I'm not that great at making friends, which is why the first day of senior year in high school was not the best day for me. I could already tell this was going to be the worst year ever as I laid in my bed, wishing for just a few more moments before being interrupted by the ringing of the alarm that's about to go off. I don't get my wish.
Others at school were busy voting on who dressed better or who's on the cheer leading team. I kept to myself for a few reasons.
For one I seriously did not care much for being team leader or homecoming queen, second I have to spend at least two hours after school and hunting to feed my little sister Prim. We lost our father in a mining accident over the summer, he was one of the guys they couldn't pull out in time before the tunnels collapsed. Anyway my mother had fallen into a deep depression coma causing her to lose her ability to work or do much of anything else for that matter. I didn't blame her though, I swear our little town went quiet for a month after my fathers accident.
After I get ready and begin walking with my sister to school a sickening feeling wells deep down inside of me and I don't know if it's from the fear of being caught hunting or Prim getting caught without proper care from our mother. She'd be taken into foster care immediately and I would probably be whipped for trying to hide this from the capitol.
As I drop her off at her class I remind her to not listen to the bullies that taunt her almost everyday, and to be respectful to her teachers.
Walking to class myself, I feel someone bump into me from behind and as I turn around to scold them I'm met with these amazing blue eyes.
"Oh my- sorry." He says shyly, offering the smallest of smiles as he promises it won't happen again.
"It's okay, I wanted to be thrown forward in the hall today anyway." I scowl as he laughs and almost instantly he realizes I needed my space and vows to not do that ever again.
The day goes on much like everyday, except I catch the blue eyed boy looking at me during lunch period. Maybe he's always done that but now that I've noticed him doing it I feel what little private time I get to myself has been intruded on.
After school I give Prim a strict message to go home, do not stop for anything or anyone... except for Gale or his mother. They could be trusted. As I slip under the fence I'm met with a noise that's very unfamiliar. It couldn't be Gale, the footsteps were much too loud and clumsy to belong to him, it had to be someone who followed me here or a camera set up by the capitol.
Or a blue eyed boy. Great now he'll rat on my hunting grounds and Prim will be sent to foster care tomorrow.
"What are you doing here? Why don't you just leave me alone? what do I owe you? how did you find me? did you follow me?" I question him, not allowing him to get one word in. After I'm finally done with my questioning he begins to speak.
"Why are these woods so important to you?" That's not an answer to my question.
"But why?" I finally give in after I manage to slow my heart rate. "I need to do this. I can't tell you why I need to but you have to just leave it at that okay?"
"You know what they'll do if the catch you right?" He tries not to seem so stern. Of course I know what will happen but instead of trying to explain it to him I choose to just walk away and I hope when I look back he's gone. He is.
I understand the danger of hunting but my family needs me, I can't let them go hungry so I've chosen the best solution I know which is Hunting. If the peacekeepers catch me and do what I've seen them do to so many others before me. After all if getting whipped for hunting for my family is what it takes to keep us alive that's a risk I'm willing to take.
That day I took down four squirrels, I ran into the blue eyed boy on my way home,
"So.. what's it going to take?" He paused at my sudden question. "Nothing. I wasn't going to tell anyone anyway, I'm Peeta by the way."
"Oh.. well thanks... Peeta." He offered a smile which I tried my best to return as much as I could. Something deep down inside of me still told me not to trust him but something else told me to completely trust him, he wasn't a threat.
Prim was happy to see me smiling at dinner, "What happened today Katniss?" I fought back the urge to spill everything about Peeta to her, a possible new friend. I didn't want her to get her hopes up so I made it a point to try and suppress my smile until a better time.