Chapter 5:
District Five
Davy Emmerich, 14
Six Months Before The Reaping
Most people wouldn't be dreading the end of the school day. In fact, most of Davy's fellow students were all expressing various levels of excitement at the last bell, knowing it meant the start of the weekend. But Davy wasn't like all of them, something that would disappoint his parents if they knew.
Which kind of complicates things since the reason for his dread has to do with spending time with his family for the next two evenings.
Davy rests his head down on his desk, letting out a small groan at having to leave already. "I don't want to go home," he mumbles against the wood, shaking his head a little bit.
His actions get a laugh from his friend and Davy turns his head to look up at Griffon as he puts a hand on Davy's shoulder. "Dude, you're probably the only person who's not excited about it being their birthday."
"I'm not excited about listening to them talk about nuclear physics all night and how they can't wait for me to study it," Davy sighs as he sits back up and starts slowly putting away his stuff, trying to procrastinate heading home. "But I can't tell them that…they would be so disappointed in me."
"So you would rather be miserable just to make them happy?" Griffon gives him an exasperated look as Davy stands up, swinging his bag on his shoulder and just giving Griffon a look that gives him his answer. "Come on, at least you're going to be eating great food at that banquet tomorrow night."
"Yes," Davy says as they start walking out of the classroom, pausing to wait for a group to pass before stepping out into the hallway and heading towards their lockers. "I get to eat good food while listening to people talk about how they're ruining this District with their energy choices."
"I keep telling you, start that club idea. I'll go to the store and we can get some markers and make signs and picket around the gala tomorrow. We'll show them all to care about the pollution those factories are putting out through the power of glitter glue." Griffon looks over at him and Davy turns away, refusing to look over and give his friend the satisfaction of seeing the stupid grin that is most definitely on his face right now.
"Glitter glue isn't going to fix the problem."
"Glitter glue always fixes things." From the corner of his eye, he can see Griffon shake his head when Davy still refuses to make eye contact with him. "You're impossible."
"So are you," Davy retorts as they reach his locker, pausing for a second to look over at him and give him a small smile. But as he starts putting in his combination, the smile fades as he thinks about the club idea. Griffon knows why he can't start that club…as much as he would love to talk about getting renewable energy here…no one will listen to him. Not that he has the courage to speak up in front of a big group and talk about renewable energy sources. In front of one or two people? Oh he could talk for hours, something Griffon knows from personal experience. But a crowd? Even just thinking about it terrifies him.
But most importantly, his parents would be so disappointed in him. He pulls open his locker, sticking his head in it so Griffon won't see the disappointment on his face that he can't do this one thing, even if it would make him so happy. "I don't think the Society of Nuclear Physicists will agree with that. Glitter glue isn't going to fix the fact that District Five has the highest pollution rate in Panem, yet none of the factory owners seem to care about doing something to even reduce it. My own parents don't even want to acknowledge that the nuclear plants are bad because 'at least they're not a coal plant'." Davy lets out a heavy sigh as he makes air quotes, able to picture almost the exact argument they would say if he brought this up to them again. It's for that reason that he hasn't brought it up again, even if he cares so much about it.
"No one will care about what I have to say about being green in the District with the most pollution…" He sighs once more and briefly shuts his eyes, wishing he could have more courage to stand up to them. "Who would even join that club?" he whispers to himself as he starts grabbing some of the books he'll need for the weekend. From the corner of his eye, he can see Griffon lean up against the locker next to his. "Griff, no matter what you say, I'm not going to-"
Davy lets out a little squeak of surprise when he turns towards his friend, only to find it's not Griffon standing there. He can feel his face immediately flushing, probably turning as red as the boy's hair standing in front of him. Davy clutches his books to his chest, looking away from the boy and trying to collect himself, but failing miserably when he glances back over and he's reminded just how cute Leandro Calder is. "Hi Leandro," he says meekly, turning back to his locker and staring inside to try and hide his blushing, even if he already has everything he needs. Gosh, Leandro probably thinks he's crazy for how he reacted… That was so not smooth.
Okay Davy, think – what would Amedeo say to do? Oh that won't work, Amedeo taught him how to flirt with girls, not cute boys who-
"Hey Davy," Leandro says quietly, making Davy briefly glances over at him before immediately turning back to his stuff when he sees the cute smile on his face. "I…uh…didn't mean to overhear your conversation, but I was walking over here and… um… I think the club is a good idea."
"What?" Davy asks, turning to look over at the cute boy with wide eyes, making Leandro nervously glance away and start picking at his nails. Davy briefly glances for Griffon, finding his friend standing out of Leandro's view with a ridiculous grin on his face as he wiggles his eyebrows and points at Leandro. Griffon holds up his hand to his ear, still pointing at Leandro and mouthing something. Davy starts squinting at his friend until he finally figures out what Griffon is trying to say and quickly shakes his head, but stops and blushes even more when Leandro looks back up at him. Why does Griffon even think Davy could get the courage to ask Leandro for his number? No way he can do that.
"The club…" Leandro says quietly, continuing to smile at Davy. When his eyes light up in excitement, Davy looks away once more, trying to discretely wipe his sweaty palms on his pants and calm his racing heart. Come on, Davy, play it cool… "You should start it. I would join and if you ever need someone to bake for a fundraiser, my mom will bake enough to feed half the District. She really cares about this and keeping people safe. But she also really loves baking."
"You know what," Griffon starts and Davy looks at him with pleading eyes, already knowing that whatever he's going to suggest is not going to be good for Davy. His friend needs to stay out of this, but Davy has known him long enough – and Griffon has known about his crush for too long – to expect Griffon to stay out of it. His friend puts a hand on both of their shoulders, grinning at both of them individually before continuing, "I think both of you should start this club together! It would be a great thing."
"If you want me to be involved…yeah, sure," Leandro smiles at Griffon before turning his attention back to Davy, surely making his face be the color of a tomato at this point. "Just let me know when you would like to work on it. Oh, and, uh, happy birthday."
"Thank you," Davy squeaks out and Leandro gives him a timid smile before turning around to meet up with his friends waiting for him, just some of the many friends that Leandro always seems to be surrounded by. Davy watches him for a few seconds, in disbelief that Leandro actually came up to him and talked to him. And he probably looked like such an idiot with how warm his face is right now. It must be so obviously to Leandro how he feels… but also, Leandro talked to him. Leandro Calder! The son of the best victor in District Five, talked to him! And knew it's his birthday!
Davy sighs happily as he shuts his locker, leaning up against it as Griffon stands in front of him, terrible grin on his face as he holds out his closed fist to Davy. "Am I the greatest friend ever or am I the greatest friend ever?"
"Shut up," Davy says as he pushes Griffon's fist away, refusing to give him a fist bump. He turns his attention to putting the rest of the books in his bag, trying to hide the big grin on his face that Leandro actually talked to him – and cared enough to know it was his birthday – but as he puts stuff away, he slowly realizes what Griffon just got him signed up for. How is he supposed to talk to people in front of his crush? How is he even supposed to talk to his crush? Oh he is in so much trouble. "Griffon, what did you just do?"
"I got you an excuse to talk to the boy you've been crushing on for months," Griffon responds and Davy shushes him, looking around nervously to make sure no one overheard him. God, just starting to even think about what would happen if people knew about his crush on Leandro is enough to send him into a panic. How long would it take before his parents found out? "Oh relax, I'll help you with the club so you're not alone with him. Yet."
Davy sighs at this, but finds himself still smiling a little at the thought of spending time with Leandro. But as he starts walking towards the exit, his smile is replaced by a frown as he remembers the family dinner planned for tonight. "I'd rather face talking to him alone than spend time with my whole family tonight. I wish you could join."
"Sorry, Davy, you'll have to face them alone," Griffon answers, putting aside his joking to put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "If I was a nice girl, they would have had no problem with me joining you."
Davy shakes his head at this, feeling the dread return, momentarily forgotten by Leandro. But now it's even worse because he wishes he could just be honest with his parents and tell them he'd rather invite Leandro than any girl. "Yeah, if only…"
"Davy, come on! We have to get going!"
Davy sighs as he sits on the corner of his bed, knowing he can't push off this birthday dinner any longer. He doesn't mind seeing his siblings, but he just doesn't want his father to see them with their partners and then how Davy doesn't have someone with him. But he's only fourteen. How is he supposed to know how to talk to people and actually date them? He's not Amedeo, even if his oldest brother tries very hard to get him to act like him. But no attempt to teach Davy how to flirt seems to work.
Davy can't bring himself to tell Amedeo it probably isn't working because Amedeo doesn't know how to flirt with boys.
He hears footsteps approaching his door and sighs before finally standing up, straightening out the wrinkles in his dress pants. He glances up and finds Radon smiling at him, leaning against the doorframe. "Come on, birthday boy. Mom sent me up here."
"I'm going, don't worry," Davy responds as he starts walking towards his brother, giving him a small smile. He hesitates next to his brother, wondering how much time they have. "Hey Radon…" Davy glances out into the hallway and when he finds no one there, he brings his attention back to his brother. He nervously starts biting his lip, wondering if he should even ask Radon this…but he's not going to ask Amedeo. He trusts Radon not to tell their parents, but definitely not their oldest sibling. "I'm uh…going to be working on this project with someone…"
"Okay, not unusual in school for that to happen," Radon says as they start walking towards the staircase, seemingly not noticing how nervous Davy is by this conversation. He has to be so careful with everything he says, out of fear for what might happen if his family finds out. All it would take is one little slip…one wrong use of saying 'him' instead of 'her', and they'll know. They'll know he just can't follow in the footsteps of all his older siblings and find a girl to marry and start a family at a young age like all of them.
Davy puts out a hand to stop Radon at the top of the stairs, hearing the voices of their family waiting downstairs for them. "Radon, can you please promise not to say anything to anyone?" he whispers, looking down the stairs to check that no one is listening. "Please?" He pleads up at his brother, hoping he can truly trust him. Radon has never let him down before…hopefully he won't change that now.
"Sure," Radon grins down at Davy, ruffling his hair and making the younger boy try to push away his hand. "I won't tell anyone."
Davy wishes he could completely trust this statement so he could just tell Radon everything. If there was anyone in the family that Davy might trust with coming out…it's Radon. But no…he can't take that risk. "Well, I kinda have a crush on this person…and need help with how to talk to them."
"And you know Amedeo won't really help you?" Radon finishes, laughing a little and making Davy flush nervously that he doesn't trust his eldest brother, but Radon is right. "I wouldn't trust him either. Of course I'll help you, little bro. And I'm happy that you've found a cute girl."
Davy forces a smile on his face at this, hoping to make Radon keep believing that's the case. "Yeah…"
"But after dinner," Radon says quickly when their mother appears at the bottom of the stairs and looks up at them expectantly. "We're coming!"
"Aww, just look at you, Davy," his mother calls up to him as he walks down towards her, looking like she might cry. Her reaction makes him start blushing in embarrassment, getting too old to have his mom still babying him. He's so lucky Griffon isn't around to see this, even if his friend loves having Davy's mom treat him like he's part of the family too – but Griffon would never admit that to Davy. "My little baby is getting so big."
"Mom, I'm not a baby anymore," Davy tries to knock her hand away as she grabs on to his ears, making him feel even more self-conscious about them than he normally does.
She pats him on the head before smoothing out his hair that Radon messed up, still smiling at him. "We need to get you a haircut tomorrow before the gala, it's getting so long. And honey, you'll always be my baby, even when you're all grown up and have your own family." She pauses at this and Davy tries not to start frowning, knowing exactly what she's going to ask about next. "Are you sure you don't have someone to invite with us for dinner? I did make our reservation with an extra seat tonight, just in case."
Davy wants to give an honest answer to her so he can invite who he really wants to join him for his birthday dinner. Well…at least pretend he would have the courage to ask Leandro if it was an option. He wants to tell his mom the truth more than anything…but not tonight. Not when it will only start a conversation with his father that Davy just hasn't found the right girl yet.
Slight problem there since Davy knows exactly who he wants and Leandro doesn't quite fit their criteria.
"No, Mom," Davy says quietly, avoiding looking at her face so he doesn't see the disappointment in her eyes that he isn't like his older siblings. For just one night, he'd like to not get compared to them and not disappoint his parents.
Davy glances up to see an encouraging smile on her face, but she doesn't do well enough at hiding the disappointment in her eyes, just making him feel terrible. Great…he doesn't want to feel terrible on his birthday. "No matter, you're still young," she says quietly, pulling herself together and smiling at Davy before giving him a hug that helps diminish some of his sadness. "Maybe I can introduce you to my friend Milana's daughter tomorrow night, I think she's your age."
"That's not necessary, Mom," Davy says bashfully, stepping back from her and feeling his face heating up in embarrassment that only gets worse when he sees Radon's face and knows his brother is thinking Davy already has a girl he's crushing on.
"You better find a cute girl soon, Davy, or you'll end up alone."
Davy lets out a small sigh at the phrase he hears all too often from his father. If only they could go one day without this conversation…and he knows tomorrow is only going to be worse. He looks over at the staircase and sees his father walking down, adjusting his cuff links as he critically looks over Davy. He tries to stand taller, hoping his father won't be disappointed in his appearance tonight. "I don't want to see any of my children end up alone."
"Bohr, don't upset him on his birthday," his mother says, making Davy look over at her happily at her defending him.
"I'm just speaking the truth," Davy's father responds, not taking much time to look over at Davy and instead turning his gaze towards Radon. Davy tries to pretend that he doesn't notice the change in his father's gaze, but he can't completely ignore it and starts frowning. He's never gotten that kind of look from his father… "Your siblings are meeting us at the restaurant. Amedeo didn't want to make Harriet walk farther than necessary given her condition."
Davy's mother lets out a little noise of delight as his father helps her put on her jacket. "Oh I can't wait to meet our second grandchild!"
And just like that, his siblings have taken his parents' attention away from Davy without even being there… Not even on his birthday could his parents focus on him completely. He tries to hide the hurt on his face as he takes his jacket from his mother and puts it on, just hovering in the background as his mother keeps talking about Amedeo's soon-to-be child, hoping she'll have another granddaughter. Davy is excited about the baby but…couldn't they talk about him? Ask him how his day was or what he wants to order for dinner tonight? He would even take his parents telling him he needs to find a cute girl at this point because at least they would be talking about him.
At the door, Radon looks over at Davy, almost looking like he'll start talking to Davy, but as his father locks up the door, he starts asking Radon about what he learned at university today, drawing his brother away from him.
Davy lets out a sigh that goes unnoticed and as they start walking towards the restaurant, he lingers back from the others, not that they really notice. One thought keeps hovering in his head as he watches his brother talk to his parents. All of his siblings have fit their father's high expectations: married or engaged at a young age and studying to be nuclear physicists just like their parents. Davy can't help the creeping disappointment inside of him, knowing he's never going to make his parents proud of him. He's never going to be their perfect child and do everything they expect of him. He so badly wants to be their perfect son.
But that's not him.
Eva Orville-Wright, 18
Three Months Before The Reaping
"Ah, right on schedule. But of course, I never expected anything else from you."
Eva smiles to herself at this as she shuts the door into the workshop behind her, making the bells on the door chime once more. Everyone always tells her to stop with her 'ridiculous' overplanning and scheduling, yet one person appreciates the routine she finds comfort in. One of the two people that actually matter to her. "Hello Mr. Bernard."
Her old teacher takes off his glasses and gently sets them down on the table in front of him as Eva makes her way over, avoiding the controlled chaos of his workstation and the various sculptures, gadgets, and whatever else his bright mind could create. Of course, there's many of her own designs present, but those all rest on the shelves along the walls, carefully placed on display. "What are you working on?" Eva asks as she approaches her mentor, looking over his shoulder to see the pile of metal and the welding equipment, unable to make any sense of it yet. And unlike her, Mr. Bernard doesn't look back at his sketches once they're set, so she doesn't even have a drawing to go on.
"Well," he starts as he picks up the few pieces welded together so far as Eva pulls up a stool next to him, watching him intently to see what she can learn from him today. As much as she wants to work on stuff with him today, she knows she'll have to postpone it to another time. She's already figured out when she can make up the time, rearranging all the plans in her head so she can tell him the news she got yesterday. After all, he's a big part of the reason she has the news to say.
Mr. Bernard turns to look at her, the smile disappearing slightly from his face as he looks at her. "Eva, are you sleeping enough? Your mind isn't as sharp without sleep and I don't want to see you get hurt because you're falling asleep."
"I'm fine," Eva answers with a wave of her hand, used to the concern from him. While with others she would have told them off for trying to tell her what to do, she can't with him. Not with the man who's taught her so much and kept encouraging her when her parents didn't. "So what is it?" Eva asks, drawing his attention away from her and back to his work in progress. "Well, I guess what is it supposed to be because right now it looks like you just put together a couple pieces of scrap metal."
"It's…" Mr. Bernard pauses to chuckle, his warm smile reappearing as he looks at her. "That's exactly what it is right now. But not for long!" He jumps off of his chair with a surprising amount of energy for someone in his sixties. Eva just watches as he jogs to his desk and starts rifling through the disheveled papers. "I saw the most peculiar thing the other day when watching TV – just one of those silly shows the Capitol thinks is so amusing. And I saw this thing that is absolutely pointless and – ah!" He proudly holds up a piece of paper and stares at the design for a few seconds before laughing, making Eva just know that whatever he's making is going to be exactly the type of thing she would love to design. "It's…well," he chuckles once more as he walks back over to Eva and slides the piece of paper in front of her. He points at the design and Eva stares at it, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion as she tries to figure out the point of it. "It's a bird that you set next to a cup and it just keeps looking like it's bobbing for water!"
Eva stares between the drawing and scraps of metal for a minute, trying to visualize the final design, but can't with the disarray that he keeps his workstation in. If she was creating this, she would have had every single piece labeled and sorted in the exact order she would need it. But her work style is very different than the relaxed old man who has a tendency to drink too much coffee and work on five things at once. She finally turns her gaze back to him, finding him waiting impatiently and with a grin that makes him look years younger. "But what's the point?"
"There is no point!" Mr. Bernard says loudly in excitement at this, sitting back down into his seat next to Eva. "There is no functional purpose for this thing, yet I couldn't stop the urge to create it." He picks up his sketch once more, letting out a chuckle again at the design. To anyone else, he would seem like a crazy person. But to Eva? He's brilliant and she could spend all day in his workroom. She has tried to do that before until he made her go back home and try to sleep. He sets down the piece of paper once more and turns his attention back to Eva, staring at her with a kind smile for a few seconds. "Anyways, how was your day?"
"Not as exciting as yesterday," Eva tries to say calmly as she reaches into her bag, pulling out her folder designated for important things. But she can't hold back the grin of excitement as she opens the folder and sees the fancy letter sitting in there. The letter she worked so damn hard for after so many sleepless nights spent perfecting her personal statement and portfolio. She briefly glances up at Mr. Bernard, seeing the curious look he so often wears and putting all his attention on her, unlike most people she knows. "Hard to live up to the excitement of an acceptance letter, you know? Even I don't live that exciting of a daily life."
"Acceptance let…" Mr. Bernard trails off as Eva delicately hands him the letter that's setting her towards the future path she's worked her ass off towards. His eyes light up in excitement as he reads over the letter Eva has memorized after reading it so many times in the last 24 hours, just needing to make sure it truly says she'll be going to the university in the fall.
"Yep," Eva says, proud of herself for all the work she did. And because she received a full scholarship, a little bit of smugness that she did better than so many others. Surely they only gave out a small handful and Eva was one of them. Here's the proof to everyone that told her to stop planning out everything and being so extra with her work that she was right.
Of course she was right, she knows what's best for her and she's going to get it.
"Full scholarship to the District Five University for Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering," she recites to Mr. Bernard, ready to keep telling everyone about it. This is her future and there's nothing she won't do to get it.
"Oh Eva," Mr. Bernard says softly as he gently sets down the letter over his sketch. He puts a hand on her shoulder before giving her the biggest smile she's ever seen from him. "I'm so proud of you."
Eva sits up taller at this, feeling all warm and fuzzy at the praise from him. No one ever tells her that they're proud of her accomplishments, especially not her parents that think she's chasing some 'silly dream'. Usually it's always just 'good job' or 'that's great, Eva'. So rarely does someone say they're actually proud of her. And it's a feeling she wants to keep feeling. "Well I picked up a thing or two from some old guy that has crazy ideas."
Mr. Bernard laughs loudly at this statement, making Eva crack a small smile at the man. "I have no idea who that person could be. Sounds like an awesome guy."
"He is…" Eva says softly before trailing off, not used to talking highly about anyone other than herself and…it's weird. "But anyways, I guess the admission committee really liked the portfolio I sent in. I bet no one else sent in something extra like that with the physical models, not just the designs and photos." The receptionist at the department was shocked when she dropped off the box of her creations with her application. But who cares if they were shocked, she was going to get the acceptance no matter what. And clearly it paid off.
"Have you told your family about it yet?" Mr. Bernard asks, something Eva already anticipated happening.
Eva shakes her head at him and glances down at her watch. Right on schedule. "Nope but I have to go do that now. Can't wait for them to tell me I'm being dumb." She hops off the stool and carefully picks up her acceptance letter, giving it a small wave at her teacher. "But clearly the university doesn't think I'm dumb."
"Eva, all that matters is that you know your own intelligence," Mr. Bernard pauses as he watches her pack up her stuff. When Eva is done, she glances back up at him to find a proud smile on his face. "And that you're happy with your choices."
"Pfft, trust me, I know my own intelligence," Eva responds as she slings her back up on her shoulder. "And I couldn't be happier with my future."
Eva lets out a yawn of exhaustion as she sets down her bag at the kitchen table, her eyes set on the coffee pot sitting on the counter and all ready for her to press brew for her afternoon cup. Once she presses the button, she leans against the counter and closes her eyes as she listens to the water heating up. She should sleep in the time she has, but she already designated this half hour before dinner to working on her current plane sketch. And there's no way she's deviating from her plan.
Eva opens her eyes at a small gasp of surprise and finds her mother standing at the entrance to the kitchen, holding a hand over her heart as she looks at her. "Eva, you scared me. I didn't hear you get home."
"So?" Eva asks as the coffee brewer starts beeping and she turns around to pour her cup. "When have I ever not gotten home at this time for the last two years?"
Her mother sighs at her tone as Eva takes her mug of coffee back to the table to get started on her design. Now that she's gotten her acceptance, she's even more motivated to work on stuff. She starts grabbing the designs from her bag as her mother gets back to the pot of soup on the stove. "Don't get started, we're eating dinner early today."
"Why?" Eva quickly brings her head up to look at her mother, her mind moving quickly as she tries to figure out how this shift in her day is going to impact everything. She was supposed to have a half hour of work…she supposes she could just add that to the hours later that she works on it, after she spends time with her sister for a half hour. Yes, she'll just move up dinner time and sister time. That should work without disrupting her daily schedule too much. And as long as she still gets that half hour of time to work on it tonight, she'll still meet her goal of getting the design complete tonight so she can work on actually making the scaled down model for the rest of the week. There, problem solved, and nothing should be changed in the long run.
But still, she'd rather there wasn't the interruption to her plans.
"Because I'm sick," a voice speaks up from the entrance to the kitchen and Eva glances over to find her father standing there, blanket wrapped around him and honestly looking like shit. "My boss sent me home early because he didn't want me causing an accident because my mind wasn't fully into the work."
"Wow, I didn't know they actually had smart people working in the coal mines," Eva says to him, turning her attention back to her coffee in front of her. No matter the disruption to her schedule, she's not missing out on her afternoon cup of coffee to get her through until her evening cup. Even with the insomnia, she won't get good work done without more coffee.
"I didn't either," he answers as he joins her at the table, pulling the blanket tighter around himself as he looks over at his daughter, and they share a small moment of understand. He finally shrugs and glances over at his wife. "I wanted to keep working but he all but forced me to leave."
"You work way too hard," her mother points a spoon over at her husband, hand on her hip as she stares at him for a few seconds. "No wonder you got sick because you're overworking yourself. I swear, you're going to bring yourself to an early grave by working too much."
"I'm fine," he answers before falling into a coughing fit, seemingly proving Eva's mother's point about him. He holds up a finger as he coughs, letting them know he isn't done. "There's nothing wrong with working hard."
"He's right," Eva speaks up, taking a sip of her coffee as her mother gives her an exasperated look at her agreeing with her father. "But please, go off about how the main source of income in our family should stop working as hard."
"He wouldn't have to if you would just start working like your sister – where is your sister?" Her mother glances around the kitchen before yelling as she takes the pot of soup of the stove. "Agnes! Dinner time!"
"I still don't understand why we are eating a half hour earlier," Eva sighs as she glances down at her bag, already accepting that her schedule has changed for the evening, but still wishing she could be working right now. "But whatever then."
"Because eating earlier means John can go to sleep earlier," her mother retorts as she smacks Eva's hand lightly away from the spoon so she can scoop soup into her father's bowl first. "Since you don't want to stop chasing your silly dreams and start working, he still has to go to work tomorrow."
"Rosa, let her be," her father says softly before getting another coughing fit as Eva's sister enters the kitchen.
"Hey Eva," Agnes gives her younger sister a small smile as she takes her seat across from Eva, glancing down at the table to see no papers strewn about. "Wow you actually got her wait?"
"I wasn't really given a choice," Eva mumbles to herself, just loud enough for her mother to still hear her displeasure at this. "Hi Agnes."
Her mother sighs as she sits down in her chair, shaking her head at Eva. "One of these days I'm going to take away that notebook and make you realize you need to just get a job already. Agnes can get you a job that would pay well and you even might have a chance to travel outside of the District if you get high enough up in the company and they send you to look at the power lines connecting the Districts. Doesn't that sound like a nice job?"
"Uh, no, not really," Eva shrugs at this, leaning back in her chair as she waits for her turn to get food, always having to wait until the others have gotten food as the youngest. "Sounds kind of miserable and I'm glad I don't have to do that."
"What do you mean?" Agnes asks as she starts getting her soup, carefully picking through to avoid all the carrots.
"I mean that I'm not going to be doing that," Eva answers, giving another casual shrug as her family all looks over at her. "Because I'll be going to the university instead." The room falls silent as they all look over at her. Eva's stomach rumbles and she points over to the bowl Agnes still holds. "Are you done yet?"
"You got accepted?" Agnes asks, showing a little bit of happiness towards her sister, but it's mixed into a bit of disappointment since she knows what program Eva applied for.
"What program?" Her mother asks as she sets down her spoon, obviously trying to stay calm with Eva right now. "Electrical Engineering?"
"Of course not," Eva scoffs at this and motions for the soup from Agnes. "Come on, by time you're done the soup is going to be cold."
"Eva!" Her mother slams her hand on the table and waits for Eva to turn her attention towards her before continuing. Eva takes her time looking over, picking up her coffee cup and taking a long sip before finally looking over at her mother. "This dream of yours is silly! You're never going to get a job in this District where you work on planes."
"And?" Eva asks, a little amused at her mother giving the same argument. If she would have actually done some research, she would have learned that there are plenty of jobs available for her in Five regarding powering all the hovercrafts. She'll have no problem getting a job when she's done. "Please, keep going off."
"How are you even going to afford this?" Her mother asks, voice slowly raising as Eva is finally passed the bowl of soup from Agnes. "We can barely afford to make ends meet now, let alone afford for you to follow an unrealistic dream. Maybe if you were pursuing a degree that was relevant in Five, we could find a way to pay."
"Don't worry, all those designs and models you said were a waste of material got me a full scholarship," Eva waits for the shock to pass on her mother's face, briefly rolling her eyes at her reaction. "Yeah bet you didn't expect that. So?"
Her mother falls quiet for a few seconds, angrily picking up her spoon and eating a spoonful of soup as she tries to figure out her response. "Eva, this is ridiculous."
"It's really not and I don't understand why you're getting all riled up about this," Eva says calmly as she scoops food into her bowl. Part of her knows she shouldn't take so much, but who cares. Her stomach is rumbling and sending a stab of pain at the sight of the food, protesting against how she's skipped out on meals the past few days. She deserves a little extra food now after she couldn't eat out of nervousness as she waited for notification from the university, planning out every alternative she could have in case she wasn't accepted. Ways to keep working to get in to the program she wants. "It's not your life, but go off then."
"I will go off!"
"Rosa-"
"No, don't Rosa me!" Her mother points over at her husband who holds up his hands defensively. He backs off, putting his focus back on his soup and letting the woman that primarily raised the two girls handle it. "Eva, this is just ridiculous. When are you going to realize you need to focus on something that will actually get you a job in Five?"
"No matter what you say, you're not going to stop me from going to the university," Eva gives her mother a hard look, trying to finally get it through to her that she can't stop Eva from pursuing what she loves. "No one is going to stop me from my dreams."
Bergundility Venetiality Muatamphere, Escort for District Five
Bergundility cannot even fathom how she is still in filthy District Five after ten full years of faithful service to Panem as an escort. And then someone who just got started got promoted to District Four, all because he got a victor? Everyone knows it was Astrid that got Clark home, not Bobby, yet he still got promoted before her. And now she has a warning from the President to do better or get fired? How is she supposed to improve when she's already doing a great job?
This just isn't fair. She should be in District One by now.
But she'll still try to listen to the President. She can't lose her job because how will she get to see Galen then? That man is the only good thing about District Five. Surely this will be the year he realizes they would be amazing together and he'll never find anyone as amazing as her. She can only hope and if not, well, she has her newest boyfriend waiting for her back in the Capitol.
Once the mayor is done with their speech, Bergundility does her very best to force a smile that doesn't look forced at all. She shifts around uncomfortably in the dress the President made her wear claiming it 'wasn't appropriate' for her to wear so little for the Reaping. Well you know what isn't appropriate? Getting ill because it's just not healthy to be wearing so much clothing.
"Hello District Five," Bergundility says with a barely contained sigh of distaste. She spares a quick glance back at the mentors and starts beaming at the sight of Galen. Oh he's even more attractive than last year! She'll put up with whatever terrible tributes she picks just to spend time with him. "I am the amazing Bergundility Venetiality Muatamphere and I am back once more." Not back by choice, though. "I know you're all impatiently waiting to see who will be picked, so I will not waste your time or mine."
Bergundility makes sure to sway her new and improved hips as she walks past Galen to pick the first tribute, hoping he'll still notice her great figure despite the dress she wears. She considers a few of the slips, mostly so she can make sure that her surgically enhanced rear is on display for the victor. Finally, she decides on a name and saunters back to the microphone. Before opening the slip of paper, she glances back at the victors once more, finding Galen's attention on her.
Of course his attention is on her, why wouldn't he be paying attention to her?
All smug, Bergundility returns her attention to the drab crowd as she reads the first name. "First up is Eva Orville-Wright."
Bergundility places her hands on her hips as she watches the crowd, waiting for Eva to step out from the front of the sections. The girl stands tall, probably trying to make up for her short frame, as she makes her way up to the stage. She pushes back her long curly hair, only for the wind to push it back into her face right away. As she approaches Bergundility, the eyes ringed with dark circles don't seem to be focused on the escort as she simply takes her place on the stage with no fuss. But despite being unfocused, there's a determination in her eyes that is making Bergundility think that maybe she won't be completely uncapable of winning.
"And I don't suppose there's any volunteers for Eva?" Bergundility asks the crowd, knowing what the answer is going to be.
"Well that's a shocker," Eva retorts from next to Bergundility and the escort finds herself nodding her head in agreement. Super big shocker that District Five doesn't have a volunteer.
"Very well, let's see who will be joining Eva," Bergundility says to the crowd before sauntering over to the other glass sphere, again hoping Galen is watching her. Once again she takes her time with picking a name, hoping that she'll pick another eighteen year old and give herself better chances of getting a victor and finally getting out of District Five. If Bobby Bobbins could get promoted, certainly she can get promoted. "And the second tribute this year is Davy Emmerich."
It takes longer for Davy to emerge from the crowd than Eva, and Bergundility finds herself disappointed when she sees him step out from among the fourteen year olds. The boy slowly walks to the stage and as he gets closer, she can see the boy is shaking. As he walks up the steps, he grips the railing tightly, tears falling down his cheeks as he looks up at Bergundility. When he comes to a stop next to the escort, he sways a little bit before asking, "Ca-can I have a chair? I might faint."
Bergundility doesn't know what the boy expects her to do. He needs to get some courage and just face the crowd. Some rustling behind her has her turning back to see Letha quickly walking over with her chair. She sets it down next to the boy and helps him sit down before giving his rustled blond hair a comforting pat. "Here you go, Davy."
"Thank you, Mrs. Calder," the boy answers, giving the victor a small smile before trying to wipe away his tears.
"Well then," Bergundility says as she watches Galen give up his seat for Letha to take. Oh what a kind man he is. "Are there any volunteers for Davy?"
Bergundility waits a few seconds to see if anyone is brave enough to step forward, but when no one does, Davy lets out a small sob. Bergundility purses her lips at this, already expecting Eva to be the tribute with the best shot. Surely the girl with determination in her eyes will make it farther than the crying boy that needed to sit down. "Well District Five, here are your tributes this year. Eva Orville-Wright and Davy Emmerich. Well go ahead, shake hands so we can get going."
Bergundility lets out a small sigh as she watches Davy stand up, putting one hand on the back of the chair to steady himself. At least he has the courage to stand up when shaking his partner's hand. Eva meets his gaze, both of them at the same height despite the age difference, and Davy backs away nervously from the look she gives him.
Well, she can only hope that she has a chance of getting a victor this year and finally getting promoted.
Here we go, District Five! Big thanks to HogwartsDreamer113, mukkou, and BirkaranDaSurvivorCraver for Davy, Eva, and Bergundility respectively! I hope you all enjoyed them! They were a blast to write. Davy is such a sweet cinnamon roll who gives me feels and Eva was great because I love seeing female engineers.
And of course, I gotta say a big happy birthday to Dreamer! I hope you enjoyed reading Davy on your birthday and have fun now feeling 22!
Alrighty, as always I would love to hear your thoughts on these two! And as we go, if you have any suggestions for allies or even just tributes you would like to see interacting, please let me know!
I'll be getting back to alternating updates of this with Wayward after this chapter - I just had to do my best to get a birthday update out! Updates might slow down a bit until mid-December as I'm reaching the craziest part of my semester.
I will see you next time in District Six with Courtney and Elias!