Chapter 1

I can't believe I'm here. I can't believe I'm here. That's my chant.

I can't believe that my parents could have the nerve to take me to the disgusting District 12! I mean, sure, take the phone, take the laptop, but take spring break? Come on! It just seems wrong!

So here I am. District 12. Whoopee. So excited I can't even contain myself. (For all you idiots out there, that was a little something I call sarcasm. One of my many talents.)

First of all, my name is Aster. Aster Hawthorne. Yes, the daughter of Gale Hawthorne. But I have a mom too, you know. Everyone's always like "Oh she's Gale's daughter!" No. I'm the daughter of Gale and Lira Hawthorne. So get it right.

I'm nothing like either one of my parents. I have red hair and blue eyes that neither of my parents have. Some people say I'm half Gale, half Lira, all me. That doesn't make any sense to me, like, at all, but whatever. At least I'm "all me".

You might be wondering why on earth I would possibly be in District 12 with my dad. Well, there was this party a few months back. It was a New Year's party. My parents didn't want me to go because they didn't want me out that late. So what did I do? I snuck out. Duh. And of course, my parents found out and I got in big trouble. Blah, blah, blah. Same old, same old. But it was SO worth it.

My punishment was no phone or laptop for a month. But I knew they were hiding something. I mean, give me a break! Sneaking out of the house, therefore directly disobeying my parents does not equal no phone or laptop for a month. That equals serious punishment. Like making me go with Dad to District 12…

I have to say, District 12 is not what I expected, and I don't mean that in a good way. I thought that after 20+ years they would've pulled themselves out of the ditch. Doesn't seem that way to me. Looks like they just got bombed 3 months ago! Old broken-down buildings line the roads. Dad points out different places he used to go.

There was his friend Delly Cartwright's house. That's where he used to live. There's where we would stay with my grandmother. There's the old baker's shop. That was where his friend Peeta used to live. I recognize that name. Peeta Mellark. Oh. Wait. That was who we were visiting. Wonderful. Victor of the 74th Hunger Games. That would mean I would also be meeting his counterpart, Dad's friend Katniss. Katniss Everdeen Mellark. Great.

Dad leads me through a throng of people. He waves to some. He leads me down an old beaten-down road towards a pleasant patch of houses. 12 of them. It doesn't seem like those houses got bombed at all. Oh, wait. That would be the Victor's Village.

I see a lady walk out of one of the nicer house on the left. She has long dark hair. She looks up at Dad, drops the broom she was holding, calls into the house, and runs towards Dad. He smiles one of his real smiles that are almost always directed towards me. Suddenly, I feel a pang of jealousy. But I shake it off. This woman and Dad share important history. They were best friends for a long time.

"Gale!" she shouts.

"Katniss?" Dad guesses.

Right about now a man walks out of the house. His jaw drops.

"Gale! Is that really you?" the man calls.

Katniss reaches Dad and hugs him in some kind of death grip.

Now the man I'm guessing is Peeta walks down the front porch steps and starts walking towards his wife and old friend.

A girl who looks a little older than me runs out of the house to come to a fleeting halt on the porch. She stops so fast her dark hair billows out into her face. A boy comes running out behind her and runs smack into her, knocking her over. She picks herself up in indignantly. She turns to scold her younger brother, who has blonde hair and looks about my age even though he probably towers over me, but at that moment, Katniss turns around and yells back at her children, "Calla! Storm! Get over here to meet my old friend!"

The girl who must be Calla gets the hidden message; "Shut up. Be nice. Come here. NOW." I grin slightly as she sheepishly smiles at her mother.

"Coming!" she calls back. I'm surprised. Her voice is nice. Not too preppy, not too gruff, but just right for a nice girl.

The boy who I'm thinking has to be Storm stands up to his full height. Now I know he towers over me.

Calla skips down the stairs and, hair flowing, runs to meet her mother and father.

"Gale," Katniss turns to Dad, "this is my daughter, Calla. Calla, this is my friend Mr. Hawthorne."

"Pleased to meet you Mr. Hawthorne!" Calla says, smiling at Dad.

"Mr. Hawthorne sounds way too formal. You can call me Gale, Calla," Dad laughs. "This is my daughter, Aster."

"Nice to meet you, Calla," I grin.

"You, too!" she smiles.

About this time, Storm makes his way over towards the reunion. He gives his mom a confused look and raises an eyebrow. Now I see he has dark eyes as opposed to his blue-eyed sister.

Katniss laughs at her son. Being serious now, she adds, "Storm, if you had gotten over here sooner, you would know who these people were. That's my friend, Gale," she looks at Dad, "and that's his daughter Aster," she nods toward me.

Storm quirks the side of his mouth playfully. "Nice to meet you."

Whoa. His voice is really deep.

"Calla's 16 and Storm's 14," Katniss tells Dad.

"Oh, Aster's 14, too!" Dad laughs.

I look at Dad for permission to leave. He nods at me and I take off back in the direction of Grandma's.