Chapter 1
I wake up, stretching and preparing myself for the long day ahead of me. I pull back the drapes my mother made in her spare time over the weekend. Knowing my mother has to get ready for the reaping, I slip on my old, torn slippers to head downstairs to cook breakfast for rue and glim as I feel it's expected of me as the man of the house. Well, technically dad is the man of the house. But he's always out working and the next time I see him he will be with mum, on stage. I look in the bathroom, the kitchen and by the fire. No sight of mum or dad. I loudly call for rue and glim who are still lying in their beds.
I milk the cows, remembering I used all the milk during the night on a large bowl of cereal. I then take the fresh milk that i collected in the tin milk bucket, pour it in the first saucepan i grab from the cupboard and add some oats, then I put it on the fire.i hear the girls race to the bathroom above me.i slip on my sandals leaving my old slippers near the fire and make my way to the screen where the reaping will take place. My mother always tells me to make the most of it because when she was my age the electricy was barely turned on in our district. Most people in district twelve watch the screen everymorning for the daily update, its easier than buying the daily paper. As i leave I can hear rue teasing glim through what we use as a bathroom door when really it's several planks of wood nailed together with hinges screwed in them.
I head out to the screen and surprisingly see mum and dad crying on stage. I kind of expected to see them rehearsing, but why were they crying? i take a glimpse at the screen but i don't see anything about the games, so i head back before my parents spot me. Five minutes after i reached home, my mum and dad burst their way through the front door paying me lots of attention - asking me several questions like "Why aren't you dressed" , "Are you nervous? dont be!" , "This year you took tesserae didnt you?" , mum then hushes dad and says "Don't ask things like that!" she nudges him to a side and says what i work out to be "He might get suspicious." they face me and theres an awkward silence "Stop!" I blurt out. "If you guys dont want to tell me whats going on then i guess you dont need to tell me anything at all.". I can tell they want to tell me whatever it is they're hiding but i'm not going to stand at wait while they hesitate to respond. knowing the girls are using the bathroom, i storm into my room. i throw my finest clothes on my bed. i honestly cant be asked to shower, ive not been hunting or baking and i bathed last night. i look through dads old outfits he was given by the capitol. He never did tell me how he got these, he did tell me once that he was given an outfit that was set on fire though, not that i know how or why. i pick a black shirt, black trousers, and a black and red blazer with flame accents; is it me or is he obsessed with fire?
After i dress my self, i take a deep breath, Clear my head, and head back downstairs to show my parents my choice of attire. As i make my way back downstairs all i hear is silence. Both my parents are standing at the bottom of the staircase as if they were expecting me. i stand still for a minute waiting for their response. My mum gives me a little, pin, a badge of some sort. it has a golden bird holding an arrow with its mouth, as if to show courage. it looks to me a bit like a mocking jay. ive heard plenty about them but i am yet to come across one myself.
People say the jabberjay is a type of bird that was made by the capitol to spy on enemies. Jabberjays were made to memorize and repeat peoples conversations. Eventually people in the districts realised they were being spied on they told the jabberjays lies to trick the capitol. Thats when the capitol ceased the jabberjays and left them to die off in the wild. But to the humiliation of the Capitol, the male jabberjays unexpectedly mated with female mockingbirds to produce the mockingjay.
"Why, whats this? What are you guys up to?" I stutter with curiosity "Theres something ive never told you." "well thats a surprise isnt it?" i snap sarcastically. "me and your dad with the winners from the sevent - " "Oh my god" My jaw locks leaving my mouth half open. "We are katniss everdeen and peeta mellark, the winners of the seventy fourth hunger games." I rudely barge past both of them, i knew it, only i believed them for years as they denied it. my heart drops, i feel butterflies in my stomach. i want to ask so many questions but the only thing i end up saying is "Youre not my parents." "May the odds be in your favor." my dad slays, slowly walking out the door with his head held low. "well you sure are dressed the part." my mum chuckles trying to lighten the mood, pretending she didnt see my negative reaction or hear my insult.