Chapter 10: Family Reunion

Clove

"Clove, darling! Time to wake up, dear!" I rubbed my eyes and sat up.

A person-I think it was a person-with hot pink skin, chocolate brown hair, and black eyes was standing before me.

"What the hell are you?" I exclaimed.

He (or she?) looked hurt. "Why, Clove," it said. "'I'm your older brother Johnny!"

I stared at him. Soon, I started to believe him. The hair…the features on his face…it was all the same…

I gave Johnny a bone-crushing hug. "Why are you here?"

"I work at the Capital, silly! When you left for the Games, I ran away to here and got a job!"

"Well that's great! But, uh…why are you in my room?"

Johnny grinned. "I'm part of your prepping team!"

My last thought before I fainted was, Oh, hell. This should be fun.

Glimmer

Glimmer, wake up. Glimmer, wake up. Glimmer, wake up. Glim-

"I'M UP!" I screamed at electronic alarm clock. I threw off my covers and walked to my closet. There was a note attached to it.

Glimmer- You don't need to get dressed- your prep team will be working on you immediately.

-Remington

I walked into the hallway. I knew Marvel was still asleep because the Do Not Disturb sign was still hung on the doorknob. Ignoring the sign, I quietly walked in and sat on the edge of Marvel's bed. Wow. Marvel's room was a mess. There were clothes strewn all over the floor, and his desk was buried in papers. Probably a bunch of Capital information he stole. The scent of his favorite cologne hung in the air. There was a framed picture of me and Marvel on his nightstand. And under a mass of pillows and blankets, Marvel's blond hair peeked out.

"Marrrrrvellllll," I sang. "Time to wake uuuuuppppp!"

Marvel sleepily opened one blue eye. He smiled when he saw me. "Hey. What are you doing in here?"

"Waking you up to come to breakfast with me!" I grabbed his hands and pulled him out of bed. "Come on, sleepyhead. We've gotta get down there before Clove finishes all the bacon!"

Clove

"I'm so excited, we're gonna have so much fun, and I'm gonna design you all the best clothes and…." I was trying to walk down to breakfast, but Johnny was skipping behind me telling me all the fun we're gonna have…ugh. I whirled around to face him.

"Ok, listen up. First of all, you will NOT be designing any clothes for me; you're part of my prep team, NOT my stylist. And second of all, if you don't get off my back and start acting normal again, you will NOT be part of my team anymore, kay? And, uh, when did you start acting so…so gay?"

Johnny sighed and shook his head at me. "Oh, dearest Clove. I used to be a misunderstood teen just like you who wanted to defy my parents, so I ran away to the Capital. But, I met someone who changed me around. Someone who is the love of my life."

I crossed my arms. "Well, okay, then, what's her name?"

"His name is Gloss, formerly of District One." Johnny said proudly.

I gaped at him. "You are fucking kidding me."

Johnny frowned and shook his head. "You know, you really shouldn't use that kind of language."

I threw up my hands. "You taught me that word! When I was ten! When you used to smoke and do drugs and other stupid stuff!"

"See, Clove, Gloss helped me break all those horrid habits. You should try to find your soul mate, too."

I felt a firm hand on my shoulder. "She does have a…soul mate. It's me. And I'm pretty sure Clove can use whatever fucking language she wants." Cato said. He slipped his arm around me. "Come on, let's go." We walked away from the mistake that I'm ashamed to call my older brother.