Evading My Shadow [Saph]

Even though there was no rooster perching on the rooftop, it felt like there was because she kept naturally waking up at this certain time. Six in the morning precisely, give or take a minute or two. Not even in the summer did she sleep in. No, it was always the time when the gray in the sky began to drift off, leaving faded, polluted bright colors to fill the sky. Sad in a way, for District Four brought legendary sunrises and sunsets while they, the district that should be considered better (for it had a lower number), could barely tell when it was cloudy or just a bad smog day.

Curled up on a metal street bench with a lukewarm coffee cup in one hand, Emma absent-mindedly stared into the empty city. It seemed to be a derelict place, a ghost town, were it not for the soft yellow lights in some of the windows, signaling that the workers in the factory were about to wake up to get to work, even if it was a presumably glorious Saturday. Other than that, she was the only hint of life within a radius of five miles.

She stood up to adjust herself, brushing off the dirt from her currently wrinkled brown sweater and denim jeans. And now she didn't want to sit down anymore. It was like diurnal insomnia. Or maybe it was the coffee.

But there was no where to go right now. Every store or attraction was closed. Her house was empty right now and she was not going to report to the laboratory for hours.

Nothing left to do but wander around, looking lost. Of course, she wouldn't be lost--she was born and raised here--but the observing eyes may make others think her an impossible visitor, probably a wealthy Capitol girl from a more modest family. Then they would, if bold, throw rocks at her just because she lived where certain formerly beloved teenagers were now about to risk their lives.

Eventually, Emma found herself upon one of the large communities in the suburbs. This was the land that housed the wealthy, usually snooty people of District Four. This was the place where ambitious individuals visited often to see the mansions, as a sort of motivation memorial to work harder and gain a home that others would envy. Often, she frowned upon this worldwide attitude that the rich were better, but she just couldn't help but notice how beautifully every element mixed in with one another. That, and some of her friends lived around here.

Not quite sure of the rules of a community like this, but nor did she care, Emma began walking into the seemingly dead perfection.