Well... That's what happens when you decide to invite each and every person you scarcely know, to your wedding. You go mad. You just snap.
I know that my father-in-law is a famous person, by participating in the Hunger Games and all but, that doesn't mean you invite each and every person he has met in his lifetime!
I am not at all complaining! In fact, I want to meet each and every person that has ever known Mr. Odair and ask them about him. I want to know more about him, for Max. But, all of them aren't cooperating. How can you deal with a group of people ranging from not cooperative to not AT ALL cooperative?
First came Mrs. Odair's relatives.
They are okay, but, they are like parasites. Max and I have agreed to take them for a small trip around our district, and they have already begun to present us with difficulties.
Especially Mrs. Odair's uncle.
Please DO NOT get me wrong.
He is pretty old. People don't spend much time with him. As a result, he grew very sulky. He complains for each and every thing, trying to grab our attention. His daughter has a son, who is of Zeke's age.
That guy is thousand times naughtier than this hell of a brother of mine.
Mrs. Odair is really patient. Except for her, nobody tolerates this weird family.
Then there are her aunts, other uncles and everybody related to her from god knows which side. None of them were available to her when Mr. Odair died and none of them were there to comfort her and take care of her newborn son.
If it weren't for Mrs. Everdeen...
After the rebellion was successfully carried out, Katniss and Peeta left to 12, since they couldn't leave their homes. But, Mrs. Everdeen decided to move to 4 and set up her own hospital over here. She tried to heal Mrs. Odair and bring up Max like her own son.
Max lived with Mrs. Everdeen until he was 15. Till 15 years of age, he thought that Mrs. Everdeen was his mother. Though he knew about the Hunger Games and his mother and father, he didn't know that they were his parents.
"C'mon Maxy!" I asked, "Your surname is Odair. Their surname is Odair. It still didn't strike you?"
"No... I never thought about that!" He said, surprised at his lameness.
"But... Why?"
"Mrs. Everdeen took care of me so well... I refused to think about any other theories which would prove that she isn't my mother!"
His tone was suddenly very sad, as if, he was unhappy with Mrs. Everdeen not being his mother.
He still calls her mother...
So, my dear diary, That's it for today.
I put the pen in between my fingers and tried to tie up my hair in a bun.
"What is Mrs. Odair doing?!" I heard a very manly voice from the door. I turned, putting the pen inside the diary and closing it.
In front of me was a man, destined to live with me and annoy me till eternity. My Triton Maximus Odair.
"Well... Anything but thinking about you!" I said, rolling to the other side of the bed. He dashed towards the bed and tried to fall on me, but, I again rolled to the side I was previously on and threw the diary on the floor.
"That itself tells me that you were thinking about me!"
"Stop joking. I am in no mood to laugh!" I snapped, sitting straight on the bed.
He inched closer to me, with an evil smirk on his face. I shot a dirty look at him. He smiled back, inching even closer. I closed my eyes. If he really wants to do it, I decided, nothing could stop him.
"Susan!" I heard a shrill voice,probably from the drawing room. Max threw his hands in the air, as if he were tired of everything and stood up. He didn't even try looking at me, and, walked away.
Oh joy.
I half closed my eyes, expecting a louder shout.
"SUZANNE COLLINS!"
That was my cue.
I quickly stood up and hurried towards the exit, took random lefts and rights, until I ended up in the drawing hall.
I stood, panting, in front of a beaming mother-in-law, flummoxed mother and a bored father.
"Yeah? Mom?"
"What took you so long?!" My mom cried, quickly turning towards the couch in front of them, and fake smiling "Say hello!" She almost whispered, gritting her teeth.
"Hello?" I asked her. Then, I looked at the couch, full of people I didn't even know. A woman, two men, a girl and a boy.
The woman and the two men looked really familiar.
I was supposed to know them.
The younger man smiled at me, and I blushed a bit. When he was of our age, maybe people died for a smile from him!
The older man tried to smile at me, but, he ended up snorting at me. Drunk, probably.
The woman was pretty stoic, as if she forgot how to smile, but, tried to smile, at least.
"I am really sorry to ask you this and am ashamed for asking such a question... Who are you?"
The men and the woman laughed and the two kids guffawed. My mom glared at me as if I did something horrible. My dad looked at me as if I were something eccentric. What is this suspense? Why're people playing with me?
"My daughter, my son in law, my brother and my grandchildren!" Mrs. Everdeen replied, emerging from the room beside the kitchen.
Mrs. Everdeen was a mysterious woman, but,I didn't think she was as scary as walking out of nowhere and saying random stuff...
"Mom!" The woman shouted and threw herself upon Mrs. Everdeen. She smiled, stroking her hair. The woman sobbed a bit, hugging her even tighter. Mrs. Everdeen tried to wipe a tear from her eye, but, the tight grasp of this lady prevented her from doing so.
"How are you Katniss?!"
That's it. I remember them. Max often complained to me how lucky Katniss was to have a mother like Mrs. Everdeen, loving and caring. He even envied the person. He met them a couple of times, during his visit to 12 and told me that they were awesome people.
"Hello Haymitch!" Mrs. Everdeen said, walking towards him. He smiled at her, his eyes were very red.
"But, Mrs. Everdeen!" The man I assumed Peeta said, "You just called Haymitch, your brother!"
"Yeah. He is my brother. When he got reaped for the Games, I fell in love with my husband and ran away. When Haymitch returned and he defied the Capitol, they killed our family. He decided to keep our relationship a secret so that nothing happened to me and my daughters." She said. "By the way, hello to you too, Peeta!"
Peeta replied with a soft hello.
I found out that my head was spinning because of the confusing relations. I clutched my throbbing head, telling myself to behave normal. Luckily, everybody else was busy viewing the reunion of the family
"Grandma!" The girl and the boy cried out in unison, running towards her. The boy jumped on her and began to kiss her, while the girl tried to control her brother.
"Hello, Prim and Finnick!" She laughed.
"You named your son, Finnick?" Mrs. Odair asked, clearly proud.
"Yes." Katniss said, her eyes wet with tears, at the sight of her children playing with her mother. She stood up and walked, and I realized later, that it was towards me.
"Susan" She said, placing her hands on my arm: Her palms were very rough, and I could see some faint scars on her face. She looked like a warrior out of practice, with her fiery eyes and determined expression. "You're very, very lucky to get a man like Max."
"What? Luckier than you getting me?" Her husband punned and she lightly laughed.
"So, yeah. I hope you know about his past and everything."
I nodded my head, a bit too vigorously.
"All of us " She paused, pointing her fingers at everyone except at her children and my parents, "have some deep scars and wounds in our hearts. We know the value of life. We have almost faced death twice. Spend every minute of your life happily." She whispered. Perhaps she didn't want her children to listen to the 'value of life' part.
"Sure Mrs.-"
"Please call me by my name. Katniss"
"Okay, Katniss."
"Excellent!" My mother beamed. "So nice of you to come, Katniss! You all were our heroes during the rebellion! Now, Zeke will show you the way to your rooms."
No sooner did she utter his name, when she realized he wasn't there.
"Gabrielle! I'll go call him!" Father said and ran towards his room.
"Its-uhh- my son, Zeke Henry Collins. He's very naughty. Just like a seventeen year old kid."
"You don't need to explain anything! We have a 16 year old daughter. They must be belonging to the same category."
Prim snorted, as if her father was lying and turned towards me. She smiled at me, and I found her really cute. The best part about her is her natural look. She looked cute,but, she didn't do anything to enhance it. She looked very immersed in a deep thought. She was pretty much jolted back to reality when her brother pinched her on the arm.
"What?" She hissed.
"Look!" He said, pointing at my brother.
"What about him?" She didn't look at Zeke.
"He's looking at you!"
Prim glared at her brother and continued to smile at the others - the sleepish smile that indicated that she didn't have a clue why she was here. She certainly didn't want to confirm her brother's statements and didn't want to find out anything about it.
Which is pretty unusual for a girl of her age.
Finnick indeed was right. Zeke was staring at her, as he shook hands with her father. Prim wasn't looking at him, much to his dismay.
"Zeke! Please show them their room!" Mom said.
"You mean, Mrs. Odair's sister's room?"
"Yeah " she replied. She wasn't happy with the description of the room.
Zeke shrugged and beckoned them to follow him, when , Katniss yelled "Wait!"
"What's wrong,ma'am?" Zeke asked.
"Cinna!" She said, without further conviction.
"I almost forgot! Where is he?" Peeta asked. Haymitch was scanning the room for Cinna's presence.
However, Zeke was in his own world. He was trying to grab Prim's attention by coughing into his fists and waving his hands in the air, as if searching for this Cinna guy. Prim still didn't notice him. He frowned, surprised by her ignorance.
Let's hope he won't irritate her like he irritates me...