Chapter 2
NARRATOR | Eddie James, District 11
"This is the last car for the day," our supervisor barks. "Make it count!"
"Yes, sir," the men around me mumble. I hoist a heavy bag of potatoes onto my shoulder and carry it to one of the guys at the mouth of the train car.
I wipe sweat from my forehead before helping one of the other men lift a crate of fruit. We've been loading this train nearly all day, but it all needs to be done before the Victory Tour tomorrow. This train will be carrying produce back to the Capitol when they return from the tour. At least, that's what all the other guys have been saying. We don't get told much around here.
"I'm gonna throw my back out someday," Jamie says to me as we lift a crate up to the boys at the train car. He's one of the oldest men on our crew, and it shows. Packing these trains requires a lot of heavy lifting, and most men only last a few years on the team.
"You'd think the Capitol would make robots to do this stuff," Jamie grunts as we work together to lift another crate.
"Well, we'd be out of a job if they did," I remind him. We both know what that means - without this job, we'd both be out in the fields, getting whipped by the field supervisors. Not to mention that these jobs pay nearly twice as much - people would kill to be here, which is why only the strongest men in Eleven make it up here.
"True, that," Jamie sighs. "Can't complain. Gotta get out of here before I snap in half, though."
I laugh, helping him hoist the crate up to the other boys. By the time we get back, most of the other supplies are already loaded. We made good time today.
"Good job today, boys," our supervisor says, slamming the door to the train car shut with a clang. "Rare day off tomorrow - enjoy it. See you after that."
"Hey, enjoy your time with those crazy kids," Jamie says with a crooked smile, clapping me on the back. "I heard they've been getting wilder every day."
"Oh, they all are, aren't they?" I laugh. Jamie's talking about my siblings - there are a lot of us in a small house, and with my parents and siblings out in the fields all day, there isn't really anyone to keep the younger kids in line.
Jamie starts walking in the other direction, and another boy crosses in front of him as he heads towards me. My heart drops a bit when I see who it is.
"Eddie, wait up," Elijah calls, running to catch up. I turn, giving him a smile, but it's more of a grimace. Elijah and I have some history that I'd rather not think about right now.
"Eli, I gotta get back," I tell my coworker as he pulls up in front of me, walking backward to face me.
"Come on, E," he says, giving my arm a soft punch. "Can we just talk for a minute? We got off early, didn't we?"
I glance around - most of the other guys have scattered in different directions to get home, and the houses nearby seem to be empty.
"Make it quick," I say, and a smile graces Elijah's lips as he pulls me behind the nearest house.
Eli pushes my back against the wall of the house, leaning over me with a worried look in his eyes. "What's been going on, E?" he asks. "You've been avoiding me."
"Yeah, of course I have," I grumble, looking anywhere other than him. I've been avoiding him all day and he knows it. "You wanna hold hands at work or something, Eli?"
"No, but you could be a little nicer," he says. "We don't have to be enemies when we're around other people."
"You know it's not that simple," I sigh. "I don't need to tell you how bad it would be if people found out. We have to support our families, Eli. That's more important than this."
"Maybe it's not for me, okay?" Eli says, throwing his hands up in the air. "You're all I have right now, E. You're the only one who understands how hard this is."
"And what is this?" I ask. "Sneaking between houses to make out? Really?"
Elijah's silent for a while. The sound of kids playing a few houses down drifts down the alley as we stand together, two boys in the middle of the largest District in Panem.
"Maybe that's all this is to you, but I don't deserve to be ignored," Elijah exhales. "Like, you know, it's just..."
"I know," I cut him off. "Trust me. I just... can't right now, okay? I think I just need some space to figure out what this... is."
"Eddie, come on-"
"I need to be back for dinner, or my Ma will kill me," I say, pushing Elijah away from me. I finally look up to meet his eyes and I see a hurricane.
Eli doesn't say anything. He just lets me go. The whole way home, I feel like it gets harder and harder to breathe.
I know that whatever is going on with Elijah isn't right, but somehow, everything feels like it slots into place when I'm around him. He has his flaws, sure, but he's better than any of the girls who line the streets of Eleven, waiting for one of the guys with the good-paying jobs to get them out of the fields. When I'm around him, I feel.
I shake away the cloud over my head as I climb the steps to my house. The door squeals on its hinges as I enter the kitchen.
As soon as I walk into the kitchen, kids are running around me in a battle to make it outside first. There are twelve of us in total, but the four youngest are still too young to go out to the fields. They eat dinner earlier and run outside while the rest of us eat whatever's left.
"Twelfth place... Princess?" my brother Sid calls from the dining table, feigning shock. "They got you working late at the station?"
We've always played a game of who can get home first, and it looks like I'm the last one tonight. I roll my eyes, slipping my shoes off.
"Yeah, right," my older sister Jo says with a laugh. "Maybe Eddie's finally got a girl... you got something to tell us?"
"More like he's the girl," Sid says, shoveling food into his mouth. "Trying on princess dresses, Ed?"
"If I wore a princess dress to work, I'd still make more money than you," I jab, and my siblings laugh.
"Stew is on the counter, Eddie," my mother says. "Or whatever's left."
I sigh as I scoop myself a portion - I'm the last one home, so I'm the one who gets the scraps at the bottom of the pot.
I've never taken my brothers' teasing to heart, but Sid's words cut deep tonight. They've always called me Princess, ever since my sisters used to dress me up as their little doll when I was little. I think my brothers always noticed that I liked it a little too much, and the nickname stuck.
With everything going on with Eli, though, the nickname just reminds me that I'm different than everyone else. I don't want to be different. I'm tired of being different, and I guess I've always been that way. I've never had a choice. I was always girlier than my brothers, ever since I was a kid. I ended up getting the last laugh once we got older, though. Eventually, I grew to be the strongest of all of us, and I was the only one strong enough to be promoted to the packaging team that works in the warehouses of Eleven. Everyone else in my family works for half my wages in the fields.
"I've laid all your outfits out for tomorrow," my mom tells all of us as I sit at the table. We all have one pair of nice clothing for special events. Usually, they're only for Reapings and, six months later, the Victory Tour. "Eddie, Sid's outgrown his old stuff so I'm giving them to Nico, you're gonna give your stuff to Sid and your father is going to give you one of his."
"Works for me," I shrug. I'm used to all of this passing-down stuff - every piece of clothing I've worn in my life has been passed down from someone, usually my three older siblings, but now that I'm the largest member of our family, I'm typically one of the first to have them after my father.
"We gotta look good for Tiberius," my brother, Dom, says with a mocking laugh as Jo elbows him in the side. Tiberius Howell was the Victor of the most recent Games, and he killed both of the kids from Eleven. Everyone knew he would win from the start - he was a Career tribute, after all. Just like the Victor the year before him. Still, the way he killed the kids from Eleven was brutal. It was almost like he enjoyed killing them. In six more months, more kids will be sent to be killed by whoever District 2 decides to send next. One thing will be different, though. After next year, I won't be in the Reaping bowl anymore.
"I'll be happy to see the backside of him, that's for sure," my mother says, shaking her head. "That boy can stay far away from here for the rest of his life. Murdering our girl like that was crazy. We won't forget about that anytime soon."
"Allie will be happy to see the backside of him, too," Jo says, nudging one of my younger sisters. Ever since the Games, we've joked that she was in love with Tiberius.
I smile, taking a look at my family. They're crazy, but I love them so much it hurts. That's why it matters so much to me that I don't let them down. Whether they call me Princess or not, I'm the one supporting this family the most, and I can't let them down. If I get caught with Eli or any of the other boys scattered around Eleven, I'll be fired before I even know what's happened. That's what I fear most - disappointing my family, the people who mean the most to me.
"You never told us what was up with you being so late," Jo tells me quietly as we wash the family's dishes. Outside, Sid and Dom cheer as they play a game with the younger kids. "Was it really a girl? Be honest, I won't tell anyone."
I pass Jo the last dish, and she wipes it. Of all of my family members, Jo would be understanding of what I'm going through right now. She's the closest in age to me out of my sisters, and she's always the first to stick up for me.
Jo sets the plate down with a clink, folding the towel in her hands. She turns to me, tilting her head to indicate that she's ready for my answer.
"They kept us late," I sigh. "You know, the Victory Tour tomorrow. Lots of stuff getting shipped out."
Jo just smiles. "They work you too hard," she says, shaking her head. "Go get some sleep, Ed. We have a long day tomorrow."
A/N - Hope someone picks up on the unintentional Twin Snakes reference in Eddie's nickname lol
Hope y'all enjoyed this one, Eddie is a special character to me and is one who I definitely thought would benefit from having his backstory shown rather than just talking about it later. In terms of timeline, this chapter is set six months before the 98th Games (the day before the 97th Victory Tour).
~S