Alive // Geebs

[charade]

The moon was bright as Clyde made his way through district six’s alleyways, retracing steps and passageways, remembering his exit strategies and the fastest routes from various point A’s to point B’s. He was moving slower that he usually did. Some things had changed. A building torn down here, an alleyway closed off there. Some vagrants moving in to previously unoccupied areas and others had vanished without a trace. It was familiar and yet it was not.

It was frustrating.

A couple months stay in the detention center will do that to a person. He was leaner now with wiry muscle on his frame. His hair had grown out, but he had left it be. The stubble he had shaved first chance he got. A couple scars from idiots with shivs and overly enthusiastic peacekeepers batons littered the landscape of his pale skin, but they didn’t bother him. It was to be expected. Clyde had plans to try this time, to keep himself from going back behind bars, but it was just as hard to turn a thief into an honest man as it was to turn a whore into a housewife. Not a day after his release, Clyde had nicked two watches and a bracelet. He still had a small rainy day fund tucked away in his hidey hole in the district, but he had to make liquid assets somehow.

The poison shillers  have intercourse with themselves because he wasn’t about to get tangled up with dealing morphling and well, Clyde was book smart. Elegant. But that didn’t mean he had what it took to go into the medical field. Not that any of those places were looking to hire a revolving door convict. He supposed he should find work in a warehouse at some point. But until then, he was going to have to keep relieving the unwary of their valuables. Such was life. In any case he had grander plans in mind for his evening. Under one arm he carried a small basket, the contents of which were covered by a checkered blanket. Clyde supposed it was an apology of sorts. However, the person he was looking for was nowhere to be found. He had checked several street corners, dozens of lampposts and all of the usual places.

Nothing.

There was the possibility that she was working, but after several hours of retracing his steps he still couldn’t find her. Eventually, he chatted up some of the other girls and was pointed in the right direction. Building thirty-five in the red light district; sometimes referred to as the “waiting” room, due to its proximity to a hospital. He chided himself for not thinking of any of these places sooner. The contents of the basket were sure to be cold. Clyde entered and was greeting by a woman twice his age wearing a red dress and feather boa. She knew he hadn’t been to the waiting room before and asked him what kind of girl he was looking for.“I’m looking for Charlotte. I don’t know if that’s the name she goes by here or not but she’s about five foot nine, with straw like blond hair and wide eyes. Do you know her?”

The woman said yes, a girl matching that description did indeed work there, and stated the pricing. Clyde forked over the money he had made from pawning the two watches and started for the stairs but the woman stopped him again and said she’d need to check his basket. Clyde rolled his eyes but complied. She gave him a strange look. He responded in kind.“If it’s a question of whether or not I’m planning to injure one of your employees during some form of sordid frolicking, I assure you I have no such intentions.”Clyde cocked his head to one side.“Besides, something tells me this is far from the strangest thing that a client has brought here.” The woman nodded, still staring at him warily, but gave him her room number. Ignoring the muffled sounds of lonely people copulating behind closed doors, he reflected on the turns his life had taken as he went up the stairs and down the hall.

He was far more intelligent than the average pickpocket. He knew that. But the lessons his parents had taught him were not so easily forgotten. And they hadn’t been good people. Clyde supposed he wasn’t good people either, but passerby just made it so easy for him to take their valuables. They needed to pay more attention to their surroundings. Like he did. The door wasn’t locked, so gripped the handle and entered. It was dark, no candles or gas lamps lit. That was alright with him, as those were fire hazards. He could see her on the bed and she stirred as the light from the hallway hit her. She looked a mess, but she was still Charlotte, and that was who he had been hoping to see. It wasn’t easy for him to make friends. Or…whatever him and Charlotte were. He hadn’t figured it out exactly.

That was probably why he had to pay people to hang out with him.

“Alas, a lass, at last.” He said with smoothly.“Evening my petite.”

Clyde paused a moment before continuing. “It means one with a slight frame. It has nothing to do with your mammaries.” Clyde knew that some words had a tendency to confuse her so he made an effort to explain. Petite was after all, what her name meant, though he wasn’t sure if she remembered that. “The detention center is still the same I’m afraid.” He said with an annoyed sniff.“I…hope you’ve been well." he managed awkwardly before plunging ahead like he had seen her the day before. "Payment has been deposited at the front desk already, so I believe we can get going.” He said with a semi amused grin.

“I know a place."

[sbeeg]

Charlotte Blair

Oh mother, tell your children
Not to do what I have done

Curled up in a ball, Charlotte had already said good bye to the day. With puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks, she had resolved to sleep off the sadness as much she could and then drown in it in the morning with smoke and liquor. Without any callers tonight she'd be put on the watch list. After a couple of more nights without any paying customers and she was out on the street again. Who wants to house a whore who can't even whore properly?

She had been in a state of restless sleep for only an hour or so when she heard her door creak open. There had been no knock, and yet when she opened her eyes the light from the hallway came rushing in through the open door. The sudden light was blinding, Charlotte raised a hand to shield her eyes and tried to make out the features of the person standing in her room.

“Alas, a lass, at last. Evening my petite.”

No. It couldn't be. Charlotte's eyes were wet again with hopeful tears that she tried to bite back. She was imagining this, no way he could truly be here. Not after so long. She had finally fallen asleep and was dreaming.

“It means one with a slight frame. It has nothing to do with your mammaries.”

Oh my god. It was him. It was really him. Charlotte's eyes adjusted to the new light in her room and finally the man started to come into view. He was a little worse for wear. Skinny, longer hair that was a tad messy for him. He stood a step in from the door way, still as awkward as ever. Awkward but oh so eloquent. God just the utterance of such a big word like mammaries made her swoon a little.

“The detention center is still the same I’m afraid.” Charlotte frowned at this. So that's where he had been all this time. Just like herself, shipped off to the the Detention Center without ever getting to say a goodbye. She hoped he's stay was better than her own but she doubted it was.

“I…hope you’ve been well." His voice was smooth but got caught up on the words. She had obviously not been well. She wondered what he thought of her right now, still tangled in her work clothes, smeared with tears and no doubt looking a tragic mess. She had no idea what state her hair or even her face was in. Honestly, she wished she had known he was coming, she would have tried to clean herself up a little.

"I've been okay," she said tentatively, her voice hoarse from recent neglect and her new found solace in smoking. Her blue eyes met his own ice like gaze and she hoped she didn't look too pathetic.

Clyde explained the situation downstairs and with his trademarked grin offered they leave. Charlotte eyed the basket under his arm and felt something thud within her chest. She had missed him and to see him now like no time had passed at all made her feel something stronger than happiness and stronger than joy. Maybe he'd help her find the word for it later.

"Yeah, let me just... " she was thinking about what to throw on to go outside but her fingers had found the ivory pendant hanging around her neck. Without a second thought, she jerked the jewelry forward breaking the clasp in the back and tossing it into the depths of her room somewhere.

She felt a little weird with Clyde in her room, after all they both knew what happened there and it didn't help with all the sounds coming through the walls and drifting down the hallway. Charlotte moved as quickly as she could, but woozy from just waking up and from the spirits she had down before hand made it a bit difficult. She manged to locate two matching boots and attempted to shove her feet into them.

"Where are we going exactly?" she asked hopping on one foot struggling to pull her shoe completely on.

[charade]

The room stank of smoke and sweat. Alcohol and regret. Musky. It wrinkled his nose and conjured up images he preferred not to think about. Charlotte got dressed in a hurry, flinging a necklace away as she did so. Clyde regarded it curiously. She asked him where they were going and he responded cryptically. “Somewhere that isn’t here. Come along, come along.” He held the crook of his arm out for her to hold and headed back down the stairs. The woman at the desk gave them a strange look, but he ignored her. Charlotte was his friend. Or…something. It was difficult to put into words, and considering whom he was, that was saying something. They headed out and down the block, Clyde forgetting to talk to her as his mind was a buzz with a million other things. Eventually, they made their way to a park. Clyde headed for a tree on a low hill that overlooked a small pond.

There were precious few other people around and those that did were stared before walking away.

Clyde ignored them.

The blanket he unfolded mechanically, neatly, leaving a perfect square on the grass. He motioned for her to sit on one end and took up residence on the other. Charlotte looked worse for the wear. It was likely that he did too. Was it in bad taste to tell her that she looked half dead? Clyde was pretty sure he’d read a book once that said it was. So he decided not to stare at the mess that was her hair or the smears of hastily cleaned makeup that were on her face. He looked at her eyes instead. She had been crying. He could tell. Well, it wasn’t as if her profession was sunshine and rainbows as the saying went. He wondered if someone had hurt her and was surprised at how that thought made his chest feel.

They sat in awkward silence for a minute or two before he found his voice. “Ours is a strange lot.” He mused offhandedly. Then he grabbed the basket and started placing its contents onto the blanket; two peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwiches. A small container of mashed potatoes seasoned with salt and pepper. A slice of cherry pie. Three soggy corn cobs. A bottle of apple juice.“The ah…the potatoes were warm originally. I’m afraid my evening stroll turned into a journey.”He said apologetically. “And before you ask, yes, half of this stuff I appropriated over the course of the day. However, I made the sandwiches myself.” He knew it wasn’t a lot, but it was the best he could do on short notice.

“Anyhow," he continued. my initial plan got derailed by an unfortunate incarceration. This was supposed to happen months ago. I had desired to show my appreciation for you deigning to put up with me and… Well. I have no way of knowing when it is without asking you and that would completely ruin the surprise factor so um, I suppose it doesn’t matter when it is really. It’d be a great relief to discover you like pie as I couldn’t find the traditional pastry but uh…” Clyde trailed off, muttering to himself about the intricacies of social interaction and how much easier it was when he just kept to the shadows.

“Happy birthday.” He blurted, rubbing the side of his neck with one hand and quickly thrusting out his other arm towards her. His hand held a small silver circle studded with three tiny sapphires. He hoped it was alright, because she had thrown that  necklace away at it was close to the same color. If she didn’t like it wasn’t a big loss, he’d just pawn in it the same place he took the watches and would have to figure something else out. “I’m told this is a normal occurrence and behavior between friends but I can’t be sure.” He shrugged weakly. “I haven’t exactly had much practice.”

[sbeeg]

Charlotte Blair

Oh mother, tell your children
Not to do what I have done

Slipping into her boots, she followed Clyde out of the "Waiting Room." She shot a look at Nancy at the front desk to keep her old mouth shut before stepping out into the cool night air. Charlotte couldn't remember the last time she had been outside, recently she had taken to laying in bed and sending the young girls on liquor runs for her. Tonight, in the cool air with her arm wrapped in Clyde's, Charlotte felt like it was old times again. Walking so close to him she could feel how thin he had become, how his figure did not fill out of his coat as much as it used to. He had been through some stuff, Charlotte had been in that hellhole before herself. Maybe they'd talk about it one day, but right now she just enjoyed him leading her through the district like a proper lady instead of the lowly hooker she was.

They entered a park and Clyde whipped out a blanket for them to sit on. She had seen a couple sitting in the park with a basket like the one in his hand on a little square of fabric just like this. It was a drawing from long ago that had been posted on the side of a building. Something about how Panem enriches lives and make sure to eat your government sanctioned vegetables. She followed his lead and sat on the blanket, folding her legs beneath her. Maybe then he wouldn't see the bruises on her skin, or how thin she become. Not that it would help, he could see her face and there was enough damage there to tell her whole tale.

For a moment that sat in silence, Charlotte's eyes flickered up to Clyde's now gaunt face before looking back down at her fingers. “Ours is a strange lot,” he said. Charlotte was about to the same thing, just not in those words of course. Clyde always talked like that, and she had to admit it was nice to hear him again. So different and strange, so unlike the rest of the district. Like he alone was from a different world and only Charlotte could really decipher his strange language.

He started pulling things out of his basket- food. Things like whole corn cobs and mashed potatoes. The kind of food that sticks to your ribs, not the crackers and cigarettes she was slowly starving herself with. He laid out thick peanut butter sandwiches and her heart twinged as she saw them. She could still feel the warmth of the shower and the way the sandwich had stuck to the roof of her mouth. He even pulled out pie- pie. She would have to ask who he had to kill to sneak a piece of pie to her. The girl had always seen them in store windows but never in her life had the money to buy any amount of one. Charlotte did not even mind that all of the food was cold, it was such a sweet gesture that she felt her eyes tingle again with a different kind of tears than before.

Clyde began rambling, as Clyde is inclined to do, and Charlotte tried to follow along. She was just about putting together his meaning when he declared "Happy Birthday." It didn't even matter that her birthday wasn't for three more months, it was just so sweet for him to think of her the second he got out of the detention center. She had really missed him and she couldn't even express how much she enjoyed being in his presence again.

She was surprised to see him pull something out of his pocket and push it towards her. In his rough hands was a small silver ring with three little blue stones on it. Charlotte couldn't help the gasp that left her mouth as she took in the sight. Where did he get it? How much was it worth? But the one that stumped her the most was, what did it mean?

She carefully picked up the tiny piece of jewelry and held it up to get a better look. It was kind of hard to make out in the moon light but it sparkled like all the gems and jewels in District One.

"Clyde," his name came out as more of a breath than a word."Clyde this is... I... It's beautiful."

Big eyes took in all the different ways the light bounced off its surface, admiring the simple beauty of it.

"But I can't accept this," she said, handing it back over. "This could feed you for, I don't know, months? It's very sweet but I can't."

After all why would anyone give a whore jewelry? Make them look pretty for them when they visit in the dead of night. She pushed the imagine of Other Clyde's chubby fingers handing over the ivory necklace out of her mind.

"Thank you but it is too much," she said. Charlotte thought she was used to all of Clyde's nice words and gifts but this was just too big to accept. She knew who and what she was and it seemed greedy and wrong to take it.