Happy Birthday Common Strekker! [OPEN!]

"Happy Birthday Common!" my dad states merrily, a big smile on his face. I smile back sleepily, tossing the blanket off my body.

"Oh my goodness, my baby is turning thirteen!" my mother nearly yells. My name is Common Estell Strekker, and today is my birthday. Yes, I am related to the famed redhead triplets of District 11, the Strekkers. I share their red hair, though mine isn't as known, since I mostly stay inside. I like to think of my cousins as famous, even though they aren't. It's just, a lot of people know about them, you know? In a District where everyone has brunette and black hair, tan to dark skin, pasty skin and bright red hair is something to look at. I inherited the look form my dad, not my mom. She is just like everyone else around here.

"Come on, Common! I invited all your friends to have a party! I even invited Fornax, Meredith, and Amity!" My mother boasts.

"My friends?" I question. I didn't know she had knew I had friends.

She leans in closer to me, her voice becoming a whisper, "Those kids you give food to regularly, I told them to come today for your birthday. Now we just have to see if they show up." I raise my eyebrows, surprised she wasn't yelling at me for giving away meat. My dad is the butcher, and I usually sneak food out to kids outside if they seem to need it. Especially my cousins. I throw on my midnight blue dress and walk to the front of the house, where the shop is. My dad has cleared out all the meat and stuffed it into the freezer, so now the tables are that is in the room, along with the chairs and an empty counter. I was so lucky to have all this. I heard my aunt died last week, though, so it is questionable if they will show up.

There is a knock at the door, and through the clear screen I see my cousin Meredith waving to me with a smile. She was always smiling, which was a quality I enjoyed about her. I open the door, and in she comes, Fornax trailing behind her with Amity's limp.THey are wearing their everyday clothes, Amity with her two braids and hat, Meredith in two braids, and Fornax in a single braid. It was just too easy to tell them all apart from each other.

"Amity, how are you doing?" I inquire. She was the youngest triplet by only a few minutes, though sometimes she could be considered younger by ten years. Hr blank stare tells me I better ask Meredith. Looking up at her, I am already met with an answer.

"Ever since mom passed, she won't talk to anyone. Not even Fornax."

I nod my head and motion towards a table. They sit down, but just as I'm about to join them, someone else knocks. Who could it be?