PART I: "The Tributes"
"Prim. Get up."
I blink a few times before I open my eyes to see my mother standing over me, a blank look on her face, not that she ever really has much expression. I remember my nightmares and hold out my arms to Buttercup, who eagerly runs them, warming me up. "Is Katniss still gone?" I ask, but I know the answer, because my mother only wakes me up when she is.
"She'll be back soon, she knows she has to be." she says flatly, and then places a pair of neatly folded clothes on my lap. "Start getting ready, Prim." she says, and then walks away to start getting ready herself.
I look at Buttercup, smiling warmly. He has a fierce face, his instincts for protecting me always on, but when he sees my smile, he stops, and gives me a smile of his own. "Good boy." I say gently, petting his back, and then scratching behind his ear. I get up, decided it would be better to get ready before Katniss returns.
I lay out the clothes and examine them. A creamy white ruffled blouse, and a midnight blue skirt. I recognize them as the outfit Katniss wore at her first reaping, bringing the thoughts of the nightmare back to my head. I try to shake it off. "What do you think, Buttercup?" I ask.
He lets out a meow, and I laugh.
"Good." I say, and quickly change into the lovely clothes. "Mother," I say after a moment of fussing with the clothes. "They're too big." I tell her, trying to tuck the blouse into the skirt, and also attempting to keep the skirt up.
"Give me a minute," she calls back. "And I'll help you." she says, and after a rather long moment for me, she comes out. "Oh, wow." I say in a whisper. She looks very pretty with a bright red dress and matching heels, she seems to be slightly struggling, because she doesn't wear heels much. While she makes her way over to me, I slide into a pair of black flats, hoping that she won't make me wear heels too.
She lets out a groan as she sees me struggling with my outfit. "We're going to need more pins." she says, looking down at the four pins in her palm. She shakes her head and walks away to get more. "Just let me start a bath for Katniss." she says, and then I hear the water running, and she comes back with a hand full of pins, and begins to get to work.
By the time we're finished, Katniss is walking through the door, her game bag on her shoulder, and a frown on her face. She looks at me for a moment, watching me struggle with my outfit, then she smiles, puts away her game bag, and dashes into the bathroom. She comes out after a while with a ragged towel wrapped around herself, and sees the beautiful blue dress mother laid out for me.
"Are you sure?" she asks, disbelief in her voice as she stares at it. I stare at it too, mother's clothes are so special to her.
"Of course, let's put your hair up, too." she says, and takes another towel, placing it on Katniss' head, drying her hair, then putting it up in a lovely braid. When she's done, I can't help but look in awe at my older sister.
"You look beautiful," I say quietly, staring at her reflection in the mirror, and finding even more shock in staring at her.
She does a motion that looks like she's almost shaking her head. "And nothing like myself." she says, and then hugs me. My mind can't help but go back to my nightmare. It was Katniss. In the Hunger Games. Dying. When I woke up, almost screaming, tears rushing down my face, I made a promise to myself; I would never let her be in those games. No matter what. "Tuck you're tail in, little duck," she says, smoothing back my blouse back into place.
I giggle, smiling up at her. "Quack." I say happily, almost forgetting my previous worries.
"Quack yourself." she says with a light laugh, the kind she only makes when I'm with her. "Come on, let's eat." she says, and kisses me on the top of the head.
The fish and greens stew I put together when I woke up from the dream is still cooking, but it's for supper. Katniss insists on saving the strawberries and bakery bread she got from Gale for supper as well. Instead, we drink some milk from my pet goat, Lady, and eat some of the rough bread made from tessera grain, although we don't really eat much. No one's hungry today.
At one o'clock, mother takes us to the square, which has a feeling of grimness it doesn't normally have. The camera crews on the rooftops don't help ease the bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. The bright banners only make me sick. Only one thing actually manages to make me feel slightly better, and that thing is Rory, who steps in next to me in the twelve year old line after signing in.
"Hey, Prim," he says quietly, obviously not exactly talkative today.
Rory's one of my close friend's, he's Gale's little brother. I like talking to him, he's a good listener. "Rory," I say with a simple nod. After a moment of silence I say weakly, "I'm nervous."
He laughs at this, and I shoot a glare at him. "And you think the rest of us are excited?" he asks, and I solemnly shake my head. "It doesn't matter anyway, you won't get reaped, and even if you do, everyone likes you to much to let you go and die."
I let his words sink in, and I realize he's right, but it doesn't help. "I'm not nervous for me, I'm nervous for Katniss." I tell him. "Aren't you worried about Gale?" I ask.
He silently nods, but then adds in a barely audible tone, "He can handle himself." He turns his attention towards the stage, because Effie Trinket has already started talking.
"Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor!"
I gulp, because the reaping is happening. I only think of Katniss. Her name in there. Twenty four times. I think back to my promise, the promise that I would never let her get reaped, ever.
"Ladies first!" Effie chimes happily, and reaches into the glass ball holding the girls' names. I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself, and then she pulls out the slip of paper and reads the name. I am so relieved it's not Katniss that I don't even realize what she said until Rory looks at me, eyes wide, full of sorrow.
She said Primrose Everdeen.