"Melissa!" Wiress called as Melissa walked to the 5th Street Tesserae Administration Office. "Don't do it! I can help you! I can ask Beetee for more hours!"
"I – I can't – Wiress." Melissa said with tears in her eyes. "I can't take your wages, Wiress. Your grandma needs it." Melissa was adamant. No one else should pay for her father's supervisor's negligence that caused his factory accident.
"But – you – you can't take tesserae!" Wiress cried. "You're almost done with school! What if – what if you get reaped?"
"I – I'll worry about that later." Melissa said. She paused at the door. "Wiress – if I don't do this – we won't have money for my dad's surgery." She paused. "He won't be able to work and my little brothers still have a few years in school." Wiress waited outside the door wringing her hands. Melissa came out and they began walking home together in silence.
"Wiress – don't worry about me – ok?" Wiress nodded. Melissa turned and walked down the block. Suddenly they heard the voice of Eustacia, the escort from the Capital calling Melissa's name. As Wiress ran down the street to try and catch Melissa the scene changed to a field by a large golden cornucopia.
"MELISSA!" Wiress screamed as a large built boy from a Career district stabbed her through the chest with a sword. "MELISSA!"
"Wiress – honey – c'mon, baby, wake up." Wiress felt a hand shaking her.
"Grammy –" Wiress sat up crying. This was the worst nightmare about Melissa yet. Her grandmother pulled her into a hug. Mrs. Carpenter sighed. Wiress' nightmares had gotten progressively worse over the past three weeks as Reaping Day drew closer.
"I know, honey." Wiress' grandmother went to the bathroom, grabbed some tissues, and sat back down on Wiress' bed. "It's her last year, so hopefully she'll be spared. And you know – if she goes – she could win – and if she doesn't – you girls have had a good time as friends. Just remember that. If I could take this pain away, I would my little live-wire." They snuggled for a bit until Wiress' crying subsided. She went back over to her side of the room and lay down on her ancient creaky bed.
Wiress sighed. She knew other kids were worried about the reaping, but she didn't want to lose her friend after losing her parents so soon. How could anyone deal with that? She sniffled and tried to go back to sleep. She suddenly sat up. It was almost midnight, but if he was right about not being able to sleep a week before the reapings – Beetee would be up. A late-night rain-storm was soaking the streets, but she was determined to go to Victor's Village. Wiress scribbled a note to her grandmother before pulling a coat on and grabbing her boots.
Beetee was pacing his living room for the millionth time. The reaping was a day after tomorrow, and he knew his worrying would only get worse. He was jolted out of his thoughts by a knock on the door. "Wiress –" he gasped at the shivering girl in a rain-coat and boots on his doorstep.
"Beetee – I –" Wiress stammered shivering.
"Come in." Beetee shut the door behind her. He hung her coat up and gestured to the couch for her to sit down. He sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her to warm her up. "What's going on, Wiress?" He asked quietly
"Melissa – I'm so afraid for her - the nightmares are getting worse –" She gulped. "I can't lose her, Beetee – I can't lose her after I lost my parents. I – I can't –" Beetee held her close and rubbed her back as she broke down sobbing. "I'm sorry. I - I know you're worried about the whole district."
"Don't be sorry." He whispered rubbing her back. "You're a good friend to her, Wiress."
"I – I was worried about you too." Wiress confessed. She lay her head against his chest and listened to the steady beating of his heart. She noticed the pace increase a bit. "I – I've lost – my parents. And I may be about to lose my friend." She paused. "I don't know how I'll make it, and yet you do. Year after year, you care for tributes from our district." Wiress felt his arms tighten around her. "I thought about you. I wanted to come check on you even though I wanted you to comfort me." She looked at the floor before looking up into his face cautiously. "Does that make sense?" She asked slowly looking into his face. Her tearstained face was reflected in his glasses.
"Wiress –" Beetee began. He lifted her chin with his fingers. "We understand each other don't we?" She nodded. She could never recall who moved first, but they were softly kissing each other, wrapped in the comfort of each other's presence. "Would you like to stay here tonight? The rain won't let up until morning at least." Wiress nodded. She followed Beetee upstairs. He showed her a room with a bed in the center. To the right of it was a desk. The end of the room had floor to ceiling bookshelves that were filled with engineering manuals. A drafting table was also in the room. "Is this room ok?" Beetee asked. Wiress nodded. She lay on the bed and looked up at him. They were still holding hands.
"Yes." Wiress said. She looked around. "You – you can stay here too – if you want." Beetee lay down next to her and pulled the covers over both of them.
"We're both not alone anymore." Beetee whispered before they fell asleep.
Wiress walked home at dawn. She made breakfast for her grandmother. "Take some cookies for Melissa." Her grandmother said smiling. "I baked them while you walked home. You girls will be at Julie's house all day for her birthday?" Wiress nodded. "You give her my love, ok?" Her grandmother wrapped her in a surprisingly strong hug. "Just concentrate on today, my live-wire." She said kissing Wiress. "I'll make something special for tonight, ok?" Wiress nodded not trusting herself to talk lest she started sobbing.
They were all sprawled out on Julie's queen-sized bed going through pictures from their time at the academy. After an excellent lunch served by Julie's parents finished by Wiress' grandmother's cookies and Julie's birthday cake, they were too lethargic to do much else. They had spent the morning walking around the shopping area helping Julie spend her birthday money and then they played board games at Julie's house. "You know, even if nothing bad happens, this is still a good idea." Melissa said finishing another page to their scrapbook. "We're going to be taking a lot of pictures next year."
"Our last year." Julie said wistfully. "Then we're free!" The three girls cheered.
"Then we enter the real world." Melissa said playfully groaning.
"Then Wiress can join Beetee full time at I-Squared!" Julie squealed. "Then they can get married! Then have baby engineers and –"
"JULIE!" Wiress yelped blushing. "STOP TEASING ME!"
"But - but it's my birthday!" Julie playfully pouted as Melissa and Wiress rolled around on her bed laughing.
"Yeah, let them get married first." Melissa quipped. "One step at a time." They giggled again. The scrap-book came together sooner than they thought. "I have to admit, I got a lot of it done before today." She was smothered by the other girls' hugs. "You guys!" she gasped.
"We love you so much!" Julie squealed. Wiress nodded and a tear trickled down her face.
"Oh – oh – you guys –" Melissa wrapped them in a hug and they had a good long cry. "You are all way way too awesome!"
"Girls?" Julie's mother asked at the door. She opened the door and smiled. "Before you all take off, I made these." The three girls gasped. Her mother had simple stainless steel thin chains with small gear pendants on them. Etched in the gear were the initials of the three girls. Melissa, Julie, and Wiress exchanged glances. District tokens. "There." She said after she clasped one around each girl's neck. "You'll have matching necklaces for your senior year. And for tomorrow." They nearly smothered her in another group hug and tears. "Ok, girls. Dry your eyes. I have to get a picture." She snapped several pictures before going to her home office and printing it. "There." She handed them each a picture. It was with great reluctance that Wiress and Melissa left Julie's house for their respective homes.
"You guys have to eat with your families, silly! I'll see everyone tomorrow!" Julie said shaking her head. "Thanks again for spending the whole day with me." She smiled and wrapped them in another group hug. "You two are the best friends ever!"