PROLOGUE

Today is May 8th.

My 22nd birthday.

As I sit in my University of Panem sweatshirt, surrounded by my friends and family as they sing "Happy Birthday" to me, I realize what a motley crew of people are gathered together here at my mother's house.

The loudest singer of them all, and not just because he's sitting next to me, is Finnick Odair. With his arm slung around me and practically shouting "dear Katniss" in my ear as he draws out each syllable, Finnick is easily the most enthusiastic member of the party. Without a doubt, he is the most attractive man I have ever laid eyes on. With his gorgeous bronze hair and green eyes, he makes anyone standing next to him look like a troll.

What's funny is that I initially couldn't stand him. We met on our first day at U of P in American History 101. Finnick was flirty and obnoxious and I watched as he charmed the pants off (literally in most cases) many of the girls in our class. One day though, just before Thanksgiving break, I was looking for a secluded spot to study on the sixth floor of the library when I heard crying. To my surprise, I found the gorgeous and stunning Finnick Odair by himself in a study unit sobbing his eyes out. I tried to ignore him, but it was hard to be irritated with someone who looked so pitiful. I walked over to him, sat down, and after a teary glance my way, Finnick flung his arms around me and with his head on my shoulder, and started crying with even greater vigor.

As it turned out, his grandmother Mags, the woman who had raised him after his father left and his mother passed away, had died. After his tears had dried, we talked for hours about the parents who abandoned him and his sweet grandmother. Before I knew it, I had invited him over for Thanksgiving dinner, thus cementing our friendship.

To Finnick's right is my childhood friend, Madge Undersee. Madge and I bonded at a young age, our mutual shyness causing us to band together in classes. Not to mention, our mothers were once best friends when they were younger, but drifted apart as they got older. Our eyes meet and she grins at me as she sings softly. She's sweet but sarcastic and I love her.

Next to Madge, and giving Finnick a run for his money as the most animated guest, is my younger sister, Prim. She's practically bouncing in her seat as she sings, almost as though it were her own celebration. I cannot believe that she'll be a senior in high school this year. She wants to attend U of P so she can stay close to me, but I have a feeling it's because she's afraid that it's too soon to leave our mother alone.

My mother. She brings the cake over and sets it in front of me with a smile that almost reaches her eyes. It's moments like this where I remember just how beautiful she is. Or was. Her slightly wavy blonde hair and blue eyes match Prim's to perfection, but while Prim is light itself, my mother is subdued and withdrawn.

My father died in a car accident when I was eleven and Prim was seven. Our mother immediately went into shock, but then swiftly retreated into a dark depression not long after. I tried to find ways to keep our family together with the meager life insurance money bestowed to us, but when the food we already had began to run out, I became desperate. As a last resort I went to woods near the Panem Lodge and Spa, located on the outskirts of Panem where my father had worked. The archery skills he taught me were put to good use, and exactly three months after my father's death, I came home with a squirrel for us to eat for dinner. Watching me skin the squirrel spurred my mother into action. While she had previously been a stay at home mom, she worked hard to renew her nurse's license and began working at Capitol Memorial Hospital. I think seeing her eleven year old daughter bringing home a squirrel to eat finally shamed her into pulling herself together. She's never been the same and part of me cannot forgive her for the way she shut Prim and me out when my father died.

Next to where my mother stands, Hazelle Hawthorne sits between her sons Rory and Vick, singly brightly with a smile on her face. Her husband, who was friends with my father and also worked with him, passed away in the same car accident. Next to Vick is the youngest Hawthorne, Posy, who's sitting on Gale's lap.

Gale. In a way, the accident that killed our fathers bonded us together; we both knew the hardships that came with taking responsibility for our single parents. Our friendship began in that hunting lodge, when we were just two children desperate to find hope in the place we loved to be with our fathers.

Even after my father's passing, I continued to practice my archery at the Lodge every Sunday, and when Gale got a job there we began to see each other more frequently. Over time, a deep friendship took root and I spent most of my afternoons with Gale in those woods. Sometimes I would take Prim over to his house after so all of us kids could spend time together. There is no one in the world who understands the way I truly think and operate better than Gale Hawthorne.

The song ends and I hear Gale say, "Make a wish, Catnip." With a smile, I blow out the candles and everyone claps. As my mother takes the cake away, Finnick leans back and grins.

"Well then, old lady, what did you wish for this year?"

"Finnick, you know she can't tell us what she wished for," Prim chides playfully.

"Well, I think she should have wished for a boyfriend," he drawls in reply.

A round of laughter is had at my expense, but then thankfully Madge comes to my rescue. "Come now, don't tease poor Katniss. I'm sure there are plenty of boys interested in her…that is, until she scares them away."

Thanks, Madge. Not.

I feel the need the to defend myself when the laughter finally dies down "So I'm not the friendliest person around, but I managed to fool all of you into liking me, that has to count for something," I retort with a scowl.

"Not me, I'm just here for your mother's outstanding cooking," Finnick says with a wink in my mother's direction. She blushes and hands him a slice of cake that he happily dives into.

"Oh God, Finnick, I know you flirt with anything in a skirt, but could you please spare my mother?"

After the party winds down and my friends take their leave, I plop down onto the couch in the living room, far too full of my birthday dinner and cake. My mother enters the room and sits down in the chair across from me. "You always eat as if you'll never see food again," she chuckles, "then you always regret your full stomach later."

I swallow back a smart-ass comment about how I almost did get to the point where I thought I'd never see food again; back when she was catatonic and useless in her bed. Instead I just smile back at her gratefully and say,"Thank you for the birthday cake and for inviting everyone over."

She smiles back at me softly. "Well, it is your last birthday at home. It needed to be special."

Right. The move.

In an effort to save money and stay close to my mother and Prim, I've spent the last four years of college living at home and commuting to school. Earlier in the school year, I realized that my Environmental Science degree was going to require an additional fifth year. I decided to give myself a last chance at "the real college experience" and move into an apartment on-campus with Madge and Finnick at the start of the new school year.

I give her a tight smile. "It's just across town, so I can still come home for weekends whenever I want."

"I know, but soon you'll be busy with your friends and Prim will spend all her time hanging around your place. My girls are growing up and change won't relent. It'll just be different, that's all."

"Everything will be okay, mom." I wait a beat, but she doesn't reply. "Well, I think I'll head to bed. Thanks, again."

"Good night, love."

I stand up and make my way to my room, eager to leave the awkwardness with my mother downstairs. After I change into my pajamas, I head to the bathroom to quickly brush my teeth. The light's already on and I see Prim with her headphones on as she washes her face with some weird green goo I've never seen before.

"You look like moss," I say with a slight amount of disgust.

Prim bobs her head around for a few more seconds until she finally notices me and takes a headphone out. "Huh?"

"You look like moss? In the woods?"

She rolls her eyes then bumps her hip into mine. "Rude!" she jokes.

I roll my eyes back at her and start to brush my teeth. Prim looks thoughtful for a moment and then turns to me. "You know, I think Finnick was on the right track earlier."

I spit out some of the toothpaste foam into the sink. "You mean his theories about 'Seinfeld'? Give it up, Prim. That show's been over for a while now. You both watch too much TV. "

"No, you goof, about getting a boyfriend." I stare at her incredulously through our reflections in the mirror "Don't look at me like that! It really wouldn't kill you to be nice to strangers."

I spit out the rest of the toothpaste into the sink and rinse my mouth with water. "Prim, that sounds like the kidnappers motto. That's how girls end up dead."

"Haha," she deadpans. "I'm serious! You put up such a front and it really is unnecessary. The next time a cute guy looks at you, just think about being nice to him instead of throwing your hair over your shoulder and flipping him off."

"That guy was our waiter and he was looking down my shirt!" I huff angrily.

"Okay, bad example. My point is, not all guys are creepy weirdos—"

"—who spit in my drink when I'm not looking?" I interject.

Prim giggles. "Well, he wanted to swap spit with you somehow!"

I roll my eyes and put my toothbrush away. Finished with the conversation, I turn on my heel to leave the bathroom.

"Oh, come on, Katniss, this could be your year for love!"

I glance back to find her making kissy faces at me in the mirror and that's all it takes for me to slam the door behind me.

My year for love?

Yeah, right.