TW: Harassment Undertones and language

"I don't want to die, but if I'm going to, then I want to go out knowing I've been good and kind."

Tilly Mayfield, 16, District Nine Female

May 20, Year 78

Mayfield Residence

Tilly Mayfield sat on the old porch swing and let the late spring breeze ruffle her sandy blonde hair. The neighborhood was crammed full of houses, but the Mayfields were lucky enough to have one right on the edge, where the fields seemed to stretch out into infinity.

The afternoon sun shined brightly, painting the fields in a golden light. Tilly was exhausted from her shift at the grain fields, making sure the plants were doing just fine, and culling the weeds. It was hard, but it gave Tilly a way to pass the time while ensuring that as little tesserae had to be taken out as possible.

Tilly took a few moments to finish the glass of lemonade that her Aunt Maizie had brought home, stood up, and stretched. As much as she wanted to enjoy the view, there was still more work to be done.

The screen door creaked loudly as Tilly stepped back inside. The fans were running, providing some air to the otherwise stuffy house, and the windows were wide open, letting the evening breeze in. The poor air conditioner was old and couldn't control the temperature of the house the way that it used to. It didn't help that the house had so many warm bodies.

Tilly looked around the house, trying to get a feel of what needed to be done before her parents and Bran got home for the evening. Emmery's homework was done but still scattered on the table. That needed to be packed up. Seble and Juniper were invited to dinner that evening, and while they were bringing their own dishes, not wanting to eat into the Mayfields' food supply, Tilly needed to make sure there was enough food for dinner that evening and go to the market if there wasn't. She got paid earlier that day, so getting something wouldn't have been a problem.

There were a few more things on Tilly's mental list of chores, and while they were tedious, even the most tedious of chores could be made fun with the right amount of effort.

Tilly began gathering Emmery's homework, making sure the pages were in order. Then, she carefully slid the pages into her younger cousin's bright blue binder.

Blue like the sky, blue like how she imagined the ocean, blue like Emmery's favorite teddy bear. She then went over and placed the binder in her backpack, an expensive yet well-appreciated gift from long ago. As she did, she tried to count the colors, but there were too many to count in the time she gave herself.

Oh well. You win some, you lose some.

When Tilly was done, she made sure there were no dishes that needed to be cleaned aside from her lemonade glass, which she set aside to clean later. No sense in wasting dish soap for a single cup. Instead, she rinsed it out so that it would be easier to clean later. Tonight was technically Bran's night to do the dishes, but why leave any more work than she had to, even if she'd volunteer to do them anyway?

Finally, Tilly peered into the ice box and frowned. There was enough food for dinner that night, but not much more than that. She would have to go on a quick grocery run. Aunt Maizie was home but lying down with a headache. She hated to disturb her, but she needed to know where Tilly was going, and that she was taking Emmery with her. She was only eleven and while she was old enough to care for herself, Tilly knew that Aunt Maizie could use the break, especially with her headache that kept her home from work that day.

"Emmery," Tilly called out quietly. "Emmery!"

Tilly waited for a moment and looked around a little bit, but Emmery did not appear. "Emmery? Come on, we need to go out for a bit." She began searching the living room for her younger cousin. "Hey, you're not asleep are you?" Tilly was about to leave the room and head upstairs when she spotted a worn pink shoe peeking out from behind the couch. Tilly's face lit up with an amused smile. She placed a hand on her hip and called out to no one in particular. "Well, darn. I guess this means I'll be going to the market alone. And on blueberry pie day no less. Guess I'll have to enjoy my mother's famous blueberry pie all by myself!" As she finished her sentence, she mischievously poked her head around the couch.

Emmery suddenly jumped up, arms outstretched and a big grin on her face. "Boo!" she said.

Both girls began laughing hysterically. "Boo yourself," Tilly replied. "You want to come with me to the market?"

"Of course, I do!" Emmery replied. "It's blueberry pie day!"

Tilly laughed some more. "Alright. Let's go."

~ASM~

Tilly and Emmery were sure to let Aunt Maizie know where they were going before they left. Maizie was more than happy to let Emmery go with Tilly. As per tradition, the girls went to the bakery first. The bakery was in one of the wealthiest parts of the district, and it was run by an incredibly wealthy but equally kind couple. As such, Tilly's mother and aunt were paid very well, and Tilly's mother was a talented baker.

When they reached the bakery, Tilly gently pushed the door open. The bell on the frame rang gently as the door brushed up against it, and her mouth began to water as the smell of blueberry pie wafted toward her.

"Oh! Hey, girls!"

Tilly looked towards one of the tables and a big grin spread across her face. "Dad!" Tilly and Emmery quickly walked towards Silas Mayfield, who stood and engulfed them both in a big bear hug. "What are you doing here? I thought you were at work?"

"There was an incident at work. I was told to go home early. Don't worry, I'm not in trouble. Opposite in fact. They just want to keep people who report this stuff as far away from the factory as possible when the fallout happens."

Emmery looked confused. "I think that makes sense? I think. So you're not getting in trouble by being here?"

"Not in the slightest," Tilly's father replied. "I will need to go back later tonight, but for now, I'll take the long dinner break. Why don't you go up to the counter? I think your mother has another batch of that pie on the way."

Tilly grinned, nodded, and led Emmery to the till. Emmery reached up and rang the bell playfully. Mr. Jefferson poked his head out of the kitchen and chuckled at seeing the girls. "Miss Mayfield, you have a couple of customers."

"Alright, let me get this pie in."

A couple of minutes later, Tilly's mother walked out and when she saw her daughter and niece, she smiled and shook her head. "Grocery run?" she asked.

Tilly nodded. "I got paid today. Don't worry," she replied.

"I'm not worried," her mother responded. "You should really be saving your money though. Blueberry pie, I assume?"

Emmery nodded enthusiastically. Tilly's mother giggled. "Well, alright then. Just a moment. Oh, and Tilly, did the house get clean?"

Tilly nodded. "Everything's ready to go for tonight. I just saw we were a little low on groceries is all."

"That's good, that's very good. I knew I could count on you. Thank you, Tilly."

"It's not a problem. Just glad I could help!"

"Why don't you and Emmery take a seat with your father? I'll have that pie out soon. My treat."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. Run along now."

Tilly's grin widened. She thanked her mother and went to sit with her father, Emmery right behind her.

Tilly tried her best to be helpful. Ever since her uncle died, Aunt Maizie lost her home, and she and Tilly's cousins were forced to move into her house, it was crowded, and busy, and there was always a lot to be done, but Tilly Mayfield was no stranger to hard work, and if it meant being able to spend more time with her cousins, she would work as hard as she could.

The blueberry pie would be delicious, and Tilly was more than grateful for the free treat, but what she was really grateful for was time with her family and friends.

They meant the world to her.

"Well then. Fuck."

Hyacinth "CiCi" Fluss, 18, District Nine Male

June 27, Year 78

Jail

The dinky jail cell was hot, filthy, and empty. Three concrete walls and a wall of bars, with only a hole for a toilet. There wasn't even a proper place to sleep. The only view of the outside was a small window secured with steel bars and barbed wire, probably to let enough air in so that prisoners weren't dropping like flies. The moon provided some illumination through the window in the form of a beam that was broken on the bars, leaving four rectangles of light that briefly disappeared as the cell's sole inhabitant paced across the hard, worn floor. There were vents on the floor that did a poor job of circulating air, but otherwise, it was just a cement box.

Even if Hyacinth Fluss had a place to rest his head, he wasn't entirely sure that he could sleep. It sounded ridiculous to still be reeling after nearly forty-eight hours, but after what Hyacinth had been through, he could do nothing but reel.

Had it really been just two days ago that he was a free man? A loved man?

It felt like an eternity since he had last kissed his boyfriend (ex-boyfriend?) before heading home for the night.

Except he didn't head home. He made his way to where the Peacekeepers were keeping the food that they confiscated from the people of the Middle of Nowhere.

The Middle of Nowhere was a small town in District Nine. It was so remote that most people never bothered with it. They didn't even enforce mandatory viewership there, not even the Hunger Games. How could they, if there was not even a way to get power to the Middle of Nowhere?

It had a brief flicker of fame long ago as the hometown of someone named Quintin Reeves, but that fame died quickly and the people were once again left to their own devices, their own freedoms. That's how it stayed for years. Even when Quintin's granddaughter came up in conversation twelve years ago, the Middle of Nowhere was passed over, that is, until a new head peacekeeper took over six months ago, decided that the people were too happy, and went about screwing everything up.

Wages went down, Peacekeeper presence went up, and the Peacekeepers went about taking what little the people had.

At one point, they quite literally snatched the food out of Hyacinth's family's mouths.

The only good thing that came out of that crackdown was Flo Hyde, but now, Hyacinth had to wonder if that was ever a good thing.

What started as a suspicious peacekeeper recruit following what he thought was a delinquent teenager became an odd friendship, and then became something more.

Hyacinth loved Flo with all of his heart, and he really, truly thought that Flo felt the same. Now, as he moved restlessly across his cell, Hyacinth was doubting everything.

Flo, the boy he had fallen so hard for, had been the one to catch him stealing food from the storeroom. Flo, the boy he saw a future with, had thrown him in prison like yesterday's garbage, with nothing but betrayed contempt in his eyes.

When Flo read Hyacinth his rights, it had the weight of a breakup speech. He didn't even give Hyacinth the chance to explain himself.

Would it really have made a difference though?

Hyacinth's legs grew heavy from all the pacing, and he slid down to the hard ground, trying and failing to get comfortable. He couldn't even take his ratty prison issued shirt off to use as a pillow. One other prisoner tried it. He was whipped horribly.

The conditions at the jail were horrible, but not as horrible as the fact that Flo had tossed him in there without a second thought.

Hyacinth leaned against the wall and stared out the window. He couldn't see anything out there, just an empty space that could only be the sky. There were a few stars, but they were mostly outshined by the moon.

His mind turned to his family. They were annoying, impersonal, and Hyacinth wasn't really a fan of them. They were so caught up in their so-called life here in the Middle of Nowhere that they refused to even consider that there were bigger things beyond the town. He knew there was. The Peacekeeper dragged the residents to a comparative city every year for the Reaping. Hyacinth didn't even want a big glamourous life like in the Capitol. He just wanted a life, and he couldn't get that where he was. They looked down upon him for even thinking about abandoning the Middle of Nowhere if they even looked at him at all.

Did they even know he was here? Did Flo even have the decency to send someone to tell them that he had been arrested? If they knew, did they care? No one had even come to visit him...

As much as he despised his family, he didn't want to see them go hungry. He was an asshole, but he wasn't a monster.

Hyacinth's thoughts were broken by the sound of someone whispering from the cell next to him. "Hey, hey kid!"

Hyacinth raised his eyebrow and looked towards the vent. This was the first time anyone had tried to talk to him through the vents since he had arrived. Hyacinth leaned downward towards the vent. A bruised and scared man with yellow teeth and foul breath was laying down, face pressed into the bars. Hyacinth wrinkled his nose and subtly inched backwards. "What?"

"Are you Hyacinth Fluss, the kid who got busted messing around with that cadet?"

Hyacinth gave the man a deadpan stare. "It's CiCi, and that's not why I'm here."

"Well, it's why they're going to transfer you to the main town, kid. Heard a couple Peacekeepers talking about it. They're pretty pissed at you."

Hyacinth blinked. "Well, I won't be there forever, surely." Perhaps if he was transferred to the district's largest city, that's where he'd be released. He'd be out of the Middle of Nowhere. He could finally be out of that miserable little trash heap. Maybe this whole thing had a happy ending.

The man let out a raspy laugh. "I've been here for six months, since the Peacekeepers came. My crime? I accidentally tripped and brushed against a peacekeeper. Doesn't matter that is was an accident, they beat me good and slung me in here. These shinies don't take kindly to rubbish like us so much as looking at them funny. You got lucky with your little boyfriend. He seemed like one of the good ones."

Hyacinth scoffed. "Ex-boyfriend, probably. He was the one who threw me in here."

The man laughed. "Well, now you're really screwed. I heard rumors about the primary prison here in Nine. They make you work, and if you don't make your quota, you're whipped or worse. Of course, you're not bad-looking, so you might get lucky. I heard they ship off the pretty ones to the Capitol. Cut out their tongues."

Hyacinth's heart began pounding. "You're lying. You're just messing with me."

The man let out another raspy laugh. "What reason do I have to lie? I just want to give you a heads-up. Of course, they're also talking about just killing you outright. Overheard it when they brought me out for my weekly exercise yesterday."

"No, no, they wouldn't do that. All I did was steal food! For my family!" Hyacinth began to shake. Surely, they wouldn't kill him. Flo wouldn't let them do that, right?

"Stealing food? That's a whipping-worthy offense, not a jailable offense. If they were just going to whip you, they would have done it by now. You're as good as-"

The man was cut off by the sound of a baton slamming against the bars. "Quiet in there!" a Peacekeeper barked.

Hyacinth's heart sank. The man might have been lying, but it was equally possible that he wasn't, and that Hyacinth was on death row knowing it. Hyacinth immediately stood up and rushed towards the front of the cell. "Hey, I'm not going to be executed, am I? I wasn't told what was going to happen to me. What's going to happen to me?"

The peacekeeper turned to Hyacinth and didn't answer. He simply shoved him away from the cell bars and to the ground. Hyacinth gasped in pain as his hands scraped against the floor as he landed hard. "Sir, please! What's going to happen to me?"

"You'll get out next week for the Reaping," the Peacekeeper barked gruffly. "After that, you're going right back in here. Now shut up and go to sleep."

Hyacinth sat there, frozen as the peacekeeper walked away. They were going to kill him or worse. His life was over. He would never leave the Middle of Nowhere unless it was in chains. He was never going to get that fresh start he wanted. He was never going to see his family again. They were annoying and he resented them, but they were his family!

Tears began to well in his eyes as he slumped onto his back, defeated.

Then, the peacekeeper's words echoed in his mind. "You'll get out next week for the Reaping."

Hyacinth knew very little about the Hunger Games. He knew that the Peacekeepers were working on getting power to the Middle of Nowhere so that they could enforce viewership. He knew that people sometimes died in there, but surely not everyone did, right? Surely it wasn't a real fight to the death, just television. No one that he knew was selected to go in his lifetime, so it was unlikely he'd be chosen as well…but there was one thing he knew he could do.

Hyacinth remembered going to the Reaping when he was six years old. He remembered a girl volunteering before a name was ever read out. That was the only time he remembered it happening, but it was a thing he could do.

Hyacinth took in several deep breaths. As long as he stayed alive and in Nine until the Reaping, he could volunteer. He could get out of this mess.

He didn't know what was going to happen to him, but anything and everything was better than this.

Hyacinth just had to survive. That's all he had to do.

Thank you to caffeinatedvirgo for Tilly and Wiki for CiCi! Tilly was a bright ray of sunshine and so I went with a little slice of life for her intro. As for CiCi, Wiki's concept was so interesting that I had to try it. A kid who knows very little about the Hunger Games despite Panem being seventy-eight years in sounded like a fun challenge. He's not the best person in the world, but he's not a terrible person either. I hope I portrayed that properly. Tilly's face claim is Jayden Bartels and CiCi's faceclaim is Jeffery Eli! I will also be updating the playlist after this chapter! If you have any trouble with the link, feel free to let me know and I'll send you a list!

Next time, we will be meeting Dawn and Hoover from District Ten! We're 75% of the way done with intros! Super exciting!