It was the day of the reaping and all was quiet in the Everdeen house. Katniss had gotten up early to go hunting, like usual. Her little sister, Prim, was snuggled up with her mom in bed. She had nightmares again, but can anyone blame her? It was her first reaping after all. Buttercup, Prim's cat, jumped on the bed and woke up Mrs. Everdeen. She dragged herself out of bed to start making breakfast; or at least what they described as breakfast.
After a while, Prim started to stir. Mrs. Everdeen started to fill the tub so Prim could bathe. She walked over to her daughter.
"Good morning, Prim." She kissed her daughters forehead.
"Mom, I had a dream that my name was picked for the reaping."
"Don't worry Sweetie; you'll be fine. Your name is in there once out of thousands." Prim just shrugged and got into the tub.
"When's Katniss coming back?"
"I'm sure very soon. Here are your clothes for when you're ready," she gestured to the bed.
"Ok," Prim stayed in the tub for a little longer. She got out and got dressed; her mom put her hair in pigtails. She refilled the tub for when Katniss got home. "Mom, what happens if Katniss gets picked?" Mrs. Everdeen was at a loss for words. "Do you think she could win?"
"I-I'm sure she could sweetie." She quickly went back to making breakfast.
"I'm home," Katniss said as she walked in. She climbed right into the tub. Prim walked over to her.
"Katniss what if they pick-"
"They won't pick you Prim, your name's only in there once."
"I'm talking about you."
"W-well, um, I'd go and beat everyone else and come home." Katniss said quickly.
"But what if you can't-"
"Katniss, how would you like to wear this today?" Mrs. Everdeen interrupted.
"B-but this is your favorite dress..."
"I know." Katniss saw the pleading gaze in her mother's eyes. "I want you to."
"Thanks, mom." Katniss got changed while her mother tucked in the back of Prim's shirt.
"Well, let's get going then shall we?" their mother said. She grabbed her daughters and pulled them in for a hug.
"Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor!" Effie Trinket starts. "And what an honor it is to be here. Let's get right to it, shall we?" She crossed over to the glass ball filled with girls' names from District 12. Katniss looked over to where Prim was standing, to see her standing as stiff as a statue. It's one slip Prim, one in thousands. "Our girl tribute from District 12," Effie said "is Katniss Everdeen." All faces turned towards Katniss. She felt as if all the blood had drained out of her body. Her entire body went numb, and for a brief second, she felt as if she was paralyzed. When she didn't go up to the stage, Effie said "Is Miss Katniss Everdeen here?" She snapped back to reality and forced herself to walk towards the stage. When she got there, she just stared straight off into space; she couldn't bear the thought of meeting Prim's eyes. "Do we have any volunteers to take the place of Miss Everdeen?"
Out of the corner of her eye, Katniss saw a young girl step out into the open and muster the words "I volunteer." It was Prim.
