I heard the door close as Katniss went out to hunt. Today wasn't in my little sister's hunting schedule, but then again, today wasn't any other day. It was the day ever family in Panem worries about. Reaping day. I understand Katniss would be nervous; she would be included in the thousands whose fate is decided in that glass bowl.
Because now, she was eligible for the 74th Hunger Games.
It seemed that yesterday, she was just ten years old. Now she was twelve and in a large possible danger. A small mew knocked me back to consciousness.
"Are you hungry Buttercup?" I ask while I reach for his bowl and milk. "I wish I was a cat, so I wouldn't have to worry." I thought
Shortly after he eats, I milked my goat, Lady. My saved up goat milk produced more than my family can handle. By now, my mother woke up and was a little melancholic; nevertheless a smile was painted on her once beautiful face.
"Good morning Prim. Did Katniss went out today?" she asked, voice tinged with concern.
Even if it was already a year, my mother was still not used to Katniss's absence in the morning.
I nodded. "She was feeling... nerve wrecked..."
My mother nodded and started to prepare breakfast. "Prim, breakfast is going to be long. Why don't you offer some of that milk to our neighbors?" She asked when she saw my three buckets of milk. "We could still run on milk without you saving your goat milk, you know."
I agreed to this idea. After all, Katniss wasn't the only one fretting about the reaping. The name 'Primrose Everdeen' was probably repeating in twenty or so slips.
First, I visited Madge, who was my best friend, or rather my only friend. Seeing her huge house, I wondered how it would feel to live in such luxury. Luckily, it was Madge who opened the door and not her father, the mayor. In her satin white dress and golden flats, Madge looked beautiful without even trying.
"Good morning Madge," I greeted. "Is that your dress for the reaping?"
"Yeah, I just bought it. Isn't it nice?" Madge did a little twirl for me, allowing me to see the dress in all its glory. "So what brings you here? I doubt you came to see my outfit."
"Oh, I just wanted to give you this," I said before I handed her my bucket. "Lady's milk is great for making cream for strawberries."
"Perfect! Your little sister just came by to give us strawberries. You just missed her."
"Really? Well I have to go, the rest of the milk won't give itself, you know," I say. "And that's a nice pin by the way."
The pin on Madge's dress was golden with blue flames made out of sapphires. It seemed to pop out with my favorite color: Dark Blue.
"Thanks Prim. Dress nice for the reaping, and you might get HIS attention!" She shouted teasingly as I run down the hill blushing furiously.
Nest, I decided to visit Greasy Sae. Katniss had also come by with Gale. To be completely honest, I would like Katniss to be with Gale. In times of need, he would save us, even if it meant sacrificing himself.
Greasy Sae had given me a bowl of chowder exchange for my bucketful of milk. That left one more bucket. I half-carried, half-lugged the pail of milk to my last stop. The bakery isn't far, but with me going back and forth carrying weight, it was hard labour.
Finally, I reached the Mellarks' home. Breathing heavily, I dropped the bucket on the doorstep and attached my note. 'To the Mellarks' it said in my cursive strip.
Before, I had given them milk this way, and I had a resolution to give it to them in person. I sighed in my failure to gain courage, knocked on the door and turned away before I was caught.
"Mornin' Primrose." I was stopped in my tracks. Mr. Mellark was standing by the door, picking up the pail. "Why don't you ever give this to us face to face?"
"Er... I... um..."
"Come in Primrose," he said. "I insist."
"Ok, as long as you call me Prim." I reply. I enter the house, which was small but big enough to house a family like the Mellarks. Mr. Mellark gestured for me to enter the kitchen, in other words, the bakery.
"Close your eyes." He ordered. I obeyed. When I opened my eyes, I was greeted with a cake, decorated elegantly. White icing covered the delicacy while flowers added a much needed touch of color.
"I-is this for me?" I ask, still gazing at the pastry.
"Yes, every single nook and cranny."
"But won't your wife..."
"She not here today," he interrupted. "Plus I owe you and Katniss for the squirrels and goat milk."
"Your work is beautiful." I said. Mr. Mellark laughed at this.
"Prim, can you keep a secret?" he whispers. "All the decorating and icing that you look at every time you pass by, is done by my youngest son..."
I started to blush again, for a particularly embarrassing reason...
"!" I rushed out of the bakery holding the cake in my hands, leaving Mr. Mellark confused and dazed.
When I got back, Katniss was already there and getting ready. She was wearing my white and blue dress, complete with my blue sandals from when I was her age. It was a little small because she was bigger than me at my age. My mother wore an old dress that I recognized because of a photo of when she was running an apothecary. I placed the cake on the table, next to Katniss's game.
"Wow, where did you get that?" Katniss surveyed the cake carefully while my mother tasted the sweet, white blanket.
"The baker gave it to me." Was my answer. I undressed and took a quick bath that helped me relax a bit. My dress was laid out by my mother. Despite the outfit's sentimental value, my mother had let me wore it. The blouse was soft and comfortable, and the green accented my fair hair. The skirt was made from the same fabric as the blouse, but only a lighter shade of green.
"Wait Prim," Katniss tucked my blouse properly in my skirt. "You looked like a mama duck." She joked.
I fixed my hair to its usual two ponytails. We were ready to go but there was still time. We quietly ate breakfast as the feeling in the pit of my stomach grew deeper. Judging from Katniss's face, there was no doubt she felt it too.
We finished and started to make our way to through the square. We were late by the looks of it, but people were still making their way to the square. Me and Katniss got separated and I only got one glimpse before she disappears in the crowd. Gale caught my eye in the fourteen year olds section. He too was also looking at Katniss. The mayor began with the same speech every year; most of the people present got bored of it and were not paying attention. Everyone was aware that District 12 was the pitiful of all the districts, to make matters worse, Haymitch Abernathy, the only alive victor from District 12, was insanely drunk out of his mind. Oh the things a person does when intoxicated; absolutely not pretty.
Effie Trinket came up the stage smiling because of the relief of escaping Haymitch. She said her signature line: "Happy hunger games! And may the odds be ever in your favour!" Her capitol accent made the line sound twice as idiotic. "Ladies first!" Effie buried her hand in the bowl and grabbed a slip of paper. I covered my ears, unable to hear the name of the unlucky soul."...deen." was all I heard. I thought that it was me, but then, I saw a figure coming up the stage. I paled. The slip that Effie fished out, out of all the others, written in a neat cursive, was that dreaded slip.
"Katniss Everdeen."
My first fanfiction! I'm sorry if it didn't reach anyone's expectation. Please be kind! And help me out a little!