Katniss Everdeen POV
I actually don't really like summer vacation. I know kids my age are supposed to love summer, but it's honestly more stressful for me than school because I have to worry about how I'm going to earn money to help provide for my family. I'm only 15, so I usually earn money by babysitting or doing odd jobs around town. I know it's not any of our faults, but it would be nice if we weren't so poor.
It's the week before school starts, and I'm biking to my friend Madge's house. She's the mayor's daughter, so she's rich but we actually get along really well. I park my bike next to her house and go knock on her door.
"Hey girl," Madge says as she opens the door. "Come on in, Johanna and Annie are here."
"Oh, really?" I ask. I didn't know they'd be here, but we're all good friends. I walk into her room and Johanna is in Madge's swivel chair while Annie is laying on the floor, staring at the ceiling.
"Hey, Kat," Johanna says as I walk in. "I feel like we never saw you this summer."
"I had to work, you know that," I respond. "I always have to work during the summer."
"You never have any fun," Johanna says, spinning in the chair. I sit down in one of Madge's other chairs. I wish Johanna understood what I was going through more. She's not rich, but she's never had to worry about money like I have.
"Are you excited to start school?" Madge asks me as she sits on her bed.
"I am, actually," I respond. "We're finally not freshmen anymore."
"Thank God," Johanna says. "I'm ready to party more."
"You already partied a lot last year," Annie says. She's pretty quiet, but she'll chime into the conversation once in a while.
"Maybe you'll finally join me this year," Johanna says to Annie. "You need to losen up."
"I already am," Annie says. "I'm going to be a cheerleader this year, which is pretty out of my comfort zone."
"I know," Madge says. "I can't believe you're going to be a cheerleader this year."
Madge and Johanna are already cheerleaders, which is why they're popular. Well, Madge is popular mostly because she's rich and she's the mayor's daughter. Johanna is somewhat popular because she's a cheerleader, but she avoids that group mostly because she thinks they're fake. She goes to cheer events with them, but she mostly hangs out with me and Annie.
"We wish you'd have joined the squad," Johanna says to me. "You would have fit pretty well."
"You know that's not my thing," I say. "I'm sticking with archery." I don't think I would fit well as a cheerleader at all, I don't have the peppiness they all have. Johanna barely has it during the games.
"Are you ever going to teach me and Madge archery?" Annie says.
"I'll have more time now that school's started," I say. "We can do it next weekend if you want." Annie just smiles and nods.
It's crazy that I actually have more time to hang out with friends during the school year, it should be the opposite. I'm always helping with Prim and my mom and trying to make as much money as I can during the summer.
"Any boys you have your eye on this year?" Johanna asks me. "Never mind, I know the answer is no."
"You're right," I say. "The answer is no, you know I'm not into dating in high school."
"Let me know when you get horny," Johanna says. "I'll be your wing-woman."
God, does she have to be so gross about it? My family puts me under enough stress, I don't need boys to add to it. I'll worry about dating after high school, there's no point in getting into some superficial relationship now that I know won't last.
Gale Hawthorne POV
There's a knock on the door around 6 p.m. My younger brother Vick goes to answer it, my mom is cooking dinner with the very small amount of meat that we have.
"It's Katniss," Vick calls out to me. "Come in." Katniss walks up to where I'm sitting and hands me some strawberries and oranges.
"These are from Madge," she says to me. "I saw her today."
"Is that why you couldn't go to the store with me today?" I ask her, she's really good at negotiating for a cheaper price on meats.
"I've barely seen my girlfriends all summer," she responds. "I see you all the time." She does, she helps my mom with my siblings. It's also helpful to get Prim out of the house.
Katniss is my best friend, we've been best friends since she was 9 and I was 10. Our dads worked together before they both died in a work accident, and our moms are both midwives. People usually either think we're related or we're dating, neither of which is true.
"Do you want the fruit or not?" She asks me after a long pause. "I'm sure my mom would love it."
"No, I want it," I say. "Thank you."
"Stop getting onto her," my mom says from the kitchen. "You'll drive her away, we need her." Katniss smiles and lightly chuckles, but I know my mom isn't joking. Katniss has saved us on multiple occasions, both financially and emotionally.
"Do you want to go outside?" I ask her. She just nods and we head out the door to a nearby field in our neighborhood. It's our favorite spot to go talk without my mom and younger siblings around.
"Are you excited to be a junior?" She asks me as we sit down in the grass.
"Definitely," I say. "I finally get to drive to school."
"Congrats," she says. "You'll have to let me take a spin."
There's a pause. "I'm worried about Prim," she finally says.
"What about her?"
"Well, I'm always worried about her. But I can tell she wants to grow up, and I don't want her to grow up fast like I had to."
"I feel that way with my siblings too, especially Posy." Posy is my little sister, she's only 8. Vick is 10, and Rory is 12. They already try to act like men of the house, and that's not a responsibility they should have to take on.
"Thanks for hanging out with me tonight," she says to me. "I love the girls, but I need a break from them sometimes."
"I feel the same way about the guys," I respond. "They're a lot of fun, but I feel like you're the only person our age with a head on her shoulders."
She smiles at me, but it's the truth. My family wouldn't be where we are if it wasn't for Katniss, and I hope she feels the same way about me. I feel like we can take on anything together.
Peeta Mellark POV
I'm helping my parents in the bakery, which I've done basically all summer. My brothers already went back to school, so it's just me and my parents. It's so much easier when my brothers are here, my parents are always on my case. It's mainly my mom, my dad is better.
"Peeta, can you put these cookies in the oven while I go talk to a customer?" My mom asks me, setting a tray of unbaked cookies in front of me.
"Sure," I say. "But I can go talk to the customer if you want." She usually prefers that I talk to the customers because I'm better with people than she is.
"I don't have time to argue with you," she says. "Do what I told you to do." I was just trying to be helpful, but her getting onto me is a pretty common occurence, especially when my brothers aren't around. I put the tray of cookies in the oven, and my mom comes back to the kitchen where I am.
"Finnick is here to see you," she says to me. So it would've been fine if I went out there. I walk out of the kitchen and Finnick is waiting in front of the counter.
"You want to go to the park?" He asks me. We go there sometimes to chill out.
"Let me ask my mom," I say. I poke my head back into the kitchen. "Mom, can I go hang out with Finnick?" She waves at me to go, and he and I head out.
We get to the park and sit on the grass under a tree together. "So how was your summer?" Finnick asks me. "I feel like I barely saw you." He's right, I only saw the guys a few times. I was at the bakery the rest of the time.
"Yeah, my parents basically held me and my brothers hostage at the bakery," I say. "Trust me, I wanted to see you guys more."
"I'm so excited for football season," Finnick says. "It'll be a great year."
"Wrestling season isn't for a couple more months," I say. "But I'm trying to get back in shape for it." Finnick and most of my other friends are on the football team, but I'm more into wrestling. I've always been a little too short for football.
"You should really join the football team," Finnick says. He's been trying to convince me to try out since we were in middle school. "You'll get more girls." I chuckle at that, of course that's his concern. Finnick's always been a ladies' man, and I can see why. He's very handsome.
"You know I'm not really into football," I say. "I wouldn't get any girls, because I wouldn't be good at it. At least I'm good at wrestling." It sounds arrogant, but I am good at it. I've placed higher than any freshman in history at Panem High.
"How's that working out for you in the girls department?"
"Believe it or not," I say. "I do things in life for more reasons than just to get laid." He playfully shoves me, and I shove him back. I love Finnick, he's my best friend and we grew up together. I just feel like our priorities in life are becoming different as we're getting older.
Primrose Everdeen POV
I'm excited to start 7th grade, I finally feel like I'm not a little kid anymore. My best friend Rue is the opposite, she never wants to grow up. She loves climbing trees and playing hide and seek. I love those things too, but I feel like I'm starting to outgrow them.
Rue, Rory and I are at the track of the middle school. We like to hang out there when no one else is there, and this is the last chance we'll have to do that before school starts. Rory is my other best friend, he's Gale's little brother. I've been friends with Rue since we were in diapers, and I became friends with Rory when Gale became friends with Katniss.
"Who's excited to finally be in 7th grade?" I ask the other 2. "I know I am."
"Definitely," Rory says. "Maybe I can finally get on the basketball team."
"Congrats on making the cheer team, by the way," Rue says. "I'm sad I didn't make it." My middle school has a cheer team for 7th and 8th graders, and I was able to try out this summer and get chosen for it.
"Maybe you can next year," I say. I'm surprised she didn't make the team, she's more athletic than me. "It would be so much more fun if we were on it together."
"I don't know," Rue says. "Maybe it's just not meant to be."
"I'll still eat lunch with you and hang out with you no matter what," I say. "You know that, right?"
"You better," she says, playfully shoving me. "You're stuck with me forever."
"How's your brother?" I ask Rue. "Is he ready to be a junior."
"Definitely," she says. "He's ready to get the hell out of here."
Rue's brother Thresh is Gale's age, he and Gale are pretty close. Thresh is a football player, and he's a really strong and muscular guy. If anyone messes with Rue, they have to deal with Thresh. He's also protective of me and Rory, as if we don't have protective older siblings to deal with all the time. That's one thing that made the three of us bond so much was that we have overbearing older siblings.
A car pulls up, and I can tell it's Rory's mom. "Looks like I have to go," Rory says. "Bye guys, see you at school."
"Bye," I say. Rue and I wave to Rory's mom, Hazelle as we watch him get into the car and drive off. "So are there any boys you have your eye on for this year?"
"Prim," she says. "You know I don't care about that stuff."
"It's still fun to talk about, can't you at least try?" I love Rue, but sometimes I feel like she and I are starting to have less in common.
"There really isn't anyone," she says. "Trust me, I'll tell you when there is."
"You better."
I walk Rue home when it starts to get dark, her house is on the way to mine. "I'll see you at school," she says when we get to the door. "Text me later."
"Definitely," I say. "Bye." I walk home, and my mom is the only one home when I walk in.
"Prim," she says. "You know you can't be out when it gets this dark."
"I was walking Rue home," I say. "Where's Katniss?"
"She's dropping off some food at Gale's house for their family."
"Why can she be out this late?"
"She's older, and she's helping out Hazelle." I know that makes sense, but I still wish I could have more independence.
Katniss gets home and helps my mom make dinner. I feel like since our dad died, she's had to be the second parent. She seems to have adjusted well too it, I know we wouldn't have survived without her help.
A/N: Thanks for reading, let me know what you think! (Please be kind haha)