fraser birk | d7m [fin]

Before we begin, promise me that you won't feel sorry for Fraser Birk.

Mayor Birk, the successor to an aged leader that cleared the post-war rubble from Seven. He was gifted a clean sheet and a pen flowing with ink to fill it. Favoured by the Capitol, it wasn’t difficult for Birk to claim the office as his own. An abundance of wealth, a history of politics and even a little sob story to sign it off. He claims himself as a family man, a single father whose wife was killed by rebels – in suspicious circumstances. Left to raise a son and daughter, of course this man was qualified to raise a District. It didn’t take him long to replace his wife though. A long line of women to choose from but he finally settled, placed the ring on one and planted another seed to add to his crop.

Fraser is the eldest, his sister is three years younger and then there is the half-brother, an eight-year-old with a bigger silver spoon than him. It doesn’t matter though, that kid will never be weaned from his mother. Fraser’s the number one boy, the protégé that has always been sculpted in his father’s reflection. The son that is always by his side.

Corruption is not a stranger in Panem. In small ink, written at the bottom of the mayor’s manifesto is the rich stay rich and the poor stay poorer. There’s a little scheme playing behind closed doors, loans of wealth to those wanting to better themselves but rarely does anyone who falls for the trap come out of it unscathed. Fraser oversees this department, entrusted by his father to ensure that every debt is paid including the interest. It definitely enlarged his head the day he was given the position.

”This is the number one job for my number one boy.” His father told him, promised him the role of deputy too. Promised him the succession of the mayor seat when the time came for him to step down. ”They’ll vote for you, you’re my son. The District’s favourit!.” These reminders of being the favourite were always followed by a pat on the back, even a hug from his father. That is what secured it for Fraser, he was already the perfect child.

But remember, we are not feeling sorry for Fraser Birk! The silver spoon is so far up his butt, he walks so rigidly as he looks down at the people that could so easily crush him and his family.

Collecting debts is no honest work, there is a reason folks borrow money from the mayor and that is because they have none. When the time comes to pay up, the coffers are empty, and the cabinets have already been cleared of value. Fraser and his group of snobby delinquents see debt collecting as a hobby.

”How are we going to get Joe Bolton to pay up?” Alistair Dawnwood, a boy born in poverty but got lucky when his father was the minority who turned his loans into profit. His only use is that he knows how to navigate the dirty streets that Fraser likes to avoid.

”He doesn’t have the money but his daughter will be the perfect payment…” Fraser will take the lead on this one. He’s already been working on Bolton’s daughter, Meadow. A perfect blonde to look at but not one that holds a conversation. Beautiful eyes with nothing behind them. She always gifts him fruit loafs whenever he visits, despite threatening to take her father’s thumbs for the piled-up debts that he owes.

”Is she really worth it? You can do better than her Fraz!” Alistair doesn’t know how to play the game.

”It will be no more than a summer fling! A summer fling is what keeps a man going.” Words his father first said when he was on the fifth woman after his wife died.

That day, Fraser took Meadow Bolton on a date, and he took her father’s tongue. The debt is still not paid.

The unpaid debts started to pile up, along with the limbs that Fraser and friends took from those that owed his father.

Then came the complaints to the mayor’s office – that menace son of yours!

Most who know the true Fraser and not the perfect boy reputation that his father has painted for him close their shutters whenever they see him and his friends nearby. Another pass time he has is to check up on the Lumber Mill’s foreman aka causing havoc in his office. The Lumber Mill is heavily sponsored by the mayor, its operations reflect on the mayor’s reputation. Most of its goods are Capitol owned, if it is running poorly, the Capitol will know. Fraser likes to crack the whip in the mill, another way to prove that he perfect successor for his father. The one to be proud of.

Unlike the quiet sister and little brother who is barely potty trained.

Sorry Fraser. No we’re not feeling sorry for him. But his sister is no quiet girl, he barely speaks to her. Barely knows her. That is why it is so easy for her to do the real work that their father sets out. The secret brains in the office that does all the paperwork. To Fraser, administration is unimportant. But there is so much that his sister knows that he doesn’t. Perhaps the brawn is not the real winner here.

Then comes the argument

”You need to stop being a brute, son!” His father finally confronts him, this is the first time in Fraser’s life that his father has ever shouted at him.

”But I am getting the work done! You told me last week how pleased you were with me, pleased with how much money I am bringing back for you!” This is the first time in Fraser’s life that he has ever pleaded for himself.

”You need to stop – you’re risking MY reputation. You’re making my life hard, Fraser!” Not son now, just Fraser.

The conflict doesn’t end there. Fraser plugs his ears, doesn’t listen. His way is the right way. He ransacks the Lumber Mill’s office, tries to prove that the Foreman is working against his father. It is all for nothing though. The favourite toy is tossed in the trash can. He returns home one night to the locks changed in the mayor’s mansion. His sister is waving at him with a smug look from the window upstairs, refusing to open the door despite Fraser nearly kicking it down.

Fraser spends a few nights at Alistair’s house, but he is not giving up so easily. This is just a little punishment from his father, another lesson on becoming his successor. He spends everyday leading up to the reaping, shouting in the Justice Building and demanding that he see’s his father. This silent treatment is just a lesson. It is not over for Fraser; he will always be the number one.

It is not over until Mayor Birk reads out his son’s name at the 10th Hunger Games reaping.