I wake up the next morning not bothering to look at my phone I decide to get breakfast first.
when I get to the kitchen I see that my parents and Rye are already changed and ready to go somewhere.
i look at the clock to see if I slept in but it's only 11:00 am.
"where are you guys going" I say with a confused look plastered along my face
" have you seriously forgotten? " Rye says looking at me like I'm a complete freak
i stay quiet but still have a confused face
"today is the day to vote and your 16 so you get to vote who you would like as next president" my Father says as walk towards me and gives my a morning hug
"oh shit, it is" I say and I turn around and start running up stairs
"language" my mother shouts as I'm half way up the stairs
"sorry" I shout back and close my bedroom door
I get changed and remember I have a missed call
i pick up my phone and it says I have 16 missed calls from Gabi, Gabi is my best friend in 12 we grew up together and she is the same age as me we are 5 days apart. I get really worried and call her back she picks up almost Immediately.
"AHHHHHH" she screams down the phone
"what!? Gabi you okay?" I say getting even more worried than I was
"WE GET TO VOTE AHHH" she screams again and I have to hold the phone away from my ear
i relax realising that she is only excited nothing else.
"Oh my god I know, I am so excited, Gabi come over and I will call Noha" I say getting excited this time
Noah is my other best friend he is a year older than Gabi and I, we are like the trio of 12 everybody knows that we are best friends and always will.
"yes yes yes be over in 5 byeeeee" she squeals and hangs up
I go to call Noha and he says he will be over in 10 minutes he lives a bit further away than Gabi.
i put down the phone and go tell my parents that Noha and Gabi will be over shortly, they don't object they love Noha and Gabi they come over all the time.
I just sit down when the door bell goes I don't bother to get up and get it so I let Rye. I know it's not Gabi or Noha because they let them selfs in.
"Hello Aunt Annie" I here Rye say.
i quickly get up and go to the door and hug Robbie and Aunt Annie even though I just saw them yesterday.
Robbie is Best friends with Gabi and Noha aswell so I'm so glad he is here, it will just be like when we were younger, aunt Annie used to come with Robbie every summer to 12 and we would spend the hole summer with Robbie, Gabi, Noha and I. So I honestly can't wait.
I continue to eat my breakfast when I hear Gabi Storm through the door.
"I'm here bitches" she shouts through the house
"Eh hem" my mother say as she walks past giving her a disapproving look
"sorry Katniss" she says and walk over to Robbie and I.
"Robbie" she shouts and gives him a hug
"hello nugget" Robbie replys with a smirk on his face
Robbie fancys Gabi, he has for a while now he is just too scared to make a move. Gabi fancys Robbie and she is also too scared to make a move. I roll my eyes a sigh, both looking at me to not make it so obvious, this makes me laugh.
noha is the last to come in and doesn't say anything and just walks to the fridge not noticing that Robbie is here he grabs a cinnamon roll my dad baked and sits on the counter
"remember Robbie how he was sick after eating a load of these" he says inspecting the cinnamon roll and still not noticing Robbie
Gabi and I laugh and this causes Noha to look up.
" Robbie" he cheers and they give each other a hug and do their handshake.
we then all do a group hug and head for the town square.
we get there around half twelve so people have already started voting.
We all go and look at the big screen held in front of the justice building and see who there is to vote
two lady's called
Gellion and Monaghan
And a man called Rose
Apparently Albert (is his first name) Rose is related to president snow who kept the games and he was the president when the rebellion was happening, so I'm not gunna vote for him.
When voting for presidents you just get the name and the face you don't get any information about them till after the voting has been closed.
i decided to vote for Anice Gellion, she looks a lot younger and looks more happier in the picture.
the others don't tell me who they voted for and I don't tell them.
when we get back to my house my parents have left a note.
hello willow
we have left to go to the Capitol, the Capitol have asked us to go and help while there is no president we will be back as soon as we can the president will be anonced at 5:00pm tomorrow, it will be announced at the justice building go there with Rye. We hope you can make it a brilliant birthday for Rye, his presents are in the attic with papa hay, do something your brother will like please before you go to the justice building. we have dropped Rye off with Papa hay across the road, he came back. I trust you with aunt annie and Gabi and noha can stay as long as they please just don't cause too much trouble
lots of love mum and Dad
"so we have the house to our selfs tonight lads" Noha says rubbing his hands together
"no we don't, aunt Annie is her remember" I say looking to where she is.
as if on cue aunt annie walks in from the kitchen with her coat and bag
"Hi guys, haymitch has asked if I want to come over for the afternoon and have tea with him and Rye and I did say yes, so you guys better be careful and I will be back around 10 o'clock tonight, love you all" she says as she walks out the door and on her way gives a hug to Robbie.
aunt Annie has done very well, I remember someone telling me that after she won one of the games she went a bit coo coo. I still, remember this one phase where she would just sit there and stare out the window she wouldn't stop doing it. She would go in the middle of the night and stare. I was only 7 at the time so it always freaked me out, but thankfully she is much better now.
"now we have the hole house to our selfs" Gabi grins
" do you want to go hunting" Robbie suggests. Robbie loves to hunt when he comes to 12.
" as you guys know I know nothing about the games and my parents I say we should have a look in the cabinet" I say walking towards it
"um Mell I don't think you should, they could just be telling you soon" Robbie say uncertain
"oh come on scary cats, who am I going to hurt" I say opening the cabinet this time
" your parents" Noha says sternly
"oh come on guys" Gabi says wanting to see aswell
we all head to the cabinet and I take the book out and we sit on the sofa. I quickly flick through it, it doesn't have any words in it just pictures.
the first page had the reaping and a little girl walking out, the next picture was my mum running out. Did she volunteer? I wounder
the next is of both my parents on the stage.
i flick through the pages and see another picture of the quater quell, there's a picture of Finnik and my mum and dad on a beach. I look at Robbie who looks like he is about to cry, I flick through some more and there is a picture of president snow and a white rose and blood, another one of 12 when it was destroyed. I feel tears running down my face, there is skulls and skeletons everywhere in the streets of 12. One of the pictures are gale. Holding onto my mums shoulder both of them crying as they look down the streets. There is one which has a few coffins on it and my father crying next to , it has words at the bottom saying, rip to Peeta mellarks brothers and parents who were killed during the bombing of 12.
Did my dad have siblings!?
I cry some more and I flick through another one where there is a bomb being set off and the girl that was at the start was there. They must of got these pictures from the cameras. Another one of coffins but this time it was my mum, rip to my sister prim who died saving peoples lives.
My mum had a sister too?!
I burst out crying and so does everyone else.
i see another of my dad being tortured and my mum with a bruised neck.
there is one of johanna and she has her hair cut off.
I slam the book closed. I now understand why they didn't tell us. They went through so much. I know it's only pictures from videos, but I can see why my dad has bad moments and my mum has nightmares. I put it back in the cabinet and look at the pictures that have been put in picture frames. There is one of much mum and gale and two other people I don't know. It's the girl from the reaping in the first picture and an older women must be my mums mum. I see a pearl and I look in the locket and see gales face and the girls face and my mums mums face. I put everything back and close the door.
"I wish I never looked" I cry out