mordecai j. ashbrook . district twelve . fin

Mordecai J. Ashbrook has never been kind, exactly, but he certainly thinks he's doing some sort of good for the world. He thinks that he's got some sort of saint-like qualities for giving his workers homes that are barely shacks, rather than paying them with actual money, just because it's "a place to live". These shacks are in the dirtiest, lousiest part of the seam where absolutely no one wants to live, and they're so run down that they look like they could fall apart at a moment's notice or from a slightly stronger gust of wind than usual.

He runs a solid portion of District Twelve's mines, so there are plenty of people employed under him. He thinks it's because they want to work for him, and that they want the 'homes' that he provides. Rather, it's because they're desperate. It doesn't get them money, but it gives them some sort of shelter for themselves and their families. It's better than absolutely nothing. Many of his employees, however, complained at first that they couldn't buy food and clothing, so he came up with a solution: tickets.

The tickets that Mordecai gives him employees are redeemable for food, clothing and other necessities, but at one place, and one place only: the Ashbrook family's shop. They can exchange these tickets for their necessities, but only there, meaning their income is still coming right back to Mordecai.

Working in the coal mining business as some sort of scummy boss has earned Mordecai far more money than he should ever deserve to have. He lives in an extremely nice home, at least for a District Twelve citizen. He has nice watches, silk ties and leather shoes. He has more than he could ever need, yet he still wants more, more, more. He's greedy. He's beyond greedy, and he knows it, but it doesn't bother him one bit.

Mordecai doesn't really care what other people think of him. He even blocks out the fact that a relative of his, Jayne Ashbrook-Laws, went into the eighty-first Hunger Games. He doesn't even know what their exact relation is. He just knows that his sister pointed out that he should care that Jayne died because they were family. Surprise! Mordecai didn't care. In fact, he just pretended that she never existed. If someone brought her up, he just ignored it.

The only still-living people Mordecai seems to care about at all, other than himself, are his son, Harvey and his grandson, Arthur. Harvey is forty-one, so he's long since out of the house, caring for his own sixteen-year-old son by himself since his divorce. Divorce seems to be a common thing in the Ashbrook family. Marriages just don't last. Mordecai divorced his wife thirty-six years ago, and has had no desire to find new love since then.

He's not even sure he actually loved her in the first place. It was more 'convenient' for him than anything else. Although Mordecai cares about Harvey and Arthur, neither of them are happy with how Mordecai runs his business. In fact, they criticize him about it quite regularly. Of course, being the man he is, Mordecai ignores their concerns.

Growing up, Mordecai was a spoiled brat, to say the least. His parents gave him everything he could ever want because of his family's wealth. Now it's what he expects from everyone in life, which is likely why he's become so damn greedy. His father owned the portion of the coal mines that he now owns, and he ran things similarly to how Mordecai does now. Except his father was a lot less kind to his workers, although Mordecai certainly isn't kind himself, either.

Mordecai's mother was a seamstress who made a lot of money doing what she did. She was one of the best in the District at mending and making clothing, so many, many people came to her when they needed something taken care of that had anything to do with sewing. From something as simple as sewing a button back on to something as complicated as sewing someone an entire new outfit, she was up for any job. Although, she almost definitely overcharged for her work. People either didn't mind or didn't notice because of how well done everything she did was.

A woman very well-versed in the realm of creativity, Mordecai's mother knitted, too, and made him a nice pair of socks for his eighteenth birthday. He's had them ever since, refusing to get rid of them due to the sentimental value. One probably wouldn't think the man would be sentimental about anything, but he cared more about his mother than anyone else before she died, and he felt the need to keep something that reminded him of her.

Day in and day out, Mordecai focuses on his work and the things that he needs. He runs his shop (the one where his workers can trade in their work tickets for goods that are for sale there) and makes sure everything is in order with the coal mines. He needs to make sure that production is high and cost is low.

Mordecai is stingy about certain things. He doesn't like to spend money on things that don't one hundred percent, or close to one hundred percent, benefit him. If he doesn't feel that it's worth it because he won't get much out of it, he likely won't spend the money on it. He does, however, spend lots of money on his home, his clothing and his food. He wants the nicest of things that he can get, even if that's hard to achieve in District Twelve. He has the money and the connections to get what he wants most of the time, from the perfectly manicured front garden of his home, to the shining silver watch glinting on his wrist.

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[ 962 words ]