Broken glass (open to all)

It's been an interesting day for Joel. He's been working outside with the animals all by himself for a couple hours now. Amos, his father, refuses to let his friends come over and help him. Sweat drips off his face as he moves the hay from the storage barn to the animals. They own all kinds of animals such as cows, pigs, and goats. They raise them to send them off to the slaughter. Joel carries the hay from the barn to the goats first. It's not like he's not used to it, but it's boring when his friends aren't there helping him. Amos stands outside the house watching him to make sure he works, and to make sure his friends don't show up. After he feeds the animals, he has to milk the goats and the cows. He can feel Amos staring at him, but that doesn't stop him from working. He keeps going so he can get it done sooner.

He only has to feed the pigs, then, he will be done. He carries the hay over to the pigs and stares at them. These are his pigs. He's raised these pigs since they were born. He looks at them knowing one day they will be gone forever. He knows that one day they'll be slaughtered and turned into food for the Capitol. He drops the hay in the troth and walks away. He wants to hurry and milk the cows and goats so he can go away from the day. He wants to go to town to the bakery so he can buy himself some bread. They have ten female goats that need to be milked, and ten cows that need to be milked before he can go. He shrugs his shoulders. He looks back at the porch to see Amos standing there with a smile on his face. He nods politely and continues to work. It was an agreement he came to with Amos. He'd feed and milk the animals every morning, and Amos would allow him to stay here.

Milking the animals doesn't take as long as he thought. He carries the buckets inside to Amos. It's a long haul carrying the full buckets, and he makes several trips to get them all. He walks in the house for the last time. His stomach is growling begging him for food, but he can't get the food yet. He looks at his mother and nods and heads to his room. It's more like a closet than a room, but it's a place to sleep. He changes out of his work clothes and into his favorite brown long sleeve shirt and a pair of ragged old jeans. He walks into the living room. Amos walks through the front door as Joel heads out. He doesn't give his parents a chance to say anything. He just keeps going towards town.

The trip doesn't take him very long. He looks around as he gets towards town and notices a crowd drawing in the middle of the town. He walks towards it to get a closer look. A person with some kind of bike is surrounded by people laughing. Joel moves forward and pushes his way through the crowd. He looks around and see's some guy being laughed at. "Leave him alone." Joel says louder than he meant to. He walks over to the guy sitting there. He pulled something out of a tire. Joel looks at him. "Are you alright?"

"Nice to meet you both." Joel walks towards the bakery. He'll share his bread with the others. He doesn't have to take any home. He looks around. "Azaria and Gabe." Joel says quietly trying to keep the name in his mind. He laughs to himself as the crowd leaves. He can't stand there and let people make fun of others it isn't right. Even though Joel has never met Gabe before, he's not going to let anyone make fun of him. He doesn't care if it causes him to get in trouble or not.

He digs in his pocket for the pack of cigarettes his friend picked up when the peacekeeper dropped it. He doesn't remove them from his pocket because he doesn't want anyone to see. He keeps walking. "I have enough to get two loaves of bread. Do either of you have anything to put on it?" Joel asks quietly. He knows they probably don't especially Azaria. He still doesn't understand why she's here alone without her parents. It doesn't make since, but he doesn't care. He looks back and sees the other two following him.

He walks into the bakery with a smile on his face. He looks at the breads that have already been made and are waiting for people to buy them. Joel has never held this much in his entire life. It's enough to get the two loaves of bread he'd like. He walks up to the counter. "I would like to get two loaves of bread." Joel says politely. The clerk looks at him with a confused look. A look saying he doesn't think Joel can afford it. He shakes his head. Joel repeats himself. "Two loaves of bread please." He sticks his hand in his pocket and grabs the little bit of money he has. The clerk hands him the bread and takes the money. Joel shrugs his shoulders because it doesn't matter.

It's been one of those days where nothing makes sense. He doesn't know why Amos wouldn't allow his friends to help him work. Joel is glad he got to earn his money though. If his friends were helping, he wouldn't be able to afford this wonderful bread. He still doesn't understand why the people were laughing at Gabe. It just doesn't make sense. A young girl walked up to them without her parents being around. He tries to put it all away in the back of his mind. He doesn't need to be thinking about this right now. He doesn't know why the clerk questioned him about the money. It has to be how he's dressed. He looks like he wouldn't have money for anything.

Joel looks back at the others. Azaria seems to be lost for words a lot, but that doesn't matter. Gabe reminds Joel a lot of himself. He has this look about him saying he doesn't care. A small smile appears on his face. He feels bad for asking about Azaria's parents, but she says he shouldn't be sorry. She'll talk about it when we set down. He sighs with relief knowing she's not upset about it. He looks up and sees Gabe eyeing the bread. He starts to turn away, but he doesn't. He thinks that would be rude. Joel stops in his tracks. He's temporarily lost for words. His eyes grow wide. It appears Amos has found him.

He slowly lowers his head down and starts walking faster. He can't let Amos see him if he wants to stay at his house. When Joel looks back up, he notices it's not who he thinks it is. He sighs with relief. He looks over at a patch of grass. He walks over and sits down. "I think we should eat." Joel suggests. "Before the bread gets too cold." He's never really been much for helping others out, but for some reason he feels different. The laughing must have got to him. He doesn't want to set the bread down on the ground, but it might have to do. It's not going to hurt it much anyway. "I have a question." Joel says as he looks at Gabe.