My friend Samira recommended fanfiction.net to me today, and I'm a bit inspired. So, in this very post, I will now attempt genuine FAN FICTION. (dun dun duuuuuuuun!)
The Untold Saga of The Mellark Children, Pt. 1
Rue Primrose Mellark ran ahead of her younger brother. Her icy-blue eyes took in everything in the Meadow--every flower, every stone. An A-student in her school, she was very observant of everything. When her brother, Cinna Gale Mellark was coming about inside her mother, Katniss, she noticed how sick she was, and her odd quirks. As the lump continued to grow, she observed her mother devouring odd things, like bananas and roast duck washed down with chocolate milk and cinnamon bread for dessert. She stood aside as her father, Peeta, never left her side as the baby bump enlarged, helping her through doorways and fetching her the odd meals she requested. And she also eavesdropped when they talked with each other when it was well past her bedtime.
She never meant to be spying on her own parents. But when she heard a cry from her mother, she had to know what happened. Stealthily, she crept to the door and tried the handle. Locked! She put her ear to the keyhole and silently listened.
"I just don't know when to tell them about...the past. Rue doesn't even know who she's named for! And Cinna..." Katniss trailed off.
"Katniss, look at me." The stern-sounding voice of her father seemed much louder in the sleepy house. "I think the time is now. Tomorrow. As soon as Rue moves up to fourth grade, they will do lessons on the Games. No doubt the teacher will ask her questions, single her out, maybe, because of who we are. I know you've been putting this off, but you can't anymore. She's nine years old now. She's old enough to know."
Know what? What have they been hiding from me?
"OK, I give up. You're right. As usual."
Rue walked away after the keyhole went silent, confused and tired. Part of her wanted to march inside her mother's and father's room and ask what were they hiding, but the good side of her said that this can wait until morning after a good night's sleep. The good side won, and she collapsed into her bed, half-asleep.
***
A bright sunbeam lit Rue's face. Her long dark hair was in knots and her eyes were stuck together with morning eye crud. A normal morning. Throwing on her favorite blue shirt and a comfy pair of shorts, she hurried downstairs to the kitchen. Cinna sat in his high chair, making gurgling sounds and giggling when he dropped his sippy cup on the floor.
"Morning, Rue. How's cinnamon toast sound?" her mother called from the stove.
"Fine, Momma." Rue took her seat next to Cinna and picked up the sippy cup. It was a Sunday, a no-school day, and Rue was glad that she could stay home for what she heard about the night before. Warm sunshine filtered in from the large windows and her mother walked in with a plate for her. It was Rue's favorite Sunday breakfast: 2 thick slices of homemade bread crisp and buttery, with not too much cinnamon and sugar on top.
"I am so glad you learned to cook," said her father, kissing Katniss's cheek.
"After I about killed you with that meatloaf," she retorted back, but with a smile on her face.
Rue laughed quietly at the memory. It was so rock-hard that her father choked on it a bit, and her mother was so embarrassed that she signed up for a cooking class the came day. Her mother sat down and sighed. As Peeta and she exchanged glances, Rue could feel something coming. Something important.
"Rue, do you know what The Hunger Games were?
TO BE CONTINUED...
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