Author's Note
Another Chapter from Peeta's POV. This chapter tells the story of what happened at the Reaping through his eyes and ears.
Chapter 2
When everyone has settled down, I look for one person and one person only: Katniss Everdeen. I do not find reassurance in my parents, or in my friends, I only find it in her silent confidence. My eyes skim over the top of the crowd and I find her, the usual braid down her back, the same powerful posture. The only difference is she wears a dress of sky blue, the colour you get on a cloudless day when the birds sing in the blossoming trees.
Time passes and my eyes are still fixated on her. The Mayor probably gave a speech or something but I only turn my head when Effie Trinket takes to the temporary stage. This is the moment where two tributes and their families shed tears while everyone else sighs in relief. This is the moment where the air becomes thick with tension and blank, impassive faces are drawn. This is the moment whe-
"Testing, testing! Hello, District 12! Now, it is time to pick the two male and female tributes that will represent District 12!" Effie Trinket's voice rings out across the square, bright and chirpy in the morbid air "Well, ladies first!" She walks over to the glass bowl on her right. The bowl is about two thirds full of neatly folded bits of paper. Circling her hand around the bowl, her fingers land on a name card and she pulls it out.
Slowly, she unfolds the piece of paper. The suspense is unbearable.
"And the female tribute for District 12 is: Primrose Everdeen!" Primrose, Prim, Katniss Everdeen's sister. I come out of my shock long enough to see Katniss held back by Peacekeepers', hair flying, eyes piercing and wild, scream,
"I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!" I watch Katniss take Prim's place on the stage. Retaining my oblivious state once more, I tune out both sound and movement.
"Peeta Mellark," what? I think, why has Effie Trinket called out my name? She stands there, paper in hand, but it doesn't add up. Everyone turns round to look at me. I have never had so much attention in my life, I was always the likeable boy with no special talent. But now, everyone stares at me.
Slowly, hesitantly, I walk to the platform and stand in my designated spot. I look at Katniss and for a moment I have a flashback, I see her at school when we were five. The music teacher had asked who knew the Valley Song and her little arm shot straight up. I see it in her eyes too. Recognition.
"Let's have a big hand for our two tributes!" She is met only by silence. No Capitol citizen would understand it, but to us, it's deafening. It's is all the hate and anger squeezed into one tiny silence. Then, to clarify the dissent, the crowd lifts the three fingers of their left hand to their mouth and then points it to us. To say goodbye to a loved one.
"Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favour!" Effie says, in her Capitol accent. My thoughts incoherent, I let the Peacekeepers steer me into the Justice Building and into a room with heavy velvet sofas and curtains.
