My eyes flutter open. The blur of my eye site slowly adjusts and I make out a figure to my left. It has flowing blonde hair and sunken, tired eyes. It's my mother. I suddenly remember: It's the day of the reaping.
I rub the sleep out of my eyes and I look over to the rough bed my sister, Katniss and I usually share. She isn't in it. She must be out hunting with Gale.
I hear a soft purr coming from the end of the bed. Beautiful blonde fur, big brown eyes, I find my most prized possession blinking at me. Buttercup, my cat. I don't understand why Katniss doesn't like him. He's really sweet. I found him when I was walking home from school one day. He immediately liked me so I brought him home. Katniss tried to drown him. I cried when Katniss tried to get rid of him. She has a soft spot for me so she let him stay.
I make my way out of the bed and put on some long socks to keep my feet warm. I slip a blue simple dress over my body. I am pleased to see that Katniss took the cheese I made for her from my goat, lady. It was my present for her for reaping day.
I walk outside for some fresh air and notice that the streets are unusually empty. No one goes to work on reaping day. The people deserve a break anyway. They all work really hard.
I'm usually very scared on reaping day. I try to calm myself but Katniss seems like the only one with the ability to do so. I look around and find a single yellow flower a few yards from where I'm standing. I leave it though; I don't want to take away one of the only beautiful things here in the seam.
I fill my lungs with fresh air before going back inside my home. I might as well try to milk Lady today. A special treat for the reaping. Since Katniss does so much by providing food for us, I try to do what I can. But being twelve, there's only so much I can do.
Katniss risks getting in a lot of trouble to provide for us. She hunts illegally. But it's the only way. Hunting isn't allowed in the districts. I finish milking Lady to find a good amount of milk we can drink. I'm happy I could help us eat in some way.
We have a few edible plants that Katniss picks sometimes. They can also come in handy if we get sick. I'm a healer. Katniss hunts, I heal. We both do our part.
Katniss used to say bad things about our district and President Snow. I would never say anything insulting about our living conditions. That might get us trouble. I just try to focus on the positive things in life. I have a lot of friends. I have Buttercup and Lady. I have the best sister in the world. In some ways, I have luck. In others, I'm lacking it. Like the Hunger Games for instance.
If I have bad thoughts about anything, I just push them away and replace them with good ones. If I really need to vent my thoughts, I talk to Buttercup. He loves me unconditionally.
"Good morning, Prim." Says my mother. I see that she got out of bed. My mom is depressed, but she's getting better. She usually wakes up after me, but that's okay. The more she sleeps, the better she feels.
"Oh, you milked Lady?" she sees the bucket of milk I set on the table. She has a soft smile on her face. She runs her hand through her hair.
"I thought we could save it for before the reaping,"I say. I'm glad my mom is happy with me. "Mom? I begin to ask my mother.
"Yes, Prim?" she says.
"What if I get chosen?" my lower lip trembles. I try to push the thought out of my mind but the anxiety takes over me as always. "I mean, anyone could get chosen." I know the odds are in my favor but there's always a chance I could get picked.
My mom tries to muster a smile. "You won't. You'll be fine." It seemed more like she was trying to reassure herself more than me.
I hang on to her words. I'll be fine. "Okay, I'll be okay," I whisper to myself.
The Hunger Games are supposed to be a happy, festive event. At least that's what it is for the Capital citizens. For us, it's sort of a death sentence.
I give my mom a hug and look into her blue eyes. They look just like mine, but hers have lost their spark. Their shine. Their life.
For a while, my mom was really sad. She didn't even eat. But she's getting better now.
My mom releases me from the hug. She gives me one more smile and informs me that she's was going to take a bath. It'll be cold though; we don't get hot water here.
Some days I wish I lived somewhere else. Somewhere with peace. Like a meadow. I know for a fact that Gale wants to live in the woods, but I'm not so sure I would ever want to leave home. It's all I know.
I wonder where Katniss is. I really hope she comes home with something to eat. I'm always hungry. We lack food here in District twelve.
I think a lot. About life. I wonder what my future will hold. Most of my friends want kids. I don't though. I would never want my child to get selected at the reaping. That would be too painful.
Of course, I'm too young to think about having children. I'm only twelve. I've never even had a boyfriend before.
Boys like me, but I don't have much interest in being in a relationship. I don't think Katniss has boyfriends. Gale is just a friend.
I start tearing up again. I find ways to distract myself on reaping day. But it's still constantly at the back of my mind that I could get chosen.
I decide to spend some time with Buttercup. I pet him, feed him a few scraps of anything I could find, and talk to him. It may sound strange, but I can tell him anything.
Tonight we'll have a celebration. Because we know we're safe for another year.
Once my mother is out of the tub, I get in it. I wash my hair and clean any dirt I find on my body with a bar of soap.
Hunger is seriously staring to get to me. I would eat anything at this point. Greasy Sae is helpful. She can turn anything into soup. I crave deer, which we haven't had in a few months. My mouth waters at the thought of turkey. But my favorite is raspberries. They're sour but so good.
I dry myself and I throw on an old robe. It's my moms, but I still use it.
I hear a knock from our front door. I open it to find my friend Seraphina standing.
Seraphina is holding a small basket. I peer over to find my all time favorite food- Raspberries.
My mouth instantly starts to water. I invite her in.
"Pretty dress," I compliment her. It's silky and pink with a white curly bow in the back. I suddenly remember I'm only wearing a robe. My cheeks flush red and I try to cover myself with a blanket.
"Thanks Prim. I brought these for us to share. But we better be fast, I have to go back home in ten minutes," she holds out the basket. I count six. Not very many, but better than none at all.
We sit down and each bite into the soft flesh of the berries.
"Prim? What if I get chosen?" I see fear fill her big grey eyes.
"You won't. You only have one entry. Someone else will be picked," I try to calm her.
"Hello, girls." My mom just walked in the room from getting dressed.
"Hi, mom," I greet her.
"Well Prim, you need to go get dressed. The reaping is starting in one hour," she warns me.
I finish off the last raspberry. I say goodbye to Seraphina and we wish each other good luck with the reaping.
I watch her walk back to her home from mine. She has only one entry, but she could still get picked? Yes. Anyone between twelve and eighteen could. If she got picked would I volunteer? I shake the idea from my mind.
Katniss has twenty entries because she signed up for Tesserae, a meager supply of grain and oil. That's a lot of entries. I get worried for her more than myself sometimes. I don't know what I would do without her.
Seraphina and I have a very low chance of getting reaped. I shouldn't be worried. I know that. But I can't help it.
My mom does my hair in two Dutch braids. My mother gives me a reaping outfit. The first one Katniss ever wore. It's my first reaping. I'm nervous. The back of my blouse won't stay tucked into my skirt. The outfit is a little bit big on me.
I hear footsteps. Katniss is home. She goes straight to the tub and takes a bath while my mother makes sure she and I look presentable.
Katniss enters the room looking very pretty. She has on a blue dress that was my mothers. My mother also braids her hair onto the top her head.
"You look beautiful," I say softly.
"And nothing like myself," she replies. Katniss embraces me in a warm hug. She makes me feels safer.
Katniss is my protector. She loves me more than anyone else. "Tuck your tail in, little duck," she says. She tucks my blouse back into my skirt.
I giggle and give her a small "Quack."
"Quack yourself," Katniss laughs lightly. "Come on, let's eat." She says and kisses me on the top of my head.
I am pleased to see that Katniss got some fish and greens. They are cooking in a stew. We drink the milk from my goat and eat some rough bread. Food isn't so appealing to me anymore.
We start to head down to the sqaure. My stomach starts to form knots. I'm getting nervous.
We pass by shops and we finally get to the square.
People silently make their way and sign in. I make my way to the back of the line with the rest of the twelve year olds.
I'm starting to have an anxiety attack.
I control my emotions the best I can. Being squished into each other isn't helping. It's really crowded. There's eight thousand of us.
I see my friends and give them a reassuring nod, and they do the same. I look up to see the stage that is set up before the Justice Building. There's three chairs, a podium, and two large glass balls. One for the boys, one for the girls. I see thousands of slips of paper in each. My eyes settle on the girls ball. One of the slips in there has my name on it.
Two of the chairs hold Mayor Undersee and Effie Trinket, our district escort. They look at the empty chair, concerned.
The mayor steps up to the podium to read a long speech about how the Hunger Games came to be. The Dark Days. How District thirteen was destroyed. The Treaty of Treason. We hear it every year.
I realize that in a couple of weeks two of us from my district will be dead. I'm assuming so anyways. Rarely does anyone in District Twelve win.
I wonder what a rebellion would do.
It's useless though. Children will die either way.
The Hunger Games are supposed to be festive. But for anyone outside the Capital, they're downright torturous.
"It is both a time for repentance and thanks," the mayor says.
He reads a list of the past victors from District 12. We've had two. Haymitch, an irritable drunk, and the other one is dead. Haymitch fills in the empty seat. He's very drunk as always.
Bright and bubbly, Effie Trinket's voice rings, "Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor!" She emphasizes the word ever. Her pink hair is a bit lopsided. I might have giggled if I wasn't at the reaping.
Now it's time for the drawing. Effie Trinket says as she always does, "Ladies first!" and plunges her hand deep into the girls ball. We are all silent.
Effie smoothes out the slip and reads out the name in a clear voice. And it's not me.
It's Katniss Everdeen.