//looking for a come-up [DANNY!]

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Tense really never covered exactly how the District felt days after the reaping. I mean, it was definitely tense. Wouldn't you be after you just saw two kids that were most likely sentenced to death? In the rare case, they would come home, obviously. It took a lot of inner strength or just a shit load of luck to not come home in a coffin. And so there was always the awkwardness post-sentencing. Two kids would soon be on our television screens in order to entertain the Capitol by playing a terribly sick game. I would be pretty quiet too, honestly. In fact, I was still pretty quiet when compared to how I normally was. My personality seemed to radiate loudness, apparently. Not in my opinion but I'm always wrong about things so what would I know about me, right?

Well, I did know that one of my closest friends would surely be having a rough time at the current moment. One quick glance at my watch confirmed exactly what I thought - I still had no idea how to read the time. But my assumptions were that Peridot Myler would be in the Capitol already. He would be preparing our next two tributes for the Games in hopes of getting yet another victor. Two victors consecutively? It would be nice but there was absolutely no guarantee. That did mean I wouldn't have my friend for a considerably long time. He would be having a rough time, I think. After all, he had been in the same position merely a year ago and had seen so much in between then and now. Too much. We had only briefly talked about it once. Which is enough to explain just how much he was bothered by all of it. Peri wouldn't tell me any more than I needed to know. And the Peri I first met wouldn't pass up an opportunity to tell me things he thought matters.

Another thing I knew is that my girlfriend would possibly be having a tough time too. Family members would remain heartbroken for a lifetime sometimes. How long had it been since Avon was a tribute in the Games? Since there had been a terrible loss within Edana's family? Too long and yet not that long ago at all. I made sure to hold her extra close that night after the reapings so she knew I was right there with her. We were both safe and would never have to fear the threat of the Games. I would make sure that she wouldn't be harmed. Yeah, that sounds pretty lame but it's how I truly felt. She meant too much to me, you know?

And of course, there was one last thing I was sure of. For whatever reason, I soon found myself in a small shop that only sold used clothing. It was for the poorer members of our district but I couldn't help myself from at least checking it out. There were pretty good deals here and considering I only had a few dollars on me, I wouldn't be able to go to the high end store I normally checked out. But as I approached the store, I noticed that its lights were out and that nobody was inside. Which I'm pretty damn sure meant that it was closed. Who closed shops this early? It was only noon, wasn't it. Noon-ish? I still didn't know cause my watch was pretty damn useless on my wrist. Why did I even wear the damn thing? And why hadn't I taken the time to figure out what all the I's and V's meant? Ugh.

And so I dropped to the ground in front of the shop, hoping to wait for the owner to show up and open it up. Even if it looked like the sun was setting. Dammit. Time really went by that quickly? Stupid fucking watch. Maybe they're open at night. And so I made the decision to stay there for a little bit longer just to make absolutely sure. Nobody really walked down this way because it lead to a dead end eventually and so I wouldn't have to worry about anybody else but the owner coming near. I hoped. Who knows if somebody else wanted to visit the thrift shop as well. Either way, Clayton freaking Synclair was here and he would stay here for a few more minutes. Yeah, I would.

Okay, maybe the reapings had gotten to me a bit more than I thought...