New years is a time when people decide to make resolutions, things they would like to do, or change, in the up coming year. Katniss knew this, but never before had she actually made one.
She had thought about it, Prim always made one for herself, and then another one for the two of them. She would pick a place or a certain thing she would want to eventually, with in the year, convince Katniss to do with her, but Katniss never made one. She wouldn't because she knew she wouldn't go through with it 99 percent of the time like most people.
this year however, she decided to make her first one. sitting in the living room on december 31st with her mother and little sister, eating cookies they had baked earlier in the day and watching the twilight zone marathon she determined it was time to change a few things.
Sure, it wasn't a bad thing to be with family, but she was a sixteen year old girl, she should be out with friends, having a good time, waiting to see the ball drop and get kissed at midnight (her mother had told her this many, many times before.) She didn't have a lot of friends, actually, she only had one and he had already graduated high school.
Her mother decided it was time for a change of scenery, they had lived in the little house in massachusetts since before Katniss was born, and now without the father, the house didn't feel like a home. She decided to make the move a few months prior, and now all their belongings where packed up and ready to move. They would be taking the u-haul truck to their new home on the second of the month, and the girls would start at their new schools the following day. It was a quick transition, but a welcome one.
since they would be in a new place, Katniss thought it was a good time to make some much needed changes. She pushed herself up from the old faded brown couch that was pushed up against the wall farthest from the tv in the small living room and walked down the narrow hallway to her bedroom. She looked around in the drawers of her hand-me-down desk from Gale , who had given it to her when he had gotten his new one even though she didn't see the need for it, until she found a black binder filled with lined paper, and a blue pen, and perched herself in the papasan chair in the corner of the room.
It was eleven thirty, she had a half hour to write up a list. She focused her attention down on the first paper on her lap and tapped the top of her pen against it. After twenty minutes of scribbling, crossing out, and a few frustrated sighs, she had a final copy of her resolutions list.
1. make friends. more than one.
2. get a good job.
3. go out on the weekends, at least twice a month.
4. put effort into my appearance. make good impressions.
5. have my first kiss.
Katniss read over what she had written neatly, in her best handwriting, and smiled contently to herself. Folding up the paper and gently placing it in her messanger bag she took everywhere, she felt proud of herself. She had known for a while that what she did "wasn't healthy", as her mother called it. She woke up, hair still in the braid she did the night before and went to school. While at school she kept to herself, barely passing by with her grades. She went to work from there, and didn't get home until it was late. Prim made dinner before Katniss got home, so when she dragged herself through the door she ate quickly, showered, and through herself on her bed.
Her Mother had been out of it for a while. When their father had passed a couple years back, she mentally checked out, leaving a young Katniss to care for an even younger Primrose. They lived off of her fathers savings until she could get a job. They could have made it a few more years with the amount he had saved up, but she didn't see the point of wasting it. She worked at Gales mothers laundromat since then, and used her paychecks to take care of the family, wanting to keep the saved up money for emergencies.
Finally, around June of that year when Katniss got into an hunting accident and was hospitalized, her mother came back mentally. She took care of Prim in her eldest daughters absense, and started looking for a job. Eventually she found one at a hospital about an hour away. A nurse would be moving, and they needed a replacement to start after the new year. She rented an apartment for them to move into and went back into her role as a mother.
Katniss was hesitant at first, not trusting that her mother was back for good, but agreed to leave their house for the job. She had nothing keeping her there. Not many friends, no boyfriend, she had a job, but one she could easily get out of. Hazel, Gales mother, would understand. She had been a huge help to Katniss when everything first happened. She had lost her husband a few years back, and understood. She didn't leave her children to fend for themselves, but that's not the point. She thought it was fantastic that Mrs. Everdeen was back to buisness. After all that time, it didn't seem likely but she did it.
Katniss made her way back into the main room of the small house and back into her seat on the right side of her little sister. They had changed the tv over to a channel that was showing the ball in time square that was moments from dropping. Prim was bouncing in her seat, excited to watch the event and officially be in the new year and their mom was in the large chair in the corner of the room smiling at her children who had somehow managed to forgive her, even if she knew she didn't deserve it.
Katniss sat with her legs crossed in front of her body, and grabbed the now cooled tea that was sitting in her favorite mug in her right hand, since now Prim was excitedly gripping her left one. She looked up from smiling at the tiny blonde seated next to her, to the television when she heard the countdown start. The two sisters started counting down outloud, one of them being quite louder, and cheered when it hit midnight. Katniss kissed her little sister on the cheek and smiled, knowing this year would be a lot better than the last.