Some drug use in this chapter, but nothing that heavy. Just letting you know in case you're not big on the Devil's Lettuce XD.
Ascella Fuhari, 15
District 8 Female
One week before the Reaping
"Let's see here…"
As I make my way down the crowded street and carefully sidestep those walking past me, I take a look at the shopping list I've tucked into my pocket. Bread, spice, fruit, veggies, possibly a new pair of shoes for Antares if I've got the money and time left over.
Mom also requests some nice cuts of meat, preferably lamb, that she can use for dinner later this week. I don't really know why she keeps writing stuff like that on these lists she gives me. She knows I'm not going to buy it; I don't care where the animals came from, it's just cruel to hurt them. After all, we humans don't kill each other to eat our own flesh, right?
But that means more money for Antares's shoes later on. I'm going to get him the best cruelty-free pair I can find.
The first four items on the list are all very easy to pick up, since the grocer and baker are located across from each other. I go to the baker first and pick out a nice loaf, pay for it, then cross the street.
I like the grocer. He's really friendly and welcoming. "Ascella! Lovely to see you again. Anything in particular you're looking for?"
"Good morning, sir. I'm just getting some fruits and vegetables. Oh, and spices. Mom said she needs some spices."
"You just happen to be in luck, then. I've restocked my supplies! Feel free to take your pick."
I pick a few small bottles off the shelf. The grocer's got quite the selection here. Cayenne, cinnamon, and thyme. Saffron! Oh, do they smell lovely. I think these will all make Mom pretty happy. I wouldn't mind using these in the kitchen myself.
"I'll take these three, I suppose. Just a bag of apples, some oranges, cabbage, potatoes...oh my, you have leeks? Those will be a great treat!"
The grocer just smiles. "I'm glad I can find somebody else who appreciates their taste as much as I do. Take care Ascella, and tell your mother I said hello."
"I'll pass the message on!"
Finally, it's time to visit the shoe store. I take my sweet time there, because I'm not in any rush and I know exactly what kind of shoes I'm looking for. And thankfully, I have the funds to cover them, once I poke through the boxes hidden on a shelf in the back of the store. Now just to find the right size…
They're a bit too big, but I think Antares will grow into them. If I think about it this way, than that means he won't need a pair next year and we've just saved money in the long run.
The shopkeeper frowns as I bring my purchase to the counter. "You want those ones."
"Yes."
"The leather shoes are more popular."
"It's okay. These will do perfectly."
"But-" The shopkeeper seems confused. "Nobody ever buys this material."
"I will. I much prefer it over leather."
"Ohhhhh. You're that girl everyone keeps talking about."
"I'd appreciate it if you refrained from calling me a girl, please."
The shopkeeper grumbles a little more. But he still rings up my purchase and I'm good to go. It's somewhat saddening how quickly his mood soured.
If the streets were busy earlier, they're absolutely crowded now as everyone's out and about getting their shopping done before it gets too late. The paychecks have just come in. And so has the rain. The grey clouds roll in over my head and big fat raindrops fall onto the ground. I adjust my headband to keep my bangs out of my eyes as my hair gets damp. Guess I might not need a shower tonight!
Some people grumble about the rain. Not me. I like the rain. It brings everything to life. It washes the dirt away, cleanses up the Earth and loosens up the soil, giving way for new plants that sprout and breathe and grow.
In between the cracks on the sidewalk, small little leaves poke out and take in the water. Weeds, too stubborn to die under these conditions. I find myself staring down at them as I walk by. Green's always been my favourite colour, even if it's not easy to naturally find in 8. We don't have the best conditions for plant life to grow so the green comes from the dyes we make. And a lot of our dyed materials get shipped out to the Capitol, leaving the district to only keep whatever didn't sell or couldn't be sold.
Watching the sprouts suddenly gives me an idea.
Thankfully, the money I have left buys me more than enough of what I need and the shop is on my way home which is a believable excuse. Typically, whenever I come to visit this shop, I spend as much time as I can browsing through everything and walking up and down aisles, and I don't actually buy anything. But I only grab a few quick things this time, before it seems that I'm gone too long. Now I can finally head home. Once I climb the stairs to our apartment and unlock the door, Mom and Antares are there waiting for me.
"Ascella, there you are. Did you remember the list?"
"Yes, Mom. I have everything you need."
As I dump everything on the table, Mom sighs and gives me a pained smile. "You're missing something, sweetheart. Again."
"No I'm not."
"What's wrong with meat? If you're not going to eat it, Antares still needs the protein to grow."
"There's plenty of other ways we can get our protein. Trust me, he's not going to go hungry."
"Ascy!" Speaking of which, Antares pops up from the other side of the table and wraps his chubby little arms around my waist. "Hi!"
"Hi Antares! I got you something."
"What is it? Can I see? I wanna see, I wanna see!"
I open the box of shoes and watch as Antares's eyes light up. "Shoes! I love it! I'm gonna wear them right now!"
"Antares? Manners! What do you say to your sibling?"
"Thank you, Ascy!"
"I see you picked up something else along the way." Mom holds up one of the small potted plants I bought.
"Yeah. Look at them! Aren't they just the cutest?"
"But where will you keep them? We don't have any room if these get any bigger. You'll need a lot of soil and you'll have to water them. You can't just leave them in a closet somewhere or with a lack of sunlight-"
"I'll keep them in my bedroom," I insist.
"Ascella…"
"I have stuff for the plants! And once they get bigger, they'll actually produce green beans and tomatoes! Then we can save some money on groceries! Locally grown produce is really good for the environment."
The second the words "green beans" slip from my lips, Antares gets all excited and starts tugging on the sleeve of my sweater. He absolutely loves green beans. "Ascy bought green beans? I love green beans! Can I have some? Please, please, please, please?"
Mom seems to realize she's outnumbered and she just gives me a playful sigh. "Well, it's too late to return them now. You promise to take good care of them though? I will not be scooping any dead plant leaves or rotten tomatoes out of your room. And I better be treated to a nice stir fry once those beans actually sprout."
"You're the boss, Ma."
I carry up the plants to my room, then spread some old papers and sheets in the corner to keep the floor clean. This corner will be their little area. It still leaves me plenty of space to do stuff I want to do while still giving my brand new plants a lot of sunlight...once the Sun finally comes back out. I can't wait for when they finally get bigger.
As much as I like living in a cozy little apartment, I do sometimes wish we had a nice big backyard with lots of grass and soil in it. It would give me the chance to have the giant garden I always wanted. I could grow so much in it. Heck, if it was big enough, I could grow enough to feed the entire district! It would be like a giant community project, and everyone can be in charge of their own little section. These tiny potted plants, barely enough for one person let alone three, would have kickstarted it all.
Setting the plants down, I pull out my camera and snap a few pictures. The rain's subsided a little as the stormy clouds disappear, allowing small streaks of sunlight to slip through them and into my window. The streaks fall down onto the plants. Oh, that looks so pretty. I try more pics from different angles to see what looks the best, taking the copies and spreading them out on my bed. I can't wait to show these photos to my friends at the Eco Club. They'll think it's all so cool.
Hmmm. Juki doesn't live in an apartment like I do and she actually has a lot of space at her house. Maybe I can ask her about starting a garden in her backyard and we can all take turns taking care of it. It'll be like a school project except more fun.
But first thing's first, who knows the last time these plants had a drink. After filling up a watering can, I pour some into the pots. The soil turns a very dark brown, moistened by the water. "Here you guys go. You're probably really thirsty by now! I'll be back tomorrow with some more."
The plants don't respond. Of course they don't, they're plants! Well, sprouts anyways. Once they begin to grow, that'll be their way of talking and telling me what they need. I like to think that I'm pretty good at speaking plant and figuring out how to help them grow and stay healthy.
As I wait for the photos to develop, I open up my window to let some fresh air in. It gives me a fun idea.
I reach into my closet and pick out an old box. Inside, I have a few small sheets of thin paper, some more sturdy cards, and a thermos. I pull everything out before carefully cracking open the thermos so the inside contents don't spill out all over my floor. This stuff's pretty hard to get and I can't afford to waste it.
With one small piece of thin paper lying in front of me, I carefully sprinkle a small bit of weed inside, making sure it all lines up in the middle rather than falling out. Don't want too much, or I'll never be able to roll up this thing before it bursts open. I then tear a small part of a card off and roll it up, putting it at one end of the paper. Now it's time to roll the whole thing up. I've gotten pretty used to making joints by now without adding too much, spilling my weed all over the place and making a big mess.
The last step is to light the small joint. I have a hemp wick that I can use for that. Granted, hemp is pretty useful for other things too and I'll have to give it back to Mom at some point before she wonders where it went.
Well, I know Mom mostly uses it to light some joints of her own. She's the one who showed me how to do it after all, because she said it was safer than using a lighter and potentially causing an accident. Plus, it's better than all the nasty chemicals that sometimes wind up in those things.
The joint's lit up, creating a small little trail of smoke that wafts up into the air. I take a small puff. Just enough to relax without getting like, super high. I don't want something that potent anyways. Juki and Simone always tease me about it and wave the waft of their stronger stashes in my face. Who wants their clothes smelling like weed all the time?
Pushing my box of stash aside, I lean up against my bedframe and get into a comfy position. My blanket hangs off the bed and I rest my head in the fabric. Occasionally, I take a puff from my joint. But it's also interesting to watch the smoke trail do its little dance as it wafts towards my window. It joins the smog and other foul scents in the district air. At least it'll be much harder to detect the scent of weed now. That's why I use a weaker strain and make much smaller joints.
Mom says 8 used to be so pretty. That despite how industrial we are, there was a sense of beauty and joy to be found in it. And there were green spaces. Parks that weren't designed or mandated by the Capitol and those in charge in the district, but the community projects I only think of as a hypothetical. They were built and looked after by the people of 8. But unfortunately, the Peacekeepers tore them down to make more room for housing and factories. Mom was a teenager when it happened, so those lovely gardens are simply a memory lost to time. Shame I never got to see them.
At the same time, they also busted a lot of drug operations; some illegal and some questionable. The way Mom describes it and the way I see Peacekeepers react, weed is something of a gray spot because it can technically be medicinal and wasn't as strictly persecuted as other drugs and materials. You won't wind up in a noose over a joint. But if you get caught with way too much, you can get fined or something.
Not to say this burning little joint I hold up to my lips is a sign of rebellion or anything. More of a sign of my aesthetic and the fact that hey, I like to smoke some weed every once in a while. It's just part of kooky old Ascella Fuhari who hates eating meat and buys the special shoes nobody wants and gets funny stares about it, but is otherwise harmless.
But I wouldn't be a vegan flower child stoner without going against the grain of daily District 8 life and the authority maintaining it, would I?
Chyldryd Xelbis, 66
District 8 Escort
When Cassidy Tayori became Panem's Sweetheart and the Victor of the 100th Hunger Games, Chyldryd was there. When the children before her perished, Chyldryd was there. Hell, xe had been around for Teale's victory, the massacre that was the 75th Hunger Games, and its ensuing fallout, xe had seen it all.
Quite frankly, we were starting to grow exhausted.
At this point, why were xe still in this stupid position anyways?
Well, xe had been at it for so long xe might as well die an escort. Xe had no idea what other kinds of work were available for xim anyways. And better xim, a respectful and friendly face, than some inexperienced newbie who only cared about themselves and didn't respect anything about the district they wanted to be in. All a newbie would care about was moving up to somewhere supposedly better, burning all sorts of bridges along the way.
But Chyldryd had stayed in 8, mainly because nobody had actually bothered giving em a promotion; xe were constantly ignored in favour of way flashier escorts. For how long they were here, xe almost lost count. That was what happened when xe got old.
The Peacekeepers brought in Cassidy and Tweed. That didn't surprise Chyldryd. Teale had obviously been through a lot over the years and Tweed had been desiring to give them a mental break. Plus, everyone wanted a look at Panem's Sweetheart and that was okay with Chyldryd. Xe were perfectly fine in the shadows, where xe were very unlikely to be noticed.
Hell, xe had literally dressed like xe were going to a funeral. Then again, the suit had been left on a chair in xir room the night before and it was still clean. At least xe looked nice enough.
Time to get on with the Reaping. Chyldryd waved a small hello and that was it; they pulled a single name from the mass of slips in the glass bowl in read it in a monotone voice. "Ascella Fuhari."
A rather small 15 year-old slowly shuffled out into the aisle and in Chyldryd's direction. Ascella walked slowly, almost as if ey were in some kind of daze. Ey pushed some strands of short black hair out of eir face, revealing black eyes that continued to stare at the ground. Ey were rather pale, but this was the smoggy District 8; who wasn't?
Upon the stage, Ascella managed a small smile at Chyldryd, then eir face dropped. Xe realized that was all xe was really gonna get out of em, so now was time to move on.
Xe drew the second name. "Garnet Ashhill."
Garnet was only 16 years old, but already he was in the process of growing a full beard. For a moment, it looked as if there was a tear trickling with his gray eyes, but to his credit he didn't actually cry. He just ran a hand slowly through his light brown hair as he took to the stage. He was shaking only slightly, but other than that, he was rather stoic and calm.
The Reaping was pretty much done by now, and that was fine by Chyldryd. Yeah, it was a big ceremony and all, but xe had been doing this routine for so long it had lost all of its spark.
Back in the Justice Building, Cassidy looked like a nervous wreck. Tweed gently gripped her shoulders and began whispering to her in a low and even voice, in hopes of calming the young girl down. For a moment, Chyldryd almost felt bad. Xe were watching one of the most celebrated Victors in years crumble under the pressure she had been unfairly subjected to by the Capitol.
Then xe were back to not caring anymore.
Wasn't expecting December 2021 to be the way it was so yeah. But I have spare time to write for the rest of the year so the next update will be coming out soon.
Please stay safe out there and look out for you and your loved ones. We're living in a scary time right now, and the world may be unkind, but we don't have to be.
See you all in the next chapter,
-Vr