Fall Baromet, 17, District 9 male
Freezing, it's fucking freezing in here. I turn up the music to this music player I stole from some punk in the streets, hoping that'll take my mind off of how cold it is in here. No matter how often I sleep in this damn shed, I never get used to this cold. This is usually where I sleep, in this fucking shed. All i'm doing is laying across this busted up sofa wishing I had something to keep me warm and something to eat, wishful thinking though. I'll just fall asleep maybe I can steal some food from my house tomorrow.
I continue blasting the music with my eyes closed as I bump my head in sync with the tunes, resting both my hands behind my head. I continue doing this until I feel a warm finger poke me in the arm and I quickly jump up as I see a little girl standing over me with a grocery bag inbetween her arms…my little sister Winter.
"What the hell are you doing here? What do you want?" I growl at her.
"I…I just thought you might be cold and hungry, so I brung you a blanket and some sugar cookies, the way mom used to make them…" Winter does a shy smile. Mom huh? A scowl forms across my face and I ball my fists.
"She'll still be here if it wasn't for you! Just fucking looking at you reminds me of her! Get lost!" I yell at her before snatching the grocery bag out of her small arms and throwing it across the shed, as the sugar cookies fall out and break upon hitting the floor. I can see she's hurt by this…it hurts me too, but she only gives me a sad look before holding her head down and walking out of the shed.
I was born in a nature loving family and they specialize in natural goods and essential healing oils. My father is a famous veterinarian and I have three sisters, Summer, Spring and Winter. The ages of 25, 22 and 13 respectively. My mom, she died after experiencing birthing complications with Winter. As she took her last breathes, She asked me to be the best big brother I possibly can to Winter, and I promised her i would. I haven't been keeping that promise though.
My mom was my best friend, she was number one! I was always a knuckle head but she always defended me no matter what. After she died I just became worst. Always finding ways to cause chaos and as a result, my father rarely let me sleep in the house. I wish I could be a better brother, I do care about Winter, I just have a real fucked up way of showing it. The rest of my family hates me with a passion, just thinks I'm a waste of space but Winter, I feel like I actually matter, like I'm actually worth something when I see how she treats me. She goes out of her way to make sure I'm comfortable, and I just give her shit in return.
She just reminds me so much of mom, she looks exactly like her, but everytime I see her I'm just reminded over and over that she took mom away from me!
It's not her fault though, she doesn't deserve my crap, especially not after everythings she's done for me. I wish I didn't throw those cookies on the floor though. Having an empty stomach is one of the worst feelings ever. Might aswell go out and start some trouble again. I leave my music player behind and exit this run down shed as I head to one of the few places that's still open at this time late at night, a fruit stand. There's not a lot of people out here but there's still a few. A guy who looks a little older than me is walking by and I only shoot him a glare as he gives me a confused look. A middle aged man passes by me shortly after and looks at me.
"What the hell you looking at!?" I snap at hm.
"Whoa kid you ok?" the middle aged man asks with concern.
"Does it look like I'm not ok!?" I raise my voice.
"Kids these days…" the man mumbles as he walks away.
"Speak up next time punk!" I bark at him but he only continues walking away without responding.
Honestly I find my disrespectful behavior pretty comical, I don't really mean any harm for the most part.
Still though, would he nice to have some company every now and then, I quickly push that thought away though as I reach the fruit stand. The owner of this fruit stand is Stan and he hates me just like everyone else in the district does. I've stolen from him on more than a few occasions, he's just a stupid old man though, he can never catch me. I quickly grab an apple from the stand and slip it into my pocket before he notices my presence and spins around.
"Hey what are you doing here? Get away!" Stan immediately shouts at me and I snicker.
"Relax old man, don't pop a blood vessel, just seeing what you got!" I snicker.
"No! All you do is steal and break my stuff! Get out of here!" Stan yells once more.
"Shut up old man!" I yell before knocking over a barrel of apples and laugh as I step on some of them and proceed to knock over a crate of grapes as I laugh even louder.
"No! No! You're destroying my fruits! Stop!" Stan screams but I only laugh more and grab his crate of pears and throw it on the ground before walking away.
"Next time try and be more welcoming you stupid old man!" I laugh as I walk away but I suddenly bump into something as I was too busy looking at the old man to see what was in front of me. I turn around and see a real tall and bulky guy, he must be atleast three times my size but I only give him an angry look.
"Watch where you're going next time jackass!" I curse at him.
"I believe you owe my father a apology." The man calmy say and I only laugh.
"Oh that's your old man back there huh? Well atleast you can inherit this shitty business once he drops dead, anyways have fun cleaning that mess up, I'll be back tomorrow with some more stuff for you to clean up." I cockily laugh as I begin walking away but he suddenly digs his giant hand into my shoulder, beginning to pull me back and I quickly turn around and punch him in the face. He doesn't even budge though! My punch literally had no effect on him. He retaliates by punching me in the jaw, immediately knocking me to the ground and my head spins as i get onto my knees struggling to stand up. He kicks me in the torso while i try to stand and I let out a pained groan falling back to the ground. He then grabs my head before dragging me across the ground back to the fruit stand.
"Now lets try that again, I believe you owe my father an apology!" he says more impatiently as I spit blood on the ground. I'm no match for this guy, I need to just swallow my pride for now and get this over with.
"Ok, ok fine, I'm sorry alright?" I carelessly say.
"Now you can start cleaning up this mess you made!" Stan yells at me and I only grit my teeth as I slowly stand up, his son glares me, ready to strike me again if I did something he didn't like.
"Yeah, sure." I sigh as I start cleaning the mess up I made. It takes about an hour for me to clean it up, but I get it done and I just want to go home and bask in my embarrassment.
"Next time you mess with my dad, I will hurt you so bad that you'd wish you were dead." Stan's son warns me as he reaches into my pocket and pulls out the apple I stole before taking a bite out of it. I only give him an angry look before storming away cursing under my breath.
I arrive back in my cold shed as I wipe away my tears of anger and sit infront of my cage where my pet Lizard Rex is.
"Hey buddy!" I happily greet Rex, pick him up out of the cage and let him rest on my arm. I love reptiles with a passion and Rex was the closest I had to a friend. My sister Winter bought him for me, I was really down one day and it was to the point where I was just here crying. Being lonely and not having a mom takes a toll after a while. Anyways Winter bought Rex to cheer me up and this was the nicest thing she could've ever done for me. More tears roll down my eyes as I remember how terrible of a brother I am to her. Winter, I'm so sorry.
Winter Baromet, 13, District 9 female
"Winter? Daddy's little angel? Hello?" I hear my sister Spring before she begins shaking my arm as my eyes begin to open and I smile as I see Spring standing over me with her arms crossed.
"Wow, I slept like a rock huh?" I giggle and Spring only rolls her eyes.
"It's time to get up, you slept long enough, Dad misses his little baby girl so hurry up and come downstairs." She say with a bit of an attitude before leaving my room and I sit up and stretch before looking out the window where I can see the shed that Fall sleeps in almost every night. I just hope he used the blanket I gave him last night, it was cold as ice out there last night. I did like the cold though, it didn't bother me as much but fall, just hope he's ok.
After I'm finished brushing my teeth and washing my face, I look myself in the mirror. I'm only five feet tall so pretty short, an oval face with a soft chin, a small nose, small elvish ears and small lips, my eyes are a pale grey and my eyebrows are a bit bushy. My hair is naturally blonde but I dyed it grey since it matches with my eyes like peanut butter and jelly! I walk downstairs and see my two sisters at the table whispering something to each other but they both turn around to face me.
"Good morning!" I smile as I greet them.
"Dad is in the kitchen, he wants his little princess to help him!" Summer smiles but I can tell she has a bit of an attitude.
"How are you this morning?" I walk over to her and hug her and she hugs me back.
"Fine, I see you baked some cookies last night, where did they all go?" Spring questions.
"I made them for Fall, I figured he must've been hungry after being kicked out of the house and all." I respond in a slightly more impatient tone, I just hate how they treat him likes he's worthless trash, maybe he won't be as much of a menace if we all come together and treat him like family, treat him like he matters.
"Really? He is such a waste of space, leave him be Winter, he'll just drag you down with him!" Summer butts in. I feel anger beginning to rise, but it's so pointless arguing with them about this, their opinions on Fall won't ever change. I only sigh as I walk into the kitchen where my father is finishing up the rosemary eggs and potatoes, he know that's my favorite and prepares it for me often.
"Hey babygirl!" my father happily hugs and kisses me
"Good morning dad…" I greet him. I'm still a bit upset with him how he kicked out Fall last night. No one deserves to sleep in that freezing cold, no one. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.
"This dinner smells good!" I greet him and he gives me an odd look.
"This is breakfast sweetheart…" He corrects me and I only facepalm myself as I begin laughing.
"Oh yeah, yeah that's right sorry." I laugh. This is so embarrassing, I sometimes have my ditzy moments like now.
"Haha, it's ok, I find your brain fart moments pretty hilarious, anyways We have quite a few customers to take care of after the reapings, those herbal remedies you put together, they're selling like hotcakes!" he informs me.
I've studied flowers and herbs for as long as I can remember, I can probably name every flower and herb in existance, that's how much of a geek I am. Anyways I use this knowledge to put together herbal remedies and my father sells them at his job where it's become quite popular.
"Oh, ok yeah that's fine." I smile and I help dad out into the living room with the potatoes and eggs.
"This again? We had this for like a whole week straight!" Spring groans.
"Well you can cook yourself if you have a problem with what I'm making!" My father fires back at her and she only rolls her eyes.
We all begin eating at the table and everything is awkwardly quiet before Summer opens her mouth full of eggs and potatoes.
"So dad! Winter baked some cookies for Fall last night, cute right?" She sarcastically say.
"Winter come on, you know we don't have resources to be wasting on him, don't do that again sweety." He smiles at me but I only let out a small sigh as I stare at my plate. I can't take this for much longer.
"Can't stand that damn kid though, can't wait till he eighteen so I can kick him out for good!" my father scoffs as he puts a piece of potato in his mouth.
"Since his birthday is soon lets just start throwing his stuff out now, it's making the house smell!" Spring shouts.
"Amazing idea! Seriously screw that piece of crap!" Summer chimes iin.
"We can actually do that, Since he wants to act all grown we can even set his things on fire, a grown tough man like him should be able to fend for himself!" My father agrees with the both of them. I pick up my plate and begin leaving the table.
"Honey where are you going?" My father questions me.
"My stomach is hurting, I'll eat this later!" I lie before heading upstairs as they continue to talk about how terrible Fall is. I'm going to cover this food up and bring it to Fall later after the reapings.
I dress in my flowy grey dress with white flurries and I took at the snowflake hairpin Fall gave me when we were six, I still remember how it all happened. I was six at the time and my brother's first pet Lizard had gotten real sick, Fall got desperate and tried to use some of our dad's veterinary equipment to save it. I accidentally walked in on Fall during the middle of this and startled the both of them. The lizard immediately gashed me on my thigh, I still have the scar. It didn't hurt that much at the time, I didn't even cry but my father overreacted and that was the first time he kicked out Fall, who was only ten at the time.
This was also the day of my birthday and I refused to celebrate it if Fall wasn't allowed to attend. My dad and sisters still refused though and I brung cake and balloons to the shed where my brother was, to celebrate my birthday with him. He told me from the get go he didn't blame me for anything that happened and he wished me a happy birthday before giving me this snowflake hairpin.
I spent the night with him in the shed and it was a great birthday, being there with my brother, that's all I'd ever ask for.
I finish getting dressed and me and my family head out to the square. We pass by the shed on the way and I see if Fall is still in there, but I don't see him and figure he must be at the square already. It only takes us a few minutes to reach the square but I give my family a hug before getting my blood drawn and enter the thirteen year old female section where our escort Violet, who is as her name suggests is completely colored Violet takes the stage with our six living victors.
I see a girl around my height standing next to me and I love her dress so much!
"Hey, I like your dress!" I smile at her and she turns around seeming a little surprised at first but smiles.
"Really? Thank you! I like your dress too!" She compliments me.
"Thank you! Grey is my favorite color, so yeah I just decided to go with grey pants today." I laugh and she gives me an odd look.
"You're not wearing any pants though…" she comments and I smirk as I let out a sigh, here we go again.
"R-right! Yeah I mean dress, yeah that's what I meant!" I quickly correct myself laughing.
"Yeah I figured, haha! I'm Bianca by the way!" Bianca extends her hand.
"Winter! Winter Baromet! So nice to meet you!" I shake her hand.
"Winter Baromet!" I hear Violet call out and I immediately freeze as my smile fades iinstantly. Bianca only has her mouth dropped as she looks at me in shock. I immediately try and recompose myself as I begin walking towards the stage doing my best to hold back my tears. I stand next to violet and I can feel myself begin to starve for oxygen as I realize I wasn't even breathing.
"Any volunteers?" Violet calls and as usual no one volunteers and she walks over to the males bowl. I can't even process whats going on, I can hear my father and sisters crying but it feels like I'm in a trance as I'm just standing here.
"Jackson Idras!" Violet calls.
I hear a very loud and exaggerated sigh before the same voice say
"Guess I have to volunteer now!".
I recognize the voice immediately as my trance ends and I see my brother Fall approach from the seventeen year old section. He's not even wearing any shoes, has on a dark green button up shirt with a stained black vest along with ripped up black slacks. He has much nicer clothes than this, guess he just decided not to wear it for whatever reason. I can't help but smile upon seeing him though, I already feel a lot better now!
"Wonderful wonderful! A Volunteer! Only the second volunteer in district 9! What's your name handsome!?" Violet cheers.
"Fall Baromet." Fall yawns and violet raises her eyebrows.
"Siblings?" Violent asks.
"Well obviously! What the hell does it look like!?" Fall immediately snaps at her before she jumps in fear.
"Right! Right! Here is our tributes representing district 9 this year! Shake hands you two!" Violet cheers. Fall extends his hand and i awkwardly shake it. I can see he's annoyed but i also see some assurance in his eyes. I'm happy Fall is with me, but it hurts knowing that in the best case scenario, only one of us is returning alive…
Here's district 9! I accidentally uploaded the rough draft that was full of typos so i quickly edited it. Anyways guys, reapings are almost over and I'm going to get these overwith! Till next time!