "Don't think of it like that. Think of it as being one year closer to living the rest of your amazing life."
"My amazing life?" she gawks. "Here? In Nine?"
Lennox nods his head. He knows what she means—in the doldrums on District Nine, what life was amazing? People do backbreaking work for little to no pay until they physically can't do that work anymore, then they sit in their slummy house and wait to die. That's the average person's life here. However, he knows Kari isn't average. She's intelligent and witty, and Lennox knows she can do anything she sets her mind to.
"Yeah, you're going to have an amazing life. Even here. In District Nine, the place where dreams come true."
She snorts. "Now you're just being silly. So can I open this puppy up, or what?"
"Of course!" he exclaims. "I didn't just get that for you to stare at!"
Laughing, Kari twists the top of the small box off and lifts it up, reveling the contents inside. However, her smile fades when she lays her eyes on what's inside.
"A necklace? You've known me for your entire life and you got me a necklace?"
"Not just any kind of necklace," Lennox chortles, ignoring her obvious disappointment. "It's a friendship necklace. I have one too, and when you put them together, they connect! Isn't that cool?"
Lifting the chain up, Kari narrows her eyes and stares at it as if it's some kind of foreign object. She twists her head around and examines it from different angles, then yanks on it to see if it's strong. It is. Finally, she places it in the palm of her hand and then chucks it into the bushes a few feet away.
Lennox's mouth drops as he watches the gift he spent his entire three months allowance on soar through the air and land in a pile of mud.
"I don't need a stupid necklace to know that you're my best friend," she declares. "You just being here is enough."
He grits his teeth, driving his anger deeper inside him until he can't feel it anymore. Then, he smiles like nothing is wrong. "Yeah, you're right. We don't need necklaces. It's not like they were expensive or anything, so it's fine. It's fine."
"Okay great!" Kari exclaims, placing the empty box back in her pocket and leaping outside. "So, what super fun birthday activities do you have planned for me today?"
Lennox smiles again, trying to place the rejected gift in the back of his mind. Every year since they were six, the two of them have planned surprise activities for the other on their birthday. Some years they've been hits, and some years they've completely blown—just like his gift. But he's determined to make this year extra special for Kari; she only turns fifteen once, after all.
"Well, I can't tell you all of them, or I'd spoil all the fun for you! But we're going tractor racing first!"
Kari buzzes with excitement, which makes Lennox's heart soar. He loves seeing his friend happy. To him, making others happy it's one of the best feelings in the world. It's like giving a gift, but this time, they actually like it.
It's fine Lennox, he tells himself silently. Remember, it's not about you. It's about Kari. You can earn that money back some other day.
"So, who else is going to this tractor race?" Kari asks as they walk across her front lawn and start down the sidewalk.
"Silas," he says, his face beginning to flush pink. Kari notices and breaks out into a fit of laughter, but she's known for a while he's had a crush on the older boy. After all, it's not a secret he wears his heart on his sleeve. When he came out to his dad that he was bisexual last year, his dad just laughed and said he could tell ever since Lennox came out of the womb. When Lennox is happy people can tell; when he's sad people can tell; when he's excited, well—people can tell. The only thing people can't see is his anger, which he buries deep inside and tries to forget until it all bubbles up and festers over. But that doesn't happen often. It's only happened three times in the time he can remember—all times of which he tries to forget.
"Ooohhh," Kari teases, giving him a playful punch on the shoulder. "You going to make a move today?"
Lennox turns even redder. "Stop it!" he chides, folding his arms over his chest defensively and taking a step away from her. "And no. Today is supposed to be about you, I'm not going to come and make it all about me."
His best friend giggles. "Yeah, you know I like it that way. I love it when people treat me like a victor."
"Yeah, I for sure know that," he teases, rolling his warm hazel eyes. "So, what did your parents get you so far?"
"Well, no necklaces," she laughs, though to Lennox, it's not a joke.
It doesn't matter, he tells himself.
Well, if he's still stuck on the matter, it kind of does.
A/N: Today is the one year anniversary of me publishing Crimson! Time really flies; it's pretty unbelievable honestly. I certainly didn't think I'd be here, writing the sequel to a completed and almost 190k+ word story! But I'm here, and already at 120 reviews for this one! You all are amazing and I can't thank you enough :) Keep it up!
These characters were fun, and tell me what you think. D10 should be out next week, but I am busy next weekend and I might not have the wifi to publish it where I'll be, so we'll see. But still expect it Saturday, though it might be a few days later. Just a heads up.
It's 70 degrees and feeling happy,
paper :)
