Disclaimer: I do NOT own the hunger games! This is just my perspective on how I think the stories would be if they were in Peeta's point of view
I wake up to the sound of my mother yelling at my brother. She is always yelling at one of us for something… or hitting us. She is so violent with a loud personality, unlike my dad who is very shy and caring. I never really did understand why they got married; I could never see the love between them. Well, actually I do kind of understand… it is because the girl my dad loved ran off with a coal miner.
He told me this on the first day of school when he was pointing at a girl dressed in a red plaid dress; He told me this was the coal miner's daughter. I asked him why she would choose a coal miner, who is always away from home working only to have enough to provide for the family, over him. He told me "because when he sang, even the birds stopped to listen." After he said this, he left. The whole day I just kept staring at the girl, she was beautiful. She had the olive colored skin, dark brown hair which she wore in 2 braids, and misty gray eyes that most girls from the Seam, The poor side of town, had. My family is certainly not the richest, but we are wealthier than the Seam families. Later in the day, we had music class. The teacher asked who knew the meadow song and her hand shot right up. The teacher asked her "What is your name?" and she said in a shy, soft voice "Katniss". The teacher had her sit on a stool in front of the class and sing it for us. Just like her appearance, her voice was beautiful. And just the way my dad described her dad's singing, the birds outside the window of our class stopped to listen to her.
Ever since he pointed the girl out, I have wanted her as my own. There was only one thing that kept me from talking to her, Gale Hawthorne. He is her best friend, they go outside the district, illegally, and hunt for food with each other. This is probably the only way she could put food on the table at her house for years because her mom when into a stage of depression where she didn't work and barely talked. Who could blame her though? It was right after her husband died in a coal mining accident. Katniss after that became more independent and took it upon her own to raise her younger sister, Prim. My dad sometimes trades bread for squirrels that she shoots. I think he has always had a soft spot for the Everdeen girls; after all, he did love their mother as a young boy.
Now, that today is the day of the reaping. Now, that it is the day when a boy and a girl from each of the 12 districts are chosen to fight in an arena to their death… I'm really just thinking about how I should have tried to talk to Katniss all of these years. Today could be the day that her name could be chosen from the reaping ball, the last day she ever will see District 12 again. I really hope her name won't be chose today. Then I remember that today, my name can also be chosen. I think about how terrible it would be if she died, vice versa, and she would never even know I have been completely in love with her since the day I first saw her.
Me, the boy with bread, in love with the coal miner's daughter. I bet she would never even guess it considering I've rarely ever spoke to her. Regret begins to fill me, the way it does every year the day of the reaping. There could have been plenty of times that I could have talked to her, plenty of times I could have become close to her. I guess it doesn't even matter now, all I know is if neither of us is called today, I am not going to go to the reaping next year feeling like this. If today the odds are in our favor, then this will be the year I finally approach her.
I am interrupted by my thoughts when my dad comes in and says "Peeta, go down stairs and start on the cupcakes." He then notices I was in deep thinking and says "Come down in a few minutes ok?" I nod my head slightly.
I put on a t-shirt and get my apron and go into the shop. I begin to frost cupcakes that my dad made earlier in the morning. I make elaborate flowers out of yellows, blues, oranges, pinks. I concentrate on making each one individual, and precise. I get completely lost in my work. Just icing the cupcakes calms me down to the point where I completely forget it is the day of the reaping. It makes me feel actually happy in a way, in my own little world. Everything starts to feel peaceful. Right when I am about to finish my last cupcake, I feel a rough cold hand smack my face. I look into the same blue glassy eyes that always seem to dag into me when I feel that familiar hand make contact with my skin.
"What are you doing? These cupcakes should have been done an hour ago! You need to go make sugar cookies! You idiot-"I drown out the sound, like the way I learned to do years ago. My mother goes on and on for about five minutes then finally leaves the room. I notice how tight my grip was on the frosting bag I was holding and find that there is now blue icing all over the counter. I clean it up and quickly start on the cookies. I try to make them as fast as I can but I get tripped up every time the thought of the reaping returns to my mind. I stop, close my eyes until I am finally at ease, once I open my eyes I find somebody walking into the shop.
Gale Hawthorne walks into the shop. He just walks in and stands. It is almost as if he is waiting for something, for what I wonder. Confused, I ask "What can I do for you?". "Is you father around? I went hunting this morning and wanted to see if we could trade." Then I feel stupid for even asking the question, why else would he here? Almost as if on cue, my father walks in from the back room where we make loaves of bread and says "Hi Gale, got anything to trade today?" Gale pulls a squirrel out of his game bag. My dad gives him a loaf of bread in exchange for the squirrel. My dad wishes him good luck in the reaping and then he is gone, probably to go hunting with Katniss.
I feel jealousy rushing through me and I just want to scream. But instead, I just count to 10 and close my eyes. For some reason, this always seems to help me relieve stress. I started doing it a long time ago, I think it started when my mother first started to bark at me with her nasty words.
I put the cookies I made earlier in the oven and then help my dad make cheese buns. Once we're done he tells me to go get ready.
I go and take a bath to wash off the flour and sugar off my skin. I soak in the tub for about 10 minutes then I get out to dry off. I find a clean white button up shirt to put on and pants; I think the shirt may have been my brother's from a couple of years ago. I comb my hair and go down stairs to wait for my dad, brothers, and mom. The silence while waiting is kind of soothing. Just to have a clear moment to think before Effie Trinket puts her perfectly polished hand into the reaping balls to pull out the names of 2 unlucky kids to go in an arena to fight for their life.
After about 15 minutes we are ready to go. It is about 1:15 and the reaping starts at 2:00… it is always good to be early though. We walk to the town square where the event is held. There are cameras everywhere, filming the "celebration". That is how the Capitol thinks of it anyway, but that is because they don't have to watch their friends and family die on national television every year. For them, it is just watching strangers play a game, nothing more.
I go to the section where the 16 year olds stand. I see Katniss immediately. She is dressed in a nice blue dress with her hair braided back, as it always is. Even with the bad happenings of the day and the muggy atmosphere, she still looks beautiful. I notice she is looking over towards the 18 year old section. I don't even need to turn my head to know that she is staring at Gale Hawthorne. At the moment though, I don't really care.
I see a couple of my friends from school; we all wish each other good luck. Then we just all wait in silence until Effie hops with delight onto the stage at 2 and whatever little discussion there might have been was drawn into dead silence.
Mayor Undersee starts out by reading the long speech he does every year. It's about how Panem rose up out of ashes of what used to be called North America. How there were 13 districts that all revolved around the capitol until what was called the dark days came along, where the districts rebelled and the capitol blew district 13 right off the map. Now the capitol holds the Hunger Games as a reminder that the Dark Days are to never be repeated. Now they choose one boy and girl from each district to fight in the arena… and blah blah blah. I've heard it too many times in my life, I tune it out and just stare over at Katniss, who is now still as a rock with no expression on her face, looking off into the distance at I don't know what. I can tell she is thinking hard, she is probably worried about her sister. Now that her sister is 12 she has a chance of being in the Hunger Games. I wish I could just go hug her and tell her everything will be ok, that her sister's name has only been in there once and how the chances are very slight that her name will be called. Then I notice Katniss look at the stage so I quickly do the same. Effie begins to speak.
"Welcome, welcome. The time has come to select one courageous young man and women for the honor of representing district 12 in the 74th annual Hunger Games. Ladies first!"
She walks over to the girl's reaping ball and puts her hand down it the glass sphere into the pile of names. She swirls her hand around in it until she picks out one folded slip of paper. I can feel my pulse rushing… Please don't be Katniss I think. Anyone but her. After Effie reads the paper I feel a little bit of relief. Then I realize that this isn't any better than Katniss being chosen because they called out her sister Primrose Everdeen's name.
More than anything, I'm surprised. Out of all the names in there, she is one of the kids that only have had theirs put in once. It is odd to have a twelve year old as a tribute because it happens very rarely. You can hear a couple of gasps escape from the mouths of the people in the crowd. This is very unusual, and very unfair. I wish I could volunteer to go for her, but I can't because I'm a boy. But I wouldn't have too even If I was a girl, Katniss already stepped up to take her place.
I want to throw myself in front of Katniss and Prim, protect them from the capitol's cruel games, but there is nothing I can do. I just stand there speechless, thoughtless.
Effie asks "What is your name?"
"Katniss" she responds slightly scowling
"I bet my buttons that was your sister, didn't want her to steel all the glory did we?" Effie says enthusiastically.
This comment makes me furious. That she would make such a remark after the tragic happening of a girl having to possibly die to keep her sister alive. But it isn't that surprising coming for Effie, a capitol citizen, who finds joy in these terrible games.
I stop thinking about the rude comment when Effie walks over to the reaping ball for boys. She reaches in and pulls out a paper. I hope she chooses someone who will die quickly, someone who won't be a threat to Katniss. Hopefully, it will be someone who likes Katniss enough to stay out of her way and avoid having to kill her. Someone weak who will go down quick.
Effie opens and reads the slip of paper and says
"Peeta Mellark"