Rosetta Clure, 15: District 8 Female
She was only seventeen
When producer man came offering
That all her dreams
Would come true
July 2, 73ADD: 5 days before Reaping
"Praise be to Chancle," Preacher Zil drones one final time as he lifts from his kneeled position in the center of the prayer circle.
"Praise be to Chancle," I echo as part of the congregation. We all stand simultaneously, opening our eyes to meet Preacher Zil. Our midday prayer is repeated every day when the sun is at its highest point so that Chancle, the creator of the sun, can hear us clearly. We will meet again at sundown to praise the moon's creator, Larin. Tomorrow morning we will start our day by meeting to worship Nefta, the matron deity and the creator of this world. By praying to all three creators, the followers of the Church of Nefta will be promised salvation. Preacher Zil says I'm well on my way to salvation, and is training me to become a Preacher of the Church like he is.
Being a Preacher is one of the greatest honors in the Church of Nefta, and I plan on being the greatest Preacher since the beginning of the Church before the Dark Days. I'll make Preacher Zil proud of me, as it is an even greater honor for a Preacher to raise another Preacher. In the future I will do the same. Preachers are tasked with raising the children of the Church. I don't know who my birth parents are, but Preacher Zil is the only parent I need. I believe that he has taught me very well, and I have been a great student. I just wish that sister Mary was the same way.
Mary is just two years older than I am, but she has already proven herself to be a problem child. She is not at all devoted to the Church. She constantly questions our sacred practices, and is bold enough to do so in front of the Preachers. She is always ranting about how we're the laughing stock of District 8, telling us stories of how people in the factories mock us and our deities. Mary knows better than to mock the Church herself, as those that do will suffer great consequences. I am almost certain that Mary wants to leave the Church, as I have overheard her talking about doing that amongst some of our other less faithful members. But Mary's only home is here with Preacher Zil. If she leaves, she would have nowhere to live.
All the participants of our midday prayer begin to file out of the Worship Room, with me staying behind with Preacher Zil and Mary to clean up. Just as the last of the congregation begins to leave, I lock in on the hazel eyes of Dominick Saints. He makes his way over to me, flashing a beaming smile. He hugs me warmly and I return the embrace. As my selected life partner, Dominick is one of the only other members I regularly talk to.
"How are you this afternoon, Rosetta?" he asks as we pull away from each other.
"Oh, I'm doing just fine," I answer. "Blessed to see another day."
"Well I'm blessed to see your wonderful face again," Dominick says, brushing back his curly black hair. I blush at his sweet comment. Dominick has always been a bit of a flirt with me, but I never reciprocate. Although he is my selected life partner, my main focus is on reaching my full potential as a Preacher of the Church. I do appreciate his company, though. It's nice to be able to speak with someone other than Preacher Zil or Mary on a regular basis.
"So, what are your plans for this weekend?" Dominick asks. "I was thinking we should hang out a little."
"Well Dominick, I would love to but we can't hang out this weekend," I reply.
"What? Why not?" Dominick looks confused. His brow furrows as he looks at me with his mouth slightly agape.
"The Reaping is this Saturday," I say. "We won't have time to do much. Besides, I have seminary right after. I'd be in huge trouble if I ever missed that."
"Oh, the Reaping is this Saturday," he repeats in realization
"Yes, Dominick. This Saturday," I confirm. "Are you ready?"
"Well, not really," he says, scratching the back of his neck. "I had spent the last couple days figuring out what we'd do together."
"Maybe you should figure out what you're going to wear for the Reaping instead," I suggest, halfway joking.
"What are you gonna wear?" Dominick asks.
"Oh, probably that blue dress I like to wear to special worship services," I say. "It's good for any occasion really."
"Maybe I should wear something blue so we can match," Dominick says.
"No one would know we're matching unless we were reaped together," I say. "Besides, I've only seen you wear blue t-shirts. That wouldn't go over well at the Reaping."
"I could always go out and buy a nice blue shirt," he says.
"Why would you waste your money like that, especially so close to Reaping day?" I ask, slightly bewildered. Seriously, I wonder if Dominick ever thinks anything through. Sometimes I wonder if he even thinks at all.
"So I could match with my life partner," he says.
"It's just not practical, Dominick," I say. "Sometimes you just have to do what makes the most sense."
Practicality is what keeps everything in order. It's not always the best idea to do whatever comes to mind. Being realistic hasn't ever hurt anyone. Sometimes going with the best choice doesn't mean it's the most enjoyable. Preacher Zil told me that, and it makes perfect sense to me. I don't ever want to risk anything just for a little bit of fun that won't even last. I don't understand why Dominick can't see that.
"Well, this makes the most sense to me," he says.
"But it doesn't make any sense to me," I reply. "Like I already said, no one would even know unless we were both reaped. And I definitely don't want that to happen."
Obviously, I don't want to be reaped at all. Whether it be with or without my life partner.
But if I had to be, hopefully Dominick would stay behind.
Desmond Noahan, 15: District 8 Male
I was distracted
And in traffic
I didn't feel it
When the earthquake happened
July 3, 73ADD: 4 days before Reaping
"I'm sorry, Claudia. This is all I got for today, but I need the food." I push forward my measly haul of goods. All I have are a couple old shirts, a few pairs of socks, and about four dollars worth of coins. It's an embarrassingly small offering even by District 8 standards, but it's all I could find. We still desperately need everything back at home. Money is much tighter than usual, so every penny counts.
"You know this'll only buy you half a day's worth of food, right?" Claudia says, holding up one of the ratty t-shirts.
"I know, but I really need it." I look at Claudia with my best puppy dog eyes, hoping to earn some sympathy. She just stares back at me, unmoved.
"Desmond, you're gonna be sixteen next month. Your cute days are way behind you," she says. Well, so much for an appeal to pity. Claudia probably has people try to finesse her for more stuff daily, so I can't be too surprised my charm didn't work.
"I thought it was worth a shot," I mumble, hanging my head slightly.
"I'll let it slide this one time," Claudia says. "But next time just ask me straight up. It'll be much less embarrassing for you."
"Oh really? Thanks so much!"
"Don't mention it kid," Claudia says. "Just take what you need and only what you need. And don't tell anyone you didn't have enough to trade. There isn't enough stuff for everyone."
I thank Claudia one more time as I walk into the black market. It isn't the most pleasant place to be. It attracts some of the District's least fortunate citizens. Drug addicts, gang members, and the homeless frequent this abandoned warehouse for whatever secondhand items they need. I'm definitely not proud to be seen around these parts, but it's been a necessity for my family to survive. All the money we make working goes towards our raggedy apartment. There is hardly anything left over after paying those expenses.
The entirety of District 8 came so close to getting a little financial boost with last year's Games. Isaak Monroe made it all the way to the finale before finishing third. The only silver lining was his ally, Tomaz, taking the Victor's crown to District 5. His alliance with Isaak and Azo definitely helped boost morale across the district in the months following his upset victory. However, that wasn't really enough to last long. I have heard some rumors about District 5 being a little more defiant since Tomaz's big win. That probably doesn't mean much, but I've heard that 8 has had a rebellious past. Tomaz's association with District 8 despite not being from here might be a sign of things to come. But what do I know? I'm just a teenager trying to survive.
Survival in District 8 is rarely ever easy. From what I've picked up in school, we're located in the south of Panem, just north of District 11. Summers are long, hot, and humid. And winters can be unpredictable. Hardly any District 8 resident makes enough money to afford heat or air conditioning, so people dying of heat stroke or hypothermia isn't uncommon. My family has been able to avoid this problem, but we still struggle to put food on the table occasionally. Things used to be easier. Up until five years ago, we were bringing in enough money.
But that all changed when Alice died.
Alice was my twin sister. She was my best friend. The yin to my yang. She complemented my energy so well, but after a factory accident that all went away. That explosion rocked my world in more ways than one. Things haven't been the same since and I never realized how much I needed her until she was gone. She always brought me down whenever I was worked up. She always made sure I would think things through instead of making an impulsive decision. She was definitely a better person than I'll ever be. Part of me wishes that it were me in that explosion rather than her. My parents have tried their best to move on, but I can tell they're still grieving Alice's death much like I am. We all miss her, but we have to keep living for her. Otherwise, her memory will die just like she did.
I can't let that happen. I have to keep going for her. That's what she would have wanted. Even though she would encourage me to make good decisions and think things through, Alice would also push me to keep going when things get tough. Things have been tough ever since she left us, but just giving up would piss her off. It sure did when she was alive. I'll never forget the time I wanted to throw in the towel on a project we were working on. I thought Alice was going to kill me that day. She was so mad, so I can't even imagine how furious she would be if I threw in the towel on life. She'd probably come back from the dead and kick my ass.
For that reason, I have to keep pushing no matter how hard life may be. It's the only way for me and my family to survive. Without me working my ass off, we'd end up like the numerous people of District 8 that succumb to the side effects of poverty. If that were to happen, the Noahan family would become nothing more than a statistic. There would be no legacy, no impact, no nothing—just a number lost on the yearly census report. That's not how Alice would want us to go out. I'll do everything in my power to prevent that from happening. If it were me gone instead of Alice, I think she would do the same. No, I know she would. She'd do it better too, that's for sure. But it's not Alice here, it's me. Even when I feel like I can't, I have to keep on living for her.
Hello again,
Once again, it has been several months since I uploaded a chapter. I know, I'm a terrible person for not being able to keep a consistent update schedule. I wish I could actually be one of those authors who updates regularly but I don't think that's who I am anymore lol. I'll try to update more often in the future but I still can't make any promises. I'd just be letting y'all down if I did that. So please bear with me as I sporadically add to this story. It might take forever, but I'll try my hardest to finish it because I ain't no bitch.
On another note, big thanks to tri96380 for Rosetta and to Pacecca for Desmond. It was a pleasure to write these two.
Rosetta: Producer Man by Lyn Lapid
Desmond: If the World Was Ending by JP Saxe feat. Julia Michaels
I'll see you guys again in District 9!
Until next time,
Ty