And with laughter the whole Earth shook (Raseri)

[zakattack]

Its hot. Too hot.

[/i] My eyes are closed as I try to focus on keeping myself hidden among the branches searching out the reclusive shade and the slight coolness it brings. The day had been long and the majority of it had been in the sun. I could feel the tightness and tingling knowing my skin had to already be forming a brilliant sunburn that would be a reminder of today for weeks to come. Even after several years of working in the heat there were days like this that proved that no matter how accustomed to things you became there was always a way to wear you down.

If it wasn’t the weather it was my family and their awesome way of digging under my skin, it just seemed no matter what I did I didn’t have a place that was just mine. So for now the tree would have to do. At least I’m nearly hidden. [/i] Finding a large enough branch to support my tiny frame I settle in and stretch out wiping a hand across my forhead to clear it of sweat but leaving a dirt smudged streak I’d not notice unless I had a chance to glance in the mirror at home. It didn’t matter though, I smirked letting one of my feet dangle down, everyone here is cover in dust and dirt and sweat anymore. I could see the next flood of workers coming off their shift in the distance and thought (no hoped) maybe Deval might be in them. But as they got closer I realized it was a group I’d never met.

Running my tongue over my already dry lips I tried to tuck myself up before they’d catch me, hoping to rustle as few branches as possible as they passed under the shade a few of them relishing it as a relief from the sweltering fields. The group had made it through hand I adjusted myself back into the relaxed position and closed my eyes once more. It was calming being off the clock and still up a tree. I loved the freedom I felt when I’d get to the tippy top, but now just laying among the tangle of limbs was just as great. As I shifted a bit to find a spot for my rear to balance on a tumbled of leaves shook around me. I could feel my breath catch in my throat as several of the dry dead leaves fluttered down around what I thought was a straggler from the previous group sticking to the curly mop top of his hair. My eyes widened and I finally get my legs up as I pressed myself back against the trunk of the tree hoping he doesn’t look up to see where the shower of leaves fell from.


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[Raseri]

[bg=262629][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,485,true][atrb=style,width:485px;] Done, I thought in relief when I heard the signal, shifting my weight onto a foot and taking a deep breath to clear my head. Sweat dripped down my forehead and off the tip of my nose, but no matter how many times I raised a wrist to wipe it off, I never felt any cleaner, or drier. It felt as though my very being was saturated clear-through; a sleeveless t-shirt and faded blue jeans clung tirelessly to my skin, and a mop of long brown curls hung heavy and wet as a sponge, sticking to my forehead. All in all, I felt gross. The sky had been cloudless all day, and I imagine in some districts that was a good thing—but as anyone who’s ever worked in District 11 before can tell you, the sun could be a more of a burden than a blessing. When it bore down all day on your back, your neck, and your shoulders, and you came home looking like a tomato, wincing every time something came into contact with your peeling, blistering skin, you wouldn’t think quite so fondly of the sun. I could feel a burn forming on my already sun-freckled skin, and my lips were cracked dry beyond helping, aching for the cool kiss of water. Luckily, I knew a shortcut on the way home where a spring ran through a small patch of forest—I would go there in a bit. For now, I was tagging along with the rest of my group, keeping to myself and hanging a bit behind as they chattered amongst each other about the day’s work and what they would do when they got home. After our shifts, we workers flock to any scrap of shade like flies to honey in the hopes of just a moment of sanctuary from the summer heat, so naturally they all crowded under the first tree they passed, walking slowly but not daring to stop for long since everyone wanted to go home more than anything else. I was in no hurry, though—being the easygoing guy that I was—so I lingered behind once they’d disappeared, enjoying the shelter of the thick canopy of leaves. I sat down in the cool grass and rested my back against the trunk of the tree, taking a moment to relax and breathe in some air that wasn’t thick with dirt and sweat and heat. Slowly, I could feel the wetness on my clothes receding, and although my smell wasn’t getting any sweeter, I began to feel a bit less repulsive. After a moment or so I felt a tickle on the crown of my head, and when I lifted a hand to scratch it, I felt the crunch of dead leaves. Instinctively, I craned my head back and looked up, wondering what could’ve knocked them down. I didn’t see anything up in the branches but more leaves, but since no one else was around, I went ahead and asked anyways. ”Hello? Is someone up there? Ya don’t have to hide, ya know, I don’t bite or nothin’.” thinking, doing, hearing, ”saying,” other

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[zakattack]

Thinking I moved up fast enough I prayed the boy would keep walking but instead he plopped down under the tree…under my tree… and leaned himself back against it the way I was squished in the tree. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at the fact my day alone was going to be ruined, he’d probably report me for slagging off and I’d be in trouble. Only he didn’t look like the others from the orchards, he was older, much older, and as the leaves fell on his head I peered down wondering just where he was coming from. His hand reached up and plucked the leaves from his hair, his head tilting up to where I was perched, and I knew he’d be able to see me, my battered shoes couldn’t blend in and neither could I no matter how I tried.

[/i]

Calling up he questions who’s above him and I give out a sigh, “Don’t mind if you bite, just don’t want you to nark.”[/color] I shift out towards the branch and look down at him, my mess of sandy brown hair tumbling over my shoulders and I can’t help but smile. “Just wanted a bit of shade and sometime away from all that.”[/color] I shrug before clambering down a few branches and letting myself sit on one so that my feet were dangling over him and I could rest my arms across a nearby limb.

The better look I got at the boy the more I was sure he wasn’t my age, he’d probably assume I was just a bratty kid slacking off while all the older ones slaved away…which was only partially true. I had already done my shift, climbed my branches and felt the sting of the sun for several hours. Now I was just avoiding the mess of my shanty over stuffed with family and steaming hot with testosterone and puberty. Anything I could do to avoid going back there was perfect for me, even if it meant talking to a stranger.

Chewing some dried skin off my lip I looked back down. , “Shouldn’t you be out in the fields too? Or did you already serve your time? Cause its getting to be brutal out.”[/color]I plucked a leaf from the tree and popped the stem in my mouth chewing and rolling it between my teeth, it was dry but not dead like some of the upper sun scorched ones where I had been sitting and part of me wondered if I chewed on the leaf itself if there might be a bit of moisture left in it. I was so thirsty it was starting to hurt.
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[Raseri]

[bg=262629][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,485,true][atrb=style,width:485px;] There was a rustle and a sigh in the tree. ”I don’t mind if you bite,” a voice said, ”just don’t want you to nark.” The voice’s owner leans out to look at me, and I see that it’s a girl—and a cute girl at that, all blue eyes and long brown hair, with a real nice smile beamin’ right down at me. I matched it with my own, happy to have someone to talk to for now. ”Just wanted a bit of shade and sometime away from all that,” she added. ”I hear you,” I told her, bringing my thumb and forefinger to my mouth and zipping my lips, locking them, and throwing away the key. Didn’t bother me any if someone was playing a little hookie; in this heat, I didn’t blame them. I might even have done it too, if I could, but all of us Holbrook kids had learned a long time ago that if we skipped out on work, Uncle Gabe was gonna tan whatever part of our hides the Peacekeepers didn’t get to first. We all had to bring home our share to help support the family, that was important. I could feel the girl looking at me, and suddenly I felt self-conscious. I immediately raised a hand to my hair to fluff my curls up a bit so they didn’t look so weighed-down with sweat, and I quickly wiped off a part of my dirt-smeared face with a clean patch of my t-shirt. Hopefully she was far enough away that she couldn’t smell me. She probably thought I was one of those gross teenagers who wore their blue jeans until they could stick to the wall and only took a bath when they were told to. I wasn’t; I tried to always look my best when it was possible. She interrupted my thoughts then, asking if I should be out in the fields, or if I was finished. ”’Cause it’s getting to be brutal out,” she added. I tilted my head to look at her for a second as she chewed on a leaf stem, reminding me of the days of my childhood when Desmond and I would play at being farmers in the backyard, when he’d pretend to be a cow and chew on the grass. It made me smile for a minute, and then my cheeks flushed red when I remembered she had asked me a question. ”I’m all done for today, just stopped a minute to enjoy the shade,” I replied. ”I was gonna take a shortcut to a spring in the woods on my way home. You’re more than welcome to tag along, you know, if you’re tired of sittin’ in a tree.” I grinned up at her, hoping she'd accept. {occ-the writing style’s a bit different in this post, I’m experimenting with Emery’s voice.} thinking, doing, hearing, ”saying,” other

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[zakattack]

As I sat there swinging my legs watching the boy’s face as he seemed to realize where the voice was coming form. His eyes drank me in with a curious smile as zipped his lips in a pretend motion before he smoothed his hair and wiped his face. Was he trying to look nice for me?

[/i] Still chewing on my leaf I watched him as he seemed to get lost in a memory almost forgetting I was there. I couldn’t help but rest my head against my arm wondering how recently boys had been crossing my path, at least Deval was my age but this boy had to have been so much older.

He mentions going to a spring in the woods and before he can finish I’m clambering out of the tree spitting the leaf out with a giggle. Water, cool water, sounds amazing…not to mention I might get to know him a little better. Friends are something I’ve had trouble coming by, mainly because of the chatter and rumors about the fact I’m a bastard. “Of course I want to go! Hope I’m not botherin’ ya though.”[/color] I ask shyly as I plop out of the tree next to him. Looking up he’s so much taller than me, more rugged, handsome, a honestly a bit stinky.

Deval had a baby face, round and soft and even when he looked angry he didn’t look old, but this boy was scruffy and mature looking like he might have already really been a man. “But you’re probably a lot older than me, ain’t gonna bother you to have a kid around?”[/color] I blush as my hands move up to twist with my hair and fidget a bit rocking on my toes. he was going to make me leave soon anyway…. My hands smooth down my wrinkled tee shirt as I see his grin and my heart flutters a bit. Boys like him and Deval, they don’t smile like that at girls like me, at least not until recently.

I wasn’t sure what it was, maybe I’d grown out a bit of my gangly awkward preteen stage and into a bit more of a woman’s shape. With a small firm chest and slightly curved and rounded bottom, I wasn’t totally bad looking I guess. Still not as beautiful as my sister or as radiant as my brothers, but maybe Deval and this boy were actually seeing me as someone worth looking at. “I’m Asha by the way.”[/color]

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[Raseri]

[bg=262629][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,485,true][atrb=style,width:485px;] ”Of course I want to go!” she said, climbing out of the tree. I brought my hands back down to my sides; I hadn’t realized it, but I had extended both arms to her while she was coming down towards me, like I always did for Evangeline when I was afraid she would fall. Now that she was standing next to me, I saw how much taller I was, although it didn’t really come as a surprise—when you’re six foot two, you tend to dwarf most people you stand next to, especially girls. Hope I’m not botherin’ ya though,” she added. I laughed. ”’Course not,” I said. I didn’t know why she thought she would be a bother; I had been more worried about me bothering her, really, since I’m all smelly and not looking my best, and I know girls don’t like to be around boys when they’re all gross like that. But she must not mind too bad, if she was wanting to go along with me. It would be nice to have some company, and maybe make a new friend. I didn’t have too many of them, not close ones anyway; just Desmond and the rest of my family, and I wasn’t sure that even counted, since I was related to them. ”But you’re probably a lot older than me,” she continued, ”ain’t gonna bother you to have a kid around?” Oh, so that’s what it was. This kind of thing tended to happen a lot with kids my age, thinking I was a lot older than I was. I didn’t blame them, what with my beard and my height and my thundery voice—I had been an early bloomer. Heck, she probably thought I was some creepy twenty-something year old trying to flirt with her, and we were probably the same age, if not close to it. I laughed again, and grinned at her, shaking my head. ”I’m Asha by the way,” she said, reminding me that I still hadn’t introduced myself. ”It’s nice to meet you, Asha. My name’s Emery,” I answered politely. ”The water’s this way,” I told her, jerking my head slightly in the direction of the spring. I wondered if I should offer her an elbow to hold onto or something, like Desmond always did; he was always doing gentlemanly things like that, and women seemed to like it. But then I got shy decided that she probably wouldn’t want to stand too close to me when I was stinky anyways. ”And darlin’, I’d be willing to guess I ain’t much older than you,” I said with a laugh as we walked side by side. At least, I hoped I wasn't. There was always the chance that she was like me, younger than she looked. ”I’m only seventeen.” thinking, doing, hearing, ”saying,” other

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[zakattack]

When I hit the ground I see that the boy had been standing there his arms out reached as if to catch me on my way down. As if he thought I’d fall. I almost start laughing at the prospect considering I spend the majority of my days in the trees grabbing the fruit that the other larger boys and girls couldn’t dare reach. I wasn’t the best at it but at least my lack of food did come in handy. Yet the way he laughed as I got closer made me feel like he might feel just as awkward as I did and I couldn’t figure out why. It’s not like I’m someone scary, or even imposing. I’m just little ole Asha.

The closer I got the more he did smell, but it wasn’t like boys didn’t smell to begin with, most the time speding their days in the fields working hard would do that to him, but what I didn’t really expect was the fact he was so very much taller than me. He was even taller than Deval. My tongue darts out again wetting my lips and I feel my cheeks hot under the sun as he tells me his name and nods towards the stream. Starting out in that direction I shove my hands into the pockets of my cut off jean shorts and look back up at him with wide eyes when he says he’s only seventeen.

“Ain’t no way you’re only seventeen! I just turned sixteen and you look bunches older than me! Not that its bad or nothin’ …” I say in awe as I take in his scruffy beard and deep voice. If we were going just by looks alone I would’ve guessed he was at least 22 maybe even older…

[/i] Something about knowing he’s not much older than me and the way he’s been looking at me builds up a gush of butterflies in my stomach. With Deval it was different it just sort of was there, this deep want to be around him because he just understood that things weren’t always good…but with Emery it seems so very much different. There was a spark in him that wasn’t snuffed out yet, not in the way that Deval and I had been broken.

“I just mean...you look…”[/color] I can feel my mouth freezing up and the painful blush build up in my neck and shoulders probably clearly visible under my tank top as I look at the ground. Aw Hell. Emery was just so, my mind raced for a word that fit, dashing, that I couldn’t figure out quite where I was going so I force myself to change the topic as we tramp through a field and into the brush leading in the way of the spring “You don’t work out in the orchards do ya? I ain’t seen you around there and I have to work every day.”[/color]
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[Raseri]

[bg=262629][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,485,true][atrb=style,width:485px;] ”Ain’t no way you’re only seventeen!” Asha exclaimed in disbelief as I led her through a field, trampling through tall brown grass that swayed in the breeze and tickled our legs as we walked. ”I just turned sixteen and you look bunches older than me! Not that it’s bad or nothin’…” I just nodded slightly as she talked, smiling a little smile. A year wasn’t a long time—heck, seventeen and sixteen were like the same number, almost. I knew it wasn’t nice to stare, but I watched Asha while she looked at me—she was probably still trying to figure out how I could look the way I look and not be twenty-something—taking in the way her blue eyes glinted in the sunlight when she looked up at me, and the way her brown hair fell around her shoulders. Was it as soft as it looked? I wondered what it would feel like if I ran my fingers through it, like Adrian used to do to me when I was little and I cried. Then my cheeks flushed red, and I looked away just in case, because sometimes I felt like people could tell what you were thinking when they looked at you, and I didn’t want Asha to know that I had been thinkin’ about her like that. Just in case she didn’t like it. ”I just mean… you look…” She didn’t finish but I knew what she was talking about, and I suppressed a laugh at the words caught in her throat. If only she could have seen me a year or two ago; I had been all little and skinny, more like a curly-haired twig than a boy, really. One year, I had shot up real tall and filled out, just like uncle Gabe had said I would, and now I looked almost as old as Adrian. Sometimes people even asked if we were twins. ”Old,” I said, finishing her sentence for her, letting go of another chuckle. ”I know.” ”You don’t work in the orchards, do ya? I ain’t seen you around there and I have to work every day.” I shook my head. ”Nah, I work in the fields,” I told her. Plowing, harvesting, rotating crops—that was the kind of work I did. When I was a lot younger and a lot smaller, I had worked in the orchards, because back then I had weighed a lot less, and could climb up high enough to get the apples that hid up in the skinniest branches. Now I work in the fields, with the adults. All that manual labor builds muscle, so I guess it’s not so bad. But there are days like this one when I miss it, and the shade given by the thick leaves of the apple trees. Speaking of shade… As soon as we reached the border of the patch of trees that held the spring, it felt about three degrees cooler (or something.). ”Shh, listen,” I said with my finger to my lips, slowing down for a second. If you listened close and tuned out the sound of dead branches and twigs crackling underfoot, you could hear the water rushing in the distance. ”Hear it?” I asked. I pointed. ”It’s just past that big tree right there. The one with all that green moss on it.” thinking, doing, hearing, ”saying,” other

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[zakattack]

I didn’t mean old!

[/i] Was all I could think as he tried to finish the sentence for me. Beautiful. Handsome. Eye catching attractive…that’s what I meant, but there was no way I would even be able to start to explain that so I even as my eyes widened and my head shook slightly I let him going on thinking that was what I was trying to say. As long as it kept him from knowing that I couldn’t peel my eyes away from the bulge of his arms and the ripple of his chest where the shirt stuck to his skin under the heat of the day.

It was hard to understand all these new feelings I was having around boys, around Deval and Emery and the way they made me feel so similar yet so different. The way my heart would beat so fast when either one would look at me, the rush of blood making me dizzy and excited and all these things I couldn’t describe, but with Deval it was coming naturally. I didn’t have to try to make him like me, he just seemed to. Emery on the other hand was so light hearted compared to the deep conversations I would have with Deval, Emery didn’t have that pain and frustration spelled out across his face. When I look up I see him looking at me again this time he’s the one to flush away.

“Ohhh.”[/color] I nod as he says he works in the fields. “With all your muscles that makes sense...They said I’m too little to do that. They still make me climb the trees and find the fruit…”[/color] make me was the key word in that sentence, if it was up to me I’d be doing something else, making jams or jellies, or anything that would keep me on the ground and out of the sun. Anything that was what they didn’t want me to do…but I’d never get away with it and I valued my life far too much to do anything stupid.

As we stepped into the canopy of the trees along the edge of the field we’d been tramping through and the coolness of the shade was a welcome friend. Emery stopped suddenly, pressing his finger to his lips and I couldn’t help but thinking how much I wished my lips where his finger…I was lost in the motion and almost didn’t hear his comment until the bubbling babble of the brook just beyond the tree. It sounded so cool and inviting I was almost already to take off. Smiling up at my companion I reached out and tugged at his arm. “Race you!”[/color] my feet took off and I jumped and climbed over the fallen trees and debris before getting to the edge and kicking off my shoes.

My toes dipped into the water and I looked up at Emery with a smile, “It was really nice of you to bring me here. Its beautiful. Makes this day just about perfect.”[/color]

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[Raseri]

[bg=262629][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,485,true][atrb=style,width:485px;] Asha’s hand pulled at my arm. ”Race you!” she said, but I must have been too caught up in the way she smiled up at me to remember how to run, because she left me in the dust, and I was still smiling like an idiot at the spot in which she had just been. ”Hey!” I laughed/shouted at her, dodging branches and jumping over roots as I sprinted for the creek. I ran fast, but Asha smoked me like a cigar; she had her shoes off and her feet in the stream before I even stepped near the edge. Plopping my butt down on the soft earth beside her on the upstream side, I slid my left shoe, right shoe off my feet with my toes and peeled off my socks before lowering my feet into the water with a splash and a sigh. Incredible was the first word that came to mind, a word I usually reserved for special occasions (because I didn’t know many big ones like that.). I pulled my shirt over my head too, and tossed it next to my shoes, now that we were in the shade and I wasn’t worried about getting a sunburn. ”It was really nice of you to bring me here. It’s beautiful. Makes this day about perfect.” Perfect. That was a better word. It wasn’t just incredible, or fantastic; it was perfect. It was like time had stopped, and right now, I didn’t have to worry about getting home or going to work or settling stupid arguments or putting food in the kids’ bellies. All that I had to think about—all that I wanted to think about—was the shade, and the cold water, and me, and Asha. Asha especially, because I had decided that I would love to be around her even if it there was no shade, and no water. And she seemed to be getting prettier every time I stole a look at her. We were sitting so close together, and this day was so perfect that for a moment, I thought I should just press my lips against the smile she was giving me and see if her lips would press back. I almost did it—almost—but then I chickened out. What if she didn’t want to kiss me, and she ran away? The thought was terrifying, because the day was perfect because Asha was here, and it would cease to be so if she were gone. ”Just about, yeah,” I agreed finally, a little caught up in my thoughts. There was only one thing that could make this day anything but ”just about” perfect, but I was too scared to try it, too scared I’d make her up and leave. ”And I’m glad I brought you. I come here just about every day, but I ain’t never had this much fun. It’s not as fun by yourself.” I looked at her for a minute, and that feeling crept into me, the one where your heart beats faster and you feel like you’ve got butterflies flying around in your tummy. I think that’s your body’s way of telling you that it’s time to kiss somebody. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned as a teenage boy, it’s that you can’t always listen to what your body’s telling you. So I pulled my eyes away from Asha and leaned forward to put my hands in the water, cleaning some of the smudged dirt off my face and my hands. Then, as an afterthought, I slapped the water, sending a splash towards Asha. ”This water’s great! Have some more! ” I exclaimed with a laugh. Yep, just about perfect. thinking, doing, hearing, ”saying,” other

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[zakattack]

Emery sat on the ground stripping himself of his shoes and sock and shirt and I stood up walking around as I splashed around in the stream, the cool water and dark shade of the trees was more surreal than I’d let on. It was hard to find places like this in District 11. Sure there was the watering hole, but it was dark and murky and full of kids and rowdy teenagers…but this little creek was crystal clear and unsullied by the others. The way the light sparkled from between the trees like the little stones that adorned the tributes dresses and jackets during the interviews make this place full of some sort of magical perfection. Something you couldn’t find anywhere else. Not even the top of the tallest hill in the middle of the night.

I could feel Emery’s eyes on me suddenly as I looked up, not sure how long he’s been watching me or the water dancing between my feet. Why does he look at me like that…

[/i] For a split second I wonder if he is reading my mind. If he can figure out that I had been thinking of how it might feel to kiss him. Only this time the redness in my face becomes so overwhelming at the thought of him knowing that I’m afraid my skin might actually burn off. Nerves build through me and I chew on my bottom lip. Deval hadn’t actually asked me to be his girlfriend and we were still new in whatever strange sort of friendship we had budding between us, so was it wrong to enjoy Emery’s company? I wasn’t sure what to think but I couldn’t let it distract from the wonder around us. “I’ve never been here, didn’t even know it was here…”[/color] my words are soft as our eyes stay locked, “Is it your hide-away?”[/color] I didn’t want to intrude on his space like Deval had on mine unless he wanted me too.

Just as I worry that I’m pushing too much he sends a splash at me and I it soaks my shorts and I stand there with my mouth gaping for a second before leaning down and dipping both hands in and sending a larger splash towards his shirtless body. . “Ohhhh buddy! You’re gonna pay for that!”[/color] I tease splashing again with a squeal. I could hear our laughter echoing around us and it was as if we were caught in a bubble of our own creating. It really was perfect.

There wasn’t talk of the upcoming reaping, the fact that our fun may be ripped away from us in just a few short weeks. It was just laughter and joy that filled up the small spring as I felt the droplets of water rain down around us. The Capitol couldn’t break us if we didn’t let them they couldn’t take away all the moments like this even if they tried. “You’re a lot of fun Emery. I’m glad you found my tree.”[/color]



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[Raseri]

[bg=262629][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, border-radius: 0px 0px 45px 45px;][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,485,true][atrb=style,width:485px;] ”Is it your hide-away?” Asha asked me softly. I nodded. ”It kinda is,” I said. I was pretty sure no one else knew it was here, either; any time I had ever come to this spot, it had been empty, and Asha was the first person I had ever brought along with me. ”I don’t mind, though. It can be yours too. I mean, if you want,” I told her, suddenly becoming shy for some reason. I rubbed the back of my neck with my hand, losing eye contact and then regaining it. ”I would like that,” was what I was trying to say, and I finally got it out. I had had more fun in the past hour than I’d had in a week, and I didn’t want this to be the only time I got to spend time with Asha. ”Ohhhh buddy! You’re gonna pay for that!” Asha called when I splashed her. Her shorts soaked a darker blue, she splashed me right back, squealing like a little kid. The cold water shocked my skin, and I let out a holler, not even bothering to think about whether or not someone could hear us. And why should I, when we were in our own world? We could laugh and shout and splash as much as we wanted, and nothing was going to happen except for the things we wanted to. No one could touch us here. When I was done splashing, I sat cross-legged in the middle of the creek—since my pants were already soaked from the splashing, there was really no reason not to—facing Asha. The water ran over my legs on its way downstream, and mud from the bottom soaked the seat of my pants, but it felt good in the heat. ”You’re a lot of fun, Emery,” Asha said, making me smile again. I had been laughing and grinning so much that my face muscles ached when I tried to stop. ”I’m glad you found my tree.” ”Thanks, Asha,” I answered her with a grin, reaching a hand up to ruffle my hair a bit, since it was wet and laying flat against my head. ”You’re not too bad yourself.” She was great, actually. ”I’m glad we did this. It’s not too often I get to have this much fun.” It wasn’t too often I got to spend time with a girl, either; to be honest, Asha was the first one besides my sisters that I had talked to—well, really talked to—in a few months. And I hadn’t had feelings for someone since even longer than that. “Hey, you ever gone fishing for crawdads before?” I asked suddenly, as an idea came out of nowhere. thinking, doing, hearing, ”saying,” other

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[zakattack]

I remembered the feeling of finding Deval on my hilltop some nights ago and the way I was hurt that I had lost my own private world…but this was different Emery had brought me here willingly. He didn’t know me from a bump in the road yet he was more than generous opening up this little slice of heaven for me. I could sense his embarrassment about something as he rubbed his neck and glanced away for a second. My face betrayed me by turning red once more as he offered up this to be my new hideaway as well. There was more to the invitation though, something that ran deeper like the time I offered my hill to Deval and I felt a bit uncomfortable. Emery was handsome and charming and something niggling inside of me told me that maybe he was looking at me the same way and I didn’t know if that was okay after the moments of more than friendship I had spent with Deval. Emery couldn’t understand me the same way.

[/i] Could he?

But then before my confusion could spill out we were splashing and yelling and enjoying ourselves like teenagers should without the thought of more than the water and our freedom around us. My jean shorts and sheer tank top both became soaked in no time and Emery’s shorts weren’t in much better condition as he plopped down in the water. I joined him letting my own bottom sink down into the mud as my giggles died off, “Yeah its not often we have any type of fun around here...”[/color] I mumble digging my hands into the silt and muck as I watch him ruffle his mess of hair. Some girls were put off by dirt and grime and I’d even heard stories of people in the Capitol who would cry if there was the slightest smudge of filth on them. You couldn’t be that way out here, dirt and dust were a staple of life in the fields of District 11. Just like callouses and blisters and blood, sweat, and tears; they all made us stronger.

“My brothers used to go crawdad fishing all the time but they never took me. Said it was for boys to do not girls, that I should be learning how to bake pies and stuff. ”[/color] The memories made me chuckle. I’m a terrible cook and maybe it is because I spend so much time running around outside instead of in the kitchen with Ma. Ma hates me though, and lately she hasn’t been even trying to hide it unless Pa is around so why I would want to spend time with her is beyond me. Looking up at Emery I tilt my head with a grin. “Maybe you could show me how though. It might be nice to have a little something to bring home.”[/color]

Or maybe it would just be nice not to have to leave you yet.[/i]

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[Raseri]

[bg=262629][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, border-radius: 0px 0px 45px 45px;][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,485,true][atrb=style,width:485px;] I could still remember the first time I’d gone fishing for crawdads. Uncle Gabe took me and Desmond along to a creek like this one when we were little (we’d have taken Toby too, but he said he wasn’t feeling up to it. A tummy ache or something, I can’t remember what the reason was).. He had a little net he’d made out of some rope, and he showed both of us how to find the little crustaceans in the shady places under the rocks, and then scare them so they ran backwards into the netting. We ended up catching about ten of them, and when we brought them home, my aunt boiled them up so we could eat the fleshy bits on the inside. Asha had never been crawdad fishing, she said, since her brothers always told her it wasn’t for girls to do. I laughed. It was pretty funny how some boys would say that to girls—that they should cook and clean instead of getting their hands dirty—because most girls I’d met were just as capable of those things as boys were, but a lot of guys couldn’t cook or sew or anything. Like me, for instance; if I tried to boil water, I’d probably end up burning it. I’ve tried to sew too, but my stitches always end up being too wide or too crooked, and the thread always manages to tangle itself up so much that I have to cut it and start all over again. ”Yeah, I’d love to!” I told Asha, my eyes lighting up when she suggested I show her the ropes. We didn’t have a net with us, though, so we’d have to catch them with our hands. We needed to find something we could put them in too. When my eyes did a quick scan of our surroundings, they caught onto my t-shirt, and I stood up to pick it up off the ground. Once we caught the crawdads, we could hold the shirt like a basket and put them in that. I was pretty proud of myself, thinking up an idea like that so quick. ”It’s pretty easy,” I told her, kneeling down near the water again. Maybe I'll impress her. ”You look for ‘em under the rocks real slow—” I demonstrated, turning over a few good-looking rocks very gently, so I didn’t disturb the dirt and make the water all cloudy. It took about five tries before I found one—just a little one, only about an inch or two long, but it would work for now, since it was just a demonstration. ”There’s one, see?” I said, lowering my voice and pointing. I didn’t think they could hear us under the water (do they even have ears?) but I wasn’t sure, and I didn’t want to scare it away. ”You gotta put one hand behind it, like this, and then with your other hand, you scare it in the front, ‘cause they swim backwards.” I showed her, and just like I’d said, the little crawdad bolted right back into my hand. I scooped it up out of the water real quick and held my hand out flat so I could look at it, and I caught her eye. ”Here,” I said, extending my hand so I could let him crawl onto Asha’s, assuming she’d let me. ”He’s a baby, so he’s no good for eatin’, but you can hold him since his claws ain’t big enough to pinch yet.” Hopefully we’d catch some bigger ones, so Asha could take them home with her. thinking, doing, hearing, ”saying,” other

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