It wasn't Primrose Everdeen who was called. It was someone even worse. Katniss Everdeen. I had been chosen as tribute, and I was going to die.
I stood still my mouth agape. What amazing luck I have. Thanks Effie. The peacekeepers spot me and make their way over. "Come on up dear." Effie calls to me. I start my trek towards the stage when a hand pulls me back. I look to my wrist where the arm restrains me. Madge has tears in her eyes and her expression is so upsetting, that my own tears threaten to spill over.
She pulls me in for a tight hug. We grip onto each other, and I release her. I turn back around and begin walking again, but Madge holds me back yet another time. "Come on, we're waiting." The escort repeats impatiently. I feel my face go red. Anger pulses through my veins. In a very rash moment I flick my middle finger towards her and use the crowd's gasps as a time to whisper to Madge.
"What are you doing?" I hiss.
"Saying goodbye." Does she really not have any confidence in me at all? The only possible way that I will not be returning home is if Gale is called. If so, then I will die to let him return home.
I open my mouth to emit my farewell too, but she speaks again, as the crowd has gone silent. "I volunteer as tribute in place of Katniss Everdeen." She pushes me back to where I was standing and lowers her gaze as she takes my place on stage.
"No." I mumble. "No, no, no, oh Madge, no. Why?" I croak. My heart hurts. It feels heavy, and pounds hard against my rib cage. I feel guilty. Madge is dying for me. On stage, I see Madge's father and mother. Her dad is the Mayor of district twelve. Tears cut down their faces.
"What's your name dear?" Effie asks. Madge states her full title and even Effie seems a little surprised. Why would a townie volunteer for a random girl? Well I'm not a random girl. Me and Madge are as close to best friends as my heart allows. Losing her, I will be losing a kind heart to subtract from my nasty, cold one and someone to depend on. I am lonely.
"How lovely that you volunteered. Why? I might ask." She inquires, just like everyone else in the square.
"Because I'm not necessary to this community, whereas my friend was, and I'm not going to let her disappear. She's important. And I'm not." Everyone is speechless. I am speechless. Her mother is the only one who makes a sound. It's a cry. The most agonized plea I've ever heard in my life. I feel bad because I know that we all know, Madge has a very unlikely chance of coming home.
What kills me next is the fact that Effie just blows the whole comment off and goes to pull the boys name. "Peeta Mellark." Peeta Mellark. The name was similar. Oh yeah, that's right, he was the boy who gave me a loaf of bread that day I felt like dying.
Peeta and Madge both needed a proper goodbye from the district. We would miss them. I put my three middle fingers to my lips and put them up in the air. Others around me got the memo and followed my example. The tributes looked touched. They walked inside the building and everyone was dismissed.
I ran to the entrance of the justice building and entered my name in to say goodbye to Madge and Peeta. I was motioned over to a door where I guess the last female tribute was in last year. I sat still for five minutes before a peacekeeper brought me in.
I was shocked at the sight I saw. Madge sat, drowning in tears, looking outside the window. I sat down next to her. I embraced her and felt her shaking frame tremble into me. We sat in silence not letting go. "I love you Katniss." She whispered.
She raised her head and I saw my own expression in her eyes. "I love you Madge."
We grip each other like there's no tomorrow, and I know I'm going to have bruises. But that's alright. Because for Madge, there is no tomorrow. We stay in silence until a peacekeeper makes me exit the room. But before he does, I run back to Madge. "Thank you, for everything." She nods in understanding, my apologetic thank you goes down deep, with many layers of gratitude.
I wipe a few tears off my cheeks and then go and wait for Peeta's visitor line to open up. When it finally does and I finally walk in, he looks so excited, I raise my eyebrows in response. He does the most awkward thing then. "Hi, I'm Peeta Mellark. I've seen you around school before, and at my father's bakery, you must be Katniss Everdeen."
"No, my name is Shannon." I joke. His eyes turn wide.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I didn't know, you look just like my crush Kat-"
"I was kidding,". I add. "Wait hold on." I'm flabbergasted. He smiles sheepishly.
"Why did you come to say goodbye to me if you only know me from school?" He asks me. I agree, why did I come? It wasn't because I only know him from school, even though he was nice to me there, it was because of that day-.
"We'll, I wanted to thank you, for saving my life." He looks confused. He may not remember, it was over five years ago.
"Oh, I remember." He says, his eyes finally clicking back into reality. "Katniss, that was five years ago, I think we can let it go." Really? Is he serious? But I can't. In the seam, you learn to pay back debts and things. I'll feel guilty if he doesn't win.
"Okay, well, since you saved my life, I'm going to do everything I can to save your life. Alright?" Why do I need to ask permission? Ah, I don't really care. I give him a small hug and exit the room on my own. I jog home and take off the ugly dress.
I slip back into my brown leggings and black top. I plop down on the couch with an empty schedule. What was it that I did after reaping day?
I have it on the tip of my tongue when a hear a single hard knock at the door. The pieces fall into place after that. I jump into my hunting boots and stick my arms into my fathers army green hunting jacket. I open the door and see the person I expected.
"I thought you skipped out on me." He says seriously.
"I had to say goodbye, it took me a while 'cause apparently both of them are popular. Then I crashed on the couch in my hideous dress." I explain.
"Oh, okay, let's go then." He says. He takes my hand and we walk along the dirt and gravel and coal dust filled road to the fence. "I didn't think the dress was ugly, you know." Gale whispers into my ear.
I laugh. "Gale, you know I don't look good in dresses. Thank god I only have two more years to go. Which by the way,". I pause for effect and then jump on his back. "You're safe my friend!" We both chuckle. I slide off his back and continue trotting along side him. "How does it feel to be a free man?" I tease. We both know we're not free, not for the rest of our lives.
"Good. But I'm so glad Madge volunteered. It was sad. But I couldn't ever lose you, Catnip." He whines. I hug his side, he returns the gesture.
"I know. I feel guilty for her. I was so scared, I don't want to die. In the Capitol's games at that, and I was so happy that you weren't chosen. You don't know how awful that would have been if you and I had to go into the games together." I spill.
He looks sympathetic. We reach our weapons. We quickly grab then and move forward again. He walks behind me slightly so that his chest is on my back and his chin is near my shoulder. "Katniss, if that ever happened I would let you win."
"I could never kill you Gale." I fight back.
"I know." I'm grateful he's safe. I don't have to worry about that anymore. But in a few weeks he'll be headed down to the mines.
"When I'm eighteen, lets run away, okay?" I suggest. He stares at me with disbelief.
"I'd go anywhere with you." He spins me around in a circle. We both are smiling. We reach our spot and take a seat on the ground. I sit in his lap and lean against his chest. He puts his face in my loose hair. We sit in a comfortable silence. And then strike up conversation again. "Katniss, I was a wreck when they called your name, I can't ever lose you. You know that. Lets run away now. After the games of course, but this year. I can't go into the mines."
"You will never go into the mines on my account. I need you." I confess. Though I may not love Gale like a lover, I do love him unconditionally. Though I think it is stronger than friendship. We are soul mates, but just in the way that he is my other half and I his. I could never live without him and apparently he feels the same way.
I don't know where are relationship is headed, but so far I love it. It's comfortable, easy, loving, caring, sweet, innocent, and completely un changeable or un breakable.
We make a silent agreement on never leaving each other. We both un scramble ourselves from our positions and resume hunting.