I'm a Loser, Baby {Red
Jun 26, 2011 23:41:36 GMT -5
Post by Baby Wessex d9b [earthling] on Jun 26, 2011 23:41:36 GMT -5
The dusks were long and meandering in the summer over district ten. The light clung to the earth, trapping in heat and stretching the work of the days. Mace especially felt the extra hours, in his shoulders, in the bruises that he accumulated from being kicked by cows. He returned the favor with the cattle rod, never enough to leave a mark, but enough to let the cow know that he didn't appreciate sore ribs or fractured bones. It happened less and less, but only because Mace became smarter, more aware. The beasts didn't change, except to be more irritable in the long, dry heat.
He'd finally gotten the herd into their night pen. He had half a mind to sleep in the tall grass in the next field over, just so that it wouldn't be such a long walk the next morning. He should go back and tend to his siblings, but he couldn't bring himself to care enough about that, either. He was tired, but he was so much more than that, too. He was sick of the routine.
And he'd heard about a barn not far off, maybe a half hour's walk, where kids his age gathered. Other farm rats, no doubt, but the rumor was they had a little fun there too. Mace checked the sky, and knew he'd arrive after dark. There's no way anyone in the home would see him, and he was eighteen, he reminded himself. No one needed to keep tabs on him.
He used what was left in his water canteen to wash his hair, newly shorn almost to his scalp. He washed as he walked, chewed on a bit of jerky, and passed the time considering the recent additions to the home. One in particular. He tried not to dwell on her, but there was no hope for it. He almost passed the barn, so intense was his focus. He turned back, hoofing it through the prickly brush, as the sounds of overworked teenagers cutting loose filled his ears.
Mace yanked the barn door open, eyes adjusted fully to the night. The inside of the barn was lit by a few candles but little else. He blinked, scanning left and right. He probably didn't belong, certainly wasn't invited. But he was there regardless. "Pretty weak party," he said with a grin.
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