My little sister Prim was up with me as I got ready to leave, she insisted I take an extra helping of goat cheese for myself and, for Gale. Despite spending a good five minutes arguing with her to keep the cheese for herself, I lost of course. She was my little sister after all, the only one I got, I wanted to make sure she was fed before myself, but she was the most selfless person I knew.
Our mother was still in bed asleep, the rise and fall of the blankets around her let me know she was still alive. Ever since the death of my father five years ago life has never been the same. My mother fell into a depressive comatose state. Soon after it felt as if the weight of the world itself fell on my shoulders. I was the sole provider of the family, bringing in both food and money to ensure we don't starve to death, and to make sure me and Prim would not be sent to a Community home in the district. If the district were to find out our mother doesn't have a job and is mentally unable to provide for us that was what was sure to happen, I didn't want that.
I still love my mother but at the same time I hate her for what she is doing to me and my sister. After my father's death the district gave my family money to get by with until her month of grieving was over with after that she was expected to get a job which she never did. Instead she left us all alone, of course she is still here with us, but it feels as if she is watching life pass her by like a damn movie. A movie that stars herself as the unfit mother with two starving children, only this movie is based on a true story.
The job of being the provider for my family was hard but with each passing day became easier and easier, and soon it felt like a natural thing to now. Every morning I would get up bathe and dress myself, Prim would sometimes do my hair and before I leave for another morning in the woods she would give me a treat to eat for Gale and myself. Gale, I figured he was already in the green thickness of the forest outside the seam, outside the troubles of our district and I couldn't wait to join him there.
Putting my hair in it's simple braid I was almost set to leave as I gathered my a pair of my father's work boots. It took a few years but I finally grew into them they were of simple leather but they kept my feet feeling like I was walking on the clouds themselves. I felt something watching me I turned around to see Buttercup with his yellow eyes trailing my movements around the house. He laid at my mother's feet with his busy tail flicking back and forth. I took only two steps toward him before he began to hiss venomously at me, even striking out a paw to scratch at me with. "Buttercup that's no way to act to Katniss apologize right now!" my little sister was pointing a finger at the cat and stomping her foot to get him to behave, but he just looked at me again before hissing and turning around to ignore me. "I guess that's his way of saying sorry." I say to Prim. I just shrugged my shoulders at the cat he had every reason to hate me, after all I did on one occasion try to drown him, but that was because I didn't want an extra mouth to feed, plus he was just so ugly. But Prim the lover of all things especially animals, fell in love with the muddy brown, yellow-eyed cat with a mashed up face. One of the Buttercup's ear had been apparently bit off I assume possibly by another cat but I praise the one who did it to him.
Putting on a light coat was the last thing to do before I was to leave, I got my bag which was filled with goat cheese, courtesy of Lady, Prim's pet goat. At least Lady earned her keep here she provided us with milk and cheese, unlike Buttercup who has the privilege of just being a lazy cat.
I look around making sure there was nothing I was forgetting to do, nope nothing. I strap on my pack and leaned down to give Prim a quick kiss on her forehead good-bye. Before leaving I remind her to get mother up to take her wash off, she smiles sadly but nods her head in understanding. I watch Prim hop back in bed with my mom and Buttercup, Buttercup he doesn't deserve to be named after a flower he's the complete opposite of that, but it's the name my sister gave him and I learned to except it.
Before the golden hues of sunlight were to begin streaming in through the cracks of our house I was out the door racing down the dirt road that led me outside the seam and into the forest. I refused to look at the coal mine that rose up over a hill to my left, the place where my father worked, the place where he was killed by an explosion. I still have nightmares of me screaming out to for him to run, and I remembering wondering if he would ever come back to me. My father, he was the one who taught me all about hunting and, using a bow and arrow, which are the things I use to keep my sister and mother feed. It was those skills that helped me to stay close to my father even after death, with every successful kill I make using the bow, with every meal my family eats, I thank my him for teaching me how to live.
The electrocuted fence appeared before me as I ran up the grassy hill, it separated me from the forest, I didn't hear the soft humming of electricity in it, so I climb through a big enough space fit for my body. Soon I was running like the wind through the thick forest, I began to feel so weightless, I could hear animals scurry out of my way as I shot like a released arrow itself through this haven of mine. I slowed down until I came to the hollow out tree that held my bow and some arrows. "About damn time Catnip." I hear the deep strong voice of Gale from behind me. I smile just a little at his impatience, I knew he was waiting for me before he began to hunt himself, but I'm sure he had snares already in place around the forest bed.
"Sorry I got off to a later start than usual." I say. He sits down on a large unearthed tree root flexing his massive shoulders. "Early bird gets the worm you know that." Gale says. I roll my eyes of course I know that almost as well as him. I throw Gale my pack and tell him to open it. A few dimples appear on his face as he holds up the goat cheese. "Your sister is the best Catnip, give her my thanks." He places his share of the cheese in the pocket of his jacket and hands me back my pack which I strap my arrows onto and, string up the bow before throwing it over my shoulder. I place the extra bow string into my trousers and hand one to Gale. He looks at me with a confused expression, I snatch the bow and string from him and begin to go to work with them both. Gale is still fairly knew with the bow, but after two years of handling it he still hasn't learned to string it, well at least not as well as I can. "Thanks Catnip." Gale takes back his bow and starts flexing the string trying to get the feel of it.
"You ready to go?" I ask. Gale smiles and teases my braid moving it like a wiggly worm. "I was born ready." I slap his hand away and run down from trees with him bringing up the rear until we come to a small grove. We communicate without even speaking, he throws a large rock into the trees and I am ready with my bow, a flock of geese fly out from the safeness of the trees, I managed to shoot two down before the rest flew out of sight. Gale ties the birds together and tucks them away in the hunting pack he carried. "Not bad but lets see you do even better." says Gale. I follow him to a few older trees off in the distance, looking up into them I make out the many nest left over by squirrels. I was a much better shot than Gale I could always hit a squirrel whether it is being still or scurrying around trees, right in it's eye. The eye was the best place to hit them anywhere else on the squirrel the arrow would ruin the meat and ruined meat don't sell.
I saw a squirrel emerge from it's hiding place and I was prepared to shoot it when there was a sudden rush of air being propelled around me. Everything was sent blowing every where and I could feel Gale pull me under a fallen over tree to hide with him. The large hovercraft of the Capitol's moved over us, it's large bulk blocked out what little sunlight there was this early in the morning. When it passed over us it was safe to come out. "What was that about?" I ask Gale. He shrugs his shoulders and continues to look towards the skies. It was an unusual sight to see a hovercraft at this time of year, because the hunger games was many months away and that was the only time you ever saw them. "I guess someone from the Capitol is visiting." Gales says. I wonder who it could be until I feel the gnawing of hunger bite at my stomach. I eat the goat cheese which helps for a time until it is no longer enough and I will be hungry once again. "Come on lets gather some vegetation and catch a few fish." says Gale. We missed out on easy food from the squirrels all thanks to the interference of the hovercraft but we still had the two large birds, plus Gale still had his snares to check up on. The baker is gonna be upset when he finds out we have no squirrels for him today, he was after all my best buyer when it comes to the squirrels I hunt.
After catching a few fish I chow down on dried meat, I spit out the hard parts that I can't chew on the ground. "Careful with those scraps Catnip wouldn't want another kitty tailing your trails." Gale says cleaning up the fish in the stream bed. He's bent over laughing I guess he was thinking back to the day when I finally lived up to my nickname of Catnip. I throw a piece of meat at him and he catches it with little ease then pops the food into his. I laugh when he tried to chew the harden bit of meat and then he quickly spit it out into the water.
We moved onwards until we came to a grassy clearing where we liked to sit and talk about almost anything on our minds. Gale would usually start off by saying how he felt about the Capitol and their unrightful hold over all us. He hopes to one day make a difference against their unjust laws, I hope one day he will get that chance. I'm the one who listens most of the time instead of being the talker. We've been friends for more than few years now brought together with a mutual understanding of hunting to provide for both our families, yet I still find it hard to fully open up to him. I'm a reserved person I keep to my family and what little friends I do have. I count Gale and Madge the girl from my school who is also the mayor's daughter as my only friends. I wonder about Madge though about whether or not she is my friend because she pities me, I don't need anyone's pity I find away to pull through the tough times on my own just fine.
"In a few months the 74th Hunger Games will begin." I say. Gale shakes his head, he like me and everyone else hates the games and all that it stands for. "In a perfect world there are no games and everyone lives together as one." says Gale. "What world is that?" I ask. "A make believe one." he says. His imagination runs as deep as the roots of an old tree, but his has passion and a fire like mines to fight for what we believe in. The day grows older it's almost noon about time to leave, but I don't want to leave again I like watching the clouds roll across the blue skies and hearing the wind call my name, if it could speak I know it would.
Gale had fallen asleep beside me and I nudge him awake letting him know the time. He yawns loudly and tells me to wait for him while he goes back into the forest to check his snares. When he returns our next stop was gonna be the Hob, a black market, the place where we trade all the supplies that we hunted and gathered to any who had the coin to buy from. The Peacekeepers were mainly our buyers, there the ones who are suppose to outlaw hunting beyond the electrocuted fence, but even they need to eat and so they flourish off what ever we manage to get from the forest. Today we didn't get much but it would be enough to put a dinner on our tables tonight.
I imagined Prim was up making herself and mother some lunch, with our mother of course just sitting in her chair and staring off into space emotionless, expressionless. Gale returns with a rabbit and a wild turkey, he holds them both up like trophies and that's what they were to us anyways.
When we arrive at the Hob I found it to be bustling with talk like never before. People were talking in large or smaller groups about something important enough for gossip. I wonder if their talk had anything to do with the hovercraft me and Gale saw earlier. I told Gale to take care of the trading and buying while I go speak with Greasy Sae.
The bony old woman stood over a black pot cooking only god knows what inside, I tried to not to inhale it's rancid fumes. Greasy Saes give me a toothless smile when she sees me approach her. "Care for some soup dear?" I quickly but nicely turn down her offer of the vile smelling food. She gives a dry cackle before she begins a rough coughing fit. "You know me well girl, it may smell like beef but it ain't and don't nobody know that but you and I." But it didn't even smell like beef this time, mostly she would use dog meat in the soup and pass it off as chicken or beef, it didn't even smell like dog meat. I decided to stop trying to guess what it could be.
"Whats going on Sae?" I ask. The old woman looks around the Hob still lively with chatter and whispers to me, "We got a visitor here in the Seam." My ears perk up at this and I know it's someone from the Capitol. I wonder why they are here and now of all times. "Someone busy body, rich fellow been walking around here slinging out fancy words at us and such." Greasy Sae says turning her wrinkly nose up in the air. "And he has the most horrid voice I ever heard of in my days, it sounds like he swallowed a squeaky mouse or something." Yeap someone from the Capitol alright, who else has those distinct voices and their fashion taste is even more enormous than their egos.
"Why is he here?" I ask. But she just shrugs her saggy shoulders saying no one knows why. From what I could gather the man walked from house to house in the Seam as if he were looking for something, or someone. I hope he hasn't been to my house. Gale comes back with a sack full of food for our dinner tonight we equally split the profits before returning to the Seam. I ask Gale if he had heard about the strange man from the Capitol. He said that if that man were to walk in on them at his house the man was going have a rude awakening. I imagined Gale charging up at the man with a fist ready, in my mind it seemed funny, but in realty Gale would only get a death sentence for the assault.
"Oh yeah the Baker was upset that we didn't have any squirrels this time." says Gale. I just shrug my shoulders it couldn't be helped, tomorrow I will catch two to make up for that one I missed today. Me and Gale walked down the dirt road that led to our houses, mine was a bit further than his but he walked with me the whole way. I looked around for the man from the Capitol but I didn't see anyone in fancy colorful clothes, nor did I hear the sound of a high-pitched voice. Did he leave already? I had hope so because his presence here in the Seam felt out of place and I was ready for things to go back to their normal District 12 selves.
Gale waved me good-bye after we arrived at my house, normally he would stay for a while but he had business to take care of like me at home. He had two little brothers and a mother to provide for on his own, just like me, well minus the brother for me but we each had about the same responsibility. I waved back to him before entering my house expecting to see Prim cleaning or playing with the animals, or my mother sitting in her chair. What I didn't expect to see was brightly colored man with sparkly silver hair smiling at me as I entered. His teeth, his smile, was huge and quite disturbing, living in the Seam all your life can make one forget what a smile like that even means anymore. But all the same his smiles seems to brighten up our dull little house, though I wonder why he is here.
I close the door quickly before anyone saw him in our house but it was too late. People from next door and across the road were trying to peer into our little windows trying to see what was going on. I shut the blinds it became darker in the one room house. Despite it being dark I could swear the Capitol man's teeth were still shining white as his eyes never left me. Prim was sitting by our mother who had curious look on her face. That look must have been the first of only a handful I have seen from her in a long while. I guess she is as curious about the man's presence as anyone else.
I drop my bow and arrow on the floor near the door then I put the food on the table when Prim gets up to help me begin supper. I go about my business as if there wasn't a strange man in our house staring at me with a smile. "He says that he wants to speak with you." says Prim. I rub her head before making my way to the man, I grabbed a knife holding it behind my thigh just in case he tried something. I didn't care about some damn death sentence not if my family's safety was threaten, and I didn't care by who.
Buttercup walked over to the man smelling him, the cat hiss from the weird scent then he took off under the bed. The man smiled even more as I approached him, he stood up with a well kept hand outstretched for me to sake. "I am very, most graciously happy to finally meet the one and only Katniss Everdeen." he says. "I am Sterling Silverbright, and I am honored to be here in your quaint little home." His smile never faltered nor did he even flinch when I refused to shake his hand. I could hear Prim giggle off in the background probably at his appearance or his voice, maybe at both but his voice felt like a butter knife cutting through butter itself. Mr. Silverbright batted his eyes at me and they almost looked like flickering stars, almost.
I finally took his offered hand moving like a robot and he smiled even more if possible, he gave my hand a warm gentle squeeze. I pulled out of him grasp fast and I was beginning to feel the irritation build up like a fire in me. "Why are you hear?" I ask him. Mr. Silverbright makes his way to the kitchen table to have seat where we could all sit around and hear him while he spoke. He motions like a host for me and my sister to have a seat near him. I noticed him giving my mother a sad look when she just sat staring off into space before getting up to lay on the bed facing opposite of us all. "Don't do that please." I say to him. He nods his head in understanding. His pity was something me and my family could continue to live without.
Prim kept staring at Mr. Silverbright as if he were a deity sent from eternal heavens themselves. Though he was strange a sight having silver hair that sparks when caught by light, his hair was longer than mines it hung all the way down past his waist and at the end or it was a pink hair bow. In fact his entire suit was a soft pinkish color, on him it looked almost natural.
"Now then I bet you both are wondering why I am here correct?" Me and Prim nod our heads together. I forgot about the knife I had in my hands and I quickly throw it on the table with a loud clatter. Mr. Silverbright had looked down at the knife shaking his head. "Oh my, oh dear I come here in peace Ms. Everdeen not to harm or to cause terror." I crossed my arms over my chest fighting the urge to pick up the knife again. "Just tell us what you want." I say. He clears his throat and pulls out a stack of papers from a jeweled white bag he had beside him. "Ms. Everdeen you have been chosen by yours truly to participate in the District Training Camp of Panem." Mr. Silverbright smiled at me thinking I must honestly know what he's talking about. "What the hell is that?" I ask. He gets up and begins to walk around the room with his hands behind his back. "This is a fairly new program we have started and each year months before a hunger game is to begin we give one lucky person from a district to participate in the District Training Camp of Panem an opportunity to train with the careers. Who knows you may get picked for the 74th Hunger Games and this training would be beneficial for at best."
I sit there trying to soak in all that he has told me and at first I want nothing to do with it because I couldn't leave to go trying with careers just because there might be a chance I get my name drawn at the reaping. Though because of the Tessera the odds of me not getting my name pick were not in my favor but I didn't care about me only protecting my little sister from the hunger games, even if it meant having my name in the bowl a thousand times I didn't care. But needed what little oil and grain we could get each month in exchange for taking the Tessera. I got our family's first Tessera after my father died and I was waiting to turn 12 so I was old enough to it. At that time my life was at it hardest my own family was starving and even though I was due to turn 12 in a few weeks I knew we didn't have that much time. It was around that time when I first truly saw Peeta Mellark not just as a baker's sun but as a savior, he gave me burnt bread after his mother caught me in their trash cans looking for food, I will never forget that day. My family managed until I was 12 for those few weeks off the bread and what else little we had.
"I can't, I can't leave my family behind to starve while I go off to some stupid boot camp." Prim turns to me quickly, "Its fine Katniss, we'll be okay Mr. Silverbright said so." I look to the man who has in only twenty minutes changed this day for me like never before. He smiles at me, "Its true while you are off away the I will make sure your family is being well taken care, they are and, yourself sit within my well magical hands." I couldn't help but to stare at his hands, his fingernails were the same pinkish color as his suit and each one of his fingers were lighting dipped in a shimmering silver dust. In fact as I look around the house silver dust shimmered everywhere, cleaning up the dirty dust was bad enough now we have fancy dust to clean as well.
"Where will it be held at, this camp?" I ask. "In District 2 this year, one of Panem's finest career trainging district of them all." says Mr. Silverbright. District 2 the district with the more respect for the Capitol, there nothing but loyal Capitol dogs always waiting for a command, or to please their masters. I never dreamed of going there before because I never wanted to, I didn't want anything to do with the Capitol or its dogs yet in only a day that may all change.
"Your little sister here tells me how well you are with a bow, might I ask what you use that skill for my dear?" I turn to look at Prim who was blushing and trying to hide behind a stack of folded wash towels on the table. "No you may not Mr. Silverbright." he nods his head looking down. "I'm sure for what ever reasons you have they are necessary ones at best."
I ask him further questions about the program, I will be gone for three months, training in District 2 with it's careers, and at the end of that three month long course I am to demonstrate what I have learned to the Capitol over a TV screen. I along with one person from each district will have this opportunity and who ever skills wins by the judges their district will get a week long feast of endless food and clean water. I didn't need to be asked twice before I jumped at Mr. Silverbright ready to sign the papers for me to apply myself in the program. He seemed pleasantly taken aback from my unexpected eagerness. But this seemed like an easy enough opportunity I didn't want to pass up on, because according to Mr. Silverbright for each person in a district something like this comes only once in their lifetime.
"If it were up to me I would have all the districts of Panem and all of its residents given an equal footing for the games, however our Capitol only favors the ones that bow down the furthest for them, and its no secret half if not all of the districts hate us." says Mr. Silverbright. "I don't hate you Mr. Silverbright sir, you make me smile." says Prim. "Oh thank you child I have been known to have that affect on people no matter where I go I just tend to make them want to smile." Looking at Mr. Silverbright seemed to have the opposite affect of making me want to smile, but I figured I couldn't frown anymore than I was already at the moment.
When the papers were all signed I asked the most important question of all. "When do I leave?" Mr. Silverbright stood from his chair stretching like a cat. "Now, or tomorrow morning which ever suits your needs." I quietly say tomorrow morning not expecting to leave so fast, and so soon. "Alright now that we have everything signed and, you know all the benefits of what the program holds all that is left for you to do is pack." Mr. Silverbright gathered his things into his white jeweled bag and mentioned if I needed anything that he would be staying in the Mayor's house for the night. But I didn't need anything else from him, I just needed him to leave so I could breathe again.
I got up walking Mr. Silverbright to the door all the while trying not to slip in the trail of silver dust he left behind. I smirked a little when I saw Buttercup emerge from underneath the bed and he tried to run to Prim but ended up slipping along the way on the sparkly dust. Mr. Silverbright reached out to shake my hand good-bye I reluctantly took it again before he left. I closed and lock the door after him finally feeling relaxed and not on guard.
"Katniss do you think he will tell the mayor about mom?" asks Prim. I think about it for a minute before shaking my head no. I didn't think he would, of course he is from the Captiol so what would he know of the life we had here, I'm still fairly sure he knew what happened to children with unfit parents though. "Don't worry about it Prim he seems...okay" I rub her head softly before telling her it was time to make dinner. I guess I'll tell Gale tomorrow before I leave that he want see me again for three months, I know he want be happy about it but he'll get over it when I win the Skills Contest for our district with the promise of a feast as the prize.
I noticed Prim with a faraway look on her face I ask her what she is thinking of, she tells me she is imaging how the feast would look with every kind of food imaginable. I ended losing myself with my own thoughts of the week long endless feast. It seems more like a goal than a dream, but that's the way I see it and that dream can't come true if I don't work hard at the training camp. I plan to work hard though, for my family, for Gale and his family, for my district, because those were the only things that kept my heart burning for a purpose.