carolina peach, district four | finished

"I ain't got the time for dresses and sun hats -- no time to slip on gloves, or sip fine wine. I am a lady, but I sure as Hell ain't no doll."

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When I was little,  Mama would beg me to  slip on frilly dresses and tie my hair up with ribbons. I was always against the thought, struggling as she'd force the fabrics around my form and tie me up with a big ol' bow like I was some sort of pretty little present full of nothing but fake jewels - I always hated the thought of being tamed. Pleasing Mama was like a draft horse from our ranch plowin' a field in under thirty minutes just because Daddy wanted it to; I couldn't stand the thought of pleasing anyone but myself, watching others smile in genuine glee, whilst I grinned with nothing but a smile fit for a pageant.

It wasn't that I was selfish - (I am selfish. I am selfish. I am selfish.) -, but I always preferred runnin' with the boys. I'd charge out the doors of my family's manor as a child, giggling with the working kids as my mother shrieked in frustration, mud splashin' onto my clothes. I was the wild horse that she could never tame, adorned with wild curls and eyes that said nothing more than:

You can't break me.

She'd send me to bed without dessert on nights when I was too wild, and sometimes she'd spank me for rippin' the dresses she worked so hard on craftin'. Bruises and stains never bothered me, and I somehow found solace in the thought of being reckless, untouchable. I was wild, free, untrainable, and-...

I was sharper than Mama's sewing needles.

It wasn't until Daddy got a grant from the Capitol to wave farewell to Ten and move to Four, something about using his farming skills to shape Four's own personal category of livestock to the Capitol's liking, that I learned how to use my wits to my advantage. When I finally started to give in to Mama, hiding behind the facade of being tameable by wearing everything she placed upon my form and speaking with the cultured voice she begged me to use, I noticed that I gained far more prizes than the pride I'd lose. She'd shower me in jewels and dresses crafted just for me - (Mama wasn't allowed to sell dresses that she made for me at her little boutique; really, how tacky would it be to arrive to a party wearing the same thing as some white trash gal?)-, and I accepted it all with nothing but a mischievous glint shining in my eyes.

I started to use the same technique on everyone, all of the popular girls who wanted to be my friends and the handsome careers who wanted to taste my exotic lips, and before I knew it, I was one of the top socialites of Four. Not only was Daddy and the name of my family respected throughout the district, but anything you could do, well-...

Sweet darlin', I could do it so much better.

I became everything all at once, just for the sake of bettering my social status. I was the lovely daughter my Mama always prayed for, the tough tomboy my Daddy always boasted over, the snooty brat that all the popular girls just had to be around, the generous socialite that all the little people looked up to, and the reckless she-devil that all the boys just wanted to tame. I hid behind a mask of dumb naivety, playing the act of some airheaded and spoiled brat from Ten with no effort at all, and before I knew it, I was the nightmare that everyone was too blind to see.

Really, given how clever I was, it was only a matter of time before I was invited to a party with only the best of Four's citizens. I had effortlessly fluttered through the night of Mr. Black's gala, creating friendships with every soul that I met - "Oh, yes, of course I enjoy the thrill of a hunt!" "Oh, dear, I do agree. Animals are such poor, defenseless creatures. How could anyone wish to harm them?" "Well, I'll have you know that I am a lady." "Oh, mister, you're makin' me blush." -, until I was alerted that I was a member of a small party selected to stay just a short while longer - or, so I thought.

I and the others were to stay in his manor for a full year, to keep the ol' buzzard company, all in the hopes of inheriting his massive fortune. True, I had more money than the lot of the group I stood among, but my thirst for fame and glory was all but unquenchable. I was the dumb little girl from Ten who was innocent as could be, but they didn't know the half of it.

One of 'em knew I loved gardening just as much as she did,

one of 'em related with me on the fact that I was also deathly allergic to pollen,

one of 'em nodded in approval when I told her I was also saving myself for marriage,

one of 'em grinned devilishly when I whispered sensually into his ear,

but none of them knew that I was the master of this group, and that Mr. Black's wealth was mine.

table: zoë