In the third section of this story, right before the reaping, is a thing I made up. It has never been a part of the Games and was just an idea I had for another way for the Capitol to be cruel. I repeat, it is my own invention and was never actually in the Games. Trying to follow the storyline while adding parts inbetween. Enjoy!
The teacher pulled her into the hallway and the entire class was silent. Then they both came back inside, the teacher watching her carefully, and resumed the lesson. Everyone was staring at her, though, and nobody was listening. Some kids looked scared, or ready to cry, or afraid for their safety. Everyone knew Katniss had a temper. He was the only one, though, who looked as if he wanted to hold her. The only one who cared how she felt. The teacher sat quietly at her desk, having given up on the lesson, and buried her face in her hands. It seemed like she was taking it harder than Katniss was.
Katniss Everdeen's father had just died in a mine explosion, and not one tear rolled down her face.
Mrs. Everdeen used to come with her family at least twice a week into town, to each of the shops, and stock up on their supplies. He always looked forward to these days, which were usually Monday and Thursday, to see Katniss. She held her sister's hand and smiled at people who passed by, and sometimes her father came too.
Then, when Katniss' father died, she started coming only with Prim. Everyone just figured that Mrs. Everdeen was grieving and didn't want to see anyone, but she never came back. It was two long years of Prim and Katniss going into the Hob, where he never had the need or nerve to go, and by the bakery to trade for squirrels she shot illegally. Prim always wandered over to the cakes to stare longingly at something she could never have, and Katniss went around the counter and into the back to speak with his father.
His father, too, had noticed that Mrs. Everdeen never came into town anymore. He'd once been in love with Mrs. Everdeen, and was also a caring person, much more so than his mother, and one day, while Peeta stood behind the counter wiping it down, asked about her.
"How's your mother, Katniss?" Mr. Mellark asked, holding his hands out for the squirrel Katniss was rummaging for in her bag. Peeta watched, his heart beating fast, as Katniss, straight-faced and stony, replied, "I don't have a mother." Peeta noticed out of the corner of his eye that Prim looked down at the floor, away from the cakes, and went to Katniss' side. She looped two fingers in Katniss' hip pocket, as if she were afraid Katniss would run away if she didn't have hold of her.
Naturally, Mr. Mellark couldn't keep his mouth shut and his eyes widened. "She- she died?" he asked in astonishment. Katniss pulled the drawstrings tight on her bag, threw it over her shoulder, and replied in a voice no child should ever use, a voice way beyond her years, "My mother died a long time ago. In a mine accident."
She grabbed Prim's hand and walked away, and Peeta noticed not one tear rolled down her face.
The line stretched from the table almost to the shops all in a row, and Peeta watched from his window. His heart broke when he saw Katniss in that line, waiting for her Survival Shot.
Survival Shots were insanely large shots that you got put in your arm either every week or every month, depending on how often you ate. Katniss usually went every week. They contained the bare minimum of the nutrients needed to survive so that the Capitol couldn't be accused of being cruel.
There were four people in front of her. They all either started crying or clutched their arms in agony when the needle went in. Katniss walked up and Peeta clutched at his shirt, turning slightly away when Katniss turned to face him. Did she know he was looking right at her? Did he know he wanted to push her away from them and feed her for the rest of her life?
Peeta had never had to get a shot. His family had struggled- who in this district hadn't?- but he had never had to resort to that. Katniss hunted and provided for her mother and her sister, but Peeta guessed that, since it was getting colder, there just wasn't enough to go around. She had been starving for her family.
The man behind the desk shoved the absurdly large needle in a vial with amber golden liquid, pulled the plunger out, and then flicked the tube to rid it of bubbles. Katniss looked almost bored, as if she were just waiting in a line to go to the bathroom, and Peeta whimpered a bit when the man rolled Katniss' sleeve up. She flipped her hair out of her face and let her arm fall to her side. The man flicked the needle again for good measure and then jammed it in Katniss' arm.
She didn't even blink.
Peeta's mouth fell open in shock. He'd never seen anyone not cry or even flinch before! Those needles put tranquilizer darts to shame!
The man grabbed a small piece of cotton and swabbed it over where he'd given her the shot and then motioned for the person behind her to come forward. Katniss rolled her sleeve down and made her way back toward her home, and not one tear rolled down her face.
Prim was shouting at Katniss, who was pulling a red child's wagon behind her into town. Gale had come up behind Prim and hoisted her over his shoulder, walking in the opposite direction. Katniss didn't even turn around. She just stared straight forward in that determined way of hers that Peeta admired.
He'd been given the day off since so many people were in town; his mother didn't want him to screw anything up with the valued customers. He and his three friends were in their small backyard, joking and kicking an old ball around. He'd noticed Katniss when Mitchell punched him on the shoulder, smirking. He took the ball from Peeta and went to his friends.
Katniss was wearing pants that were too tight for her own good, a dark green color, a black shirt, and leather boots that went halfway up her calf. Her normal jacket was on, and her hair was braided over her shoulder. Peeta liked how she didn't try to look fancy for living in the poorest district in Panem.
She pulled the wagon further away from her sister, right down the road in front of Peeta's house, and his friends laughed under their breath. Her head whipped up and she glared at them, and they instantly lost their smiles. She gave an especially mean look to Peeta, whose cheeks burned red in shame.
"I don't know why you like her, man," Mitchell said, chest-passing the ball to Peeta, "she's a bit-" Peeta threw the ball back and hit Mitchell square in the face. "Don't even think about saying that!" Peeta warned. Mitchell gave him a dirty look and wiped the mud off his face. He dropped the ball and kicked it around their square.
They all knew Peeta liked Katniss. They all knew he'd liked her for a long time, too. They all also knew where she was going. She was going to sign up for the tesserae. Which meant she was going to get her name put in the reaping ball three more times, and Peeta hated it. He'd never had to go for tesserae. His mother wouldn't let him. She'd steal from other shopkeepers before she's let Peeta put his name in again. Why shouldn't he? Katniss had to. It wasn't fair.
"Life isn't fair, man," Tray said, kicking the ball at Peeta's shins. Peeta kicked it back and that was all they did for a long time. Then, Katniss, her red wagon loaded down heavily, came back through town with three sacks of grain and three containers of oil being pulled behind her. Peeta looked away.
The people in town stared and some of them even laughed at her. How dare they? She was in the same position they were in! They knew how hungry felt!
She gritted her teeth and pulled the wagon over a stone that had been pulled out of the ground. Mitchell had stuffed his hands in his pockets and was kicking the ball against the tree near him, but Tray had scared him and Mitchell's foot slipped, sending the ball flying right toward Katniss. Peeta covered his mouth and before he could even yell it had rebounded off Katniss' head into her wagon. Her hair had come partially unbraided and there was a red mark on her left cheek. Mitchell started walking toward her, apologizing profusely, but Katniss picked up the ball and set her wagon handle down.
Mitchell thought that Katniss was going to just hand the ball back. Peeta, who had never spoken to her a day in his life, knew she wouldn't. She gripped the ball tightly in her right hand, leaned back, stepped forward with the opposite foot, and released the ball with a grunt. It smacked Mitchell in the face in the same exact place where Peeta had, and Peeta smiled a bit. Mitchell clutched at his nose and the ball rolled to Peeta's feet. He picked it up and shrugged, shaking his head with his mouth open. He didn't know what to say. He couldn't say anything.
Katniss regarded him for a second, her eyes flashing from his head to his feet and back up, then she picked up her wagon handle, wiped her nose with the back of her hand and walked away as three little town kids laughed at her wagon. Peeta's face would've been burning right then, but Katniss walked away, and not one tear rolled down her face.
"Hold out your hand," a bored voice said. Peeta held his hand out and the woman in white clothes flipped it over, stabbed a piece of metal in his index finger, and rolled it on a square on a piece of paper. He tried not to cringe, but the woman hadn't been exactly gentle. He looked over to the girls' line and saw Katniss hold her hand out. He noticed immediately that she wore a powder blue dress and had her hair tied up. She looked nice. He had, of course, noticed her lean legs before, but they were showing now, and he liked it.
The man at the girls' table pricked Katniss' finger and she didn't even flinch. She was too busy looking over at Prim who was waiting for her, her finger in her mouth, tears rolling down her face. The man rolled Katniss' finger in her square and she walked away, leading Prim to her section. Peeta realized this was probably Prim's first reaping.
Everyone made their way to their groups. Peeta stood in his proper place and then looked over to find Katniss. She was looking in his direction, and his heart sped up at the idea that she might be searching for him, but she smiled encouragingly at... Gale. She nodded once, a kind of slow nod, and then faced forward, watching Effie Trinket on the makeshift stage. Her outfit was ridiculous, and her makeup made her look like a clown.
"Ladies first," she said in her silly Capitol accent. Her manicured talons circled around the edge of the ball, ruffling the paper slips a bit and then coming back out. She finally grabbed a slip of paper and unfolded it. She waited for a moment, and then said into te microphone, "Primrose Everdeen."
Peeta's heart stopped. A few girls clapped their hands over their mouths, and Mrs. Everdeen could be heard shrieking from the edge of the square. Katniss stared, confused, as Prim walked forward, two Peacekeeps flanking her. It sunk in to Katniss what was happening, and she started pushing people out of her way. Peeta wished she hadn't. The Peacekeepers would get after her now. Katniss didn't have to push for long, though; people made her a path.
"Prim!" she yelled. This was the most emotion Peeta had ever seen her show. "Prim!" she yelled louder. Prim turned around to face her, but kept walking forward. Effie was holding her hand out, gesturing for her to come up the steps, but Katniss yelled again. "Don't you dare!" she shrieked. The Peacekeeps who had been walking behind Prim formed a barracade to keep her from getting to her. "Prim!" Katniss shrieked. "NO!"
Prim had started crying now, but was still making the walk up to the stage. Nobody else in the square had made a sound, except Mrs. Everdeen, who was now sobbing.
Katniss pulled her arm back and punched the Peacekeeper in the face. She rushed by him and sprinted up to Prim, who had almost reached the steps, and shoved her behind her, holding her arms out as if to protect her from the woman with a pink wig.
"I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!" Katniss yelped. Peeta's eyes closed and his head fell. Mitchell clapped him sympathetically on the shoulder. He was dizzy. Why would you do that to me? Peeta thought. How could you?
Effie stuttered into the microphone, "Oh, I believe we have a volunteer. Come on, then." Katniss started to walk toward the stage and Prim dug her heels into the dirt, pulling on Katniss' dress. Peeta was afraid, for a moment, that Prim would rip her skirt and show Katniss' underwear to everyone. Not that it would be horrible.
Gale had jogged up behind the both of them. Katniss said harshly, "Prim, let go!" Gale picked Prim up under her arms and threw her over his shoulder, walking away as Prim reached out and positively screamed for Katniss. Katniss pulled her face into her normal scowl and walked up the steps to stand by Effie. She said into her microphone with a happy clapp, "I'll bet my buttons that was your sister." Katniss only glared at her.
Effie trotted over to the boys' ball and took her time grabbing this paper, too. When she did, she said, "Peeta Mellark." Peeta felt as though he'd been punched in the gut again. His friends gave him a small shove in the back, and he walked slowly up to the stage. He took his place next to Effie and waited for her to make her speech. He couldn't take his eyes off Katniss, though. When she saw that Gale had carried her safely away from the people from the Capitol, she didn't look so stressed.
"I give you, the tributes from District 12!" Effie chirped. Nobody clapped. Everyone stared. Then slowly, slowly, a few people kissed the three fingertips of their left hand and raised it out to them. It meant goodbye to someone you love. Peeta knew it wasn't for him. The someone he loved was on the stage with him. Katniss stared at them and nodded once, then they were both led away. Peeta's mother was being supported by his father, and he immediately started crying. Katniss' mother was crumpled up on the ground, weeping, and not one tear rolled down her face.
Well, how was that for a first chapter? This idea has been bugging me for a while now, and I'm having a lot of trouble with my other stories. I'll try and update soon, but it's hard. Encouragment! Next chapter up today. Review, lovies!
~Paige