AN: This is my first published FF so please tell me what I can do to improve. I would love any feedback that you could provide. Thanks so much for the reviews so far and for reading! Sorry for how long it took for me to get this chapter out. I'll try to be faster in the future.

NOTE: I do not own any of these characters or claim to. All that credit goes to the brilliant Suzanne Collins.

If you have any suggestions or want to be a beta, please feel free to contact me.

Enjoy!

When I enter through the kitchen, as is my custom, I see my dad sitting at the counter reading a Capitol paper from today. As he sees me, his face drops and he opens his mouth to say something that I'm sure is along the lines of, "How are you?" or "I'm sorry, sweetheart." I couldn't tell you what he said, though, because by the time he actually started to speak I was halfway up the stairs. I couldn't stand to make eye contact with him, though I couldn't exactly pinpoint why not. I didn't know why I slammed the door either but I guess I had to vent my frustration in some way. Laying down on my bed and curling into a ball seemed to be the only answer to my problems. I heard footsteps coming up to my door and whoever was on the other side knocked lightly.

"Go away!" I shouted, not knowing where this angry teenager had come from. Apparently neither did the person on the other side of the door, since I heard no more knocks. I honestly didn't know what to make of the attitude I had suddenly stumbled upon and I didn't like it. My entire life I had been treated as "the good girl" who never got in trouble. There was always a purpose for that, though.

My father has been mayor since I was 4 years old so it's safe to say that I don't remember the previous mayor. Once, though, when my father got a little bit drunk with his old friend Edison, they mentioned the previous mayor, Titus Amargo, who was in office for a mere 6 months before his untimely death. I feel like this is another one of those things that everyone in the district has conveniently chosen to forget.

Apparently this is how Titus rose to power. Titus was a very strong young man, when it came to both his physique and his mind, and came from an extremely poor Seam family. However due to his intelligence and desire to bring some change, he ran for the office of mayor after our previous mayor, who everyone refers to as Old Lamparski, died at the ripe old age of 89, which is a huge feat for District 12. Unfortunately, no one had gotten around to telling Titus that there was no actual election. While he was campaigning, President Snow and his advisors were deciding who to have in office. They must have admired his tenacity, though, and when he was told he had the office without an election taking place, he still accepted the job. However, what he did next was something that no had done in District 12 in close to a century. He started making changes. Starting with small things, he got rid of the whipping post in the town square and gave legitimate jobs to some of the poorest folks in the district. To all around he seemed to be a local hero. To Snow, though, he was lighting a fire under what was typically a very calm district.

A mere six months later, Titus suddenly fell ill, which was odd for such a healthy man. None of the local medical specialists could decipher what was wrong with him and a doctor was supposedly on his way to our district from The Capitol when he died suddenly. Just as quick as he rose to power and fell, the people of District 12 forgot him, or so they made it seem.

The next part is what my father and Edison were really discussing when I was eavesdropping. It was only a day after Titus died that my father received an offer to become mayor. However, it took The Capitol doctor four days to arrive to our district, simply so he could pronounce Titus dead. Edison found this suspicious, as did my father. It was also odd that none of the district medics could even remotely tell what was wrong and no one else even showed the same symptoms that Titus had. Edison's only conclusion was that Titus had taken the changes in the district too far and that Snow did away with him to keep the district how he wanted it.

Personally, I had to agree with Edison. Too much just seemed off with the whole story. Which is why I try to be an angel of a child and not be any cause for The Capitol to be angry with my father. Sometimes I think that people don't take him seriously but he has made some changes for the good around here, just none as drastic or blatant as the ones that Titus made. For starters, he is the one who cut the electricity to the fence years back and only has it turned on when he knows that The Capitol is watching. He never put the whipping post back and has never given many punishment besides lock-ups when he has no other choice. My father lets the Hob run and buys services from poor citizens whether we need them or not. While others may think he doesn't do anything, he does and I know he is almost always stressed out about the people in our district because he really does care for them. If he's removed, though, who knows who the next mayor would be. Snow could bring in some insane sadist from District 2 who is in his pocket and would bring in Peacekeepers who actually enforce the laws. Whenever people speak poorly of my father I want to remind them that things could be a lot worse off.

However, I keep my temper and redirect my anger elsewhere to something more 's what I'll do now. I'm angry at the situation and I remember my promise to Gale. Gale who, now that I think of it, may be a little too much like Titus. I shake the thought and decide to start making a list of the merchants in town that I know will donate some money to sponsor Katniss and Peeta.

Once I've made a list of about 10 merchants, I begin thinking of other ways that I can help Katniss. I gave her that pin hoping that it would give her some strength but I hadn't thought it through very much. I'm sure she knows what the bird is on the pin but I never explained who it belonged to or why I gave it to her. Sometimes I can be such an idiot. She's probably so confused by it and I was thinking it had so much meaning behind it. What I meant by it was that she was going to be like a mockingjay. These were bird that no one thought could ever exist. The Capitol didn't plan on their existence and thought they would die out too. Except they didn't. They're one of the most common birds in all of Panem and people like them because they are extraordinary. Katniss, like a mockingjay, is strong. Stronger than The Capitol probably thinks she can be and she will survive even though no one else expects her to. Anyone who knows her will also agree that she is an extraordinary person. She protects her sister and provides for her family, doing so in spite of all she's come up against. People admire her, just as they admire the mockingjay's voice and it's ability to carry on. There is one respect in which they are not similar, though. Mockingjays are everywhere while Katniss Everdeen is truly one of a kind. I'm thinking about how much of an effect she has on people and how she doesn't even realize it when I hear another knock on my door.

This time, my moodiness has settled remarkably and, while of course I'm still upset, I'm ready to talk to whoever it is on the other side of my door. "Come on in," I say just loudly enough so they will be able to hear me. I'm fully expecting it to be my father, since my mother rarely makes it out of their room. However, it is her that stands at my door looking weak but still smiling. My moodiness return in the instant it takes her to open he mouth and speak.

"It wasn't you!" She says all too cheerily.

"No but it was two people I'm close to and am going to regret watching being thrown into the arena." I snap back. If she was at all involved in my life, she would know that Katniss is one of my few true friends.

"I'm sorry honey, but it could be worse. What if it were you that were reaped?"

"Actually Mom, I would prefer that."

"You know your father and I don't. We never want to see anything bad happen to you."

"Well I don't want to see anything bad happen to you either but I'm forced to watch you wither away in your bed. I'd rather die quickly, very much alive in the arena than slowly and practically already lifeless at home." As soon as the words leave my mouth, I regret them wholeheartedly. What is wrong with me? I never act like this.

My mothers countenance shrinks into a scowl and she makes her way over to my bed and sits down, as if walking down the hall sapped her of all of her strength. Except that's not it. My words are what have really injured her today. "I know how upset you are. Don't tell me that you've forgotten what I've been through like the rest of the district has," she says slowly, as if she had been ruminating on the words.

"I haven't," I reply sheepishly, adding a quick, "I'm sorry, Mom. I love you."

"I love you too sweetheart, which is why it hurts so much to see you in pain. I saw you on the television during the Reaping. You looked so pretty and the commentators were praising your commitment to your district. You made your father look very good. One of them even complemented your pin."

She did a great job changing the subject to something I want to explain even less. "By the way, I saw that Katniss was wearing it when she arrived at the train station."

"About that…" I start to think of the best way to explain.

"Don't worry about it. I'm glad to see someone wear it who is just as strong as Maysilee was." There goes a huge burden off of my chest. I was so sure she was going to be livid. She actually might be but if there's one thing my family is excellent at, it is hiding their feelings when it is for the best of others. After that, there really isn't much else to say. I guess that I'll cherish the one day that my mother is able to be happy because she is relieved that it wasn't me today.

We just sit on my bed for a while until she asks me a question that seems so out of nowhere. "Madge, can I braid your hair?"

"If you'd like to. I've never been huge on braids but that's because I'm not very good at doing them."

"Well when you grow up with a twin sister, you have a lot of practice. Let's see if I can still do this." I sit patiently as she braids for nearly half an hour when suddenly she announces that she's done. When I go and look in the mirror I see a braid that is so ornate and beautiful I can't even believe it's my hair.

"Mom, this is amazing, I love it. It's even more complicated than Katniss' was at the Reaping."

"I know," she says as she walks out of my door, "I'm the one who taught her mother that one."

I can't even speak. Who knew my mother had this talent and that she would be the one that would bring some glimpse of brightness to my day. Suddenly, though, the guilt hits me like a ton of bricks. Why am I even allowing myself to be even marginally happy right now? It is true that things could be worse, to a degree. I decide to go down to the study and watch a recap of the Reapings across Panem to see what Peeta and Katniss are going to have to deal with. As I watch I notice a gorgeous girl who will get plenty of sponsors from 1, a monstrous boy and sinister looking girl from 2, a girl that looks remarkably like a fox from 5, and an odd pair from 11. The tributes from 11 are ones that really catch my attention. The boy is so large that simply looking at him frightens me. I am sure he could kill someone with his bare hands without even being trained to do so like the boy from 2 has been. Still, the look in his eyes tell me that he isn't the type that would abuse his strength. The girl, I don't remember her name, looks startlingly like Prim except with a darker shade of skin and dark eyes and hair. She is a wisp of a child and just like when Prim was Reaped, the entire district seems to gasp as she makes her way up the stage. Unfortunately for her, she doesn't seem to have a sister like Katniss who would volunteer for her. I really feel for hear and it makes me so upset that I decide I can't watch any more.

I glance over at the clock and see that more time has elapsed than I thought. I'm not hungry so I simply decide to head to bed. I know it will be a big day. Katniss and Peeta will be arriving in The Capitol and Gale and I will start rallying support. At least that's what I plan on happening