Day 2

  At school I tell Miss Bell that I had started writing a diary last night.

  "That's great!" She beams at me. "If you like, you could share your entries with the class. But that's up to you, of course."

  "I don't think I want to share my diary with anyone. It's supposed to be private, isn't it?" I ask.

  Miss Bell pats my shoulder. "Of course. It's your choice." She reassures. "Now go sit down, your classmates are being way too loud!"

  I go over to my table and sit down. My friend, Calla, who sits next to me scoots closer. "Did you get in trouble?" A gleam is in her eyes, but it isn't the kind where she hopes I get in trouble, it's more of a mischievous kind, the kind where she'll laugh at me in a friendly way if I did.

  "No! I'm a good student, unlike you." I tease. She gives me a playful punch and a pretend scowl. We look up as Miss Bell starts speaking.

  "Hello class. Today we will be starting on the Dark Days and the Hunger Games. I'm sure you have all heard about this. After we finish, we will move on to talk about the Great Rebellion, which put an end to the Hunger Games. Right, so we are going to watch a video which will give a brief summary of the Dark Days, the Hunger Games and the Great Rebellion that follows." She flips a switch and the lights turn off. Then some music starts playing.

  I recognize it as the old national anthem of Panem from the documentaries I watch on TV when I'm bored. Sometimes I feel like Mom doesn't approve me of watching because of the frowns she puts on whenever she sees me. But when I ask her, she just tells me to keep watching. "It'll be good for you to know more."

  The video shows a map of some large country. The man speaking introduces this as the United States of America, which will soon become Panem. I know that Panem doesn't look like that. It is smaller. Then blue started crawling over the edges of the green land. "Floods came and parts of America were covered by water. Soon this became Panem. Damon Snow took over this new country, and formed a Capitol and the thirteen districts."

  Lines appear on the map, forming borders between each district and the Capitol. In each space a number, except for the letter C, pops up, labelling the map. "Each district specializes in something. District 1, luxury items such as jewellery." The District 1 symbol fades in. The video went on explaining what each District does.

  "The citizens were not happy with the way the Capitol rules, as the Districts work for the them, getting close to nothing in return. And so the Districts came together, and rebelled against the Capitol as one. It was a terrible war, and almost everything is destroyed. District 13 was destroyed, or so the people thought, and because of this, the rebels had less firepower against the Capitol, and they lost."

  The video ends after 10 minutes. Apparently, during the 75th Hunger Games, some tributes in the arena blew up the arena, and the rebels rescued as many surviving tributes as they can. One of the tributes became the symbol of the rebellion, nicknamed the Mockingjay. There were terrible bombings and multiple deaths. President Coin of 13 was assassinated during the attacks, but in the end the rebels won and President Snow was killed.

  Thats the only interesting that happened in school today. After school I pick Rye up and head over to Dad's bakery like we do everyday after school. Mom is sitting at the cashier and asks us about our day. I tell her we are learning about the Dark Days.

  Theres a pause before she says anything. "That's great, Willow." Suddenly her eyes got a little watery, but she stands up quickly, and I am left unsure. "I'm going to check on your dad. He's decorating a cake for a wedding. If there's anyone, yell." She plants a kiss on Rye's cheek and disappears into the back.

  Rye takes a chocolate eclair and I take a goat cheese and apple roll. We are allowed to do that, because we are the baker's children. The goat cheese and apple roll is my favorite, even cold. Rye just likes anything sweet.

  We go home for dinner after the bakery closes and Rye and I argue who is showering first like every night. He lost, as usual. Homework is just a few questions on our thoughts of the Hunger Games and district. There are still districts now, but unlike the past, we don't specialize in coal mining. Sure, there are coal miners, but it isn't what the majority does. There are a few farms and we export stuff to the other districts and we get some of their stuff in return.

  It is the middle of the night. I was sleeping nicely, but then Mom screamed, louder than ever. One of her nightmares again. I was, and still am, scared. She does scream or yell in her sleep sometimes, but never as loud or as bloodcurdling as this. There were a few smaller screams and loud breathing. I had tiptoed to their door and listened. I heard Dad soothing Mom.

  "It's okay, it's okay. It's in the past. It's over now.." Dad's gentle voice said.

  "Oh Peeta.. Don't leave me. I can't. I keep thinking that every second..." Mom sobbed. Dad hushed her.

  "They won't." He said firmly. "You're safe. Rye and Willow are safe. I'm here. We're all safe."


***
Thanks for reading:) This may be a bit too long and not really like a diary entry but there are some things I want to talk more about... Please comment any suggestions.. :)

Day 1

  Miss Bell says a diary is a good way to remember experiences and to reflect on our lives. I do want to remember happy memories, so I can keep them forever and look back at them when I'm feeling sad. So I asked mom if I can buy a diary, and she took me to the shop. I bought a diary and a special pen just for writing in my diary. 

  I am supposed to write down everything that happens to me during the day here, so I can recap on whatever good or bad day I had and read back sometime. So I guess that will be what I'm doing. 

  In the morning, I wake up to the sunlight. It's a Sunday, so I can sleep until whatever time I want. The clock reads 8:48am. I brush my teeth and go downstairs for breakfast. Mom's awake already as usual. She's always up really early, for some reason. 

  "Morning, Mom!" I say. She looks up from the couch and gives me a small smile. "Good morning, Willow." 

 

  We live in someplace called the Victor's Village in District 12. Mom and Dad's friend and my godfather Haymitch also lives there, along with a few other families. On Sunday, our family goes to the Meadow, where we have a picnic, and Rye and I play. Rye and I used to go there everyday, when we were still little, but now we have school, so we only go on Sundays. We go there every Sunday with no fail, for some reason. I asked Mom about it, and she just said that Dad and her enjoys the outdoors. 

  Mom makes toast and eggs for me, and after I finish, I help Mom make sandwiches for our picnic with some bread leftover from Dad's bakery. Dad comes down and gives Mom a kiss on the cheek as I take the juice out of the fridge. They share a look, like they do every morning, as if they are assuring each other that everything is fine. Mom must have had another nightmare last night. She seems to have one every night. 

  When Rye finally wakes and eats his breakfast, Dad grabs the basket with the food and we head over to Haymitch's house. Mom and Dad are really good friends with Haymitch, and perhaps that's why they made him Rye and my godfather. Sometimes he comes over for dinner, and sometimes he joins us on our Sunday picnics. 

  Mom knocks on the door, and after a while, Haymitch opens the door. He is much older than Mom and Dad, his once-blonde hair streaked with white and grey. His eyes are grey, a much brighter grey than Mom's. "Haymitch!" Rye says happily. 

  Haymitch chuckles and ruffles his blonde hair. "Will you come to the Meadow? We can have another picnic. And you can tell me and Willow stories! About the Hunger Games!" Rye bounces up and down. I know that there used to be this TV game called the Hunger Games, where teenagers fight to the death. Then there was a rebellion when Mom and Dad were still teenagers against the Capitol and its cruel president, Snow. The rebels won and here we are. 

  "Sorry, Rye. I want to be alone today." He gives Mom and Dad a nod. 

  "Won't you feel bored at home, doing nothing? Come with us! You won't be 'it' this time." I say. I like hanging out with Haymitch. He can be grumpy, but I like him. But Haymitch declines, so we make our way to the Meadow. 

  Dad sets up under the the tree we usually sit under, and Mom strokes the primroses and rue flowers growing there tenderly. She says they are fragile and sweet flowers, and they deserve to bloom much longer than they do. 

  Rye and I play our usual game of tag, running and rolling around on the soft grass, being careful not to crush the flowers. I did a cartwheel on the grass, and Rye attempts to do it too, but he ends up stumbling and falling onto the ground. I worry about him, but just for a second. He is giggling as he picks himself up, and he tries again, failing again. 

  Mom and Dad calls us to eat, and I gulp down my tuna fish sandwich hungrily, and so does Rye. Mom doesn't eat much, but I am used to that. She seems to lose her appetite at the Meadow, then regains it at dinner. We play until late afternoon, then we start walking to the town. We pass Greasy Sae's kitchen, where she smiles at us, showing her broken teeth. She's very old, but her stews are amazing. 

  We visit grandma, who owns the District 12 apothecary. She doesn't look like Mom at all, with her blonde hair and blue eyes. They have a short conversation, and then we go to Greasy Sae's, where we took some stew home for dinner. 

  "You two go wash up. Your mom and I want to go to Haymitch's and discuss something with him. We'll have dinner after, okay?" Dad squeezes my shoulder and Rye's gently and goes outside, Mom following him. 

  I take a shower and turn on the TV. They're playing a documentary about the Dark Days. I switch the channel when Rye pounces on me. "Rye!" I yell. He laughs, so I tickle him. Rye yelps and tries to tickle me back, but I know I'm not ticklish. We're still fighting when Mom and Dad comes back. 

  We break apart and I greet them. They laugh at Rye's attempt at sitting up straight and acting like nothing's happened. Dinner comes and go, and soon it is time for bed. There is school tomorrow, and I am actually excited, because we will learn more about the Hunger Games. I have begged Mom and Dad to tell us more, but they had shied away from the topic every time. 

  I think this isn't that bad, writing about my thoughts in a book so I can relive them however many times I want.