Day Off (Kaplan/MarziEl)

Today was one of those days that I actually decided to wander outside of the super wealthy part of District Four that I lived in. I wanted to go to the beach and got for a run in the sand, but I wanted to be away from people I knew. I wanted to meet new people- I had trouble making new friends most of the time, but I figured it was worth trying.

A girl sat down on the sand of the beach a little ways down from where I was resting after my run, and she was wringing out her hair from the water. I'm not entirely sure what made me think approaching her was a good idea, as most people pushed me away, but I decided I'd give it a shot anyway. What was the harm in trying to make someone like me?

"Hey," I said to her as I approached her. "Seems like you went for a swim," I continued. "Training or leisure?" I asked out of curiosity.

The girl gave me a friendly smile when I spoke to her, and responded with kinds words- both of which I'd consider to be a good sign. A lot of people would just blow me off, and I suppose that's why I've become a little bit bitter over the past couple of years. Some people have even told me that I scare small children, which isn't exactly my goal, but it does actually happen from time to time.

She told me she was here for leisure, but also mentioned that training in the water hardly ever felt like training. I nodded in agreement, and she asked me the question I'd asked of her initially.

"I'm here for a little bit of both, I'd say," was my response that I gave with a gentle smile. Gentle smiles were something I didn't give often. Perhaps that's why people often found me to be intimidating, as my smiles were usually a bit more mischievous.

"I was here to go for a run, but getting in the water later is definitely part of the plan. It's always nice to do that, training or not," I told her.

I paused for a moment.

"I'm Becky, by the way," I introduced myself. "It's nice to meet you."

After I introduced myself, the girl I was talking to responded with her own name- Pearl. She said she didn't think she'd seen my around before, which didn't surprise me. I wasn't someone who typically left the general are of where I lived, but today was different, for some reason.

She asked if I went to a different training academy, and I knew I had to find a better way of wording things than telling her that I went to the wealthy one on the other side of town. That didn't give off the best impression if I worded it that way. It would make it seem like all I cared about was money and social status, which wasn't entirely true, although those things were at least a little bit important to me. I just didn't want a new potential friend to know that yet. Maybe she'd learn it later.

"I train at a training center on the other side of town, so that's probably why you haven't seen me much. I don't venture over this way very often," I told her. I avoided mentioning which training center I trained at, and assumed that I'd just let her make the connection on her own if she really wanted to know which one it was.

Pearl didn't seem to think too much about where I had said that I trained, which was nice. I didn't have to go explaining anything, or answering questions. Best of all, it didn't seem like she was judging me at all, unlike most people that I encountered.

She offered for me to sit with her, and I smiled, gladly accepting her offer.

"Sure," I said to her, taking a seat beside her.

"You know," I started. "I really appreciate you being so nice to me. For some reason, a lot of people just... aren't." I explained this to her in a way that I hoped didn't sound like I was complaining too much about other people. I just wanted her to know that I was grateful.