One week and three days before the Reaping-District 4

Cascade Robins' POV

"Fried fish you said?" I asked.

"Sorry, scratch that, grilled," The middle-aged woman said.

"Will that be-"

"Wait! No no no...I think I'll have the salmon sushi instead."

I let out a silent groan. If this girl didn't make up her mind soon, I'm going to get pretty angry. Okay, maybe that was sort of an understatement.

"Is that all for today?" I asked through clenched teeth.

"Yes."

"Thank The Capitol," I muttered. "Okay, we'll have your Sushi ready and out soon!" I exclaimed in a faked cheerful voice.

I quickly slipped the chef the order, then went to another table.

"Hello! How may I help-" I stopped short. "...you?"

Dakota and I stared at each other for a moment.

"I thought you said you hated seafood," I snapped at the first boy I had ever had a crush on.

I had asked him out before I started dating my current boyfriend. He had declined last-minute saying that seafood makes him sick.

"Tastebuds can change," he told me.

"You said it made you sick," I whispered.

"Uh, I did? Er, anyways. I'll have crab legs over easy thanks."

I scribbled it down on a piece of paper, and slipped it to the chef. I grabbed the Sushi, and handed it to the woman.

"Mom! I'm home!" I called, opening the door.

"Yeah..that's great sweetie," Mom muttered, eyes glued to her laptop.

"Do you want me to put dinner on...?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

Mom is the only person who can intimidate me. She just seems so scary ever since she spent all her time on the weird thing she calls a laptop. I don't know what she does, and I don't really care. I quickly poured a few cups of water into a pot, and placed it on the stove. I was cutting some fish when there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it!" I called, wiping my hands on my apron.

"Too late!" My older brother, Bolton, called from the door. Sometimes he can be a real jerk.

"Hey Bolton, is Cascade home?" I heard a voice ask.

"Oh, yeah," Bolton sighed. "She's in the kitchen."

I rolled my eyes, thinking it was another fangirl. I was the most popular girl in school. Suddenly, I felt hands over my eyes.

"Guess who!"

"I have no idea," I lied, laughing. "Hi, Via."

Via's my best friend, and we're nearly inseparable. Via sat on the counter beside the fish.

"Why are you making dinner?" She asked. "Don't you have a date with Ford tonight?"

"For the love of Panem!" I screamed, dropping the knife onto the ground. "I completely forgot!"

"Hey, Bolton!" Via called.

"Whadya want?" Bolton asked from the living room, agitated.

"Order take-out!" Via called.

I smiled. What would I do without Via? We quickly scrambled into my room, and I quickly changed into a soft satin pastel pink sundress. Via handed me a white cotton jacket, and fitted my sandals. She quickly braided my hair, and smiled at her work. Seriously, keeping my long brown hair is fine, but braiding it's a real challenge. Especially when the light glares off of the natural blond highlights.

"Now," she began, taking my hand. "You're ready to see Ford."

Ford Gorman is my boyfriend, and I really like him. He likes me too. Well, I guess that's kinda obvious. We met at the dock, and I smiled. His jet black hair was messy as always, and his seaweed green eyes gleamed with excitement. He was wearing his Reaping outfit, but I didn't mind. It was our last year anyways. He took my hand, and Via ran away, giggling away.

"Ready?" He asked. I nodded.

"Ready."

We sat in a rowboat, and set out in the Twilight. We talked for a while, and I felt like the happiest girl in Panem.

Nothing could go wrong now, right?