Amelia Lockert ~ District 10 {Finished}

    At 5’7” and 100 lbs, Amelia is an average height but a slightly below average weight. Her slim figure reveals that she is not accustomed to heavy lifting, resulting in very little extra muscle, but her calloused hands and worn knees assure any observer that she is far from pampered. Amelia’s long, chestnut brown hair cascades down to the middle of her back. Although she often braids the delicate locks into a bun while she works, rumor has it that she has been spotted with her hair flowing free with small flowers nestled in the soft waves on the rare occasion. Amelia’s olive complexion is hardly unusual in her district, however her skin has never quite accomplished the warm tan that is so common in District Ten during the summer months. Her warm, chocolate eyes are often cast downward, but when she offers one of her rare smiles, Amelia also allows one a glimpse into those timid but bright and observant pools of brown.


    Her teeth are naturally aligned fairly straight with only two noticeable exceptions: a chip off of her left top front tooth and a gap between her bottom two front teeth. Amelia’s nails have never been ornamented with nail polish, but their edges are frayed and battered after years of abuse due to her work and nervous habit. Amelia can generally be seen wearing simple dresses accompanied by a pair of her most loved and dusty leather boots. She is always mindful, however, to only wear dresses that have sleeves to conceal the scarred tissue shaped into perfect letter L on her right shoulder. The only piece of jewelry Amelia ever wears is a small, beaten, heart-shaped golden locket. Finally, before making one of her rare appearances in public, Amelia always remembers to apply a thin layer of her homemade concealing makeup to hide the “hideous” birthmark that rests across the left side of her collarbone.

    Few see Amelia in public other than at events such as the Reaping and even fewer get the opportunity to explore the inner workings of the elusive girl. The saying “silence is golden” has been literally branded into Amelia over the years. She has learned to hold her tongue and now she unconsciously remains silent unless directly spoken to. Due to her soft-spoken nature, Amelia is able to listen to the conversations of others easily and therefore always seems to know the latest news and gossip of Panem despite her isolation. After years of verbal and, occasionally, physical abuse, she is very uncomfortable being the center of attention. She would much rather blend into the background and be an observer instead of a participant. When Amelia feels like someone is paying too close attention to her, she becomes nervous and often fidgets with the edge of her dress or shuffles her boot-clad feet into the dust.


    Because Amelia has very few friends, she often keeps her emotions bottled up inside. She is afraid of expressing her beliefs and thoughts because she does not want to give anyone a reason to hate her. She is slightly paranoid and because she is accustomed always being able to hear the conversations around her, anytime she is unable to distinguish what someone is saying, she assumes they must be whispering about her. Whenever Amelia feels threatened, she prefers to flee instead of fight. Because of this, she is easily intimidated and rarely stands up for her own beliefs. Due to her paranoia and timid nature, Amelia is very sensitive and although she hides behind an indifferent mask, her feelings can be hurt fairly easily. She does not trust others easily and when she does, it is because she is willing to do anything for the individual. Amelia’s lack of trust causes her to hold grudges against anyone who hurts her, either physically or emotionally. She does not forgive and forget but she also will not confront someone when they have offended or hurt her. Instead, Amelia tends to push people away and simply ignore them.


    When Amelia finally opens up to someone, she can be sarcastic and playful. After laughing, she will often get the hiccups, a trait that Amelia is extremely self-conscious about and because of this she will try to hold in her laughter until her face turns red. Although Amelia refuses to stand up for herself, she is very loyal and protective of her friends and loved ones. She is also known for her good and objective advice but convincing her to open up long enough to give these small pieces of wisdom is a challenge. Amelia has a particular fondness for animals and children. She is willing to jump in at a moment’s notice to help an animal or child in need. Amelia has always dreamed of the day she will have her own children, but her fear of men and the ominous future of the Hunger Games always shatter her dreams.

    
    Amelia has an odd fascination with blood. She detests violence, but since the age of ten, Amelia has become transfixed whenever she sees the dark red substance. After suffering through her brother's death when he cut his wrists too deep, Amelia has vowed never to cut herself. When she is particularly upset or frustrated however, she will “accidently” prick one of her fingers with a sewing needle. The coppery taste of blood is almost an addiction and Amelia often finds herself more relaxed after a small taste of blood from her injured finger. After spending the majority of her life locked away, Amelia can become extremely restless and when her curiosity finally gets the best of her, she will sneak out and venture into the silent, warm District Ten nights. Although she used to be terrified by the sounds of animals and insects in the dark, the occasional rustling of grass as a mouse darts past or the singing of a thousand crickets now comfort her. Amelia is most relaxed and comfortable on these midnight escapes from reality. In those moments, she literally becomes what she always feels like: a shadow. Neither completely living nor dying, neither important nor unimportant, neither strikingly beautiful nor horribly disfigured, Amelia is constantly suspended in a middle ground and after nineteen years, she is accustomed to and accepts this darkness and uncertainty.

    Amelia was born into an average District Ten family. Her mother, Delia Lockert, worked as a seamstress from the family’s quaint home while her father, Cane Lockert, worked as a butcher in a small shop on the other side of the district. Amelia had one older brother, Oxford Lockert, who was almost five years older than her and her role model. An introvert by nature, Amelia would never stray far from her brother’s side when they ran errands for their mother or ran amuck behind the house. A few days after Amelia’s fifth birthday, while the two siblings were playing hide and seek, Amelia stumbled upon an abandoned warehouse of some kind. She had never wandered this far from home alone before, but Amelia was determined to win and show her brother that she was a “big girl” now. Gathering up as much courage as she could find in her petite body, Amelia crawled into the building and set about exploring.


    Just as Amelia decided that the eerie spiders and unidentifiable creaks were not worth wining a silly game, she stumbled and disturbed a family of bats. In the chaos that followed, unstable beams tumbled down onto the five year old, narrowly missing her, and trapped her within the now darkening building. Once the dust cleared and the high-pitched alarms of the bats faded away, Amelia realized the calamity of her situation. Like any child, Amelia’s only solution was to cry out for her brother, her mother, her father, or anyone to come and save her. Hours later, when the sky had already darkened into a midnight black and Amelia thought she could not possibly muster up another tear, a familiar voice rang out with a desperate, “Amelia!” Within minutes, Amelia began to sob with relief as her brother’s worried face peered through the cracks. Soon after, she was freed and immediately threw herself into her mother’s waiting arms.

    
    The next morning, Amelia awoke to find her brother nervously waiting at the edge of her bed. He leaned over and grasped Amelia’s hand in his own sweaty palms before a river of apologies and promises spilled from his lips. In her groggy state, Amelia was unable to remember most of Oxford’s babble, but the one thing that stood out to her was his promise to never leave her side again. Oxford’s promise held strong for the next two years and Amelia lived like any other girl in her district until that fateful night. The night before their mother’s birthday, Amelia begged Oxford to help her cook a surprise birthday meal to celebrate. Oxford hesitantly agreed, knowing that Amelia would continue her plan with or without him. After hours of tedious work, Amelia decided that they needed flowers to complete the meal. Oxford volunteered to go and find the flowers, fearful that if Amelia were to go out while the sky was still dark she may get lost again. Alone in the small kitchen, Amelia happily brushed her favorite doll’s hair as she sat perched upon a rickety stool facing the stove where the surprise birthday meal sat.
  
    
    Suddenly, a sound from the bedroom alerted Amelia that her mother would be waking at any moment to finish a few last minute stiches on a dress for the mayor’s wife. Fearful that her mother would find the food cold and disappointing, Amelia turned on the stove to “heat everything up.” Only seven years old, Amelia had never worked the stove before and she simply turned the small knob as far as it would go. The floorboards’ groaning announced that Delia had finally woken up and Amelia darted into the bedroom in an effort to stall her mother until Oxford could return, without a second thought to the blazing stove. Amelia was chattering animatedly with her mother when Delia suddenly stood up, alarm crossing her features. Rushing into the kitchen, Amelia and her mother discovered the entire room engulfed in flames. As quick as she could, Delia scooped Amelia into her arms, grabbed any valuables that were within reach and escaped through the back door. When Amelia finally found her voice, she screamed in horror and struggled to return into the house to save her doll.
    
    
    Delia pushed Amelia into the embrace of a breathless and stunned Oxford, cried out something about “the doll,” and disappeared into the burning house. The two siblings waited and waited but their mother still had not returned by the time neighbors arrived and began pouring water onto the flames. As dawn broke, Cane stumbled up to his frightened children, sweating and breathless after running as fast as he could from the shop where he had fallen asleep the night before after a long night’s work. Amelia watched through blurry eyes as her father frantically asked for his wife. Oxford would not allow Amelia to go near the rubble, but as she mourned the fallen house from a distance, she watched her father kneel and begin to sob over a particular pile of ruble. The next few months are nothing but a blur in Amelia’s mind as she said goodbye to her mother and moved into the small rooms behind her father’s butcher shop. It was not until Oxford’s thirteenth birthday that Amelia realized the full effect her mother’s death had on her father.

    
    Amelia jumped out of bed, expecting to see her father up and ready to celebrate Oxford’s special day, but instead she saw her father slumped in front of the stove with a bottle hanging precariously from his fingers. Amelia had never seen a beer bottle before, but over the next few years she would become very familiar with the contents of the bottle and learn to detest them. Despite Oxford’s warnings to leave their father alone, Amelia confronted him when her brother disappeared into the main shop in search of clean plates. Before Amelia could finish her question, Cane leapt to his feet and captured her arm in a painful grip. Amelia squealed and begged for her father to let go and she was vaguely aware of Oxford’s similar pleas and screams, but her father ignored both as he discarded the evil bottle and gave Amelia the first of many painful punishments she would receive. Cane refused to allow Oxford and Amelia to return to school and insisted that they work in the shop and house instead. Oxford was forced to work in the main shop while Amelia was sentenced to cleaning, cooking, and other housework.


    Over the next few months, Oxford and Amelia fell into a new, miserable routine. Each day Amelia would rise early to fix her father’s breakfast while Oxford would go into the shop and prepare everything for the day. At the end of the day, their father would order them to bed, grab an armful of bottles, and seat himself in front of the stove. Amelia was too busy making sure not to cross her father that she did not notice her brother’s slow descent into depression. One night, Amelia, who was now ten, awoke to find fifteen year old Oxford sitting up in bed, staring blankly at their father who had passed out before dinner. When Amelia leaned over to touch her brother’s arm, she realized that he was shaking with silent sobs. Before Amelia could question him, Oxford signaled for her to stay quiet. With a quick “Remember: I love you” and a few mumbled apologies, Oxford slipped out the window and into the night. For the next week, Oxford did not return and Cane’s abuse reached a new extreme as he insisted that Amelia knew where Oxford was hiding. As the sun set on the seventh day since Oxford’s disappearance, a knock on the front door caught Amelia’s attention. Since she was not allowed into the main shop, Amelia was forced to press her ear against the old door that separated the family’s living space from the shop.

    
    Before she could escape, Amelia was knocked backwards as the door was slammed open. The next few hours became the most painful memories burned into Amelia’s mind. Her father began to swear and yell and at first Amelia did not understand what had happened. When she did, however, she made the mistake of showing an emotion: grief. Oxford was dead, suicide they said. One of the ranchers found his body in the fields with both his wrists and legs cut and the abominable instrument clutched in his purple hands. Amelia had been numb as her father cursed and beat her until he suddenly reached for an old family branding iron. As the instrument caught the final rays of light, Amelia struggled and cried out but to no avail. To this day she is constantly reminded of that night by a scar on her right shoulder shaped into an L.

    
    Amelia now lives alone in the house with her father. Cut off from the outside world, she does housework and does her best to blend in with the shadows or risk facing her drunken father’s wrath. The only times she is granted freedom is on events such as the Reaping when citizen attendance is mandatory and on the occasional night when her restlessness gets the best of her and she escapes silently through the windows into the darkness for a few hours of comfort.