January. It used to be cold. I once heard that it even snowed during it. Now January's main climate was over seventy degrees. I don't even know what snow is. It's a myth, I think. Like Santa Clause or the Tooth Fairy. Snow doesn't exist when there are fires caused by sunbeams. It just doesn't happen.

I live in the city of Leduc in Alberta, Canada. The elders in town say that it used to snow all the time here. Of course, the elders range from the ages of eighty to ninety nine. They've lived during the time of frigid winters and warm summers. One elder, my Nana Everdeen, said that Leduc used to snow almost daily during the winter. Now we're lucky if we even get a dribble of rain. I've never seen snow before, nor have any of the other children in Leduc.

Leduc is literally the Florida of what was once 'Florida' in the States. For those who do not understand, it's the hotspot that everybody goes to hang out or go on vacation. Of course, it's not as grand as Quebec, Ontario or Ottawa. Leduc is amazing. There are people from all over the world who come to visit the Grand White Building in the center of town or try riding the newly invented train. It goes at least seven hundred MPH, though I think that it can go faster. It can go through any type of weather—pouring rain to scalding sun. In the city, there are buildings taller than the Empire State Building… or what used to be the ESB. See, the floods started twenty years ago. After the draughts. Oh, and the fires that caused the draughts. What used to be New England was swallowed up by the floods. I wasn't alive to see the seas swallow up her land, but Nana was. She was also alive to see snow, a fact that I still envy her about.

Nana Everdeen grew up wearing puffy jackets, gloves, mittens and hats. Summers were warm, but they weren't as hot as they are now. "My mother never let me go out of the house in the snow without being bundled up, for fear of me catching frostbite. Frostbite is when your body gets really cold, Natalya." Nana used to tell me about stories of snow. She made is seem like a fairytale and a nightmare at the sometime. When I was little, I was glad that it never snowed. Now that I'm sixteen, I can't help but be curious as to what this 'snow' is; even though there's no doubt that I'll never see it. It doesn't snow anywhere now, now that Global Warming has taken its' last toll on Earth. Half of North America is underwater. The states that bordered the coast ninety years ago have the Atlantis effect…they're myths underwater.

I've grown up in hot weather my whole life. I've survived temperatures that have reached 110 degrees. I mean, I'm used to the heat. But today is just unbearable. The thermometer read 130° outside. It isn't that great inside either. Nana refuses to turn up the air conditioner, despite how hot it is. I wonder why she even has it, since she never uses it. I've lived with my Nana ever since I was ten, after my parents died in a car crash. Nana is basically my mother and father put into one person. She's one of the elders, but boy, you wouldn't believe it. At eighty nine, she's one of the wisest people and the most strong-willed people I know. She's ran her bakery business for over fifty years. Nana cooks like a god. You haven't lived until you've tried her bread. She calls it Panem Magnus, just because she thinks Latin is fancy. Don't believe me? Have you ever tried her Panem Dictum Magnus, or…um, raspberry bread? It's like Heaven in a pan. (Tee-hee, I made a pan pun.) It's especially great with an ice cold side of eggnog for a drink with cinnamon on top. I know, it sounds gross. But it's actually very good! I'll have to give you the recipe someday.

I groan and lay my sweaty back against my cool bed. It feels good for about three seconds before I start sweating again. "Nana," I yell. Nana's downstairs preparing her famous homemade fruit popsicles and raspberry bread for me and Richard. Richard Snow is my best friend. We're basically siblings. We've been friends since birth, although Richard is older than me by a day. He's immature and stupid sometimes, but hey, Richard Coriolanus Snow is/will/and shall indefinitely be my best friend forever.
His parents and mine were close friends, so when we were born, I guess that they were pretty happy. The ironic thing is that Richard only has his mother now. His father and my parents died in a train crash when we were both ten.

"NANA!"

"Yes, Lya?" I hear Nana call.

"Can you PLEASE turn the air conditioner on?" I yell back.

Nana laughs and calls back up, "It is on, dear!"

Ugh, it doesn't feel like it. I run downstairs and am blasted with cool air in my face when I reach the bottom. It feels amazing.

I jog into our tiny kitchen and see Nana just finishing up her cooking. I say, "The air isn't working upstairs."

Nana mutters something about the 'bloody heat' and says, "I'll get Richard to fix it later."

I laugh. Nana thinks that Richard can fix everything. Well, he can. But Nana idolizes him as a child of Hephaestus or something.

"Hello my favorite Everdeen's!" Speaking of Richard…

In he comes, strolling gracefully through our magnificent curtain of a door and then falling flat on his face after tripping on the stairs. He comes into the kitchen, rubbing his nose with a great big grin on his face.

I roll my eyes. "Ay Rich! When will you learn that there are stairs there?"

He shrugs, "Whenever it snows in Leduc, Natalya." I scowl and he sticks his tongue out.

Of course, Nana Everdeen misses our little exchange. "Richard!" She says while she embraces him in a hug, "How are you!" She lets go and goes to tend to the bread in the oven without an answer. The smell engulfs the whole kitchen in its amazingly sweet goodness.

"I'm great Nana!" Richard answers anyway. He flips his dark hair out of his face and gives her an award winning smile. "Do I smell your extraordinary Panem Dictum Magnus, Nana?"

I glare at him from beside me, and he catches my eye and smirks. "Kiss up," I mouth to him.

I pull up two chairs by the kitchen counter, one for me and Rich. We both sit beside each other.

"Oh, yes, Richard!" Nana says happily. "I added just a smidgen of cinnamon, so I'm not sure if my Panem will be as good as it usually is."

I giggle, "Nana, your Panem will always be amazing."

Nana winks at me and checks the oven. "Oh look! It's done!"

"Yay!" Richard and I yell and get out of our chairs to crowd around the bread. Yes, we're pathetic. But the smell is intoxicating. It smelled like raspberries and well, bread. Ah, I'm not doing Nana's Panem justice.

Nana likes to serve her bread when it's hot—she says that the steam keeps the flavor. She gives Richard and me two pieces and we both sat down and began to devour it. It's delicious, as always.

"Nana, the cinnamon adds more flavor!" exclaims Richard.

Nana laughs and leans on the counter. "Of course it does, my dear." She coughs, "Now, if you excuse me, dears, I am going to pray and take my nap. Go outside, it is a beautiful day out!"

Richard and I smile and wait for Nana to go upstairs. Then, Rich turns to me, "Let's go to the meadow, Lya."

The meadow holds the most memories between Richard and me. The funny thing is that it's in the middle of the forest, surrounded completely by trees and nature. The meadow is actually like a grove—it has a bunch of grass and two sitting rocks. The meadow was where Richard and I went after our parents died. It was also the place where my father taught me how to use a bow. Don't tell anybody I said this, because it's practically illegal, but behind the sitting rocks, there is a hollow log. Inside that log is where Richard and I stash our bows and arrows. The secret that you can't tell? We hunt because food in Leduc is growing so scarce from the heat. Usually we give some of our game to the market in town, but mostly we keep it for Nana to make some kind of veal sandwich. If the police found out, we would be arrested, even if we are kids.

When we get to the meadow, Richard lays on his back. I lie beside him and look up at the sky. We stay like that for a while—just taking in the sounds of the forest around us. The meadow is where I feel safe. It's shaded by tree canopies. Wild daisies sway in a light breeze.

"Richard?" I say and look at him.

"Yeah?" His eyes are closed and he doesn't look back at me.

"Do you still have your guitar?"

Richard's eyebrows wrinkle and he looks at me. "I think so. It's somewhere in the attic. Why?"

"Bring it next time we come here." I turn over and say, "Let's make ourselves be remembered."

Richard smiles, "Y'know Natalya, you're freaking weird."

I laugh, "Thank you kind Richard, but-"

"But I like your idea. Let's make a song about the meadow."

I sigh and turn onto my back. Before I know it, I'm woken up by Richard shaking me.

"Can I help you?" I mutter tiredly. Richard snorts. "Real attractive, Rich."

"Thanks, Lya. I really appreciate it." He shoves me, and with a grunt, I sit up.

"Whoa, when did it get so dark?" It looks like it's about midnight. The full moon is high in the sky, and I can see all the stars shining dimly. It was four o'clock when we had gotten to the meadow—I must've been asleep for six hours. Oops.

"Well, Natalya, it got dark at five. You've been asleep for a while now." Great. "You drool in your sleep too." Even greater. "But it's cute." Richard winks and offers his hand. "C'mon. Let's go back."

"But I'm tired…" I moan. My head is pounding and I'm really dizzy. Richard takes my hand and helps me stand.

"Exactly why we should go home. C'mon, I'll walk you."

"Eh, yeah, yeah. Home is the place where we belong."

Richard chuckles, "Of course, darling."

I closed my eyes and fell asleep again.

Well, it's a work in progress. After reading the Hunger Games, I always wondered what Panem's history was. And well, wa-la! This story happened.

Thanks for reading ! Adios, Vikki.