Chapter 2
The door opens and Ella walks in. Suddenly, the lights are flicked on, "SURPRISE!" everyone yells. I run up and give Ella a love filled hug, "Happy Birthday," I say, but turn around quickly, not wanting Ella to see me cry.
Today was her big day, most girls look forward to this day, the day where they go to the real world, the capitol. The only things that the girls under the age of 18 know about the capitol are that there are wild parties, fancy machines, and something called boys.
Nobody really knows what they are until they go to the capitol. But when they come back they act like they still don't know what a boy is.
"Clover, honey come on, it's time for cake." Broken from my trance, I turn around and follow my mom into the kitchen. They are finishing the birthday song just as I walk in.
"Clove, come here," Ella whispers. I walk over and she puts something into my hand. She smile, then blows out the candles looking satisfied with herself. I place the object into my pocket and promise myself not to look at it until I'm alone. Once the party is over, Ella and I walk to the river to stare at the stars like we always do.
I figure that now would be an appropriate time to look at what she gave me. Reaching into my pocket, I pull out a necklace that has a rose on it, a necklace that has been worn down from rubbing, a necklace that I have seen every day for the past seven years of my life.
"Ella…" I say, lost for words for the first time in my life.
"I want you to have it, so when I'm gone, you won't forget about me" I turn to face her and see three small, delicate tears running down her fair and beautiful face. Her gray blue eyes shimmer from the moon light, and reflect the waves of the river passing by.
"Ella, I will never forget you." We sit in silence for what seems like a century and the only sounds are the distant noises from the capitol and the splashing of water from the river. After a while, Ella breaks the silence, "Clove, what do you think they really do there."
"What?"
"Do you remember what I said last night?"
"About how everyone's stories sound the same?"
"Yeah, it doesn't seem right to me, and to tell you the truth, I'm terrified." I think about this for a moment. My fearless friend isn't just scared of the capitol, she's afraid that I'm going to forget about her and all of the amazing memories we've had together.
That night, I look into the mirror and see a girl with large green eyes, golden hair, and a slim body starring back at me. I stare in amazement because I have just realized, that in some strange way, Ella and I kind of look alike. I flop on to my bed and let out all of the building stress, fear and anger. I guess my sobs were too loud because I could hear Ella stir in the room next to me and my mom came in to check on me. "Is everything alright?" My mother asks, concerned from my sudden weeping.
"Mom, did you and Ella's mom know each other well? You know, before she died?" I choke out between sobs.
"Why?" my mom asks, clearly confused by this random question.
"I don't know, it's just I don't really remember her because she died when I was still young."
"Clover, I thought you knew this already but Ella's mom, Fawn Rivers, was my twin."