DISCLAIMER: I IN NO WAY OWN ANY OF THE REFRENSING TO THE HUNGER GAMES. NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED
Chapter 1
I woke up the morning of the Reaping to the sound of my mother banging on the door threatening to beat me if I wasn't ready in 2 minutes. Groaning, I rolled out of bed got washed and saw the new suit my father had bought me for the Reaping this year. I had about 4 inches of ankle showing out my old one, but this new one looked amazing must have cost a fortune. The jacket was royal blue and had a tie to match, a white button-down shirt and deep navy trousers. Maybe she would notice me in clothes that actually fit rather than being too small or big hand-me downs, which were tatty after my brothers were through with them.
I walked downstairs soaking in every detail of my home above the bakery in case I wouldn't see it again; the off white, rough walls, the bumpy wooden slats on the floor.
I sat down at the dining table where my older brother Rye looked sick to the core. He hates Reaping day. I do too, which is stupid because I only have 5 slips in the glass ball; however people in the seam have tons because of tesserae. I know she has twenty. She most likely won't even be thinking of my meagre 5 in comparison to her boyfriend Gale who will be entered forty or fifty odd times I think. My oldest brother is no longer eligible for the Reaping. He turned 19 a few months ago. He looks relived but when he looks at Rye, his expression darkens and turns worried.
Father walks in with two loafs of fresh bread, he sets one on the table and one on the side. We always have this meal on Reaping day. Father lets us have fresh bread as it could be our last meal with all of us together. He then pulls a block of goats' cheese made by Primrose Everdeen - which people are always willing to trade for. Father is always generous to Prim. Everybody is, just as they are to Katniss. But father was in love with their mother see, a long time ago, and always wants to help out a subtly as he can. When their father died in the mining accident Katniss has been getting the meat for practically all my families' meals with her boyfriend Gale.
There's a knock at the door, I am closest so I go to answer.
Gale Hawthorne. He is holding a squirrel in this left hand and a game bag slung casually over his shoulder. The way the light catches him just in that moment would be wonderful to draw. But I resent him. He is so close to her I envy him too much.
They're hunting partners you see; Katniss is only really friends with two people, Gale and Madge. Madge doesn't hunt with them though. But a lot of people – particularly boys – want to be friends with her. A lot of girls do sewing or cleaning to earn trade. But she hunts. She's beautiful too in a way no other girl our age is. She's confident, but hostile and keeps to herself. Gale is the only boy she gives the time of day to. So many boys envy him, just as many girls envy her. However Gale goes out with girls and is a dastardly flirt, anyone can see he likes Katniss. She's the only one who doesn't realise. One time at lunch she was sitting in the grass alone and Gale went to sit next to her. They lay down and started talking. They looked amazing together. But the way he was looking at her was an insight to who he really was rather than some arrogant boy. But she just stared at the clouds, admiring one of the few days we see the blue of the sky. She's his was look he gave to any boy who ever looked like they were approaching her. And no one ever really dared. To be on Gales bad side was not fun.
'Father, Gale has trade!' I say into the room behind me.
My Father walks into the door as I walk away with a large loaf of bread this morning. He always does his worst trades with people like Gale on Reaping day; he tries to provide for their families as much as he can.
'Good luck' Father says before he closes the door on Gale.
I Gale muttering 'I'll need it,' under his breath.
Forty-two times, I can't imagine how terrified he must be.
We sit back down and eat breakfast with mother only comforting Rye. She doesn't like me much. She lets Rye sit there and do nothing for an hour but says to me 'Peeta make yourself useful!'
So I go decorate the sandwich cake. I only use orange on days like this, it's my favourite colour, and I don't like wasting it. I decorated a complicated pattern of swirling flowers with white highlights and black shadowing and created what I had only seen a few times. A mockingjay, I leave the icing to dry and go wash my hands to go to the Reaping.
When North America fell and everything was destroyed, Panem was created. The Capitol, and district one through thirteen. But 13 had an uprising against the Capitol and were destroyed. To remind us 12 districts left that the Captiol is in control and will defeat us if we have an uprising they created the Hunger Games. Two tributes, a boy and a girl, are chosen to fight to the death with the rest of the tributes. At the age of twelve your name is entered once. Thirteen twice and so on, but if you are poor you can sign up for a tesserae for each member of your family and get it entered another time. But for each of these you have over the years they all add up. Like Gale with his forty or fifty slips. You are only eligible for the games at the age of twelve to eighteen. If someone is chosen and another eligible person is willing to take your place they can volunteer. Volunteers are common in other districts where the honour of winning is so great; people are willing to risk their lives. 12 seem to always be the exception. We have won less than a handful of times. None of which were in my lifetime. The Capitol also broadcasts the hunger games to every television. It is mandatory to watch.
To get chosen for the hunger games in district 12 is a death sentence.
If you are to win the hunger games, food is provided for the whole of your district. In 12 that is a luxury we have rarely received. Mother says if we win one day she'll find a way to preserve some of the food for the future…..
We head to the square and I separate from my family, Rye heading to the 17 year old boys area, me to the 16 year old boys area. I scan the girl's area to see Katniss. She is wearing a dress as she rarely does even on Reaping day. Usually she wears a skirt and top. However today in a blue dress that would match my suit. She looks beautiful. I watch as Gales mouth form those words as I think them, and watch as he walks to the 18 year old boy's area. I follow Katniss' gaze to where she watches Gale, sadness clear on her face. Then she looks away and her gaze is on Prim. Of course, its Primrose's first year, she much be sick with worry for her younger sister.
On stage a tall man with little hair, mayor Undersee sits beside Effie Trinket who is sporting a more ridiculous pink wig this year than the last. This is pink, and clashes with the green of her dress. The other chair is empty. Haymitch the only surviving victor is nowhere to be seen. Mayor Undersee stands as gives the usual speech which I tune out and stare at Katniss with her beautiful but complicated braids which frame her face and make her eyes look large and smouldering. The mayor says 'it is both a time for repentance and a time for thanks' he then reads the names of the past two victors. As he does this the unmistakable sound of Haymitch Abernathy hollering something which I could not understand as he tumbles onto the stage and collapses noisily into the chair and hugs Effie – who looks, to put it mildly, disgusted - as applause sounds from the audience. We will be a laughing stock because this is being broadcasted directly to the capitol. The mayor quickly averts the attention to Effie who says her token
'Happy hunger games! And may the odds be ever in your favour!'
Effie rambles on about honour and everyone tunes out. But when she says
'Ladies first' the crowd goes so silent you could hear a pin drop. She pulls out a slip of paper and I am aching with hope it isn't Katniss.
It isn't. But it's her sister;
Primrose Everdeen.
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