Another Day (OPEN)

Quite pleased by the early release from classes, Trout briskly made her way down the road to the beach. The extra free time meant a chance to catch some sun before it was time to help her father in the shop. Although she would miss the beginnings of the Pre-Games programming for the day, Trout's father had a television in his shop, so she would have plenty of time to study the Capitol wardrobe later.

Trout slowed her pace as she reached the sandy shore. Her dress -- a long, flowered print with a thick sash around the middle -- gently billowed in the wind as her sandal covered feet became submerged in the sand. She tilted her chin up toward the sun, soaking in the rays, and exhaled deeply.

Out of the corner of her eye, Trout noticed a boy near her. She recognized him from school, but Trout wasn't one to try and get to know boys. They made her nervous. None the less, she turned her head toward him and offered him a smile, before turning her attention back to the sea. It was important to appear as though she was friendly to everyone in District 4. Being liked meant extra scraps of fabric and buttons, or maybe some spare fishing hooks. Materials were very important to a sewing-crazy girl like Trout. She lowered herself onto the sand and sat with her legs outstretched in front, so her shins could get some rays.

Trout eyed the boy cautiously and reached a hand up to twirl a lock of her hair nervously. She wished the boy hadn't spoken to her. He was cute, which meant this interaction was doomed. It always was with attractive boys. They were the only ones that made Trout nervous. She was so good at keeping her cool appearance up around almost everyone. But cute boys? Never.

She concentrated her gaze back on the water and pictured a stinky, fat, old fisherman next to her. Yes, that helped the nerves a little at least. "Yes," she replied. It came off a little rude, but one word answers were easiest for Trout. At least no one else could overhear this interaction. The girls at school -- especially the ones Trout was mean toward -- would have a field day if they found out how Trout was around boys.

Trout shifted her eyes toward the boy as he spoke. When his shirt came off, however, her eyes darted away and focused on a little orange crab scurrying about near her. As he walked away and waded into the water, her stiff body relaxed and she watched him as he dove into the sea and resurfaced with a very pretty pink shell.

"Do you like to comb the shores?" the boy asked.

Yes, thought Trout. I comb the shores all the time. However, she was too embarrassed to admit to one of her favorite hobbies. "Yes, sometimes..." she replied, looking back down toward the little crab as it tried quite unsuccessfully to climb over a piece of beached driftwood.

"Ah... by the way my name is Kani what's yours?"

Trout bit her lip as the boy asked her name. She hated telling people her ugly name. However, she felt weird giving out the nickname to strangers that her friends called her by. Keeping her gaze fixed on the crab, she spoke softly, "Trout." Her cheeks immediately flushed as her name escaped her lips. Using one finger, she lifted the crab up over the log and watched as it scurried away.

Unfortunately, Kani seemed persistant in talking to Trout. She didn't really know what to do. Should she try to push through her nerves, or shut down even more? Usually boys took the hint that she didn't want to talk to them.

"It's..." Trout began quietly, keeping her eyes focused on the sand. She paused for a moment, thinking through the words she wanted to say. "It's hard for me to come out in the morning. My father needs help setting up his shop for the day..."

It was the truth. Trout spent her mornings helping her father. However, he really didn't need the help and would be happy to let her go out in the morning with a friend once in a while. She was definitely too afraid to ask her father, though.

Trout looked down at her hands and rubbed them together nervously. Why was this so hard? If he were a girl... or at least a bit uglier, Trout would have no problem telling him off.

Trout was pretty sure she heard disappointment in Kani's voice. She flicked her eyes up toward his face. Yes, she was sure of it. Her stomach dropped in guilt as he offered the pretty shell to her. Kani was being nothing but nice to her. Trout offered him a small smile and took the shell out of his hands. "Thank you," she said quietly.

Now that Kani had given her something, Trout couldn't be rude. Her parents had ingrained that into her. What could she do? Trout turned the shell over in her hands and chewed on her lip as she thought. "You know..." she began, "there's a really nice patch of tide pools a little ways down the beach. We could walk over there... you know... if you want to..."

"Yes..." Trout blushed and accepted Kani's hand. She pulled herself up off the ground and brushed the sand off the backside of her dress. She slipped the pink shell into her pocket and started heading toward the tide pools.

Trout knew she should think of some sort of conversation to drum up, but she had no idea what to say. She was so afraid of tripping over her own words and making a fool of herself.

Instead, she just stared straight toward the destination they were headed towards. Her cheeks seemed to be in a permanent flush for now, which just served to embarrass her further...

Trout contemplated what to reply to Kani with. Both of her favorite subjects were not very impressive and made her seem kind of unintelligent. She enjoyed Physical Education and Home Economics the best. "Well..." She might as well tell the truth, right? "I enjoy Home Economics, but only when we're working on sewing. I'm not really into cooking or anything else like that," she told him.

Trout wondered if she should mention her other favorite subject. It seemed rather contradictory. She tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear and cautiously looked up at Kani. Maybe he wouldn't judge. "I also like Physical Education. Especially running," she added.

As they walked, Trout realized it was becoming easier to talk to Kani. Her shoulders weren't stiff anymore and she no longer had to picture a stinky fat man. Maybe someday she wouldn't have this dreadful curse of being afraid of cute boys.