Author Games: Return To Seasons

Task One: To Make An Impression - ❄ Winter Entries ❄

District 10 Male - CRYSTAL GLACIA

!!DID NOT HAND IN!!

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District 10 Female - HOLLY-NOELLE GARNET [4] 

Excitement fills the air like static would. The darkness of night is lit up by the bonfire and lanterns. Music invades my ears, my heart pumping with each beat. The square is filled with teenagers jumping and screaming as they dance. This is chaos.

This is the Nightmare Before Reapings.

The most renowned party of the District, the Nightmare is one insane stupor filled with booze, a little something on the side, and bad decisions. Thankfully, there's a minimum age of sixteen for admission and a maximum of eighteen; it would be awkward to act like this surrounded by our littlest siblings or our parents. Now that the age range is shrunk, however, we have much more freedom to do as we please. 

Briefly, my mind wanders to my cousin, Snow. She'll be in the Daydream right now; the equivalent of the Nightmare as far as the children are concerned. This is her last year of sitting on a couch inside the Justice Building, drinking soda and pretending to be too good to celebrate an event like the Reaping. Next year, she'll be completely unprepared for a party of this magnitude - that's part of the fun. I wish I could see her adjust, but I'll be too old to attend.

At least I'll be safe.

"Hoe-lly!"

The voice that slurs this couldn't belong to anybody other than my best - and only - friend, Bianca Evergreen. She drags herself over to me on two semi-functional legs, practically tripping as she lands in my arms. Say what you want about us Winter citizens and our frigidity; there's nothing quite like some good vodka to warm us right up. Of course, it takes quite a bit to get us there, but that doesn't matter. We have all night, after all. 

"Have a drink!"

Though I don't consider myself that much of a drinker, I don't object. Honestly, despite the bonfire, the adrenaline, and the crowd of people all generating a fair amount of heat, it's still cold outside - especially at night. So I take her up on her offer. I'm not sure how exactly Bianca does it, but she manages to constantly have a drink for me. Soon enough, I've downed about four - five? - mugs of spiked egg nog. My insides feel nice and warm, and now it's so much easier to wear this fur, cut so short down my thighs that it could be a nightgown.

"Bitchanca! More!"

"Nah, Hoe-lly. We need... break."

My head turns to the right, my face disappointed. I've always found that, at a place like the Nightmare, you're going to want more, despite your personal preferences. Soon I see an unpleasant vision in the distance: Glacia Klaws, dressed in a fur even shorter than mine, but striped red and white like a candy cane.

I hiss, my eyes focused into a glare, staring right at her - possibly through her. Being the mayor's daughter, Glacia thinks she can do whatever she wants and get away with it. Thankfully, nobody likes her much - everyone knows I'd probably kill them if they did. But that doesn't stop her from staggering towards me, her head held high as if she owns the place. There's a tiny bit of drool at the corner of her mouth, which makes me snicker. She looks like an amateur.

"Aw look! It's Hoe-lly!"

I hiss. While Bianca calls me this non-stop, it's a lot different when Glacia says it. In her mouth, it's a clear reference to last year, when she found me under the Christmas tree - a pretty famous hook-up spot - wrapped around Blitzen Advent. I don't particularly feel bad about that; he's pretty and there was plenty more  scandalous that happened that night. Her reference to it just rubs me the wrong way. It's probably something to do with her.