Nee Jackson, D7

Nee’s face is slender and heart-shaped, with a gently pointed chin and round structure. Her eyebrows are narrow and only slightly curved, giving a neutral look. Her large eyes are what she calls a ‘honey’ brown, light in shade and close to gold. Her nose is curved and narrow, giving her a childlike quality. Her cheeks go inward slightly, as District 7 is in the lower half of the populace, and her diet isn’t that stable. Her mouth is large because it’s wide but her lips are still relatively full. She has small ears that are usually concealed within her hair and a slim neck.

Her hair is a black. Dull and straight, with no shine or bounce, it is best to be kept out of the way, especially with the type of work she does after school. Nee leaves a messy patch on both sides of her face to hang freely, but ties the rest back halfway down in a limp ponytail. She likes to cover her eyes with the excuse of a fringe and hides her ears underneath where the sides are pulled back.

She has a light tan from working outdoors every day, and would emit a healthy glow if she lived in a district that was better fed. She is slim, but not skinny or malnourished; one look at her arms would tell you that she is used to labour since she has built a small amount of muscle, giving her some extra power and strength. Her legs are long and allow her to run moderate distances at a good speed; however she is not a great sprinter or a long distance athlete. Her joints are strong and although her hands have received a battering in the form of cuts, bruises and scars over the years they are ladylike and move with grace.

Nee knows the values of keeping warm and dresses to conserve heat. She wears a tight-fitting turtle-neck, black or white, along with leggings covered by a pair of trousers, both tucked into her shoes. Her footwear is highly important to her; hiking boots, with a snug fit and thick, gripping soles to help her along the rugged terrain by the edge of the woods. In winter she adds two extra layers of socks and some knitted leg warmers made by her mother, accompanied by a red scarf. Her reaping dress is a summery lemon frock, knee length and covered in a print of tiny daisies. There is a pair of yellow shoes and a silver squirrel necklace in the back of her mother’s wardrobe to complete the outfit.

It is well known that Nee is a hard-working soul, dedicated to the task at hand and determined to complete it to a high standard. But she knows her physical limits, prepared to stop before her body packs in. Her intelligence is higher than the average for her district, and she works well in a team by being encouraging and taking responsibilities; however she finds it simpler and faster to work independently. She is kind and honest with the people closest to her and takes pride in her achievements at school and at work. She struggles with talking to people she doesn’t know well, but she tries hard to get others her age to like her. Amongst other things, she has a high pain threshold and sharp senses.

Nee is easily provoked and quickly turns to violence when angry, frustrated or humiliated. She is rather self-centred, working to improve her own life instead of her family’s, with the rare exception of her sister. While she is ready to take risks, she won’t put herself on the line if it benefits others and not her. It is hard to tell her any different once she has made up her mind on a topic, and as strong and intelligent as she is she is somewhat of a coward when facing her fears. The concept of death terrifies her and she will do anything to stay alive. Her other fears include intense gore, the sensation of falling and mutations. She finds it hard to communicate with people she isn’t close with, and even though others see her as a leader, she can’t always be counted on to make the correct decisions.

She is always content so long as there are trees around her, in the form of forests, copses or wooden structures. She enjoys the fresh winter air, the scent of wood smoke and the sound of running water. Reared meat like beef and mutton is a rare treat for her people and she loves it as much as anyone else. She sometimes takes her sister onto the roof of their cabin to watch the beautiful sunrises that occur in the districts. Nee is repulsed by slimy things, the stench of cheese and particularly gory deaths in the Hunger Games. Maths seems to drag on forever at school, and her heart races in anxiety while waiting in the roped off area of the district square on Reaping Day. Her favourite animal is the squirrel; she loves the noises they make and admires how easily they dash about the forest. She has a weakness for the local boys of her age, keeping an eye on them at school and admiring them at work. She would love a boyfriend, but can’t work up the courage to flirt because it seems that it’s the guys that should kick off a conversation, and none of them appear to pay any attention to her.

Nee firmly believes that District 7 is just as good as District 4; and why not? They are used to axes, they make use of their natural resources and they have put up good fights in previous years. The way she sees it, the only reason that 7 isn’t considered a Career District is because it is in the lower half of the country. She thinks that people shouldn’t label a stereotype so easily, since many people her age believe her to be a tomboy when she is nothing of the sort. She works in the lumberyard, a place occupied mainly by men, and she is tough and that appears to be enough to brand her. However, she judges people in the same way just as easily. She thinks that the detention centre exists for a good reason and jokes that freedom is a myth thought up by the Rebels. Although she detests and fears the Hunger Games, she still holds a silent curiosity about each day of the event. Sometimes she even enjoys watching it, but she would be scared senseless to be chosen at the Reaping.

Nee lives in a family of four with her younger sister, Maple, and her parents, Poppy and Notch, who is rarely at home due to having a heavy workload to support the family; he is a deep forest lumberjack meaning long shifts, seven days a week, but the money is good. Poppy is the parental figure of the household, doing the cooking and cleaning with some help from the girls. Maple is three years younger than Nee and looks up to her sister as well as being best friends with her. Over the years they have decorated their tiny shared bedroom with all things girly; feathers, charms, knitted toys and candles, but they’re not allowed to light them because they are a fire hazard in the log cabin. These three people are the only ones that Nee can always tolerate and love dearly.

Nee is somewhat of a loner, not entirely out of choice, but she generally hangs out in a larger group of girls at school to make things easier. Although she has her eye on a selection of boys no one has attempted to sweep her off her feet, much to her disappointment. She mostly blames this on working at the lumberyard, even though this means she spends much more time around them. One particular lad has made an impression on her, Rowan Springer, but sadly this the negative type. But she has no idea about the secret crush he has for her...

Responsibilities have always come early for Nee; her first chore aside from keeping her room tidy was to chop firewood from the age of 8, she shares the burden of cooking with her mother and she began a job after school when she was 11. Her father figure was typically absent, so she had little understanding of boys until she began working with them.

As a young child she loved playing outdoors, but was never allowed more than two houses along the street in each direction. This rule gave her a sense of curiosity, making her want to explore everything around her – including places that are out of bounds - and try to understand it. She loved to read stories at that age and was inspired to play games based on them in the matchbox-sized back garden. Maple would play the lesser characters.

When she began doing more work around the house she began to grow up quickly, not because she was forced to; she simply wanted to prove her worth and earn praise. When she was told that she was going to start working after school she didn’t think much of the idea and attempted to get out of it, but in the end she had no choice. But the unthinkable happened: she enjoyed it! Spending two hours in the fresh air was a nice way to wind down after a hard day at school. Her father was the one who got her the job after he heard that they needed someone for the yard and talked his boss into employing his dedicated daughter for a low wage. The age to wield an axe or saw was sixteen, so even though she was a competent chopped by then she was restricted to the storage yard with carrying and cleaning duties, which she still does today, though she is trying to get a job in sawing up the trunks into smaller segments.

The routine in the Jackson household begins with a hearty breakfast, usually grain in the form of bread or porridge, then a short walk to school. Nee finds lessons terribly mundane (she is a smart girl but chooses not to use it) and the break times are worse due to the social requirements. She does her work, behaves herself, blends in with the crowd then leaves for a two hour shift on the other side of town. She spends two hours carrying logs in a team to the storage area and sweeping the area free of dangerous debris before heading home for the night. She prepares the meal with her mother then chops firewood in the back garden to make sure they are well stocked at all times. There isn’t usually much time after this before she goes to bed early because she needs a good night’s sleep to do the entire routine five days a week, with a double shift at the yard on Saturdays.

FC is Edna Iordache. The image has been edited (I changed her eye color and made her hair darker).