Chandra Hayes, District 4

Name: Chandra Marie Hayes
Age: 17
Gender: Female
District/Area: District 4
Appearance:

The first thing many people notice about Chandra is how delicate her appearance is. Chan very well looks like if a strong gust blew her way she would topple over--maybe snap right in half. She has small wrists, like a bird's wings which only further show her vulnerability. The seventeen year old is not shapely, she doesn't have curves--or as her mother says, she's just a late bloomer. Chandra's fragile appearance very well works to both her advantage and disadvantage. It's ironic as people tend to underestimate and baby her on sight, when really, they should be running for the hills. Her lithe body does aid her, making her an agile and fast swimmer--definitely an asset in her district.

Looking past her body structure, you would notice her hair. Chandra has thick, unruly black curls. The salt water has slowly dried out her hair and you can often find Chan trying some new home remedy to try and recover what once were beautiful locks. Has she succeeded yet? Absolutely not.

Her hair frames a face that stands in stark contrast to her delicate body. Chandra has bold features; a strong jaw, and a rather large nose all below a pair of dark questioning eyes. Her optics very well play with the old saying that eyes are the window to a person's soul. They hold a gleam of the natural adventure she posses, and are a dead give away if you want to know when the girl is lying. Chandra is however, trying feverishly to develop a 'poker face.'

Personality:

People say that the incredibly talented, beautiful or kind have been touched by God. If that's the case, Chandra got God on the day he was wearing a leather jacket. The day he was sitting in his living room listening to his heavy Metal CD's, feeling a bit in that twisted kind of mood where you laugh at people when they fall down. God wearing a leather studded collar. Because sure, Chandra was known to have moments of utter compassion, when she would dive down into the ocean to cut a tangled anchor, or sneak food to the starving child on the harbor. But there were other days, days far more often, where she won't even get out of bed. Where she will shout at you simply because you asked how she was feeling. Chandra has the ability to make you feel small to the point of disappearance. She can shatter your joy like a bullet through a stained glass window.

Chandra has a reputation of coming off as somewhat rude and cruel. She likes to think of this as a test--if the person has good enough of a funny bone to laugh her sarcasm off, it's bound to lead to the beginning of a beautiful friendship. If they do laugh it off, but not without a comeback, Chan will most likely be intrigued and keep an eye on them. Only the weak or extremely sensitive can take Chandra's crude snarkiness as her true nature. After all, Chan turns a deaf ear to the idea that first impressions are everything.

This girl will be more than happy to befriend anyone who has a great sense of humor, is trustworthy, and has brains. The only thing Chandra likes doing to people with paper for brains is poke fun at them, and uptight sticks aren't exactly in her good books either. People who ask and then don't question, people with logic and common sense, people who can loosen a tense moment with an appropriate light hearted comment, and people who occasionally have fun with literal meanings should hit off with Chan just fine.

Some people may call it stubborn, but Chandra likes to refer to it as a possible career in politics. While being a tough cookie can be a good thing sometimes, at others, it simply frustrates the other person because they can't get anything through to her. Chan's temper is always near the surface and is very easily lost. This usually causes her to act or speak before she thinks, which in turn causes her to land in rather sticky situations. "I'm sorry" are two words that Chandra finds hard to say, but will repeat it as many times as you want her to if she really wants your forgiveness.

This stuborness and need to stand for her beliefs sometimes allow fragments of the softer side of Chandra to shine through. The Chandra who will feel bad as she unhooks a catfish's lip. The Chandra who cries at night about her older brother. But she isn't one to let anyone show--rather, this side of her only surfaces when she's alone.

History:

I suppose we should start with an understanding, and that is: if you're one of those people who believe every breath be politically correct, then it's best you and Chandra part company now. She loan you her copy of The Great Panem and you can disappear into prairie perfection. Chandra doesn't dance around topics claiming the Hunger Games provided her family honor (ruined them), that her older brother was now excessively imaginative (delusional), and her mother was joy-impaired and abundantly security conscious (depressed and highly paranoid). When she tells you her story, she isn't talking about your district's favourite victor. It's her singular experience. She's lived it and she believes she has the right to describe how it felt from her own skin. So if your life truths need to be protected in the same way some Capitol's protect their couch with plastic, then ciao. Have a nice life.

Like everyone else, the Hayes family are natives of District 4. Her father was a fisherman and her mother worked within the Justice Building as an archiver. She had a respectfully normal family. By no means were they perfect, her parents had the occasional squabble and Chandra would wrestle her older brother for the last scallop. But Chan would tell you in a heartbeat that it was perfect--and it most definitely was in comparison to her current situation. Akab, her older brother of four years had his name pulled from the tribute ball at the age of sixteen--five years ago. Akab rarely opens up about his experiences, and what Chandra does know is the same as everyone who witnessed his fight for survival on television. She cannot tell you what was running through his head, though every once in a while she grasps onto a new fragment when he screams in his sleep. Akab emerged from the fifty-second Hunger Games as the lone victor.

Something in Akab snapped while he was in the arena, and since returning to District 4, he embodies the emotional development of a ten-year old. Akab moves to a fantasy world within himself everday, and Chandra knows he does this to escape the horrific memories which plague him. Seeing him this way, the Capitol knew he was going to be useless. The annual District Tour was cancelled after he ended up wailing during his visit to District 12, and the Hayes' were severely punished. As if his 'misbehavior' was their fault. Mr Hayes fishing boat was taken from him, and their mother was fired from her job, Chandra was continually harassed by male Peacekeepers when she was in town. Traumatic experiences continued for six months until the next Hunger Games, and slowly the Capitol left her family alone. Two years later, as if taking pity on them, they returned the family's boat and allowed Akab the wealth all victors are granted.

Regardless, Chandra and her family remain wary of the Capitol and its powers.

Codeword: Odair
Comments/Other: all done. : ) hope this is okay!