The Wrong Flags Wave [Meghan]

[Kire]

≋ S a m s o n ≋ S a n d e r s ≋

Does, Says, Thinks

As I looked around this part of my District, a place I was so unfamiliar with, I saw none of the usual flags waving over my head. They were festive and bright, but they were foreign. It was like I wasn't really in District four after all, and more like I was on another piece of the planet so far from home. I couldn't even see the ocean properly from here, or hear its crashing whispers. My submarines too, I wouldn't be able to spot them - ignoring the fact that I haven't spotted one for some time. It was weird here but I was determined to stay, to work through my own troubles and come back more experienced from all of this.

Events never seemed to stop here, something was always happening and it made this place both as busy as the Capitol and as dead as the Ghost Town in the last Games. I shuddered to think about the Ghost Town, a place where so many tributes died, and where the finale was fought. Both of the final two were from my district and so I guess it drew out a sense of pride in me, but seeing what they had become after the time they had spent in the arena - a dry desolate arena so different from our home - made me hesitant to do anything but mourn.

This wasn't a time for mourning though, or sorrow of any kind. The only exception would be the sadness of defeat, and even then everyone was expected to bounce back up and smile and be friendly. It wasn't all bad, if anything it was kind of nice, but the feeling of a falseness in the air almost sent a chill down my spine. I wasn't sure what other people were here for, but I was here for the fun and the games - real games, not that stupid horrible thing they called the Games - to experience what life is like in a competition that wouldn't rend you limb from limb. I was never meant for anything like that, and from what I had seen of myself I wasn't meant for any type of competition at all.

I wandered the streets aimlessly, staring at the buildings and the people and trying to get a grip on the fact that I hadn't gone much of anywhere. I was still in District four, even if it didn't feel like it. Perhaps it was the different flags, the different faces, the different smell in the air. Whatever it was, it itched at me like an insect bite and I tried not to scratch it but it was hard. The differences were too easy to spot, so maybe I needed something to take my attention away from them. Surely someone would like to interact. I may like submarines, and may not be the best with people, but even a guy like me can get a little lonely.