Doing business (Kale & open)

As I watch him, he seems to have spotted something, or someone, that's caught his interest. He begins making his way through the crowd, and for a couple seconds, I take my eyes off him and look back at the horse, clicking my tongue again. It paws the ground with a hoof, as if impatient to get away from all the people. I grin,  amused by his actions.

Suddenly, someone else has run into me, knocking me off the fence. I land on my feet, but I'm a bit surprised, and it takes me a while to see who it was. The boy I was watching only seconds ago. He looks worse up close, but I try to ignore the fact. You can't judge people by their looks, I'm a perfect example of that.

"Sorry about that, mam." He mumbles, apparently embarrassed since he's not making eye contact. I've never been called mam before, so this is a first. "Don't worry 'bout it." I say with a smile. "And don't go 'round callin' me mam, Caritta's my name."

He glances up, and spots the horse near the fence, then says in a hushed voice, "Don't take this one. That paint over there is a really good buy. She's good for breeding." Looking up, I can see the one he's pointed out, and nod acknowledgment.

"You don't have to worry 'bout me buyin' anything." I say. "I'm just here to see the horses, that's all. I couldn't ever afford one. She probably costs the same as it would take to feed my family for a year."

He apologizes and agrees to call me by my name, but he still seems a little too respectful for my liking. Of course, I don't like being disrespected, no one does, but I don't want people going around as if I've got a ton of authority, because I don't. I probably have the least say in a lot of things here.

His name his Jack. I roll the name around in my mind, testing it, getting a good feel for it. I decide I like it. Sweet and simple, easy to remember, possibly the exact opposite of mine.

"Yeah, she'll cost a pretty penny. Six hundred is my guess but let's see what the buyer will say." He says, referring back to the paint. I nod in agreement, then turn myself around and hop onto the fence, so I'm sitting on the top and my feet are resting on the plank just below.

"It's the big event here, isn't it?" He says, keeping a hushed voice that I still don't understand. Is he nervous to talk to me?

Shrugging it off, I nod again. "That's one way to put it. The only thing more 'exciting' than this is the reaping." I pause, glancing down at him, and curiosity convinces me to ask, "You're not from around here, are you? You seem to know a lot about horses, and I don't know anyone who even knows the different breeds. I only know from books."

Jack turns to lean his elbows on the fence, facing the same way as me, and we sit in silence as the first horse is auctioned off. Unfortunately, I don't know much about the pricing of horses, so I can't know for sure if it was a good price or not. I'm beginning to wonder if he's going to answer my question, but I don't have to wonder for long.

"No, I'm not from here. I'm from district 10...a wrangler." he says. That would make sense. District 10, livestock, right? "I brought these horses to your district." I raise my eyebrows in response, surprised. He brought them here? I didn't know traveling was allowed between districts. Maybe he just had a special job or something that allowed him to travel.

"So you read books on horses?" he asks, apparently eager to change the subject.

I shrug, swinging my feet in front of me. "Well, yes and no. My family has a lot of books, but they're not just on horses specifically. They're more fictional. Like Black Beauty." I glance down at him, curios to see what he'll think of this. We're looked sown on in District 11 because we read. People think that it's a waste of time, but I've just proved that it's not. I know something most people here don't. Unfortunately, knowledge isn't considered power everywhere you go. "Do you read very much?"

"Never heard of it." he says with a smirk. I'm curious to know why he finds it so amusing, but he's moving on before I can say anything. "But I don't like it. They turned it into a play at school and guess who played the horses behind?" I don't even pay attention to the fact that he said he never heard of it and yet did a play based on the book. I give a good-natured laugh anyways. So what if he seems a little strange? He's got a good sense of humor. "I was 10." he adds quickly, as if that will make it better. I grin and roll my eyes, letting him know I'm just taking it as a good joke.

He doesn't answer my question about reading immediately, but watches as another horse is brought up for the auction. "Old mare." he comments. "Anybody bidding more than 400 would be a fool." We watch as the horse is sold for over 600, which seems a little ironic. Obviously, Jack can't believe what he's seeing, as he's shaking his head in disapproval. I can understand why they's put her at such a high price, though. She's strong, or at least seems to be, and doesn't look as old as she really is. District 11 doesn't seem to have a lot of experience with livestock.

"No, I don't read a whole lot." he says, apparently just remembering what I've asked him. "I don't have any time, but my friend reads all these books about natural healing. She wants to become a healer. What about you? What do you do for a living?"

"I work in the orchards." I say immediately. "Kind of boring, considering just about everyone else works their, too. My Mum's got a better job. She works as one of the medics, you know, 'cause we have a lot of tracker jacker hives."