thecapitol | ain't got a care in the world, but got plenty of beer

Who| Kenny and (individually) Mindy, Sandy, and Eponine.
What| Kenny hangs out with a cute girl at the arcade, gets decked in the face by another, and then goes out for ice cream with a third. In that order.
Where| Various places in the Tribute Tower.
When| Various points after the mini-arena ends. Mindy and Sandy are the same day as his network post, and then time's flexible for Eponine's.
Warnings/Notes| Probably just foul preteen language, but will update if necessary!

[Mindy]
After they agree to meet up, Kenny heads to the arcade to do precisely that. It's easy enough since... he was actually heading in that direction anyway, as soon as he made that soppy post on the network. After the attempt at damage control, he needs to get his mind off what happened. Going into raging berserk mode isn't like him, but neither is dumping his heart all over the place. It's not that the words themselves were lies--he actually does feel pretty damn guilty for the shit he pulled in the kiddie arena--but it was definitely a reaching performance. He can only hope that putting himself back on level ground with those he fucked up doesn't end up painting a shining target on his back, too. It's too soon to be making enemies.

As soon as he crosses the threshold to the arcade, his vision assaulted with colourful lights and bright screens all over, Kenny can't help but grin to himself. Being able to actually indulge in a place like this was rare back home, tending to involve either 1. mooching off his friends or 2. the occasional lucky breaks he'd gotten. Like being paid to eat gross shit off the ground. So, this is pretty fucking sweet. He's already spent a decent amount of time here, and he still hasn't gotten sick of it. Leaning back against a wall, he settles there and waits for Mindy to show up, eyes remaining on the entrance. If he doesn't recognize her first--which he likely will--his own ridiculously unseasonable attire would be unmistakable.

--

[Sandy]
Some time later that day--closer to the evening, really--finds Kenny back inside the training center. He's spent some time here, too, and after the mini-arena has resolved to work his shit even more... but it's tended to be every two or three days. This time, it's intentional for reasons that go beyond strengthening his skills, his coming here. How one girl who looks no older than himself can piss off the Capitol that fucking much, enough for them to set everyone on her... he's not going to deny it, he's curious as Hell. Their grudge against her definitely has to go beyond mob mentality, although he still regrets letting himself become a part of that.

Which is why Kenny has no problems letting her deck him, if she was actually serious about it. He's betting more on the side of 'yes', which is kind of funny when he stops to think about it. So far, none of the girls he's met here are even remotely like the girls at either of his schools, not even the few that tended toward bullying. They don't fuck around or pull punches here. It's actually pretty awesome, in a strange way.

When Sandy does show up, Kenny's messing around with archery stuff; time has definitely passed easier for him when he's gotten absorbed in activity instead of consistently looking toward the entrance.

--

[Eponine]
The next day, Kenny's up on the rooftop, mainly because... he hasn't gone up there much. Looking out over the edge makes him feel a little nervous, even though he knows there's barriers in place. How many have tried to escape their fate like this, he always ends up wondering-- and he doesn't like thinking about stuff like that. But there are other aspects of the roof that are awesome, especially since he's heard through the grapevine that sometimes interesting stuff happens up here.

It's actually pretty peaceful up there right now, which is kind of nice. Wandering around some, Kenny stops dead in his tracks upon seeing a figure several feet away in the garden. Though it's when he sees her face and recognizes her as the hot girl who talked to him in the preschool that he happily trots forward.

"Eponine!" he calls out, waving. "Hey, Eponine!" It's even pronounced decently. Unfortunately, his voice is also muffled somewhat by his hood. Given that she saw Kenny last time in formal wear without said hood covering half his face, who knows if she'll actually recognize him or not. But none of this deters him.

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Kenny's fingers briefly tightened on the joystick, as he frowned to himself. Something about that comment irked him a little. You're a kid too, he wanted to say. Getting out of it doesn't change that. Or even - at least you had the fucking choice to opt out. It's not like any of us could just change the channel.

But none of that came out. He simply sighed and shook his head a little.

"I fucked up that chick who was worth 500 points, and some other people." Out of all of the fights he got into in that place, though, Kenny would have to say that Sandy Marko was the one he felt the most guilty about, even if she was virtually a stranger to him. But he wouldn't admit that out loud by a long shot. "It was that drink. It was made with crack or steroids or some shit." Even sadder still? He would love to get his hands on more of it.

Mindy noticed the tightening of the joystick, and looked slightly amused.

"Relax," she said, "it's not because I think I'm better than you guys or anything. I've just seen a lot of these games because I have to. People in my District need me to help sell them to sponsors. Obviously I didn't have to this time. Dunno about you, but its not really too great seeing your friends killed over and over."

At the name, Mindy's face hardened slightly, "Sandy," she said quietly, but re;axed when she heard it was the drink that made him do it. "Figures. People were bound to go after her though: too much of an incentive. What the hell kind of drink is that? Damn."

"I didn't think that," came the quick reply, in an attempt to laugh it off. Yes he did, but it didn't matter in the long run, really. If he'd managed to win the arenas so that he no longer had to take part in them, Kenny would probably feel some sense of elevation above those who still toiled, too. It was human nature, or something. But it was also human nature to be curious, and morbid-- Kenny couldn't imagine just shutting his eyes to it all if given the choice, but then again, he didn't have friends here. Not just yet.

He lifted one shoulder in a shrug, fingers flying and tapping over various buttons.

"Yeah. Guess she's your friend?" The way Mindy said Sandy's name with that air of familiarity made it seem that way, anyhow. "It was some kind of super energy drink. Pretty fucking good, too."

"You'll start to get it sooner or later. If you don't win, fine, but there's people you start to like, its kinda inevitable unless you're some kind of loner, which you're not. Seeing them killed, it starts to bug you. For me though, worse is when you have that person you like that's killed but then they don't bring them back. That's one of the hardest things to deal with."

She couldn't go back after that. She knew, as a mentor, that when she lost someone she couldn't take it to heart too badly. even if it did feel like shit. People were always watching.

"You could say that. When we're not pissed and yelling at each other, yeah, we're pretty good friends. Energy drink. Man, that's a new one. They really like to make shit hit the fan, don't they?"

Kenny remained silent through all that, seemingly intently focused on the game. But he was actually listening, casting another quick glance in Mindy's direction after her explanation. Not long enough to leave his rendered version of Molotov vulnerable or anything, however!

"Yeah." Mostly in response to the rhetorical question. Thinking about the emotional weight of watching someone get killed, permanent or not, made him feel a little awkward. He never had to go through it, and he never dealt with the reactions of others around him when it happened to be himself on the chopping block. Even here, it seemed so... normal, to everyone, as if it were just another confrontation-- albeit a potentially brutal and painful one. Yet at the same time, it still left a general malaise in the air.

"So, how do you know if they'll bring you back or not?"

Mindy was intent on the game, and considering it was one of the few things she could do in her downtime, she was playing rather skillfully. Whatever Kenny's character had, Mindy knew how to adjust with the character she played. It was one of the first things you learned when you were playing a mash-em-up game.

"Not used to it yet, huh? Can't really blame you. It's not something regular people should have to deal with, but here we are. You never know if they're gonna leave you gone or bring you back. Best thing to do is to just be exciting. Catch their eye. That way they're never bored with you."

"Shit."

Mindy's answer caught Kenny off-guard for a few seconds, enough for her portrayal of Ellie to completely flatten his Molotov. He frowned slightly. "...Aw, you totally kicked my ass!" He didn't actually care, though. It was cool to have a girl who could match him in video games for once. Instead of starting the next round right away, though, he leaned forward a bit and rested his elbows on the machine.

"Fuck this." Meaning the arena crap, which might've been obvious by the abrupt subject change: "So, you didn't have to go to school?"

"Fuck yeah!" Mindy cheered, clearing her throat. Look, it had been a long time of playing by herself: she could use a victory for herself damn it. It helped that Kenny was pretty chill company, and it had been awhile since she had dude company she didn't both like and want to throttle at the same time.

"Well, I was supposed to," Mindy said, "by law and all of that. Dad though, he had more important shit to teach me, so he just home schooled me so we could do our REAL studying without any interfering. When he, uh, passed, had to pretty much start going then. That's when I found myself in the Capitol."

So she pretty much dodged a bullet there.

ain't got a care in the world, but got plenty of beer

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