<----<<(In the Forest (~Open~))--'--,@

"There's no stopping the show"

Saying | Thinking | Hearing | Doing

The district was naturally sleepy today, warmed by the warm spring sunshine and freshened with the smell of pine. Crisp, cool air still wafted its way around the place and woke many a sleeping citizen to freezing nose tips and cold toes. Birds chirped melodiously, waking those who were impervious to the cold mountain air. It could have been like any other morning in District 7 on this fine morning, except for the fact that I did not have any work today. On days like these where I had little to do, time seemed to move especially slow for me. Maybe I could go down to the forest, anyways. It would be quiet, one of the few times when I would actually be alone in there, but at least it would be something to do.
I hated not having anything to do. Work distracted me at this point, helping me to do something instead of feel nothing. Days where I'm not needed for felling trees are the worst.

Walking down the mostly empty road to get to the forest wasn't a very long trip, but it still took a while. I smelled the aromas of cooking fires and the fatty smell of meat wafting from some homes. Others had less strong smells that were easily overpowered by the typical district scent of pine needles. In the Capitol, they tried bottling this scent and called it “Pine-Sol” or something. I've heard it's nothing like the real thing, not at all. A smile appears on my face and I put a spring into my step as I near the edge of the forest. The road cuts off and swiftly turns into a foot-trodden dirt path that has been created from years and years of men and women walking in the same direction. I know my way around well enough in the woods and I stepped off the path into the forest to walk alone.

“I'm walkin' in da woods
Singin' my song
Cuz I'm cool
In da woods
When I sing, yeah”
I belted out a made-up song at the top of my lungs. Nobody was around, so I figured I could do whatever the hell I wanted out there. Air guitar, badly sung lyrics. . . the works! I skipped a bit and did a bellhop and some sort of weird jig thing. It's hard for me to have time to mess around. I've worked ever since I was thirteen, so I had to get used to not having much fun. I'm only sixteen and most people my age are still screwing up doing anything they can to get a bit of a laugh. I don't really see the point in it. Then again, I don't see much of a point in anything. At least it's entertaining to run around, heh heh.

“AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW ITS TIME TO SAY HELLO
TO THE ARDEN TENTSMUIR SHOW
BECAUSE I'M COOL LIKE THAT, YO”
I almost would have laughed out loud at that exact moment, but then I saw movement in the corner of my eye that made me freeze. I shut the hell up and covered my mouth with two hands, nearly buckling over in embarrassment.

"Hey! Enough wood for today?” a chirpy girl's voice spoke. A girl (who was rather pretty by my standards) with pinned-up hair stood next to a boy who was wielding an axe.
Why is he cutting down a tree? Even if he was part of the other half of workers – the ones who had to work today – he shouldn't be even bothering to cut here.
Luckily, I think they might not have seen me. I bet they heard me, though. My eyes dart around until I find a tree and I dive behind it, hoping they didn't see my embarrassing singing and dancing act earlier. They make casual conversation and I peer around.
Perhaps I'll speak to them after I collect myself. I brush myself down and take a deep breath. I hoped that the two people weren't friends or this would be really awkward.

“Hello there, babe, what are you doing out here?” I stepped out and made my way towards them and nodded at the girl. She blinked in reply.
“And how's that tree of yours? Not my best choice to cut out here, but whatever. . .”