.:Sunny Days:. [[Garri]]

Jared did not notice the girl walking down the road until she passed right by him. He stared blankly after her for a minute, taking in her soft chocolate curls. He wasn't sure if he had seen her before. But, either way, she was alone as well. And he could use someone to talk to. So when she stopped, he took a chance and walked up to her, despite his normal reluctance to talk to some people.

"Hello," he said, hands in the denim pockets of his worn, faded jeans. Parts of them were ripped from hard work in the loom factories. He himself did not weave, although it wasn't uncommon for males of his district to work a loom once in a while. He did not help with the sheep-raising process, nor did he shear them when their wool was long enough. He did not harvest cotton much either, although he sometimes helped out when he was needed. Jared did the sweat work in the factories; lifting and repairing machinery. It was a job that got dull, yes, but it trained his muscles. If he ever did get picked for the Reaping, he wanted to at least be strong and practiced enough to have a fighting chance to get back to his family and, most importantly, Heidi.

"I'm Jared," he added, politely introducing himself. "Jared Strahan."

It was obviously awkward, talking about the weather. Really, there wasn't much to say besides commenting on the temperature and things like that, and then you were left standing there, uncomfortable, with nothing to say. Jared was beginning to regret bringing up the topic in the first place, because soon the idle chat would die down. But, well, at least it got them started.

She smiled, and Jared was able to tell the meaning of the smile. For some reason, the smile gave him a tiny bit more courage. He knew now that she was expecting him to say something else, to break the discomfort. Well, he would.

"Yeah. Real nice." He racked his brain for something else to say. The only thing that came up was the Games. The Hunger Games were always the talk of the District at this time of year. But he despised them, more out of fear that someone he loved would get picked. He didn't worry very much about himself.

"The opening ceremony is later today." He found himself frowning slightly. He didn't want to watch them. But he had to.