Chapter 7
Lilac pressed her school uniform flat on her bed. It was a tartan dress, white and blue with a button on tie and a white collar. She stepped back examining it with pride. Her shiny black shoes with running soles were underneath the dress. She couldn't keep a smile off her face. Dad came in knelt next to her. "You're not going to put it on, princess?" Lilac shook her head.
"No, I'm going to put it on later; I wanna save it till I go to school." Dad smiled and hugged her. He looked over the uniform with tears in his eyes. She touched his face. "What's wrong daddy?" He looked down.
"Nothing, Lilac," Then he stood. "Do you want to help me paint?" She lit up and smiled.
"Really?" He nodded and they hurried out of the room. She took his hand as they stepped down the front yard stairs. It was a little hut, one roomed made of old wood that looked like it was about to fall down, but it had always looked like that. On the walls half-finished painting hung solitary soldiers. He pulled out a piece of paper. "Now do you want to help me think of an idea?"
"But dad, don't you have ideas?" She pointed at the painting on the wall. He followed her finger, at the wall and sighed. "Not those Lye-li. I want us to do it together. You and me. How about it?" Lilac bit her lip and nodded. Dad pulled out pencils and she started to colour in pictures of butterflies, of rainbows with little short people hording gold at the bottom. She looked at her dad, he was pouring himself over his paper it was blank. She looked around at the paintings on the wall. She pointed at one of them. "I like this one daddy."
He looked up and blinked. He frowned at her selection. "You're mum…no one will by that Lye-li. No one wants…pick a different one, ok? What about this? This is what the sea looks like in district 4." She strained her neck to see a large painting of rolling hills meeting brilliant blue. "But, dad, I like this one. I think she looks pretty. But daddy…why is she sleeping with flowers on her? Is she sick?" Her dad dropped to his knees and hugged her.
"She's not sick Lilac. She's…she's dead." There was the sound of coming.
"Katniss! Peeta! Guess what Gale's home!"
In this chapter I wanted to do a Rue reference because I considered naming Lilac 'Rue' but I already had the boy named Rye and that was too similar and I like the name Lilac so I think she needed a chapter. Love you Rue.