You've probably heard all the cases that are happening these days. 'Father accused of murder', 'Mother abuses kids', 'Crazy man with a shotgun shoots a monkey' and, unfortunately, so on but you have never heard a story quite like mine. I must admit that my story is still progressing as I'm only seventeen but it is filled up more than the average person would expect it to be. My name is Katniss Everdeen, and even though I hate my life and how it's going, I still have to live it.

"Look at me Prim, I'm going to go to this job interview and you're going next door, you got it? If mum comes looking for you hide, Mrs Hawthorne knows what to do." I whisper to my younger sister, Prim, as I head out the door. It would be a whole lot easier to leave for this damned interview if she would let go of my legs. but I don't blame the little duck, I'm terrified of mum myself, but she isn't home right now so I need to get her safe before the she-devil came home.

You see I never wanted this life, this pain and the hollowness that comes with the emptiness I feel all the time. Pain for me is always around the corner, some of it is for the loss of my father, who was unsurprisingly murdered by my mother, some of it is for the physical pain of the beatings I endure every day, cruel beatings I take on so my sister won't have to, beatings that have done nothing to deserve. Beatings I've experienced since I was nine. I'm sixteen now.

"But what if she finds me? What if she hits me this time, Katniss? I don't want that, please Katniss stay! Don't leave me!" my sister yells at me, her cries muffled by my shirt. The only thing that ever breaks me is to see Prim crying. I can't help but feel hopeless, like there's nothing I can do to stop the pain she's going through. All I can do is hug her as I kneel in the doorway of our old run down house and look at what my life has become. I look at the stained cream walls that used to be white, I look at the old and dirty red woven rug that is currently getting wet by all the rain coming through the doorway, I look at all I have lost and I feel the pain I've felt every day since having to take on the burden of keeping this broken family alive when I was too young.

"She's not going to hurt you; I'll kill her before she hurts you." I tell her standing up and turning away from her. "I need this job Prim; we can't live on game alone. Plus we need clothing, and I'm running out of money for your school and the payment deadline is soon. Also I need to pay for my online classes. I don't want the community home to take you away if they find out about us, so I have to make it looks normal ok? And don't worry I'll be back soon, I'll never let her touch you." And with that I walk way, never looking back, all the way to the subway station.

Let me just tell you that the subway sucks, especially in my part of Chicago. I live the seam and if you live there you just so happen to be either the poorest, dirtiest or creepiest of them all, or a combination of all three. And as I stand in the middle of a 'dirty person party' this one creep just has to make all that more uncomfortable by staring at me as if I'm a T-bone steak. We'll it's that or he's staring at me because of the few bruises I couldn't cover that adorned every inch of my body, granted these were harder to cover since there on my face and I can't afford makeup to cover them. I seriously hate my life.

The ride to downtown Chicago is long and smelly, and when we finally arrive its feels like the smog filled air could never be sweeter. As I walk towards the building that will hopefully be my future workplace. My last job didn't go too well, I worked at that petrol station for two years and I got laid off because they were over staffed. I mean, I worked there for two years and I was the one that got fired.

Walking along the street, every one stares. There aren't many people, being downtown as all, but the ones who here stop and stare at me and my bruises and cuts as I walk past. Way to make me feel better! I look at my hand drawn map and see that I've only got a few blocks to go. On the inside I'm jumping for joy about the fact that soon I will be, hopefully, in a nice air conditioned building, escaping the crazy heat. The jeans, t-shirt and hoodie don't help much, but a beaten up girl's gotta do what a beaten up girl's gotta do.

I stop outside the building I'm looking for, watching the people run around through the double glass doors with a feeling of dread. I can't believe I'm actually doing this, trying to get a job at a gym. Haymitch's Hunger Gym and Games, to be exact. Huh, what a weird name. But this was my last option and I need the money so bad, so all I do is hold my head high, trample the feeling of panic I get in large crowds and push open the glass doors to a blissfully cold room.

At first nobody notices the weirdly dressed girl (me) who just walked through the door but as soon as the door closes and a bell chimes, making me jump and being scared shitless- everybody stops and stares. The panic begins to rise again and as I gaze at each and every one of them they slowly drop their gaze and continue on with what they were doing. Ok now that was weird. They obviously don't get many new comers here if that is there usual reaction, because that was just plain creepy.

"Oh, stop staring at her go back to doing what you were doing. You're making her uncomfortable." A girl with the brightest red hair I've ever seen says a she walks towards me. She looks kind enough, I decide. Maybe she'll help me out. "Hi, I'm Annie Cresta. Can I help you?" She smiles at me as if there was no trouble in the whole world. If only you knew, I think as I take her offered hand and shake it twice before letting it go.

"Uh, hi I'm Katniss, I saw your ad in the paper about staff and I was wondering if I could talk to someone about it. I…I mean I want to work here." I am a complete idiot, sounding weak and unsure of myself. I'm Katniss, the strong independent women who takes care of a family and makes they don't starve, not a blubbering mess.

"Oh! You'll want to talk Finnick; he's the head of employment." She says, still smiling in her pure way. Actually it's kinda contagious and I start to feel my lips pulling into a smile before I can stop myself.

"Really, shouldn't um…haymitch…be the head of employment? He is the owner right?" Even though I stumble a bit, I'm glad I sound a little stronger.

"Oh yes, he is the owner but he's drunk half the time and asleep the other half. We never see him around here, so we run the place." She shrugs, that stupid persuasively contagious smile still plastered on her face. "I'll just get our employment man. Finnick!" She shouts across the room, making me jump. I look around the room, wondering who this 'Finnick' is, when I see one of the hottest men I've ever seen jump out of the large boxing ring and bound over. He skids to a stop in front of us and smiles a panty melting smile. When all I do is offer a small nod, his smile wavers a bit before restoring to its natural mega-watt status. Well at least I think it's natural, his teeth are so white!

"What's up, hot stuff?" He's to me, making me raise an eyebrow at Annie in question. Is he serious, is what it asks. She rolls her eyes as if to say, tell me about it. We laugh as he looks on clueless that we are talking with our expression about him.

"This is Katniss, Finnick, and she wants a job here. I was thinking, you know since it's your job to do so, that you could help her out. If that's no problem with you, of course." Ooh, she's a feisty one she is. I look at Finnick to see what he'll do but I'm surprised when I see him lean in and kiss her cheek.

"No problem babes, I'll take care of the hottie." He smiles down at her but she just huffs and walks away as he laughs. "She hates it when I do that." Ah, so he's not her boyfriend. That's a relief since that way he was talking and flirting to me would be seriously bad if he was. "You want some?" He purses his lips and goes to kiss me but I put my hand over his mouth and laugh as he kisses my hand.

"I'm good, but I would really like a job here. I saw our ad in the paper and thought I'd come and check it out." Of course I'm lying, I wasn't coming here just to check it out, and I really desperately needed this job. But there was just something about his laughing eyes, the way his hair flopped in his eyes, and his self-assured aura that just made me smile and laugh. It felt good to laugh again, I haven't for so long. He tried to talk but I still had my hand over his mouth so it came more like: mhmnm trmnnk humnmerm. "What?" I asked removing my hand.

"Why would you want to work here?" He looked around pointedly and I followed he's gaze. In my opinion the place didn't look that bad, it was actually really nice. Everything looked clean and new and well kept. The walls, as well as the usual gleaming white you would find, were a refreshing bright green and one wall was made of glass giving way to a Pilates class currently underway.

"Well, this place looks nice and I really need a job. I really need the money." I say looking straight into his eyes. What I see there is kindness and…sympathy? Strange.

"Great, you can start today! We've had that out for weeks and no one else has come in so we are really desperate right now. And I can see how determined you are, that's always a good sign, plus Annie instantly liked you which is good because it took me weeks just to make her laugh." And at that he laughs himself. Seriously does is this guy always happy because I think I may happily run away screaming if he is. I can't handle that right now, maybe not ever but all I do is put on a fake smile.

"I'll get Annie to get you a uniform." It's only then do I realise that he and Annie are wearing the funniest looking uniform I've probably ever seen. It consist of tiny baby blue shorts and (which I guess is for all the females) a shirt that only covers half of her stomach. For the guys it's a bit more covering as the shorts reach halfway down there thighs and the tank top covers there stomach but obviously not their arms. I gulp realising I'll have to wear that. It's not like I have a problem with it, it's just that I'll have to uncover my bruises. I start to panic and my breath comes in shallow gasps as I feel my throat tightening. "Hey, are you ok?" Finnick asks, bending down so he could peer into my eyes and holding my shoulders. I stare into his eyes as tears well up in my own, and what I see there is pitiful. I see my own reflection in his eyes and this make me instantly sober.

"I'm fine." I say as I see Annie approaching with my uniform. Finnick still hasn't let me go so I say again, "I'm fine, ok?" I walk out of his hold and towards Annie grabbing the outstretched uniform and following her pointed finger towards the change rooms. When I finally walk through the door to the female staff change rooms, not so conveniently placed next to the male costumer change rooms, I strip and quickly pull on my uniform. I look into the full length mirror and take a damage report. My arms and legs are completely covered in bruises and cuts and burn marks. The pale of my skin making the deep purple of the bruises stand out. My middle is wear it's wost though. My stomach is purple and covered in red any gashes from last night and previous beatings. My chest has an angry gash diagonally across, going from my collar bone and down under my top. My face only has a few small bruises, my mother never wants people to know she's hurts me like this. She is truly an evil person.

Seeing this makes my knees buckle and I fall to the ground, sobbing for who I've been forced to become, for the loss of my loving father, for the loss of my own life. A life I'll never get back.

I stayed in there for a long time, dreading having to go out there, but I never expected someone to come looking for me.

"Katniss, are you okay." I hear Annie ask. And before I can cover myself, I see her come around the corner with her obviously newly died bright red hair but I also find myself confronted with shiny blonde hair and the deepest blue eyes I've ever seen.