Friendships are Made, Right? // {closed; Seepie

whispering like it's a secret, only to condemn the one who hears it
with a heavy heart

The heat of the summer had finally settled on Panem, blazing through the country. Genesis Alder might be the one citizen not opposed to the blistering days. In fact she rather loved them. After so many years spent in the bowels of a building over fire and molten metal she had learned to deal with heat. And then, she had learned to love it. To delight when the world was the edge of flame. And now it seemed that all of Panem was, except that she was inside the school building of District Three, which had excellent ventilation and even the occasional burst of air conditioning.

The dry cold was absolute torture when a sunny outside beckoned to her. She was far luckier than most of her classmates though. At least she got to greet the day at full power when she skipped out on afternoon classes to work in the smithy. It was hardly fair, and she couldn't blame her peers for resenting her. Still, she wouldn't trade her job, her love, for anything else. It thrilled her in a way noting had.

Even as antisocial as she was, though, she was beginning to feel the hurt of being utterly friendless. Noting much happened in the mornings at school and she usually left at the beginning of lunch. There wasn't really time for socialization. So, she'd made a conscious decision. If she wanted friends, she would have to work for it. Therefore, she needed to stick around. And a few more minutes at school wouldn't delay things in the smithy too badly. In fact she wasn't sure that anyone would even notice. So, when the bell finally rang, Genie gathered up her things leisurely, swung her bag over her shoulder and eased herself into the crowd.

It was suffocating being among so many, but she forced herself to stay calm as they surged outside. Genie bumped into another student as she ducked into the shade, but no one seemed too fussed. Not on such a gorgeous day. She stood there, alongside the building, dark hair obscuring her features. How would she approach someone? It was an awkward situation, made worse by the fact that she had no real excuse to be there. She hadn't packed lunch and she didn't have any money to buy anything.

This had been a bad plan.