Everlark Week
Day 2: A Day in the Life of the Mellark Brothers
The first sensation Peeta is aware of is pain. With a grunt, he pushes up from the floor and peers over his bed. His eyes squint in the brightness of the room to find Taft standing over him, arms crossed.
"Get up."
"It's not even five yet!"
"Mom and Dad had to go downtown this morning. They'll be there most of the day. That means you're in the back with Naan while I run the front," Taft snaps. "Now get up, get dressed, and get your butt in the kitchen." Taft slams the door. Peeta sighs and stands up, inspecting himself for any slivers or bruises. Once he's done with his inspection, he gets dressed in a t-shirt and pants before heading down to the kitchen.
"There you are," Naan says. "Where have you been?"
"Sleeping. And then Taft pushed me onto the floor," Peeta replies.
"Well how were we supposed to wake you up?"
Peeta sighs at his older brother.
"What do I have to do today?"
"Three cakes need frosting. I've already baked them. They're cooling. The vanilla cake is the one that's probably the coolest. That's where you want to start. They want it really floral. Bright colors. Get on it."
Peeta shakes his head as he heads toward the counter to start icing them.
…
I'm finally done. Peeta sits down and rubs his cramping hand.
"Peeta!" Taft shouts from the front. Peeta groans.
"What?"
"Run the front! I need to run out with Talon and Heron!"
"But Mom and Dad said—"
"I'm older than you!"
…
It's almost closing by now. Peeta goes to turn the sign on the door to "closed" when he notices movement outside of the front window. He squints his eyes and then realizes that it's Primrose Everdeen and Katniss Everdeen. Katniss lingers a few feet behind the blonde girl as she looks at the cakes in the window. Peeta smiles at the sight.
One day I will come up with a way to tell Katniss that I love her. At least I get to see her when Prim drags her by.
"Peeta! Get the Seam scum out of here!" Naan yells from the kitchen. "They can't afford it, they can't look at it!"
Peeta turns and scowls.
Just another day in the life of the Mellark brothers.