Chapter Twenty-Three: Making Connections
Have You Paid Attention At All The Last Twenty-Two Chapters?
Marius Coin, District Nine Male
Even though it's pouring rain, I'm making what my father calls a "bread run." For the third time this week.
He says he likes the bakery he sends me to because their bread is better made. Or maybe it has something to do with better quality ingredients or possibly because the atmosphere is better than the other places near us. However, I'm not the moron he must think I am, because I can see through his excuse even more easily than the large, decorative stained-glass window that serves as the main decoration in the house.
He wants me there so I'm forced to run into Miller as quickly as possible. Even though, as I've pointed out multiple times, we've never been friends, and chances are we never will be, based on Miller's current state of mind. As a former classmate of mine once said, "no one who goes into the Hunger Games will come out unscathed."
Based on the short conversations that I've had with Miller, that theory seems to be true. From what I can tell, Miller used to work at this bakery before he got Reaped and tossed into the glorified death match that is the Hunger Games just last year. When he returned, victorious despite the odds, back to District Nine, he asked if he could have his old job back so he could try and pretend that his Games never happened. It might have actually worked, if not for the fact that it played on loop on every television screen, was the subject of nearly every conversation, and that everyone was suddenly treating him like some kind of god.
So, every day I have to get bread from there. And it might just be me, but I swear it tastes worse every time I get it.
I'm struggling to handle the umbrella and keep a firm grip on the bag at the same time, so eventually I just close the umbrella and start running as fast as I can, shielding the bag with my body. Once in a while, someone stops to stare at me for a second, but most of them move on without a second thought. Works for me.
Finally, home appears on the distant horizon, but by that point, I've slowed down so much that it feels like I'm sliding backward in comparison to five minutes ago. However, as if to take pity on me, the rain has begun to taper off, only falling in drips instead of sheets. That doesn't keep me from being soaked- I have the rest of the deluge to thank for that- but it means the jacket I'm wearing will have a little less water weight that I'll have to wring out later.
After what feels like an eternity and a half, I make it to the front steps, fish out the well-worn house key, and open the door, stepping inside the place I call home.
Dad's still home, he hasn't had to leave for work yet. However, Mom must have already had to head over to her day job. Thus, the only seat occupied at the dining table is Dad's. Dropping the slightly soggy bag of bread on the table, I move to my place and sit down.
"So, how did it go, son?"
I'm lying through my teeth at this point, but I don't really care. "Fine, fine. Just like the usual."
"That's great!" He takes one of the pieces of bread from inside the bag and bites into it. A couple of sesame seeds fall off the bun and onto the floor, which he promptly cleans up before starting up the process again.
He quietly eats that roll, then chases it down with two more. Finally, he stands up, puts his plate on the counter, and slides on his formal wear over the undershirt he'd had on. "Sorry, son, but I have to go to work," he says.
"I don't understand why you think I have a problem with that, Dad," I respond.
He laughs. "See you this afternoon," he says before walking out the doors, looking like he was dressed for the fanciest party this side of the Capitol. However, that's just what he wears to work. Every. Single. Day.
However, I have the house to myself, essentially. And since school's out and there isn't any summer work, I'm free to do what I want for a short while.
So, what's my master plan?
Aimlessly wander around, trying to see if something interesting comes around.
Yeah, it's really that simple.
Now that school's not in session, the main problem I have is boredom. I know that's a much better problem to have compared to the other problems that people experience in this District, but it's still annoying, nonetheless. So, my best hope is to see if anyone else is doing anything- even if it's one of those weird outdoor games that I still can't figure out how they work. (The one time I passed one, there was some sort of hoop, clods of dirt mixed with the occasional rock, someone chanting a couple of words over and over again, and it just got weirder from there.)
So, without even bothering to leave a note, I slip out the door with my house key, making sure to lock the place tight behind me.
The square is pretty empty, which is no surprise.
Even though the sun is starting to peek out now, the early rain must have driven everyone indoors. It's also gotten oppressively hot outside, so much so that I'm pretty confident I can see steam rising from the puddles that the storm left behind. I'm moving at a slow walk, and I can already feel sweat trickling down my body. If I stay out much longer, my biggest fear is that I'll get cooked alive.
There's a group of kids playing another one of their ridiculous games in the shade near a house. I still don't understand how to play it, but they're really into it, practically screaming random things at each other as they toss a ball around in a formation that doesn't resemble any shape I know of.
I pass them by. (Because of my inherent social status compared to everyone else, making friends is much harder. And don't even get me started on trying to get a job.)
"Just keep walking," I think to myself. "Just keep walking."
Well, I've kept walking for the better part of an hour at this point and nothing interesting has really developed.
Even worse, I'm starting to get hungry, so I decide to head back in a few minutes.
But not before I take a little rest. My legs are killing me right now.
So, I sit down on a (currently vacant) bench, crossing my legs and trying to shield my face from the sun. It was hidden this morning, but now it's beating down so fiercely that I'm starting to wonder whether or not I'm risking heat stroke.
Eventually, I decide that if I just sit and wait until I feel like moving again, I'll be stuck here until I'm nothing but a corpse rotting on the ground. So, I get up, and take about two steps towards where home is.
And then I see her.
It's the mayor's daughter, Toren, no doubt. No one else would have so many layers on in this boiling heat. Not to mention the fact that she's wearing this deep red lipstick that appears to be melting off her lips, giving her the unfortunate impression that she's been drinking blood from a cup.
Well, Dad always tells me that I need to "make connections" wherever I can. And believe me here, but this is not as easy as it sounds. As far as I can tell, most of the upper class citizens around here are really antisocial, meaning that catching one outside is pretty rare and actually being able to have a conversation with one is even rarer.
I'm one of the few exceptions. Luckily, Toren seems to be another.
My legs are moving me towards her before my brain catches up.
Toren Laris, District Nine Female
I just needed some time alone.
My father has to run the District for a living, so he's not around that often, but my mom doesn't have anything to do, meaning she wants to spend as much time with me as humanly possible. While I am grateful that she cares that much about me, it gets a little smothering after a while.
So, even though it's about a million degrees outside and I haven't bothered to remove any of the layers of clothing I have on, I'm going for a walk. Not a very long one- just one that prevents me from being stuck inside the house all day. I've been here before- if I sit still for too long, I'm going to blow a gasket.
However, that walk is interrupted when someone steps in front of me. Upon closer inspection, that someone happens to be Marius, who I happen to see outside every now and again.
"Toren!" He shouts this, clearly out of breath. "I didn't know you went outside."
Under normal circumstances, that could definitely be seen as an insult. However, it is a common stereotype that all the wealthiest kids in the District are social recluses who mostly keep to themselves. Considering I see Marius outside a lot (at least, in comparison to the other kids in his position) it doesn't seem to apply to him. While it doesn't apply to me that much either, I'm far from a social butterfly.
This must look really awkward; we're talking to each other even though we have minimal to no idea how to carry a conversation. Due to that, it fizzles out pretty quickly. As I begin to turn around and begin to head for home once more, he tries to get in front of me, and sort of succeeds.
"Do you want to… like… talk or do something? Because I'm really bored," he says.
My parents may or may not freak out if I don't return home soon (that's always a risk, considering that the risk of assassination in this whacked-out world isn't zero, and I'd be a pretty high-profile target for political enemies) but since I'm equally bored, I don't see why not. "Sure, let's go."
His eyes dilate, and he starts shaking a little, to the point that I'm worried he's going to faint. However, he manages to recover after about fifteen seconds, and we head off in what I'm guessing is a random direction.
The heat has finally started to die down a little once we finally stop for a rest break. I insist we keep moving, considering this is a pretty seedy part of town and that we do not look like we belong here, but Marius said that it didn't really matter, that people had other things to do with their lives than try to mug us.
Once Marius catches his breath, he quickly glances at my pocket, and notices what I'm carrying. "Uh… what's with the thing in your pocket?"
I shrug. "Mom makes me carry it in case something bad happens. I think it's a switchblade, but I've never had to use it, so hell if I know."
His eyes go wide, and his cheeks turn redder than those apples that I get as a birthday present. (Fresh fruit is pretty hard to come by around here- since District Eleven ships most of it and there's never much left over after the Capitol takes their share, it's mostly limited to special occasions.)
It feels really awkward sitting this close to a guy I've only seen in person a few times. This is made ten times worse by the fact that it's really obvious he has a massive crush on me. He's stared directly into my eyes whenever possible while we were talking, his attempts at trying to initiate the hand-holding thing have not gone unnoticed, and his grin is so wide that I'm starting to wonder whether his face will get stuck like that.
"So, what do you think the Reapings are going to be like tomorrow?"
Well, I haven't been thinking of that. The Reapings have always been a dreary time for our District, considering that we almost never get winners, or contenders, for that matter, despite what the Capitol thinks about us due to the events of last year. Did we get last year's Victor? Yes. Were we expected to get last year's Victor? Sort of, but it wasn't because of him.
"It might be a bit less painful for everyone, considering Miller proved last year that everyone had a chance to win," I say. However, we're still sending at least one person off to their death, and probably two. I don't know how anyone could view such a thing as "fun," but then again, The Hunger Games have gone on for ninety-five years at this point, so clearly some people get enjoyment out of it.
Marius starts to say something back, but he gets rudely interrupted by some guy, who can't be much older than we are. His brown hair hangs in a greasy curtain around his acne-marked face, his teeth are all yellowed out, and he reeks of cheap booze.
"Hey! Everyone! I see two rich kids over here! C'mon, maybe they have candy! I could use some candy!"
Marius clasps my hand. "You were probably right about this place. We should go."
As the guy comes staggering towards us with a couple of his friends- all of them holding bottles- we stand up and slowly begin to back away from them.
"Don't be shy!" The guy begins to laugh so hard that I think he spit out a tooth. "Why don't you just have some fun?"
Okay, whatever "fun" this guy has in store for us is not going to be my type. Plus, trusting a drunk guy can go really wrong, really fast.
As we back away faster and faster, whoever this guy is, along with his friends, attempt to pick up the pace so they can match us. That is, until the guy who appears to be leading them all trips over a rock and face-plants into the dusty ground.
Two of his friends help the guy to his feet as his face twists into a snarl that wouldn't look out of place on a wolf. "You witch! You cast a spell on me, didn't you?"
Yeah, that settles it, this guy is drunk beyond all reason. Honestly, that's not an uncommon fate around here- considering most of the cheap kinds of alcohol are made here (although the expensive stuff is a luxury item that's delegated to District One) it's pretty easy to get your hands on a bottle if you want one. I've seen kids drunk in class a few times, because even if there's a legal drinking age (which I don't know if there is anymore) it's not like most people bother to check. They have too many other things to worry about.
As I squeeze Marius' hand hard to let him know that maybe now's the time we should start running, the guy's friends just keep advancing.
Then, we run for the hills, ignoring the shouts of "We hope you two get Reaped tomorrow!" coming from behind us. Eventually, they fade to a dull noise, then nothing.
After we find our way back to the town square, I pull away from Marius. "As much as I'd like to stick around, my parents are probably wondering where the heck I am. I don't know how long we've been gone for."
He seems to understand. "I probably should get home, too. Dad's getting off work soon, he'll freak if he sees that I'm not there."
At that, we each go our separate ways, heading back to try and enjoy the rest of this beautiful day.
As home finally comes into my line of sight, I'm left to silently wonder whether tomorrow will be just as beautiful.
Author's Notes:
-Thanks to Axe Smelling God for both Marius and Toren. Since they were so closely related, I didn't want to waste time creating a separate intro for each of them, so I just combined them into one longer-than-average chapter. Hopefully, it works!
-Finally, finally, FINALLY, we are done with the intros! Only took the better part of a year! Thanks for sticking with me all this time, I know I would have lost my patience with a story like this quite some time ago.
-This is the point where interesting things begin to happen. Also, these sections will become far shorter and more infrequent once we get into more plot-driven chapters. It'll be there every once in a while- just not nearly as present.
-Speaking of which, see you at the next chapter, the Reapings! May the odds be ever in you favor!