Seven: The Community

The following morning, I surprise myself by waking up at six am. It must be an automatic reflex now that I live in District 13, where people are awake by sunrise. It's quite a change from Southend.

I quietly unzip my sleeping bag and roll out onto the cold floor. I tiptoe quietly for the bathroom, trying not to wake Maisha, but my toe catches on the edge of a table and I send myself sprawling loudly to the ground.

Cursing my clumsiness, I stand up and look over at Maisha's bed. To my dismay, she rolls over and sees me near the door, trying to flee.

"Tawnie?" she says groggily. "Is that you?"

I almost don't respond because I temporarily forget that my name is now Tawnie. Fortunately, I remember just in time.

"Tawnie?"

"Um, yeah, sorry. Go back to sleep," I say, fumbling with the doorknob.

"Wait, Tawnie, what are you doing? It's only 6:05, sweetie. School doesn't start until eight." Maisha sits up and points to the simple clock on the wall.

"I'm just going for a walk," I tell her, gesturing outside. "It's something I used to do back home."

"Oh," Maisha says. "Well, happy walking." Then she turns back on her side and I know she'll be asleep in seconds.

That was a close one.

I slip out the side door and into the cool morning without running into Mashad or his father. I'm not really sure I wanted to escape form the house without being interrogated; I guess I just need some space.

School. Maisha has reminded me that today is my first day of school. I'm going to be meeting the other kids that live here, and discover more about this place in general. What better way to do this than pose as an innocent student?

I walk into the square and take a sear on a cracked bench by the grocer's stand. I can see the smoke coming from the graphite factories in the distance and the yells of frustrated miners are starting to become audible. The sun is beginning its slow arc across the sky. It looks like a promising day.

So why do I feel so damn gloomy?


When I finally get home at around seven-thirty, Mr. Evars is already gone for the factory. Maisha and Mashad are in the living room, sitting on the sofa and shoving down a breakfast of bread and fruit.

"Hey Tawnie!" Mashad exclaims when he sees me. "Where were you this morning? Want some strawberries?"

I'm too distracted by their drab outfits to respond. "What are you both wearing?"

Mashad's in a pair of khakis and a collared gray shirt, with a gray belt. Maisha's clothes are no better, as she is donning a gray dress and matching headband. The dress makes her look much younger than she really is, but glancing at her, I still want to puke.

Maisha looks at me curiously. "Our uniforms? What, didn't you have uniforms at your school too?"

Actually, we did. But ours, didn't make us look like we were maids. My school uniform was a red-and-white checkered skirt and white polo shirt with Capitol Prep: Secondary Division stitched on the pocket. It was very crisp and neat, unlike these work clothes here.

"Never mind," I say, shaking my head. "Ooh, strawberries. Yum."

If they notice my strange response to their uniforms, they say nothing. Maisha seems ready for that test, and Mashad knows his times tables up to fifteen. We finish up breakfast quickly and head for the school.

"You don't have a uniform," Maisha realizes as she shuts the front door.

Dang, I was hoping she wouldn't remember that little fact. "I'll be alright without one, right?"

"Nope," Mashad says. "Mrs. Coraby is pretty strict about uniforms. You can't go to school in jeans or anything." He shudders at the thought.

I stick my tongue out at him in a very immature fashion.

"Wait right here." Maisha goes into the house and reappears with a smaller version of her maid dress. "This was mine a couple years ago. It'll fit you perfectly, Tawnie! Come on; you can change at school. We're going to be late!"

"Great," I mutter as we take off down the street. "Thanks."


The high, starchy collar of my dress is similar to all the rest of the girls' in the courtyard. Most regard me with a polite nod or a stare, but others ignore my presence entirely.

"Meet me back here at four after the final bell." Maisha gives me and Mashad each a hug before she runs off to join the rest of her upperclassmen friends. "Love you guys!"

Mashad grins. "Welcome to District 13's second sector academy of education. Home of the tormenting classwork and learning."

I shake my head at his lame joke. "Come on, school's not that bad." At least what memories I have of it back in the Capitol.

"You obviously have not met Mrs. Coraby yet, then," Mashad says with a halfhearted smile of pity. "She's a nightmare."

"I highly doubt it," I reply smoothly. "Teachers have this expectable tendency to love me."

"I'm sure they do. Perfect student," he adds under his breath.

I'm about to counter a reply, when someone interrupts our conversation.

"Mashad!" A desperate and pleading voice loudly interrupts my train of thought.

Mashad and I spin around to see a tall, brunette boy running up to us. His shirt is wrinkled and he's holding a math worksheet.

"Hey, Nat. What's wrong?" Mashad asks.

"I need your help with this!" I don't get any of it and we have a quiz on it in a few days!" Nat's voice is panicky. "And everyone knows you're the best at math here, so . . ."

I let out a snort. "Mashad? You're the best at math here? Oh my President Sleet, that's just too funny!"

Nat looks at me like I have three eyes.

"Last night, he didn't even know what thirteen times four was," I explain.

Nat nods. "And you are . . ?"

"Oh, sorry," Mashad says. "Nat meet Tawnie. She's from District 12. Tawnie, this is my good friend Nat.:

"Nice to meet you," I say with a nod.

Luckily, the bell rings right at that second, saving us from more awkwardness.

"Gotta go!" Nat dashes off without even saying goodbye.

"Follow me," Mashad mutters, leading me into the building.


The rest of the day goes pretty much the same way. I meet several of the girls in our class. Some of them are nice, but others just nod and stiff 'hello' and turn back to their friends. The whole blending thing isn't working very well.

What really alarms me, though, is the fact that most of the kids here, like me, have only one parent. Some have parents fighting in the rebellion, some have parents killed mine explosions, but very few have both a mother and a father. Maybe I have something in common with them after all.

Mrs. Coraby isn't as bad as Mashad led me to believe. Sure, she yelled at one boy for not doing his homework and me for having a dress that a few inches too short. But I really believe she's good at heart. Rumor is that her husband died in a mining accident, so that may be a possible explanation for her occasional bitterness.

Mr. Evars treats us to more cookies that night. Apparently, it's a special treat because Maisha got an A on her Capitol test today. I graciously accept several cookies at Maisha's insistence, but I put them back on the plate when no one is looking. They'll enjoy them more than I would, anyway.

"So, Tawnie, how was your first day at school?" Mr. Evars asks me.

"Other than the uniforms, it was great," I say honestly.

"What's wrong with the uniforms?" Mashad asks a bit harshly.

I'm tempted to tell him all about the Capitol uniforms, and how our cookies taste about a million times better than this mush. But that would give my identity away faster than using a Capitol accent.

"Nothing's wrong," I say. But it's a lie. Then again, I can't name one thing I've said recently that isn't a lie.


Later that night, after everyone's well asleep, I pull out my spy phone and dial Anada's number to the YEP. AN unfamiliar voice answers.

"Hi, may I speak to Anada Sullian?"

"I'm sorry," the woman says. "Ms. Sullian is unavailable at the moment."

"I'm one of the teens in the YEP," I say urgently. "Where is she?"

"I'm incredibly sorry, ma'am. I am not at liberty to reveal that information. I'll be happy to leave a message for her if you like."

I swallow and blink a few times. "That's okay. Thank you anyway." The woman adds something else, but I have already hung up.

I wonder what's wrong with Anada. She never leaves her office until eight, Capitol time. It's probably nothing. I have more important things to think about.

My phone buzzes and I realize in delight that I have a text message.

RollRonallo: Hey, how are you doing? I got the phone message you left. Is your aunt alright?

Ronallo! Anada must've kept my original cell phone number so I could contact my friends. How thoughtful!

xRekyahx: Yeah, we're doing fine. I'm just visiting her for a while.

RollRonallo: I thought your aunt was dead?

xRekyahx: No, that's Aunt Gretchen. This is Aunt Delia, from my mother's side. She's, fortunately, alive and well.

I feel bad about lying to Ronallo, but I remind myself that it's all to protect us.

RollRonallo: Aw, that's good to hear. Anyway, I just wanted to check on you and say I miss you.

xRekyahx: I miss you too.

RollRonallo: I love you, Rekyah! Good night. :)

xRekyahx: Don't let the bed bugs bite. ;)

I almost feel tears in my eyes when I read Ronallo's last message. It feels like it's been so long since I've seen Ronallo, and even longer since someone has said 'I love you' and really meant it.

I save our text conversation, then turn off my phone. Maybe I'll be able to sleep a little better tonight since I know someone misses me back home. Good night, District 13.


A/N: So I was just rereading over this chapter and I realized it doesn't sound like a rebellion is going on. Don't worry, it's only the first few months of the Dark Days and it'll get more dramatic and 'rebellious' as the story progresses. It really helps that I have read MJ now, because that helps me a lot with describing 13.

Also, keep an eye out for what I call 'parallel characters'. Parallel characters are OCs that I made that have similarities with characters from THG, CF, and MJ. Every single character in this story is an OC, so there are lots of parallel characters. Here's one for you to start with: Ronallo is parallel to Gale. If you find another one, let me know in a review. :)