"Noah, I swear, if you tell me you're bored one more time -" Beetee warned his son. Estelle grinned over her Intro to Technical Writing text before Noah stuck his tongue out at her from across the worktable. District Three was in their second month of lockdown, and the Tesla house was beginning to feel quite small to all its inhabitants. Though Estelle and Noah found engineering fascinating, they were getting bored of book lessons and itching for practical projects. However, the shop supply was running quite low.
"Noah, like this -" Wiress began turning her blueprint over. "Watch -" She began re-sketching Noah's circuit design.
"Mom, Dad showed me already!" He groaned. "I think my brain is mush. Because I'm booooored - mmmmmfffff -" Gagging, Noah made a face as he pulled a wad of cloth from his mouth. Unraveling the black fabric, he stared at his father's sock with horror.
"DAAAAAAAAAAAAD!" He yelped. Beetee, Wiress, and Estelle were laughing so hard, tears were streaming down their face. "I GOTTA BRUSH FOR FIVE MINUTES! THIS IS SOOOOOO GROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSS!" Wiress winked at her husband as their son took the stairs three at a time to the bathroom.
"At least it will give him something else to do." Estelle quipped.
"Best. Prank. Ever." Beetee boasted grinning. "Right, sweetie?" Even as his eyes sparkled with victory, Wiress shook her head chuckling.
"He will get you back -" Wiress began. She sniffed the air. "Beetee, how long have you been wearing -" Wrinkling her nose, she gave her husband a certain look as he blushed. Estelle snickered at her parents knowing her dad was about to get in trouble.
"You said you wanted to conserve laundry soap, dear." Beetee protested before Wiress knelt down and yanked off his other shoe and sock. "Wiress!"
"You still have clean -" Wiress insisted holding the sock at arm's length. "Now, help me with -"
"The hamper, yes, I know." Beetee grumbled as he stood up.
"Mom, I'll make some noodles." Estelle announced before Wiress nodded smiling at her daughter.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the lockdown was lifted two weeks later. "Bye Mom! Bye Dad!" Estelle and Noah called before they bolted down the street.
"Hon, you know what this means?" Beetee asked smiling at his wife as he cleaned up the breakfast dishes.
"We can get more parts -" Wiress began beaming as she looked toward the door leading to the shed.
"Yes, and we have the house to ourselves for a bit." Blushing, Wiress knew what her husband meant as he winked at her under his glasses. Eventually they made their way to the surplus parts store and made decent headway in restocking the Tesla workroom.
Wiress smiled thinking about their time together as she woke up on the reaping for the 74th Hunger Games. Even though everyone got on each other's nerves toward the end of the district's lockdown, she would always treasure that family time. As she began preparing the house for her and Beetee's departure to the Capitol, she felt a sense of foreboding. Due to the attempted revolt and strike, she and Beetee knew this reaping would not turn out well for District Three.
She allowed memories of her children to flood her brain as she began making her fifteen and thirteen year olds' rooms passable. Estelle had shoved her blankets on the floor and Noah had left a trail of his pajamas leading to the bathroom. Shaking her head, Wiress reminded herself to tell them to place their clothes in their hampers later so she could sprinkle powder over the clothes that would absorb the odor until laundry was done upon her return. Going downstairs, she found the kitchen predictably empty. The bowl for breakfast rolls was half empty and a crumb trail led to the basement door. "Good morning, honey!" Beetee's voice greeted her as she opened the door. After the lockdown, Estelle and Noah were worried about the reaping, and escaped into their world of inventing. Beetee knew his children were one of the very few children in the District that didn't take out tesserae. He joined them in their world of inventing to forstall the very real possibility of mentoring his children's friends.
"Love, Kids, Two hours!" Wiress called down the stairs.
"I know, mom! Two hours before we have to get ready for the stupid reaping!" Noah called before Wiress heard what sounded like a kick. "Oooow! I won't mouth off outside, I promise, Stelle! Mom! I finished it!" Laughing with joy, Wiress came downstairs and smiled at her son standing next to his father at the large worktable the Teslas all shared. Estelle was putting the finishing touches on a lamp and Noah was connecting a battery to a wire. Wiress continued working on her machine that would test the strength of thread. It would be used in the factories of District Eight. Beetee was working on testing a length of thin gold wire. Inventing together was the Teslas' most treasured family activity. All too soon, the alarm clock on the wall buzzed and flashed twice.
"Wrap up, kids." Beetee said as the four inventors climbed the stairs out of their workroom. "Did you both shower? Choose your reaping clothes? You don't want your mother fussing at you for the next hour, do you?" In response, Wiress swatted Beetee on the behind with a large paperback electrical engineering reference book.
"I do not fuss –" Wiress began before sighing at Estelle's eye-roll.
"Yes you do, Mom." Estelle corrected. "You made me change my dress three times last year."
"Yes, but with - everything -" Wiress began glancing nervously out the window toward the town square.
"With everything that has happened in the past month, we all have to make a good impression this year." Beetee finished. "If it means letting your mother fuss, well - put up with it." He was smacked with a spoon as he stood up after finishing breakfast.
"Mom, it will be ok. I'll make sure this one doesn't mouth off." Estelle quipped playfully smacking Noah on the shoulder.
"So, kids, Mrs. Jones will be over before and after her shift to check on you two. Remember the rules –" Beetee began as the family gathered at the bottom of the stairs to the second floor. Mrs. Jones had lost her sons in both Beetee and Wiress' games. Instead of begrudging the two victors, she had become like family. She watched the Tesla children while their parents mentored.
"No testing voltage, no combustion tests, no using welding tools until after you two get back." Noah recited. "Oh, and don't change the settings on yours or mom's computers for the operating system or any apps." Beetee nodded.
"And no taking from our storage bins, Noah." Beetee said looking at his son who suddenly found a spot on the living room rug interesting. "We have our reasons for putting different components in our toolboxes, and we don't want to be surprised when a piece we worked on makes its way into your projects."
"Oh yeah, and no using the stove until Mrs. Jones is here, but we can use the microwave, and eat veggies along with our easy-mac for lunch." Estelle piped up. This was the first year her parents allowed the young teenagers to have some unsupervised time during the day. Mrs. Jones would come over in the evenings and leave mid-morning.
"Yes, and no mess." Wiress added. Kissing her children, she shooed them away to tidy their rooms and dress for the reapings. She and Beetee went to their room to change. Half an hour later, Estelle came downstairs wearing a dark green dress with quarter-length sleeves. Noah wore a light blue shirt with a silver tie. He finished his outfit with tan slacks and black shoes. Beetee wore a blue shirt with a navy-blue, black, and white striped tie. His outfit was complete with black pants and shoes. Wiress wore a dark purple dress with a black blazer. "My lovely children." She whispered as she hugged her son and daughter. "I love you." Looking at his watch, Beetee nodded to his family.
"C'mon, kids, Wiress. Let's go to the town square." He announced. They chatted about their inventions until both children were signed in and sent to their sections.
"Now, District Three, aren't you all excited to be here?" Xersius cheered as he flounced around in an electric blue suit. "Happy Hunger Games!" The crowd was eerily silent. "All too tired from work? Well, lucky for you, reaping day is a day off! Now, we shall choose our next victor!" He nearly skipped over to the reaping ball. "Ladies first! Estelle Wendy Tesla!"
A collective gasp rushed through the crowd. "NO!" A girl screamed from the fifteen year olds' section. "NO! ESTELLE!"
"I'm so sorry dear, no volunteers for District Three." Xersius said as two Peacekeepers held a sobbing girl in an Engineering Academy uniform from running up to the stage. The crowd's eyes were fixed on the daughter of their two Victors who was walking to the stage with her head held high. "Yes, won't you love to see the most famous fifteen year old girl in the district compete in the Capitol?" Silence met Xersius' overly enthusiastic question. "Now, let's see who her district partner is! Oh! OH!" The escort was beside himself with excitement. "Well – that – this is – quite unprecedented: Noah Terrimax Tesla, please come forward! Both children of your Victors will be representing District Three in the Seventy Fourth Hunger Games!"