Wow thanks for the awesome response to the last chapter! I was all worried that it wasn't tragic/sad enough :)
Two funerals in one day. Here in District Twelve, we combine funerals so everyone can get back to the mines faster. Allie's funeral is first, since she from town. Order of funerals is always decided by reputation in town; or how rich you are.
I decide to stay far away from Mr. and Mrs. Binden today. I personally don't want to get into another screaming match with Allie's dad over her coffin.
Coffin. What an ugly word. It's so...final. Like there's nothing but dirt waiting for you once you kick it and leave.
I'm nursing a pounding headache from whiskey for most of the funeral. I squinch my eyes up and try to stay in the shade, but the...coffin, is like a magnet. Her casket's open for the first hour, and I basically stand at the head of it and stare down at my girl.
It's downright creepy and terrifying. I hate dead bodies, and this is just awful. She looks all pale and drawn, and the black dress they've put her in just makes her look even more wan. She told me once that black is her least favorite color because it's lifeless and depressing. The little necklace Anguria found for me after my Victory is the only sparkle of color on the endless black, but the mayor steps up and removes the chain from Allie's neck. I narrow my eyes and follow him to the grieving parents.
"Would you like to have this? It's valuable, and it would be wasteful for your daughter to be buried in it." Mayor Undersee is a very blunt man and says exactly what any family would do with a valuable. Of course it's valuable, stupid man. It's a real gem, not like you would know it.
"I don't even know where she'd gotten such a nice necklace, or that she had it! Of course we'd like to keep it!" The greedy light in both pairs of eyes throws me for a loop. Not even five seconds ago, Mrs. Binden had been sobbing seemingly unstoppably into her husband's shoulder, yet now her eyes were dry. That stupid self-righteous smirk fluttering at the corners of Mr. Binden's mouth sets me off, and before I can stop my self, I grab the necklace.
"Pretty li'l thing, ain't it?" I play up the Seam drawl in my voice and forget the grammar learned in the Capitol. Sorry, Wellik. Sorry, Anguria. Waste of time, tryin' to teach me anything.
"Give that back, you-"
"Well, don'cha think th' person who got it fer her should have it back?"
"We need the money!"
"I doubt that. Ya got customers every day, and you can afford to live in town. Me, I live in the big ol' empty house by m'self, could use a good mem'ry." Mr. Binden shoots daggers at me, but Mayor Undersee looks delighted and hands it to me.
"See now, that's real forgiveness! Just yesterday you two men were brawling in the apothecary and now you've forgiven one another!" Is Undersee really that stupid, or is he acting? His son Tom isn't an idiot like him.
"Yess...Forgiveness..." Mr. Binden hisses at me through a clenched and forced smile. I grin big and thank him in my best "Seam hick" voice.
"Means a helluva lot, sir!" Mayor Undersee goes on about the real goodness displayed here, and then goes up to make some speech about how good of a girl my Allie was. Not like he really new her, but it's his job. I escape from the purpling husband and wife quickly and slide into a seat next to Hazelle Linch. Allie would be furious at me for doing that to her parents, but I know she'd be laughing through any real anger
"I'm sorry, Haymitch," Hazelle says, and I know she means it. Allie was her best friend, and I feel a prick in my eyes. Hazelle's eyes are pink and puffy and Ihug her tight for a moment, then release her when Cal gives me a dirty look.
"Yeah, I'm sorry too. S'my fault she's dead, anyway." Hazelle looks shocked.
"What?"
"Yeah. His Wonderfulness Sir Splendidness President of Panem Snow told me that unless I apologized to ev'ry one of the districts on television about using the arena that there'd be severe consequences. I figured something, like, not letting me in the Village. Or a whippin'. So I didn't apologize and..." I gesture weakly at the cemetery. "Consequences."
"Oh, come on! That's not true!"
"Maybe not, but there's no point tellin' me otherwise." Talk is stopped by the mayor tapping on the microphone and a loud squeal of feedback makes everyone throw their hands to their ears. I smile, imagining Allie's sarcastic comments.
"District Twelve, home of Panem's most intelligent tech team."
"Allaine Binden was a loved and wonderful girl, and loving to everyone she met. She'll be missed by everyone."
Hazelle leans over and whispers, "Oh, she definitely loved everyone she met. Remember Dax Potts?" Dax was in Allie's sixth grade class, and the most perverted person I've ever known. He had major love for Allie and she was creeped out so,...she wasn't always very nice to him. Actually, she wasn't ever nice to him. Poor Dax was so smitten that he tried to kiss her after school.
She punched him in the face.
"Whatever happened to Dax, anyway?"
"Reaped, three years ago." Ah, yes.
"Thanks all for coming...Next funeral will be in a half hour." There's a scraping of numerous chairs as people stretch between Allie's funeral and Mom's funeral. Jack puts his hand on my shoulder and gets me up to my girl's coffin. I reach out and gently stroke her hand. The lid slams shut and Allie Binden is gone.
###
I'm flanked by Jack and Cal during Mom's funeral. Honestly, I'm a mess. There'll be good-natured jeering later about my waterworks factory, but for now the guys are being supportive.
"...Such a loss, a loving mother and a good woman..." Snatches of Mayor Undersee's eulogy get caught in my brain, and I nearly lose it at "loving mother". Obviously, no one had told the mayor of Mom's fondness for chasing me and Hayden around with a wooden spoon if we didn't do what she wanted.
I hate funerals. The barman raises his eyebrows at me when I walk in again, and asks me if I'm not too young to be drinking so much.
I point out that he gives reduced prices to the Seam waifs who give him their bodies. He hurriedly pours me a drink.
It's not like I can hold my alcohol anyway. It just gives me a fuzzy feeling and I forget everything for a while. But after four drinks, I'm already running to the toilet.
Allie would hate me for doing this.
Another short chapter, my apologies. I'm trying to juggle school and SCHOOL DRAMA and testing and yechh. So I write when I can. Hopefully the next chapter will be a little longer :)