Blake Coastly (District 4)

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. And each and every day I’m expected to go out and fish, learn my trade, forget anything else that I may ever have wanted to do and fish! Of course, though, that’s the norm. Everybody has to fish. All of us so similar. Medium length blonde hair. Reasonable tanned skin. Look at any boy, go on, I dare you, ANY boy in this District and tell me that he doesn’t have either of those features. Before I start though, I want you to know that really, I’m not a whiny person. Or at least I try not to be. Here in District 4 being whiny isn’t really an option. Being whiny means you’re weak. Being weak means you’re forgotten. Not that in I’m not already forgotten in the eyes of every career-like human frickin being in this godforsaken District. But still, I’ve gotta show a little bit of District pride every now and then don’t I? Coming from the family I do people have expectations. But why should I care what they think? I am me. They are them. There is simply nothing in-between and I just wish that the people here could understand that I’m just not the vicious type!

Infact, you could say I’m quite the opposite. Despite my stupid fathers wishes I’ve taken a liking to dancing. Yes, dancing. Career material right here, huh. Mother says that it’s fine, and that one day if I win the games at least I’ll have my ‘hobby’ as they call it, but I know deep down that I bring her shame. She loves me regardless, though, even going so far as to defend me in front of father. But that usually brings on a beating. Sometimes I try to stop him. Dancing does have it’s benefits and I can slip inbetween him and mum and wrench them apart sometimes but that doesn’t usually help my relationship with dad.

My relationship with dad. What a joke. If there was an award for most stereotypical District 4 father then it would, hands down, go to him. He expects me and my sister, not only to watch and enjoy but to one day volunteer for the games! Me, the dancing boy of the Coastly family and my sister, the girl with blind eye, tributes in the games? Fat chance. I’d give myself a few days, maybe, but Keale? The bloodbath. Not being mean or anything but that’s just how it is. I try to stick up for her, it’s not her fault she has her disability, after all, but in a town where fighting to the death is celebrated there’s not much to do about it.

Enough about my family though. Back to dancing. I don’t know where I got it from, maybe the fish that dart away from my spear, maybe the waves that crash on the shore. Maybe the sea birds that fly free, no fear of the Capitol, no fear of the games. Wherever I got it from, though, I’m not exactly grateful of. Though I suppose I should be. Dancing, honestly, is all that gives me much enjoyment here. Aside from a little bit of acting at school, which is a rare treat that we get on occasion, dancing is my life. Sometimes, when we go down to fish for class, I move away from everybody and dance. Sure, the sand isn't the best ground for dancing. And sure, occasionally I get caught and teased. But something about dancing on that beach, the breeze flowing through my body, the waves crashing on the shore and those birds, those beautiful sea birds flying around, not a care in the world just inspires me to dance.

Of course, I’m punished for this almost daily. At least three quarters of the district think I’m gay. Or, in their terms ‘That faggot kid.’ But I try not to let it get to me. To be honest, I don’t even know myself. I’m certainly flamboyant enough to be, and I have caught myself looking at the same sex in, well, er, other sorts of ways I still don’t think I’d be willing to set in mind that I am gay. Because I don’t know, I’m only 14.

Dad thinks he knows though. And he doesn’t like it. If he’s not picking on mother or yelling at Kealea he’s spitting insults at me, telling me I’m a disgrace for not wanting to carry on our family name, and though that’s completely not the case it does get me thinking. Because there isn’t a way in the world you would convince me that I’m HAPPY with my last name. Coastly. The family with six victors.

Yes, most of the victors from this District are in some way related to the Coastlys, but we’re like the ‘central hub.’ And I’m the last remaining pure Coastly male that can still pass on the name. Mum and Dad couldn’t possibly afford to have another child, it’s hard enough for us all as it is, Dad fishing and Mum selling shells and trinkets she finds on the beach. But despite Dad’s seeming disgust towards us and Mum’s broken spirit they’re both determined to keep me and 11 year old Kealea alive.

I should probably mention my few real friends now. If they knew that it had taken me this long to mention them they’d have a fit, and I guess fair enough because us four are about as close as friends can get. There’s Marcus, my friend and prodigy fisher. Of course, everybody loves him, and I guess it’s hard not to because he’s really quite charismatic and good looking. At least that’s what all the girls say about him when the giggle around in class. He’s really a decent person, though, underneath that exterior of Careerish-ness that his family have implanted him with. Shell, ‘the dancing girl of District 4’ is one of the few other people in this district that actually enjoy dancing, so naturally we became best friends. Our families used to be really close but something happened, and nobody thought it would be a good idea to tell me, and now our families seem to despise each other. But we still have each other’s backs. Sometimes, when one of us has to go hungry, we sneak food to each other. Being caught by either of our families would result in several beatings but it’s something we’ve always done and now it’s just a given. And last of all there’s Corrie. She’s quiet. Unless you’re in our group you won’t hear more than a peep out of her. But for us she’s a total different story. Underneath that layer of timidness lies somebody passionate, happy, and overwhelmingly beautiful. Her parents died in a monsoon around the time my family moved back into the Victors Village. That was when Uncle Liam one the games. Corrie lives in the orphanage now, and whenever I can I go visit her but for the most part she’s not allowed out. It’s such a shame, because a girl like her could really brighten up this place.

Perhaps I should go back to my family now. I wasn’t exaggerating before when I said that they could barely afford us as it is. Despite our lovely home in the Victors Village with Uncle we’re still poor as a rat’s arse. Uncle Liam spent most of his money on liquor and women, but he gets to keep the house. Nowadays he just sleeps in the basement whilst the rest of us tend to the house. Mother says that we must tolerate him, because he had to endure the games and because he is the reason we get to have a decent home. I don’t care though. Uncle Liam killed his district partner as soon as he could. He’s a vile man. But we do all owe it to him that we survived that monsoon so long ago. And the house does make a nice meeting place for me and the gang to get up to no good. And because of him people have to tolerate my dancing, and the fact that I’m so bad at fishing and that I’d rather dance with a ribbon then stab with a spear. Without him my life would be so much more unstable then it already is. The tide comes in. The tide goes out. I guess that’s the only thing I can rely on in this crazy world of ours.