When The Canary Sings

Cherry Red.

First Person Point of View: Becca Blue: 

* 

"My name's Sandy, I'm 14 years old

My friends say I'm ugly, but dad says I'm the prettiest thing

The prettiest thing

The prettiest thing

The prettiest thing

The prettiest thing

My name's Sandy, I'm 14 years old

And sometimes I hate you

But right now I just wanna go home

I just wanna go home

Just wanna go home

Just wanna go home

I just wanna go home

My name's Sandy, I'm 14 years old

My mother says she hates me

And I oughta leave 'er alone

My name's Sandy, I'm 14 years old

My insides are changing

And right now I just wanna grow up

I just wanna grow up

I just wanna grow up

I just wanna grow up

I just wanna grow up

I just wanna grow up

I just wanna grow up

I just wanna grow up

I just wanna grow up."

The sponsors lounge clapped and cheered as I finished the song I wrote about five minutes after Sandy left me alone in the Chapel. I've been thinking about that night, a few days ago when a girl my age was a choice away from being married off.

I hope that that song was recorded, and if she heard it, she'd think of her. She'd think of her old name, she'd think of the chapel, and of the woman who stood on the moon.

I walk back to the couch and sit next to a tired Haymitch. The bags under his eyes are dark and heavy, but to be fair, mine are pretty dark too. Now I understand when Hyamitch says that mentoring is taxing stuff.

"This Sandy girl," Haymitch drawls, "is she you?" He asks, taking a sip out of a silver flask as we watch the big screen. I lean back into the couch, proud as the sponsor money that is displayed on the screen goes up next to the name KATNISS.

"No," I say airily, "she's someone I met." She smiled.

"Oh?" Haymitch says, "at home?"

"Here." I assure, watching as Katniss and Rue separate to trap the careers. "The night of that party." I say, not telling him the fact that I left the party, then slipped back in. According to Finnick, there was a secret manhunt for me because no one could find me. I said they must've just missed me. "That burn medicine worked well. How much was it?" Asking him, remembering the day after that party, Katniss woke up to a firewall closing in on her. Eerily close to how I predicted it.