Judge Me Not // {Will}

I'm not loving you, the way I wanted to, what I had to do, had to run from you
I'm in love with you but the vibe is wrong

Elvis sat down in his designated chair behind the council table at precisely seven hours, fifty-five minutes. It was always the same time, every morning, that he came into the council chambers. Sometimes they had hearings, but mostly they dealt with the politics of being semi-elected officials. It was a long and tedious thing, which at first had seemed so important to Elvis. Discussions about where the most crime was committed, who ought to be elected next, etc. Now it was clear to him that all of it was gossip, and self-centered gossip at that. He rarely arrived early because the worst seemed to happen off the record, before the session officially began at eight each morning.

With five minutes to orient himself, Elvis reviewed the day's agenda. He was pleased to see they had at least one order of business to attend to - a theft hearing about Will. He could picture the man in question in his mind. They weren't so very far apart in age, and Will had only been a few grades ahead of him. Besides, Elvis had always enjoyed being in the know, and he had made it a point to familiarize himself with most of District Thirteen over the years. He couldn't remember any exact conversations he'd had with Will, but certainly they had been cordial.

He smirked when he came to the theft in question - food from the kitchens. And who hadn't been tempted to do that? Although usually the perps were a little younger. Teenage boys with empty legs to fill. Certainly he would have liked more than his allotted ration at fifteen, but it had passed. Why would a twenty-seven year old need more food? But it wasn't a serious infraction. Elvis hoped they would have him in and out of session in a few minutes time. He glanced up at the clock just as it struck eight, and turned his smile on as the council came to order.

Elvis kept his gaze steadily, but not uncomfortably, on Will while the head of the council laid out the day's agenda and then turned to Will's case. There was a quick summary of the infraction, and then Will was invited to speak. Elvis didn't think he was likely to help his case, based on his appearance, which was scruffy by Thirteen's standards .He wasn't going to judge a man for his facial hair, but he couldn't say the same about the rest of the disciplinary board. They all had their biases. He mostly did his best to be fair and impartial, which meant that he as usually soft. That was okay though, for now, because he was so new and because he was so young.

He opened his smile just a bit, encouragingly. Elvis wanted to make this process painless. Stealing could come with a hefty fine and punishment, but he didn't think it was a likely outcome in this case. Best to just get it over with.