The Orchard {open}

[Fraya Mekka]

Never again, never again, never again! Fraya thought whilst gritting her teeth, Henri can just go and jump off a cliff, I wouldn't care! She loathed her big brother Henri, loathed him. She had just gone to run an errand for him, out of the goodness of her heart {her father, Chiron, had made her ask him for an errand. She has protested with all her might, but to no avail}. She had asked him in the politest way possibly if there was any errands to run. She had even smiled at him, which she never does any more. He had laughed in her face, pushed her over and kicked her.

"Why would I ask a girl to do a job that a man could do better?" He had sneered in her face before returning back to his work. Fraya had picked herself up, then kick him in the joint in his leg. He had gasped with pain, buckled over before turning around to batter Fraya. But Fraya was up a tree, and jumping from the apple trees swift as the wind.

She had just jumped from the last apple tree, and pulled a face at Henri, who's silhouette was just visible against the rising sun. It was quite early in the morning, but everyone was working in full swing. Everyone rose from their beds early, before the sun rose, and got to work. They all wanted to earn as much money as we could, and waking early and falling asleep late was the right way about it.

"Morning!" She called out to a group of farmers who weren't fussed about coming early. They had just arrived, packed with baskets and other farming equipment. Her father had tried to teach her the names of them, but she didn't care much. She only cared about how to use them, and he's knew that. The group waved cheerfully at her, and she waved back. She knew the two eldest men, Victor and Witty, because they were friends of her fathers, but the rest of she hem were complete strangers to her. She is normally quite hostile to strangers, but I wasn't today. Maybe it's just the mood of the morning, it felt quite happy today.

Soon, Fraya was bored. Se wasn't needed in the apple orchard, and frankly didn't want to be near Henri. She slumped against the tallest pine tree in the forest, and fiddled with her finger nails. She wanted a friend, someone who was like her. But she knew that she was original, and finding someone like her would be hard. Her mum, Charlie, had said that everyone has one perfect person, and Frayas was just waiting to be found. Fraya had just shrugged, saying that her perfect person wouldn't be found for a long time, since she was rubbish with directions. Fraya smiled at the memory of the conversation, and lay under the tree.

[Jeanette McLean]

Jeanette McLean didn't care, and tried hard to ignore her sister, who was busy applying medicine on Ana who meowed and purred, trying to get Jeanette to help her. She turned to find herself facing another one of her siblings, Jeanine. Jeanette grumbled angrily. Being the youngest in the family made her really frustrated as her siblings had both accomplished many amazing things, and Jeanette couldn't. Yet. Jeanine was smart, especially with healing items, and Emma loved to mess with animals. She was smart when it came to "speaking" with animals. The girl grumbled to herself before sighing angrily. Emma and Jeanine both sent her a look. “If you're so angry, why don't you go out and travel to District Eleven?” asked Jeanine, pursing her lips. “I heard its not bad there.” Jeanette stuck her tongue out. It wasn't a bad idea, going there, but she didn't want to go for some strange reason.

Ana meowed sadly as Emma started rubbing some kind of powder over Ana. “Give me here,” Jeanette muttered, snatching away Ana from Emma. Ana now looked white. Jeanette glanced over at her siblings. Emma, arms crossed, and Jeanine, focusing on a book. Jeanette opened the door, and holding Ana, she left the house without another word. She got to District Eleven in no time. It was much warmer and beautiful in District Eleven's area. Jealousy hit Jeanette. She liked District Eleven more than Twelve, but she couldn't leave, only visit. “Look Ana, it's so much nicer here than Twelve.” whispered Jeanette to her cat. Ana meowed in agreement. “You could stay and nobody would notice. I can't stay.” said Jeanette with a bit of jealousy in her voice.

Ana meowed at a tree. When Jeanette walked closer, she realized there was a girl, possibly younger than her by a year, sitting there. Since she had nothing to really do, the girl sat down beside the other girl while Ana, the white powdered cat, made her way out of Jeanette's arms, and cuddling beside the girl. Jeanette managed a smile. “Looks like Ana's quite fond of you,” Jeanette smiled. She held out her hand. “Jeanette McLean of District Twelve. Nice to meet you.” The girl had to be from District Eleven. Where else could she come from? Jeanette looked at Ana. They both definitely agreed on one thing: District Eleven was a place to love.

[Fraya Mekka]

Fraya had been watching the workers, like she always did when she was out of things to do. She watched them move in almost unison, the muscles flexing in their arms and legs as they worked. I was interesting, thinking she would soon be one of those dedicated workers who provided the Capitol with food. It's a shame, though, that she didn't get any of that food they harvested and picked. No, all that food went to the rich people on the Capitol. The people of district 11 were left to starve silently. They never got any real food, that's why they got the goat and chickens, to provide some food for free. Tributes from district 11 hardly ever won the Hunger Games, so the people never got some of that prize food. She wondered what it would be like, getting a years worth of grain and other food. She liked her lips at the thought of piles of bread, and other goods stacked in front of her waiting to be eaten.

Then, she saw someone sit next to her out of the corner of her eye. She probably wasn't from this district, since she looked old enough to be working. She stiffened and didn't blink. She didn't like strangers, especially not ones from other districts. Fraya only went to district 10, to stare at the group of boys that walked past the boundary every day. They didn't notice her, but boy did she notice them. There was one boy, who she paid most attention to. He seemed to have a smile that lit up the district, and his eyes were stunning circles of grey. He never noticed her, no one ever did. She seemed to blend in the shadows, like a shadow herself. She didn't think he face was memorable, but her parents said otherwise. They said her face gets tattooed into people's minds. They probably said that to make her feel better, but it still makes her feel better.

Then, a white furry creature settled against her bare leg. A cat. A fluffy cat. Fraya had always wanted a cat, but her little brother, Sami was allergic to them. She stroked the cat fondly, a smile creeping up her face like a vein,"Ana, that's a nice name," she mused before looking at the girl properly. She was stunning, in Frayas opinion, she was unforgettable. Fraya smiled and looked at the hand. She wasn't sure whether to take it. Her brothers used to pretend to shake her hand, before flipping her over and punching her. But since they were sat down, and the girl looked nice enough, she took it almost reluctantly, "Fraya Mekka, District 11 as you probably knew already. I'm 15, how old are you?" she asked, guessing she wasn't much older than her, probably still eligible for the reaping.

[Jeanette McLean]

The girl, Fraya told Jeanette her name and asked how old she was. "I'm sixteen, just a year older than you, still eligible for the reaping if you were wondering," Her voice had amusement in it, mainly because she felt the girl wanted to know. Jeanette always had a feeling when people wanted to know certain things. She wasn't a mind reader; that was fantasy. She just guessed by their expression. The thought of the reaping made her angry. She hated the Games. It was something she never wanted to hear or talk about. Sighing, Jeanette said, "My sisters, Emma and Jeanine both are over the age of eighteen, and no longer can be drawn at the reaping. So basically, in my family, I'm the only one left." The thought - she didn't like that thought at all. Ana purred from beside Fraya. Jeanette had a feeling Ana was laughing at her, which didn't make her feel any better. Jeanette knew Ana didn't have a favorite - a person she liked in her family - but if Ana had to choose a favorite, Jeanette would've bet it would be Jeanine.

Jeanine wasn't like Emma, all trying to help Ana. She was more distant but helped Ana a lot in getting Ana's favorite foods. Even though Jeanette, out of all of them, had the most fun with Ana, Ana preferred Jeanine. The name "Jeanine" made Ana purr with pride. Hissing at Ana, Jeanette managed, "Oh, be quiet, Ana!" She hoped Fraya hadn't heard. Talking to a cat was basically unheard of. Jeanine bit her lip. She didn't know how to start a conversation as she only spoke to Ana most her life. Ana hissed back before starting to, what looked to Jeanette, nap.

"So...how's life in District Eleven?" asked Jeanette. She still couldn't shake off how hesitant Fraya had been when she asked to shake her hand. Jeanette really liked District Eleven, though she could understand if they were more strict than Twelve. Twelve was the only District, she supposed, that had people who broke the law. It wasn't right to break the law, but when you're the poorest District, no one really looks your way. Especially since some people even hunted. Jeanette couldn't blame the law breakers on what they did. The Capitol was extremely unkind to District Twelve. People starved, and the Capitol ignored them, just like Jeanette expected them to do. "You guys seem to have a more...green life." Jeanette joked. She looked around the area, her brown eyes reflecting every green plant she looked at. She wasn't kidding - they actually had a green life.

[Fraya Mekka]

She was sixteen, not much older than Fraya. All of the girls she knew were either adults, or children who helped her pick apples and pine leaves at work. She hardly knew anyone her age, and the thought of a friend thrilled her, "That's all everyone is bothered about around here, if you are still eligible for the reaping. I got asked how old I was the other day, but they didn't ask me my age, they asked me whether I was eligible," Fraya sighed and shook her head, "The games take over our lives!" She then remembered the presence of peacekeepers,who could arrest her for saying that, and looked around nervously. The peacekeepers didn't even glance her way, so she breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm actually the only one who could be reaped, and I will be for 3 more years! I have a younger brother called Sami," she said fondly. It was obvious she loved her little brother, from the way she smiled when she mentioned his name, " He's 8, so he won't be eligible for another 4 years, then he'll be entered alone for 6 years. He'll have to get the tesserae alone, and he's probably going to have to enter about 40 times by the te he's 18," she ended on a sadder note. She didn't want him to suffer like that, since he was the most vunerable one out of the bunch.

She stared off into the distance, and watched the workers again. She dreaded the time when young Sami, so sweet and innocent, would enter his first name into the reaping. Then his life would be in danger. He lived in constant fear and his printed name being drawn out on that crisp white slip. He worried about how many times he had his name in, he would have a lot of names in because he had to get the tesserae for the whole family. Even though she, Fraya, would probably be working and earning money at that time, her family would still struggle for food. Everyone always does. No matter how hard they work, how many tesserae they have, how many goats, chickens or pigs they get, it all comes down to hunger. Hence the Hunger Games controls their lives.

Her leg began to vibrate, and she looked down at the powered cat. She was purring, probably out of fondness. Then, Jeanette hissed something at the cat. Fraya smiled. Having a cat was like having an annoying little sister, constant reminder of how much responsibility you have, yet a fun person to be with, "I've always wanted a cat," she whispered before a patting Ana. The cat seemed at fall asleep again Frayas leg, and it was soft. Like a cushion, which she had never had the privilege to touch. She guessed that it could be a substitute.

"Life here? Yes, it is very green," she laughed before thinking about it. She could either blab about her life to a complete stranger, or outline what the district is about. She didn't really know anything about making friends, but she knew talking was a good place to start, "The district is general is like one big community. Everyone works in unison and gets along in unison. Everyone is friendly, everyone knows each other, Except from me, she added in her head before carrying on, Everyone has a role to play in the district, even the youngest children have jobs either on the fields or around their home. I started working on the fields when I was about 8, and will be working here until I die. Either of age, or in the games,
"A bad thing about this district that is ridden with peacekeepers. They watch your every move, monitor your behaviour and sometimes even search you for weapons. I guess it's the most protected district in Panem. You feel like you are watched all the time, it's actually quite scary!" Right, that's enough saying bad things about your district, that has loved you a d brought you up to be the girl you are today! Just don't tell her about the public executions, she warned herself. She was already saying too much, so she decided to finish on a happy note, "But I love it here. This district has prepared me for the life ahead, and if I get reaped, the Hunger Games. I don't think I'd ever leave!" she smiled and the looked at Jeanette, "How about district 12? How is life there? You're the miners right?" she didn't have much knowledge of other districts, but knew this much from the annual Hunger Games parade. Their district was usually naked and covered with coal, a humiliating outfit. But she couldn't say much, her district usually had leaves and foliage stuck to them and covered with mud.