:.:Drowning:.: On //Dry// Land{Dars}

Irene Sykes

When you are a wallflower, a shrinking violet and in general a late bloomer, social activities tend to cause social anxiety. This held true for Irene, especially in the day to day event of school. Thankfully, it had drawn to a close this afternoon, without any form of embarrassing situation to make her feel lower than she already did. She sat alone at lunch, quietly eating her tuna fish salad sandwich and watching the fuller tables whenever she thought they weren't looking. They had such interesting discussions sometimes, and she had overheard enough over the year to be able to join in if she chose to.

But she wouldn't. How would they take it if the "weird girl" was to just pop in and let them know she knew the gossip, knew who was with who, and who cheated on who and the like? That was something Julie was quite good at, and which Kat always ignored. But Irene was not her sisters. She couldn't stomach the thought of stabbing people in the back, much less stomach the talk of training centers and the annual games. So many were proud of their skill with the harpoon or with others weapons, talking about how they'd do better than the current years tributes. She could never be a career herself; that lofty position could only belong to Katrina, though Kat was only interested in sailing and always declined invitations to training.

Irene had no such invitations to decline, indeed, she never got any. Both of her sisters were more popular than she; Strong willed Kat was sought after but content to remain aloof, and Julie had a reputation for being...easy. Not exactly the kind of thing you'd want to hear about a younger sibling. But she heard things all the same. Generally when someone was rather loudly talking about what they had gotten to do with her. Gossip like this was never said to her face, in fact, the last time she could remember anyone bothering to talk to her was when the cruise liner her brother had been aboard had sunk. Condolences from people she hadn't even known knew she existed had poured in, if only for a few days.

Branden...

She had nightmares the week he had been declared lost at sea, always the same, her watching him disappear beneath the waves, sinking to the seafloor while struggling in a tangle of seaweed as fish nibbled at his eyes. It was not a pleasant thought. Dwelling on this as she retrieved all of her books and papers from her locker she hurriedly made her way outside. Kat had said she was taking the boat out for the day and Julie was at a party, which meant she would have the house to herself. Cheered by this, she sped up as she exited the gate, smacking neatly into someone and spilling her things everywhere."I- uh, oh no."Scrambling on her knees to get her papers she couldn't see much more of the person than a pair of nice shoes."I'm so sorry, I need to pay more attention to where I'm going..."