^solitary {SHELL}^{Penguin}

Corliss Winston:

His eyes sting as they blur open to the natural darkness of his room at this early dawn hour. He blinks to try and give himself the ability to see what is around despite already knowing, yet being able to see is always helpful. But, to Corliss's expectations, his room remains the same.  Books and wires lay on the floor, and create a maze which he must venture through to get merely across the room so he can get dressed. It is another day, and so there is another unachievable attempt at hope. Hope for what, one might ask? Hope, that his parents would not be spending countless hours, crunching numbers and becoming stressed out at work, and rather at home with Corliss. It's been a solid week since he has caught a mere glimpse of his parents, although they do try their best to be there Corliss, their attempts are fought off by the monetary stature of the family, although being in a higher up District, they are poor, in relation to the majority of the population. They have a sufficient amount of money to support him through school, having food, and clothes, but there is an important element that is missing. His parents.  Corliss understands why they must work for so long, it's so that they can live and have a chance at having a better life, and he isn't mad at them for that, but he misses them, and simply being with them.

The doors of his closet creak open as he makes an attempt at finding something to wear, he doesn't have many options, but he still likes to think that he does.  Finally, he decides upon an evergreen shirt which has a hole near the bottom of it, but it will have to do, since it is one of his five shirts he actually owns.  He closes his closet, and then whips open his bedroom door, and walks through the short hall to the main room, which is a kitchen and a living room.  On the kitchen table, their is a cold bowl of oatmeal, and a small note which says, "Have a great day at school!  We love you," from his parents.  It's the same note that's left their for him everyday, on the exact same piece of paper, he could tell because there is a stray mark on the backside of it.  Corliss eats his food quickly so that he can watch as the sun arises from the horizon of District 3.  He finishes just in time to see it, and he sits down against the side of his small house, and enjoys it.The pollution in the air is very palpable, but Corliss tries to focus more on the natural beauty of the sun. Since the sun is rising, it is an indication to him that school is about to begin for the day, so he picks up his light school bag, and heads off to school.

Corliss is very reserved, and tries to keep to himself during school, yet also exerts energy into being polite towards other, because that's just how he feels everyone should be towards one another.  He proves his ways often, and does so now, by running up the steps, to help a someone pick up some books they dropped, then he goes on to hold the door open for them, and for five other people before finally letting himself in.  He begins his way to his class and he is minding his own business, and then suddenly something bumps into him. Someone.  He hears the words "Watch it, buddy."  Did that guy just knock into him on purpose, or was that Corliss's fault?  He's pretty sure that was the other boy that had done it, but he chooses to ignore it, because he does not want to start any sort of fight or anything.  Corliss turns to see who it is, and mutters, "I'm sorry."  The boy looks familiar to him, but he can't quite recall where he knows him from, and he is curious, and just before Corliss walks away, he decides to turn back at the boy and ask, "Do I know you?  I can't remember if I've talked to you before?"