Monday, September 26th
Dear Diary,
Today is my first day of tutoring! I'm sort of excited, but I'm also annoyed, because I sort of liked the freedom of not having a tutor.
We're supposed to have tutoring Monday through Friday, but we have tutoring on the weekends sometimes. Picking days is mainly about what's best for the tutor and the pupil.
I've been told that my tutor's name is Mayzie. I don't know what she's like, but I am a bit nervous. I hope she's nice!
I won't meet Mayzie until later, though, because I have a joint lesson with everyone else today. I'm not sure what we're learning, but I heard from Hazel that Tessa told her that we're learning history. Tessa apparently had a tutor here, and she's starting up today with hers, but is also doing history with us through the laptops.
I like those laptop thingies. We never had anything like them in 11! I like how I can see people in other places without being with them, and that I can play games, and see the list!
Speaking of which, that list is really neat. I like how we can see what's going on with all of the tributes! I want to see when another twelve-year-old like me wakes up. Sebastian is my age, but I'm about three inches shorter and five months younger than him. So I am looked at as the little one. I need someone younger than me!
RING!
Rue looked up, and groaned. "I don't want to go to class!"
"But Rue," exclaimed Hazel, "just yesterday you said you were bored!"
"Yeah, but I don't want to do school stuff."
Gotta go, Diary. Class is starting. I'll tell you what happens later.
-Rue
Rue put her diary down where she was sitting, on her favorite blue couch where she sat every day to write. Her and the other former tributes all made their way into the large classroom set for all of them. Rue decided to sit in the second row; only Techno was brave enough to sit in the front.
There was a laptop open next to Techno. Tessa's face was visible on the laptop. She was wearing a pink nightgown and her hair was in a braid.
"Hey, Tessa!" exclaimed Rue.
"Hiya, Rue. Are you ready to learn some history?"
"Sort of."
The teacher for the special joint lesson came in. All of the students stood up straight.
"Hello, everyone! My name is Mayzie, and I'll be your teacher for today, as well as your permanent tutor, Rue. Today we are having a special history lesson. We're going to learn about how Panem was really formed."
Rue's ears perked up. Mayzie...
She seemed nice!
"What do you mean?" angrily exclaimed Glimmer. "We've learned about how Panem was formed for years!"
"Yes, but recent evidence has turned up to prove that wrong. We have recently found that our ancestors haven't told the truth about how our nation was formed.
"The last president to be elected as president of the United States of America, the country that stood where Panem is today, ran his country into bankruptcy. The country caved in on itself. Everyone was arguing; nothing was going right. The remaining people decided to form Panem. Afterward, the Dark Days happened, and you all know the rest."
"I don't get it!" exclamed Hazel. "Why would our ancestors lie to us?"
"Because they wanted to cut themselves off."
All of the tributes stared at Mayzie like she had two heads and no legs.
"There are other countries in the world besides Panem. When the Hunger Games started up, the leaders of Panem didn't want any criticism, so they used this story to make the people in the country not think that anything exists out of it. Only the presidents have ever known that other countries exist."
"Smart," said Marina. "So what is there today around us?"
"Well, as a matter of fact, not much has changed since Panem became Panem. The one area where a lot has changed is this area. It is called the Middle East. During the time of the United States of America, the Middle East was always conflicted. Once America fell apart, six of the countries there, namely Israel, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia, decided to divide up all of the land and form two countries. The land that was Israel stayed Israel, but they gained Egypt, Lebanon, and northern Syria. The rest of that land became Arabia."
"Why was there so much conflict?" asked Rue timidly.
"Well, there were many different religions back then. Two were Judaism and Christianity. The two religions came from the same base, but when the Jews claimed the land that was originally Israel, the Arabs wanted it. Although, you will learn more about that with your tutors, so I shouldn't go on and on about this. Sebastian."
"What other countries are there?"
"The big four are China, France, Russia, and Great Britian. There are many other countries as well. Again, you'll learn all of this with your tutors. Techno."
"What are we trying to do now with the other countries?"
"Patch up our relations. The new government really regrets the whole Hunger Games thing, and they're trying to convince the new countries that they don't want the Hunger Games to be there. Marina."
"Are there any other countries near us?"
"Yes. We're actually trying to patch up our relations with Canada, the country to our North, first. Rue."
"How do you identify the countries?"
"Each country has a flag. Like our flag, a gold star on a white background surrounded by 13 smaller stars, each star representing one district. Canada's is a red maple leaf – which you should recognize, Hazel – on a white background with a thick red stripe on either side. Again, you'll learn about many of these countries with your individual tutors."
"Isn't what you said is our flag our seal?" asked Jason.
"It is both. Any other questions?"
Finch raised her hand.
"How did you find out about all the other countries if we've been cut off?"
"Well, we were going through some of President Snow's old papers and found some maps of the world. We then talked to one of his children, next in line for the presidency, who confirmed that there are other countries. Janaya."
"How are the other countries ruled?"
"It depends on the country. I can't stress enough that you'll learn more about these countries with your tutors."
The room was finally silent. Nobody had any more questions. Mayzie sighed.
"And so ends the lightning round," she said. Most of the tributes smiled, but Rue was a bit confused. "You guys can now go back to your regular tutors. For those of you who haven't yet met your tutors, "
All of the the tributes but Rue and the laptop left the room.
"Give me a moment, Rue. I have to talk to Tessa."
"I'm right here!" she exclaimed.
"Do you specifically have any questions? I didn't see your hand at all."
"No, I just wanted to listen. Sometimes I understand things better when I take things in."
"All right. Well, I did record the lesson, so I'll send it to Ambera for you. You can always rewatch it if you need. All right?"
"OK. Thanks!"
Mayzie closed the laptop. "Now, Rue, let's get started."
Katniss headed over to the hosiptal, to see her OB/GYN, aka her mother, again. It was time for another appointment, and she was a bit nervous.
"Hello, Katinss," said the receptionist. "Come with me."
Katniss was led to an exam room. After just a little waiting, her mother came in.
"Hi, Mom."
"Hi, sweetie."
"Did you have fun at the wedding?"
"Yes. And, before you ask, so did the kids."
"I'm glad. What about Tessa?"
"She finally got to know Ebony and Ivory, which is a good thing. Now she has a friend in our community which is good."
"Great! Let's get started."
Katniss's mother rubbed the gel onto her daughter's stomach and used the ultrasound machine again.
"The babies seem to be healthy. Now, onto a more pressing matter."
"What?"
"Do you want to know genders?"
"Why are you asking so early on?"
"Well, with triplets, it can be hard to see all three from the ultrasound. So, there are some special tests that we can run to get the genders. These tests can take weeks to go through, so if you want to know genders, we will want to start with the tests as soon as possible."
"Let me discuss it with Peeta and I'll get back to you the next time I come."
"All right, honey. You look good, the babies are healthy. I can't wait to meet them!"
"How's Prim doing?"
"She's all right. She's due about the same time we told you you're going to have the baby, not necessarily your due date, though."
"Right. Because my due date is two months after you said that the babies would come out."
"All right. That means that Jazzy needs to be on the hook to watch Dalia and Kenneth."
"Yes, because Prim will probably be on bedrest."
"OK. Let me go talk it over."
"Love you."
"You too."
Katniss headed back home. Tessa was sitting at the table with Ambera doing math.
"Now, what you want to do here is find R alone. So you'll cross-multiply like this..."
"Hello, Tessa."
"Hi, Katniss!"
Ambera looked at Katniss. She was a bit nervous. Even though she had previously met the Mockingjay that day, it was still nerve-wracking for her to be in front of her.
"Hello, Mrs. Mellark."
"Hello, Ambera. Have you settled in?"
"Yes."
Ambera was living in the last house in Victor's Villaige. The other tutors would eventually live there as well, but Ambera was the only one at that moment.
"Good. Carry on."
Katniss headed up to her room. She decided to take a bit of time to think.
After dinner, Dalia and Kenneth went out to play. Katniss, Peeta, bustled around the kitchen, cleaning up from dinner, while Tessa sat at the island with a glass of water.
"Tessa, I have a question. Did your mother know that you were going to be a girl before you were born?"
"No."
"Your brother?"
"No."
"Do you think that affected your life?"
"Well, yes. I think that my parents expecting a boy made them even more shocked to have a girl. And if I'd known that I would have a brother beforehand, I would have known to expect neglect. Why do you ask?"
"Yeah, why do you ask?" asked Peeta.
"Because my mom told me that, if we want to know the genders of our babies, we should get started as soon as possible. There's apparently some sort of tests that we we have to do, because it can be unclear from the ultrasounds since there's three of them. What do you think?"
"Having to decide so early... when do we have to know?"
"Not sure. As soon as possible."
"We need to think about that, then."
"Yes we do."
So, what do you think? I'm going to attempt to get one chapter a week up for you guys, so that we can see what's going on.
Now, I want to get a sense of what you guys want. Because my poll place is being overtaken by Only Time Will Tell polls, I need your feedback through reviews. Do you want to know the genders, or not? Please let me know.
We'll probably be skipping around a lot now, and we will see Katniss go back into the woods again soon! I hope you like the chapter, and I can't wait for you to review! Please?
-goldie031