Hart Harriman

## Bio

*Hart Harriman (he/him). District Six Tribute. 23. Ashton Sanders.*

  What was their childhood like?

From the day he was born, Hart only understood one thing: go.

The trains were always going. The sound of the engines chuffing near and far, bringing things out of District Six—always out and never in—were the background to his life.

People were always going. The Harrimans had a bit of a reputation in their neighborhood, and it had never been a good one. Hart’s mother left when he was still just a kid, just packed up one day and left without looking back. Years later, Hart would find out that she had upgraded—a husband with a stable income, an apartment with an elevator and no leaks, a few kids with good grades and table manners. It was okay, Hart was glad he wasn’t the thing his mother spent her life resenting. His father was what other people would politely call resourceful, and what others would less politely call a thief and a swindler. They weren’t a family of real book smart people, but Hart’s father taught him how to make an easy buck, and in the times when his old man took to drinking, Hart knew how to bring home the money it’d take to keep them afloat. He knew how to pick apart a car in the night without making a sound, and he knew where to sell the stolen parts for the best value—his father had taught him well.

He was always going. As a baby, Hart was always squirming and wiggling. His parents would lay him down on a blanket and a moment later he’d rolled clear across the room. In school, Hart was always moving, often being sent out into the hallway with an order to calm down, but it was no use. Hart didn’t care at all about what was being taught; his thoughts were always racing somewhere else, and his feet were always tapping in time with them. It was easy for a while to blow off steam with the neighborhood kids, with friends like Ripley, who didn’t care if he was just the no-good Harriman kid. But eventually, Hart realized that people were always going, and sometimes they were going better places than the ones you were. It wasn’t right to hold Ripley back by always hanging around. It was time for him to go, so Hart went.

Hart dropped out of school. (He’d stayed in longer than anyone expected him to.) The trains were always going, so Hart got on one. Then, he got on another and another after that. He got so good at hopping the trains, that the entire district suddenly felt like it was all at his fingertips. And if he could go anywhere, he never had to stay somewhere long enough for people to even learn his name. Get to town, make a buck, hit a party, skip town. Go, go, go. The only thing that anchored Hart again and again was the Reaping. Go home, see pops, hear some other kid’s name get read, skip town. Go, go, go.

Hart never imagined that one of these times it would be his name pulled from that Reaping Bowl, but there he was being yanked up on stage, and there was Ripley right beside him. By the end of the day they’d both be on a train to the Capitol. The trains were always going—bringing things out and never back in—people were always going, he was always going, and he would’ve given anything to be going alone.

   What is their district token?

A small allen wrench that Hart accidentally already had in his pocket. It was nearly confiscated by peacekeepers before they decided it wouldn’t do any really damage to anyone and let him keep it.

   Three strengths and three weaknesses.

+resourceful, adaptable, courageous

-proud, impulsive, childish

**Penned by: Hair**