Lucy Mathews -- District 10

You could call Lucy one of the lucky ones. Living in District 10 normally means starvation, frustration; working on the farm with animals for less than it takes to live, but not for her family. They owned a little diner in the heart of the district. Nothing fancy, just pulling together what supplies they had into nice warm meals for the people who wanted a night where they didn’t have to cook. Normally they’d make something basic, meatloaf with smashed potatoes was always a hit, and nothing was ever overly fancy. It wasn’t much but it was what the Mathews were known for, the little diner called Lucy Blues. The name pulled from Lucy’s bright blue eyes; they were like a clear summer’s day instead of the dark royal blue of others in the district. The color suited her personality as well. She was bright and bubbling, never really having a bad day and always finding the best in what she had. Too many times she was told that she too cheerful to live in a place like District 10, her enthusiasm often rubbing people the wrong way. To Lucy there was no reason to live life so sad even if they were stuck in Panem. In fact, that was even more a reason to live every day to the fullest.

Her blonde hair bleached by the sun until it was almost white in the summer normally hung just below her shoulders. Only once having been to a true “beauty parlor” (which was better known as the back room in the store of the bakery where the bakers wife could cut your hair for a small fee) it was often uneven and pulled back, though on a special night you’d catch her using a worn pair of hot rollers to set her hair into ringlets framing her face. Lucy knew that it was a privilege that others didn’t have, but sometimes it was nice being able to look into the dusty mirror in their bathroom and think she might look just as pretty as someone from the Capitol. Not that Lucy would ever want to be like them, but when the tributes were on stage for their interviews they were dazzling.

Lucy was built strong and athletic, mainly that way because she hadn’t really had to know what it felt like to be hungry all the time. She wasn’t rich, but she hadn’t felt the stabs of starvation the way others in the district had. Her long legs supple with muscle and strength, the only problem she felt that it wasn’t fair she was so lucky. She’d smile and try to cheer up everyone she waited on at the table, saving the left overs and scraps to give to the poorer families she knew of, though most of the times the people who made it into the diner savored every bite, going as far as to practically lick the plate.

Lucy’s generosity was genuine her smiles as well. That’s not to say she didn’t have her bad side, sometimes judging the others like her who weren’t as kind. Her own family didn’t understand her drive to give to those less fortunate than them and the other shop keeps had enough on their plate with keeping their own families fed, they didn’t need to worry about others. She couldn’t help but feel the twitch of anger deep inside her when she’d see the general store owner turn away people who couldn’t spare enough for soap. The resentment would build up like a firecracker in the pit of her stomach till she couldn’t hold it in anymore and she would cry out at them. Her voice raising an octave as she called out to them the injustices they were committing. It didn’t matter to her that all of Panem was an injustice. In District 10 they were supposed to be in it together.

After her fits would pass and the rage would slip away she’d blush furiously her guilt wearing on her almost as much as if she had had physically struck out and hurt the person she’d screamed at. Even though she knew she was at risk of being reaped, hitting someone was something she never thought she could do. It wasn’t right to touch someone in a way that wasn’t loving or caring. Hands were made for comfort not for pain in her eyes. And her hands tried to comfort all she could; a hug here, a squeeze of a shoulder there, just something to let people know that she did care about them in her own little way.

Lucy’s family name was long running in the District though it seemed it might die out with her. She had no brothers or sisters and her mother had no desire for more children. Maybe if she was lucky she’d meet a man willing to let her keep her last name, but the fast rooted tradition of taking your husband’s last name would be hard to get around. Though marriage was far off in her future, as long as she made it through the next year and her final reaping, then she might let herself dream about it. Not that Lucy hadn’t had a few boyfriends over the year; but nothing serious enough to warrant discussions about marriage.

Lucy’s father had a stern face about the thought of his baby girl getting married, he was fearful that men just saw her as a way to a softer life. The little diner her family owned had been passed down in their family for as long as most of district 10 could remember, the name changing whenever the current owner would get the whim (such as when Lucy was born) but it had always had a Mathews in it. In fact Lucy’s dad was even born in the diner, his mother on her feet working the long hours during her pregnancy, right up until her water splashed down her legs and the contractions kicked in. She figured she’d have several hours till the baby actually made its way into the world, but Lucy’s father Robert had other ideas. Less than 10 minutes later she was clutching him in her arms. Some people said that was what gave him such an affinity towards the place.

Even so he knew as well as she did that eventually she would grow up and he would grow old. These thoughts are what kept her focused in school, learning numbers and how to manage her time, knowing that she would have her own business to run eventually. She had never really considered that she would be selected for the Games, instead that she would run a diner and live her life just as she always had. Her name was only in there the bare minimum of times, the luck of her family keeping her from needed the tesserae that only upped her chances of being drawn. Lucy was special, but only time would see how lucky she really was.