You Are My Mockingjay- Watty's Finalist 2013

Mr. Kingston "King"

Over the summer Cloves parents were struggling to get along.  It wasn't something new that had happened...for it had been something that her parents had argued for a couple of years.  At first Clove thought it was money problems and then later on it became something more once Cloves father started to drink more.  Sometimes he would complain to Cloves mom on how she's not doing enough for the family when in reality she was and working her butt off to make ends meat.  He would be so hard on her that she would cry herself to sleep.  "Mom why do you let him do that to you?"  Said Clove one day as she saw her crying at the counter.  

  "Because we need him in our lives." Her mother said weeping between her tears.

   A few weeks after the hiking trip Cato came over to hang out for the afternoon.  "I have to run some errands kids, so don't go anywhere outside ok?"  Said Grace who stood by the front door getting her keys out of her purse.  Quickly she turns around from opening the door.  "Oh your father will be home in about an hour or so, have fun now!  As she shuts the door.  Clove and Cato just sit on the lumpy couch not sure what to do.  

  "Do you want a drink or anything?"  She offers to Cato as she got up to get herself a class of water.  

  "Sure I'll have a glass but lots of ice in mine."  Clove laughs at his request because Clove had this tendency to not want ice in her water but Cato could drink a whole glass of just ice and be completely fine.  

  "Well come with me to get it!"  Slowly he gets up from the couch as if he was a huge weight to lift up himself.  Sluggishly he grabs the glass that Clove hands him once in the kitchen.  

  "I wish my dad wasn't coming home so soon."  

  "Why not?"  Curious of her remark he swiftly turns from the ice chest and faces her as he puts ice in his cup.  

Clove looks at him sharply as she tries to pour water in her glass from the cup.  "He just doesn't trust me as I wish he would but come on lets go back into the family room.  We can watch Caesar Flickerman's Talk show."

  Caesar Flickerman's show was always entertaining for all ages alike.  It was the kind of show that talked about the latest gossips, trends, famous actors and advice that Flickerman asks his audience.  Today's show was about how to make house hold items in ways you would never think.  Both Clove and Cato thought it was amazing with some ideas that came up who would have thought.  By the end of the show the front door swings open with Clove's dad slowly coming in.  Clove who was slumped in the couch pulls herself straight up and stays motionless,  Cato does the same thing.  Her father looks at the kids and sees what their doing, suddenly he drops his bag onto the cold tile floor making a big thud.  "Hey guys what are you up to?"  David nears the two and glances at the commercial from the t.v. screen.  

 "Not much, just watching some t.v."  Cato says as he stared at him from top to bottom.  He wasn't sure why he was doing that for he just felt like it was right to do so.  

  "Where's your mom?"  He said titling his head to get a bit of Clove's direction.  Clove twirls her fingers around together that sat in her lap.  

  "She's at the store, she said she'll be back in a couple of hours."  Slowly her father nods at her response.  

  "Ok well I'm going to go change and be in the garage if you need me."  David slowly turns away and pulls into his bedroom from the downstairs bedroom.  Clove breaths out heavily in relief. 

   "Hey do you want something to snack on?"  Cato nods as he glances back to her.  

  "Sure what do you have?" He says casually as a young preteen would do.