To Be Home Again (Hunger games/Clove)

One Day At A Time

As a little preface I'm just gonna say that this is based on the movies not the books, most of this is going to be accurate to the movie but I will probably be changing some of the timeline in the arena just so I'm not writing all the same stuff from the first book and also, Katniss didn't volunteer, her name was reaped like it normally would happen.

My day started like any other, with the blinding sunlight bleeding though the poorly covered window and my younger sister Magnolia cuddled up to my side. I looked down at her innocent sleeping face with a slight smile, placing a kiss on her forehead before gently untangling her arms from my waist in an attempt to not wake her; and just like every morning my attempts were in vein as the second I stood up her eyes shot open. "go back to sleep Maggie, I'll come get you when it's time for school." I said in a whisper, guiding her shoulders back down into the bed and pulling the sheet over her small body. I swept her messy chocolate brown curls off her face before she turned on her side and closed her eyes once more. I sighed in relief as i heard her breathing even out.

Im just glad I had the next half hour to myself to get ready for work. That's not to say that I don't love my sister dearly but that 11 year old little girl and the break of dawn don't go well together. I lit the lamp on my bedside table and turned the brightness all the way down before picking it up and walking over to the dresser. I opened my drawer and pulled out a set of clothes id designated for work. On the way to the washroom I stopped at Sylvia's open door. I found her sat on the bed, her head in her hands staring at the floor, "you okay Sylvie?" I asked, walking in slowly. She looked up at me and ran her hands through her hair, "yeah, I'm fine, just tired." she sighed and I nodded, taking a seat beside her and putting my arm around her shoulder before pulling her into my side.

"you know, you're the one who's supposed to be comforting me, you are the older one after all." I laughed after a minute of silence which prompted her to smack me on the shoulder, "yeah yeah, by only like 2 years." she rolled her eyes before standing up and going to her dresser across the room. I went into the bathroom and washed my face before pulling on my clothes. By the time she came in I was already brushing my hair back into my usual ponytail. "the games are next week you know." I said and she sighed, throwing her head back in annoyance. "thanks for reminding me." she groaned, shrugging her night gown off and stepping into her pants. "At least it's your last year, that's something to look forward to." I leaned against the sink as she tied her hair back.

"yeah I guess but my name is in there 11 times." she said walking past me into the kitchen where she filled a pot of water and placed it on the stove, "I mean mine is in there 8 times so I don't feel too bad." I chuckled as she rolled her eyes. "you're making oats again?" I scrunched up my nose as she grabbed the heavy bag from under the table and plopped it down beside the pot of water, "yes Briar-Rose, what else would you like to eat." she asked, annoyance clear in her voice as she scooped the dry oats into the pot. "I don't know anymore, I just miss moms cooking." I sighed, pulling myself up to sit on the table. "I do to Bri, listen, why don't you go out back and pick some berries for our porridge. I'm sure Maggie would love that." she flashed me a sad smile as I slid off the table with a nod and went out back to grab the berries.

By the time I got back inside Maggie was already sat at the table still in her night gown with her head resting lazily in her left hand, "slouching is rude, missy." Sylvia scolded her, placing the steaming bowl of porridge in front of the child who immediately pushed it away. Sylvia simply rolled her eyes, not having the patients to put up with her fussiness. "hey, I have a surprise for you..." I said, putting on the most sincere smile I could muster before pulling the small tin of berries out from behind my back. She gasped at the sight, grabbing a small handful and putting it in her bowl before dragging it back towards herself and digging in. She closed her eyes as she chewed, a content smile appearing on her face before she pulled me into a tight hug.

Maggie is mute, mostly, she'd always been very very quiet but when my dad left she stopped talking almost completely. My dad left 4 years ago and she kind of just shut down, she was only 7 when he up and left, far to young to understand that my parents consent fighting over financial strain brought it on and ultimately blamed herself. Sylvia and I have spent years trying to convince her that this would've happened regardless but what can I say, we all picked up my mom's stubbornness. Speaking of my mom, she didn't take my father's leaving too well either, she was always stressed and sad and could hardly bring herself to go to work, so when she was fired not even a year after he left, none of us were surprised. My mom had always been... Unstable.

She got into a lot of trouble when she was young so she easily fell back into those habits and started stealing to compensate for the money she was no longer getting from work. She got away with it for a very long time, far longer than any of us thought she would but eventually she had to be caught. We lived like that for over a year, we were eating stolen food, wearing stolen clothes and living every day under the stress of shame and secrecy. She got a little too confident and was eventually caught, the peacekeepers took no mercy on her and brought her to the capitol never to be seen again. My sister had just turned 16 thankfully which allowed us to keep our house but her and I both had to drop out of school to work and keep us afloat.

It's been about a year and a half now since mom was taken away and we've started to get into the swing of things but with the threat of the games just around the corner, tensions have been high. "okay Mags, let's get you ready for school." Sylvia said, putting both her and Maggie's empty bowls into the sink and went to our room. While they were gone I packed our lunch, today it was a sandwich made with lettuce and last night's rabbit between 2 thin slices of bread from this month's grain ration and an apple. "lunches are packed and by the door, are you guys ready?" I asked, poking my head into our room while trying to put my boot on without falling over. "yeah, just about." Sylvia said, tying off the bottom of the braid she'd put into Maggie's hair before tapping her on the shoulder to signify that it was done.

We grabbed our coats and lunch pales before heading out, we walked Maggie to school before dropping her off and heading straight for the forest. "I hope it's not busy today, my shoulders are killing me." Sylvie groaned, rolling her shoulder as we passed one of the peacekeepers that were stationed around the forest. "it's not too bad, I'd rather be doing this than working in the pulp factory, sweating over those machines." I countered as we walked into the small building where everyone kept their belongings and picked up their axe for the day, "speak for yourself muscles, I don't know how you have all that strength in that little body of yours." she laughed, poking me in the ribs causing me to flinch. "I don't know, now let's just get the next 10 hours over with."