I feel soft pressure on my head, reassuring and warm. Calloused hands caress my hair, and instinctively, I know that it is Katniss, comforting me for the upcoming event today.
I have a feeling of dread at the pit of my stomach, a reminder of the reaping today. A reminder of the 20 slips with "Katniss Everdeen" written on them, and the single slip with my name. A reminder that Katniss could leave today, and would likely never return.
There is nothing that I, a little girl of 12, can do, but smile and laugh and keep the spirits up, even when there is nothing to smile about. Nothing to do but pretend, with fake cheerfulness, and nothing but hope to keep it going.
And so I rise, with a smile on my face and dread underneath as Buttercup, my lovely cat, bats at my hair. Katniss removes her hand from me quickly when she notices that I am awake, and I can almost feel the tension in her body, due to the Reaping later today.
I walk nervously to the PeaceKeepers and register, getting a tracker injected into my arm. I am not nervous for myself; after all, I only have one slip, while my sister has 20 slips out of a couple thousand.
"Good morning, Prim," Peeta Mellark, a good friend of Katniss's says to me. His father is very nice to my mother, and our families are very close.
"Good morning, Peeta," I say, nervousness shooting down my veins.
Peeta leans in closer, and almost whispers, "Katniss won't get picked, don't worry, Prim. Except-"
He is cut off by a peacekeeper roughly pushing me to the 12-year-old section. What was Peeta going to tell me? Except what?
It was probably nothing, Primrose Everdeen, Katniss is not going to get picked, now focus on who is, I tell myself, as a long and boring video of the Capitol and rebellion plays.
As it ends and everyone claps robotically, Haymitch staggers on the stage, obviously drunk, and he is introduced. The microphone is quickly passed to Effie Trinket to prevent further embarrassment to our district.
"Happy Hunger Games!" she says, "And may the odds be ever in your favor." She crosses the stage, and reaches her hand into the glass ball for girls. "Ladies first!" she says, traditionally, and grabs a slip of paper, smooths it out, and reads it loud and clear.
She doesn't call out "Katniss", rather, "Primrose Everdeen," which leaves me shocked and numb.
How, one tiny slip of paper out of about a thousand?
I look over to Katniss for condolence, but she is hyperventilating, which she rarely ever does. I walk up the stairs to the stage, not even noticing anything, and stumble over the steps as bets are placed and money is exchanged.
Effie goes over to the boy's sphere, and pulls out another slip, but I'm not looking at her, I'm looking at Katniss, and just when Effie starts reading the male tribute's name, she shouts, "I volunteer as tribute!" but it is a second too late.
Everyone looks over and is silent. The male tribute is Peeta Mellark, one of Katniss's good friends. The entire district is still and tension is in the air. Effie replies to the entire district's unasked question, "Since Ms. Everdeen is a girl, she will not be able to volunteer for Mr. Mellark."
I can tell that Katniss wants to scream at her for misunderstanding, along with our entire district, and she rushes forward in vain when two Peacekeepers hold her back and sedate her.
I know I don't have a chance out of the other tributes, but I shout anyways, "I will come back!" just before Katniss is sedated. I hope that it made her feel better of my chance of survival, but I seriously doubt it.
Tiger75's A/N: So, this is a UA that my good friend Da Pafin and I are writing. Please review, and critique! You can probably tell the difference between the writing styles. I'm super sorry for not writing in a while.
Da Pafin's A/N: I take ALL the credit for this work.
Tiger75: ... It's a collaboration...