District 6 Reapings
Lotus Mitsubishi, 13, District 6
The sound of the doorbell chime perks Lotus up. It wasn't often the Mitsubishis had visitors, but Lotus always enjoyed chatting with whoever dropped by, unless it was one of Renault's friends, who were all too happy to completely ignore her.
Heading for the door, she's nominally disappointed when her older brother, Renault, beats her to it, as he swings the door open, revealing a very stout delivery man carrying a large, white box. It's at that moment that her mother, Acura, appears in the narrow hallway motioning for Renault to step behind her, so she can sign for the package.
"I got you both something. Just a little gift before the reapings," Acura smiles cheerily, taking the box and placing it on the floor for her children to examine. Pulling the top two flaps apart, the box pops open and Lotus peers inside. At first she's excited, immediately recognizing the musky scent of secondhand books, but she's quickly disappointed when she catches sight of the title.
The Value of the Capitol.
Of course, her mother would choose something like that.
"You got me a book? That seems like more of a punishment than a gift," Renault groans, "Just give mine to Lotus, she loves that sort of stuff. The last thing I need is more assigned reading."
"Oh, don't be so dismissive, Renault," Acura chides, "These are historical classics. I think you'd quite like them if you gave it a chance. Besides, I think it's time you both start reading some more age-appropriate books. It'll be good for you to take on some mature reading and expand your horizons."
"Thanks, mom," Lotus smiles, taking the book, knowing full well it will sit entirely untouched on her bookshelf. She already had her favorite books she liked to read and she doubted that The Value of the Capitol would ever be as exciting as the DNA series she had come to love so dearly. For the first time in her life, Lotus was willing to judge a book by it's bland cover. All it took was one look at the dull, grey book to form a strong feeling that there would be no human-animal hybrids or forest adventures to be found within its many pages.
They should put a limit on how long boring books can be, Lotus thinks to herself.
Regardless, her mother remains none the wiser and is seemingly pleased with Lotus's response to her gift, smiling brightly. "Of course, my flower. I'm proud of you for being so open-minded. You're really growing up," she adds with a pointed look in Renault's direction, causing Lotus to snicker.
Perhaps, one day Renault would wisen up and learn how to keep his thoughts to himself around their dear mother, but Lotus wasn't holding her breath.
"Actually, mom, can I also take the box?" Lotus asks, before she returns back to her room.
"Sure," Acura agrees, "-just don't hurt yourself if you decide to cut it up for one of your crafts."
Crafts. Lotus supposed that was one way to describe what she did with her friends, but truthfully, her mother had no idea what she did in her spare time. It was always less about making crafts and more about imagination, as Lotus loved nothing more than bringing her very favorite stories to life. She liked to act out scenes with her friends or even create their own little stories within the DNA world, running around town as though they were actually their favorite characters.
Lotus would climb trees, climb walls, even climb parked cars until she got barked at by a group of rather grouchy peacekeepers. In a home where leisure money was limited, Lotus learned how to create her own fun.
When she slips into her bed at night, she glances at The Value of the Capitol sitting on her desk then back to her bedside table where the first book of the DNA series rests. For a moment she considers getting up to retrieve her mother's suggested reading, but immediately decides against it, snuggling deeper into her blankets and picking up the ever-familiar book to her right.
Sighing contently, she lets herself fall deep into the pages of her favorite world, hoping that she might stay there forever.
Michael "Mickey" Romulus, 16, District 6
There's a crumbling hospital in District 6, one where they keep the poorest of the poor, the sickest of the sick. Michael wonders if it's even worthy of its title as a hospital, having been ransacked by Morphling addicts on the regular. If the dripping ceilings were any indication, it was more an abandoned warehouse than a premiere medical facility.
It is however, Sara's home and for Michael, it feels desperately wrong to leave her in such a wretched place all alone. It's why he visits her every day, even on the morning of the reaping.
"Hello, Sara…" he says to the silence, somewhat glumly.
If Mickey had learned anything, it was that comatose patients weren't exactly the chattiest.
It was painful to see her in such a state, scalding burns marring nearly every part of her body. Charred locks of golden hair failed to cover the vast patches of blotchy skin, showing little to no sign of healing. It was a horrifically cruel fate for such a sweet girl, but that simply was how life was for the downtrodden and forgotten- endlessly tragic with no hope in sight.
To think it had all begun at the orphanage, home to the greatest and worst people in all of Panem.
He doesn't remember much before meeting Ben, Osaka, and Koby, his closest and only friends. Ben was a talented chef, managing to turn expired produce and the occasional can of beans in gourmet meals for his friends. Osaka had the voice of an angel and Koby...well, Koby had an unrelenting stream of awful jokes, which never failed to make his peers laugh from their cores. As for Mickey, he was their protector, defending them from the bullies and the other cruel folk, who took wicked joy in tormenting them.
One of their regular tormentors was particularly vile, an older boy named Reginald, who would come by the orphanage to sneer and spit in their faces. Eventually, Mickey had had enough and before he knew it, a little spat exploded into a brutal blood brawl. They met one another, punch for punch, collecting bruises and broken bones like loose change. Reginald was stronger, but Mickey played dirty, reaching for a sharp stick on the ground and stabbing Reginald directly in the eye.
Mickey revelled in his short-lived moment of victory, but it wasn't long before Reginald attempted to sue and his friends expressed that he had taken the fight way too far. After a failed lawsuit where Mickey got off scott-free, Reginald was out for blood, locking every door and setting fire to the entire orphanage. Thirty-three orphans perished brutally in the flames, except Mickey who had left to use the outhouse restroom and Sara, who had been found passed out, an inch from death and had been yet to wake up since.
On his way out of the hospital, he manages to catch a hassled nurse on the brink of exhaustion. He attempts to ask about Sara's condition, to which the nurse replies, "Why does it matter? You'll never be able to afford the treatment, anyway You're better off just putting an end to her misery."
It's a thought that lingers in the back of his mind as he watches the reaping go down. His feet are firmly planted in the middle of the town square, but he somehow feels as though he is watching everything through a screen. Thus, when a girl from the 13 year old section is reaped and attempts to run away, before being hauled back to the stage by peacekeepers, he almost envies her. Envies that at least she'll be put out of her misery soon enough.
It's finally the boy's turn and Mickey is exhausted, desperate to sit down. A name is called, but it doesn't register, all he sees is a meek little twelve year old, miserably failing at maintaining a brave face.
"I volunteer."
Mickey looks around, attempting to identify the source of the words, but quickly realizes they've come from his own mouth. The twelve year old boy begins to break down in tears as Mickey brushes past him, taking his place on the stage. He supposes this isn't too bad, saving one life already, especially if Sara was already a lost cause. He was ready to die, ready to end it all, so might as well save someone else in the process, Mickey thinks to himself.
"Hello? Hello? What is your name, my dear?" the escort asks as Mickey becomes a touch distracted by the sheer amount of body glitter she has lathered across her body.
"Michael," he says plainly.
"Well, Michael, you've been extraordinarily brave volunteering like this. You must tell us why," the escort probes.
"Uh-" Mickey blanks. "I need money to save my friend. She's dying. She needs treatment."
A lie.
"Well, that's wonderfully valiant of you, Michael. Your friend is very lucky to have someone like you looking out for them. I know we'll all be rooting for you to come home."
Mickey only wishes he felt the same way.
A/N: So here's district 6, I'm very sorry with how late it was! A massive thank you to SilverflowerXRavenpaw for Lotus and to AlexFalTon for Michael. This was both a very fun chapter to write and a very intense one. It was a pretty interesting challenge to dive into two polar opposite headspaces but I'm excited to hear what you guys think about these two tributes! -Anya