"Hey Catnip," I call out to my best friend, Katniss. Ever since the first time I saw her out here in these woods, when she whispered what sounded like Catnip, I called her that. And the lynx following her about didn't help her protests of the name. To bad she had to kill the lynx, it started to grow on me, but we needed the game it was scaring off.
"Look what I shot," I say, holding up a bag of bread from the bakery, with an arrow threw it. After all, we are hunters, not bakers.
Katniss laughs and inhales the fragrance.
"Mm, still warm," she says. "What did it cost you?"
"Just a squirrel. Think the old man was feeling sentimental this morning. Even wished me luck." And I would need it, unlike them. Those wealthy bakers barely had any tessera, while I had a whooping forty-two, and Katniss had twenty.
"Well, we all feel a little closer today, don't we," she says. Pulling out some cheese she adds "Prim left us cheese."
I immediately brighten. Prim, Katniss's eleven year old sister is the sweetest person ever.
"Thank you, Prim. We'll have a real feast," I smile. All of a sudden though, I remember why we have to hunt so early today. It's reaping day. Where we'll have to endure Effy Trinket, an insane person from the Capitol and praying that our names aren't chosen, and feeling sad for those who are. The only good part is that Effy's fun to imitate.
"I almost forgot! Happy Hunger Games!" I mimic her accent while plucking up a few blackberries. "and may the odds-" I toss a berry to Katnoss, who catches it in her mouth, "-be ever in your favor!" she finishes.
Then I pull out a knife to start cutting up the bread, which is our breakfast, along with some goat cheese spread on it. Then, for decoration, for this special day, I place a basil leaf delicately on it. Meanwhile Katniss picks more berries. Then we settle down to eat.
I watch Katniss out of my eye. Once you get to know her, she's a very easy person to read. She's thinking about the mountains and hunting for supper tonight. We could do that, if it was a real holiday. Or if we ran off.
With out meaning to, the words slip right out of my mouth.
"We could do it, you know."
"What?" Katniss asks obliviously.
"Leave the district. Run off. Live in the woods. You and I, we could make it." Before I finish speaking, I can tell the idea's lost on Katniss. It would be unbelievable for her to run off, leaving our families. It would be for me too, except in those moments, when I get so sick of being the father in the family, the man, the one who hunts. But not Katniss. Oh no, she revels in it.
So before she gets angry with me for the idea of leaving our families, I add "If we didn't have so many kids." and we do have a lot. My two little brothers and little sister, and of course, Katniss's Prim.
"I never want to have kids," she says.
"I might. If I didn't have to live here," I reply.
"But you do," she says irritatedly.
Of course she says that. Katniss lives in the moment it feels like. She doesn't dream about what could be, like I do.
"Forget it," I say, just as annoyed as she is. The future is always a touchy subject for her. Sometimes I feel like she's annoyed with me, for being me. For being a hunter, which makes you strong. For being strong, which makes you strong in the mines. Which makes you have a secure future, along with hunted food. Which makes girls interested in me. And as Prim once told me, being attractive helps too.
So we go fishing, getting some nice food for tonight, which is suppose to be a big celebration of the beginning of the Hunger Games.
After that we head over to hob to sell to the traders there, mainly Greasy Sae. And then we get to the mayor's.
I hate Mayor Undersee. This is his district, he's suppose to take care of it! But instead, he let's people starve to death, like Katniss almost did. And for some reasons unknown to me, she's friends with his daughter.
And the daughter, Madge, just happens to open the door. Of course, she's wearing an expensive white dress, her hair all prettily done up in a pink ribbon. I can't help but say,
"Nice dress." She shoots me a look, trying to see if I'm being nice and complimenting her, or just being me and ironic. She presses her lips together like she's just goning to ignore me, but then she speaks.
"Well, if I end up going to the Capitol, I want to look nice, don't I?" And now she's trying to be all cute and clever and mess with me. But to me, it's just like she's making fun of us, how we are much more likely to go then she is, so she jests about it.
"You won't be going to the Capitol," I say coolly. The sun glints on something gold, real gold. A pin, on her dress. A family could survive on it, if they knew how to make it last.
"What do you have? Five entries? I had six when I was just twelve years old." of course, Katniss has to go stand up for her.
"That's not her fault." I mentally roll my eyes.
"No, it's no one's fault," I say. But really, it's her fathers. If he didn't let us starve, we wouldn't have to sign up for so many tessera. "Just the way it is," I finish. Madge ignores me for the rest of the transaction.
"Good luck, Katniss."
"You too," Katniss dutifully replies. Or maybe not. Maybe she really is wishing he luck.
We start to walk back to the Seam. This is all the stupid Capitol's fault, making us participate in the Hunger Games. They make us, the Seam folk, hate the wealthy for not having to risk their lives like us. And that hate divides us, not allowing a rebellion to form.
I must look angry, because Katniss keeps on glancing at me. We arrive in the Seam, which looks like the Mayor's trash heap, where we spilt up the food.
"See you in the square," said Katniss.
"Wear something pretty," I reply flatly, thinking of Madge's dress.
I walk to my house, were the rest of my family is already getting ready.
Hello there.
I hope you liked my story! Two things: 1. I kinda treated this like you haven't read the books in the beginning, like what Suzanne Collins did, (because I was looking at the book as you can see my story and hers interlap) but then I realized that you guys don't need it too much so I sorta stopped. 2. Please review.
Thankss!
