So I just wanted to read a Prim POV of the Reaping (the whole Hunger Games, actually), but I only found a few that I really enjoyed. So I decided to write one. I'm debating continuing it, but obviously I'll need someone to tell me whether or not it's worth it (reviews? *nudge nudge*). Regardless of whether or not you care about the future of this story, I'm more than happy to hear your opinions (good, bad, or anywhere in between).
Onto the formalities: I do not own The Hunger Games or any of the characters/events that take place in this story.
I wake up to my stomach writhing in pain, clenching and unclenching. It takes me a couple seconds to remember why. And when I finally do, another wave of terror washes over me. The Reaping.
I'm only twelve, so this is the first year that a single slip of paper will have my name on it. And my older sister, Katniss, has forbidden me from entering the Reaping more than once. Most kids in the Seam have already put their names in at least ten times in exchange for food. They don't have older siblings who are willing to risk everything to keep them safe.
Katniss.
The pain in my stomach doubles as I remember that there's a price to be paid for my single entry. She's only sixteen, but already she's got twenty papers with her name on them. Twenty opportunities to have her taken away from District 12. Twenty chances for her to be forced into an arena where she'll fight twenty-three other kids to the death.
I shiver and roll over to face the bed I usually share with her. It's early, but she's already gone. Out hunting, of course. She'll be meeting up with her best friend, Gale, to collect tonight's dinner for both of our families. Sometimes I wonder what would have become of my mother and me after our father died if we didn't have Katniss. She's been feeding us since she was just eleven years old. Since she was a year younger than I am now. Without her, where would I be?
Dead, probably.
Just like I might be in a few weeks time.
The thought drives me out of bed and into the kitchen where I prepare for my mother's awakening. I need something to do, anything to help me forget what is about to happen.
My mother and I are finished getting ready for the Reaping when Katniss returns from the woods. She quickly washes up and walks to her bed to find an old dress of our mother's.
"Are you sure?" she asks. I can see her hesitation. She still hasn't forgiven our mother for leaving us to fend for ourselves after our father's death in the mines. I can tell that taking anything from Mom, even a dress for the Reaping, makes her uncomfortable.
And I'm not sure that I blame her. I've learned to forgive our mom, but I'm not the one who had to raise a family before I was even eligible to be Reaped. I barely even remember those awful months spent starving to death while Katniss did everything she could to find food for us. But Katniss? I doubt she'll ever forget.
"Of course. Let's put your hair up too." My mother quickly braids Katniss's hair and suddenly it's time to leave for the town square. I look at Katniss. Her face is set in its typical emotionless expression, but I know she's scared. I'm always amazed by how calm she can be in such scary situations.
I sigh. It's just another way that I wish I could be like her. Katniss must notice too, because she immediately brightens up.
"Tuck your tail in, little duck," she laughs as she fixes the back of my shirt.
"Quack!" I'm glad when this gets another smile out of her. I know she must be more anxious than she's letting on. I know she's worried about me and scared for herself. There's nothing she hates more than losing control over our lives, and nothing leaves us as powerless as the Reaping.
And suddenly, we're on our way to the town square. We're almost an hour early, but already the large age groups have formed, the twelve year olds far away from the stage while the eighteen year olds stand just a few feet from the podium. And around us, the rest of the district has gathered to find out which two children will be fighting for their lives this year.
Katniss leaves me with the other twelve year olds. She hugs me and kisses me on the forehead before walking to her age group. For a split second, I wonder if the next time I see her, she'll be standing on the podium.
Suddenly, I feel like I'm about to be sick again. It's better to not think of that. Instead, I try to focus on my breathing as the hour quickly passes.
Breath, Prim. Breath. One in one thousand. Very little chance. One in two thousand. Even less of a chance. One in five thousand. Almost no chance. You'll be fine. She'll be fine. Breath. Just breath.
The clock strikes two. Mayor Undersee takes the stage and starts talking. I can barely hear him over the ringing in my ears. Every inch of my body feels numb. It's so close. The two glass balls sitting on the stage suddenly look so small. One in thousands? Twenty in thousands? How could I ever think those odds were safe? All it takes is one slip. Just one and my life is over.
Effie, the Capitol lady who's in charge of running the Reaping in District Twelve, steps up and talk for a few minutes. It's getting close. I can sense the fear in all of the kids around me. I can feel my blood pounding from my head to my fingertips. She's walking up to the bowl. This is it.
"Ladies first!" I barely have time to register what's happening.
Please. Please not me. Please not Katniss. Please, please, please, please.
"Primrose Everdeen!"
My heart has stopped. No. No it hasn't. It's dropped into my stomach. I'm about to throw up. My entire body is numb. This can't be happening. There's no way. I've misheard her. This is a dream. How could it be me?
But the crowd is splitting. They're giving me a path to walk down.
This is really happening. I am really going to the Hunger Games.
I try desperately to keep a straight face. I have to be like Katniss. I can't show my fear. But already I feel my entire face twitching. Halfway to the stage and I'm seconds away from breaking down right there, right in front of the entire district. I'm seconds away from collapsing.
But suddenly, I hear it.
"Prim!" It's Katniss, screaming for me. And half of a second, all I feel is relief. I'm saved. She'll fix this. Katniss can do anything.
"Prim!" She's getting closer. She's running towards me. I can see her face through the crowd.
But suddenly, I don't want her anywhere near me.
No.
But it's too late. Because I was right. Katniss will save me from the Games. But there's only one way for her to do that. There's only one way for her to make sure that I stay in District Twelve.
"I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!"
I hadn't thought it possible that things could get worse, but suddenly I feel even sicker. I can't feel my legs. I'm about to fall over. I don't know what's happening. I don't know what the crowd is saying, if anyone's saying anything. Because now I am sobbing. I grab onto Katniss, screaming.
"No, Katniss! No, you can't go!" All I can do is scream and try to hold her back. How could I ever have been relieved to see her? What have I done?
"Prim, let go of me." She says it so harshly I almost believe that she's managed to remain calm. But one look at her eyes and I know. She doesn't think she has a chance. She thinks she's going to die. And that just sets me off again.
"No! Katniss, no! They called me! STOP!" But it's pointless. Because she's already on the podium. Because I've been picked up by someone and I'm being pulled away from the stage. Away from Katniss. I'm back with my mother, standing behind the rest of the kids from District Twelve.
Effie is talking again, trying to get the crowd to cheer for Katniss, but not a sound comes from the audience. Instead, everyone is touching their lips with three fingers and holding them up to Katniss. They're saying goodbye to her. Showing her how much respect they have her. How much they're going to miss her.
I hadn't even realized that I had stopped crying until I'm on the ground again, sobbing while my mother hugs me. She's crying too. I can tell. But I don't care. All I care about is Katniss.
She's leaving. They're taking her away from me.
I barely even register the fact that the boy tribute is the baker's youngest son before they're being led away by Peacekeepers.
"Prim. Prim, honey, come on. We need to go talk to Katniss." My mother is trying to lift me off the ground.
Talk to Katniss. Say goodbye. Because she's going to the Games.
I can't move. I can't get off the ground. So Gale picks me up again, as I assume he must have when Katniss took my place just a few minutes ago, and walks us to the Justice Building.
"We'll bring you in soon, then you'll each have a few minutes with her," a redheaded Peacekeepers tells us. I recognize him, but I don't know his name. He must know Katniss though, because he looks like he's about to cry himself.
Of course he is. Because everyone knows Katniss. Everyone is going to miss her. They all smile at me and talk about how cute I am, but Katniss? They respect Katniss. They want to be like her. They want to get to know her.
And this Peacekeeper is no different from the rest of District Twelve. He's just as upset that one of the most respected members of the district is about to be shipped off to the Capitol as the rest of us are. He looks like he's almost as lost as I am.
What are we going to do? How are we going to live without her?
She's kept us alive for years. She's hunted and traded and…wait.
Suddenly I'm sitting up, I'm feeling better. Because that the Hunger Games are just that, they're games. They have a winner. And Katniss can do anything. She can beat anyone. She can survive anywhere. So why not in the arena?
"Mom?" I try to drag my mother out of her thoughts. "Mom, she's going to win."
"What, honey?" She's just now looking up at me. She and Gale have both, like me, been sitting in complete silence.
"She's coming back. She's going to win."
I can see the pity in my mother's eyes before she even speaks.
"Oh, Prim. Oh, honey." She pulls me into a hug and starts comforting me, whispering about how everything will be alright. But she doesn't understand. I don't need comforting. I know that everything will be okay.
And when I meet Gale's eyes from across the room, I know that he's thinking the same thing. Katniss isn't being dragged off to be killed. She's going into a fight for her life. And Katniss is a fighter. The best fighter either of us knows.
So when the Peacekeeper comes back to bring us to Katniss, I'm not crying anymore. I give Gale a small smile as we walk past him. He understands. He knows. Katniss is going to be okay. She's going to win. She's coming back to us.
I can feel it.
Again, I'm extremely interested in any of your opinions. I'm not entirely sure how I did keeping Prim in character, but I suppose we all have our own beliefs when it comes to Prim's true personality. But yeah, review! Even flames are welcome! It's probably better I find out now that I shouldn't major in English so I don't spend the next few years failing out of college.