Daisy Rookwood D10

Dishwater blonde hair, unevenly cut and some what stringy framed her pale face like the ragged curtains in their living room. It wasn't like the Rookwood family had enough money to go to the fancy barber shoppes or beautifying stores you see in the Capitol. Instead, Daisy had to settle for old sewing scissors that had long dulled too much for their original use, held by her mother in the kitchen. Slowly clipping, cautiously making sure that the trimmings fell on the faded pink towel on the floor. The little snipping causing the ends to flutter around like the snow in the middle of winter, tickling her nose and her ears. When she was done they'd take the towel out and shake it out the back door, letting the wisps and strands float through the air. Daisy's mother would always call out "Make a wish little one, its all we can afford." Daisy's eyes so blue they rival the sky on cloudless days (So different than her brothers.) would widen as she would laugh and give the towel a hearty shake would always wish for the same thing: Don't let any of my bubba's get picked. Every time it seemed to work as all seven of the Rookwood boys made it through the Reapings, as did Daisy herself. Her chapped red lips always pulling into a smile as the hair settled. It was good luck getting a hair cut, even if it was just with her mother old shears.

Daisy wasn't exceptionally good looking, her plain and simple face never had make up or any accents to make her fancy or beautiful. Even her clothes weren't the type to draw attention to herself. Normally some shapeless dress stitched and sew back together over and over. Faded and patched with scraps and leftovers from other long outgrown garments. So faded they were nearly white. Some times she would resew her brothers clothes into things that could fit her, use their old battered denim to shill together a pair of jeans. Old flannel shirts, pinched and tucked and lined to fit her little body. The lack of good solid nutrition in the outlaying areas of District 10 had taken its tole on her body from a young age, stunting her growth at no more than five feet one inch tall. Her bones slender and almost gaunt with each rib countable. Her collarbones and shoulders jutting out under her shirt as a solid reminder that Panem doesn't care about its citizens.

Even if her parents were one of the better off families in the small gathering of houses in the Eastern part of District 10, it was nothing to brag about. That just meant that the bare necessity were covered, that she could take a bath if she needed, or have a bit of grain extra a day. It wasn't like she lived high and mighty. She was nothing but a small town girl with small town dreams. Hoping to eventually find a man, settle down, have a few children, and not end up battered and broken like the others. But life in the outskirts was a gamble, and watching the ranches and cowboys come and go, specifically the Tansy kid was a reminder that life was merry-go-round of fate and Daisy might not be so lucky. As long as she didn't end up like Lizard mom she couldn't complain though. Alive and miserable is better than dead and rotting any day. Daisy was taught to keep her mouth shut and let the man be the man. Girls were just for cleaning, cooking, and keeping their husbands happy. Barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen

Her own mother was the perfect example, someone that she could learn and admire from. Having eight children, with seven of them sons, was ideal; and though sometimes food was a little sparing she never let the task of caring and loving all her children break her spirit. If anything it made her stronger, and Daisy, the little sponge she was, took it all in knowing one day she would have her own place in the kitchen just like her mother. Someday To say Daisy was hard and solid was far from the truth, she was fleeting and waifish. A little sparkle in the night sky that might catch your glance, but fade off before you could ever truly know what you were looking at. She knew she was a doormat, but that's all women were ever supposed to be. Its all she would ever be.

The problem was being small and shy, it often meant that guys would look through her. Like she was clear as the little plastic wrappers that held things on the shelves of her families general store. She didn't have the broad childbearing hips that the cowboys craved, or the jiggle that the strange stragglers wanted, she was almost childlike in her slight frame. Her attitude mimicked much of the same, her face turning a violent shade of red if she felt the slightest bit embarrassed, which was pretty common anytime anyone but family addressed her. In fact she had only been out on two dates in her life, both ending with such a heart pounding, hand shaking, nearly passing out rush that just hugging the boy made he feel like she had crossed too many lines. Her brothers, (David, Daryl, Daniel, Dwight, Dwayne, Dustin, and Dean) were known to tease her relentlessly about the fact she had never even kissed a boy. But it was all in love. They would never hurt her intentionally. She was the goodness of the house, the soft gentle spring breeze, and they all knew it.

Pa was an old shop-keep, the Rookwoods had always owned the rickety old store as far as anyone could remember. Its shelves filled with penny candy, flour, oil for lamps, soaps for baths and cleaners for the house...sometimes they might even get fizzy drinks in. Though when The Capitol takes 75% of earnings its hard to keep a living. Even though the struggling the store kept getting passed down to another Rookwood, Dean being the next best choice. With the giant wooden sign outside broadcasting: Rookwood General Store, it wasn't like there was any other family meant to own it. Their rickety farm house was built next door to it, with flaking white shutters and a porch often holding old worn plastic, pictures showed her and her brothers growing up on that porch. It was like another member of the family who was always there, always comforting the generations that loved it.

Now that all the Rookwoods had survived their times in the reaping and had started moving out, though staying in the general area. Always coming over for a family dinner on Sunday nights. Ma always said that going to bed filled with family was the best way to start the day, and all the Rookwood kids took that too heart. Family comes before anything, before money or pride or lust, always put family first. Daisy always held this motto with hope that some day her family would let her welcome in a lover as well, that maybe some day she wouldn't be just the baby anymore. That she could be an adult as well.

It feels as if the daily chores are wearing her down, when you look at her bright eyes between the rings at the store, you can see the glitter of life leaving her. That the hardness of the winters and cattle drives is starting to eat away at the softness that defines her. District 10 is stealing another soul. Her glow is fading into the same shade as the battered and broken land. Dusty and waning she soon will just be another toss away of Panem. Worth nothing more than the cash lining their pockets.