A Little Extra {Mace/Jackson}

The Bellami family's farm in District Ten was large, but the family was not wealthy by any means. Jackson was used to helping out his parents with the animals whenever they needed it, and doing things off of the farm as well, in order to make a little bit of extra cash. He'd gotten up around four o'clock in the morning just about every day of his life to start working on things for his parents, and today was no different in that aspect. Though, his parents did choose to have him use some of the money he earned to head down to the shops in the District Square and treat himself to something.

The boy wasn't used to having money to spend on himself. Normally, it all went to the family, and he was fine with that. It was an everyday occurrence, and things didn't usually differ from that in the Bellami household. Today, however, with a little bit of cash in his pocket, the boy headed down the street and in the direction of the shops. All the while, he was thinking to himself about a variety of things. Recently, there had been a lot of politics in the District. There were a few candidates running for mayor, although, in all honesty, Jackson could only remember the name of the most famous one; Mace Emberstatt. After all, the man was a victor.

Even though Jackson hated the Games, he knew who the victors were. Everyone did, as far as he knew. It was hard not to be absorbed into the world of the Games, no matter how reluctant one may be. The Games were ever present. They were pushed into the minds of District citizens since a young age, no matter how much they resisted it. Unfortunately, Jackson had a feeling that the Games would never go away. They would always be in his life.

Finally, getting out of his thoughts about the Games, Jackson arrived at the shops in the District center. There were quite a variety of them, and the young man didn't know where to even go. There were so many options of ways to treat himself, even with the small amount of cash that he had. Eventually, however, he decided that he'd go into a bookshop. It'd been a while since he'd sat down and read a good book. It was something he always enjoyed, even if he didn't get the chance to do it all that often. Perhaps the reading he did was where much of his intelligence came from.

As he entered the shop, a small bell chimed. Jackson greeted the shopkeeper and began to look around at the variety of books that were there. He picked one up that looked quite interesting to him. It was a fantasy novel, which he'd never read much of. Therefore, he decided that that was what he was going to purchase, as he had just enough money to do so. As he was about to approach the counter, however, he noticed someone that surprised him. Mace Emberstatt, District Ten victor, was in the very same building as him. It wasn't really a feeling of meeting a celebrity. No, it was more like a feeling of intimidation. The man actually scared Jackson a bit. The man had killed before, and although it was done to survive, it was still frightening to him. Jackson, however, did decide to be polite and greet him.

"Hello, Mr. Emberstatt," he said to him kindly, although intimidated all the while.