Chapter 1
"Once upon a time, somebody ran.
Somebody ran away, saying fast as I can.
I've got to go, I got to go.
Once upon a time, we fell apart.
You're holding in your hands the two halves of my heart. "
~Princess of China by Coldplay
My day had been going normally. I had gotten up begrudgingly, almost killing the alarm clock on my bedside table. I dressed for work in a suit, and vaguely wondered what today's news reports would be about. Probably some new make-up trend or what color was 'in' these days for skin. The people of District 2 were infatuated with fashion and gossip. I guess there's some things that even a war can't change about people.
The ten minute walk to work was pleasant, with a slight breeze and sunshine, and I must have been imagining it, but I swear I could smell coal in the air. I entered the television studio, which was probably four times the size of the Hob, and made of glass and metal instead of the usual wood we used in 12. Immediately after I stepped in, a swarm of people headed my way. There were cries of, "There's so much to do!" and "Look at those black circles!" and outrage at my poor hair, that I had forgotten to comb again.
The studio's director, a middle-aged woman named Reya, shoved a thick script into my hands and hissed, "Practice." From across the room, Fay shouted a twenty minute warning. I whispered my lines to myself, which included the usual things. Miss What's-her-face opened a salon in blah part of town… to the floor sleeves are so in… sparkly skin is making a comeback! Someone started to fix my hair with a comb, and I immediately insisted that I do it myself. God, did they really think I was incapable of holding a comb and running it through my hair?
"Capitolites," I muttered with a slight smile, using the word Rory had invented. Of course, I just overheard him saying it to Vick, since Rory wouldn't talk directly to me or look at me.
Lila, my assistant, or work buddy, as I liked to put it, came up to me and tapped me on the shoulder just as Fay shouted a fifteen minute warning. "Gale," she said. Her usually steady, slightly accented voice had a tremor of uncertainty running through it. "I have to talk to you about a major," Lila paused, searching for the right word, "…project."
"Um, okay." She gestured for me to come to a quiet part of the bustling studio, and I obediently followed her.
"Now, you have to promise me you won't scream or punch the wall or overreact in some other violent way," Lila said, completely serious.
"Okaay," I said slowly, my eyebrows creasing.
"Pshhst sdyhh poufsdd pttas ktnns wddig," she said quickly, taking a deep breath and immediately bracing herself for my reaction. I looked at her blankly, not even trying to decipher what she had just said.
"The station manager wants you to cover Katniss and Peeta's wedding," Lila said more slowly. Lila was the only who I had bothered to tell about my past, so she knew how hyper sensitive I was to the topic of Katniss. Therefore, I winced when she mentioned Katniss, and tried to calm myself down after I heard and Peeta's wedding.
My blood pressure had probably gone up significantly by the time I said, "You know I can't do that. Any other wedding, sure, I don't care, but Katniss and Peeta? What the hell?" I felt as if Katniss should've told me beforehand or I should've had some sort of warning, which was pretty stupid considering our strained, barely-there, relationship.
I thought of all the dangers Katniss faced if she married Peeta. Peeta might go all wacko again and try to kill Katniss, Katniss might die of boredom while living with him, or die of obesity after eating all of Bread Boy's cookies, and that cheese bread she always liked. Things I could never give Katniss.
"The station manager might fire you if you don't cover it. It's the only major event that's come up since the war, and everyone wants to be able to see the wedding. If you won't do it, the manager'll find someone else to do it," Lila replied, visibly relaxing after she realized I wasn't going to hit anything or anyone.
I pressed my temples. "I'll think about it," I said. That was a big lie. I was already 100% sure that I was no way in hell going to Katniss and Peeta's wedding just because some gossip obsessed people needed entertainment. Lila nodded slowly, probably detecting my lie. She didn't say anything ,though, and Fay yelled a five minute warning.
I went through filming somewhat shakily. I kept drumming my fingers on the desk as I tried as hard as I could to cheerfully read the reports in my script. Filming took longer than the usual hour because Reya kept telling me to brighten up or stop fidgeting every few minutes. After a while though, we finally got to the editing process. After another hour of watching the editor play around with the footage, the 30 minute report was ready. We all watched the report, crew members pointed out any mistakes, the editor fixed them, we watched the clips again, and the tedious process was finally done around three o' clock. The crew was dismissed and Lila came up to me before I could leave.
"Please, try to convince yourself to do it, Gale, okay?" she said, and I just nodded again, clenching my teeth. That earned me a sigh from Lila and I gathered my things and headed to my family's house for a visit. Mom had to have known about the wedding...
I turned the spare key I had with me in the door, and as I soon as I walked in I was tackled by Posy. "Gale!" she squealed, and I felt myself relax, forgetting my purpose for coming here for a minute. I lifted her up and swung her around. Posy laughed hysterically and I kissed her forehead, setting her down.
"Where's mommy?" I asked her.
"I'll tell you where she is if you carry me there," Posy said with a grin. I cracked a small smile and swept her back up into my arms, Posy's red hair tickling my neck.
"Where to, Captain?" I asked her in a fake, accented voice.
"Mommy's room!" Posy said, and I walked down the hall with her on my back.
"We'll play later, okay Posy? I have to talk to mommy," I said, putting her down as we arrived at our destination. Posy pouted, but she nodded and skipped away, calling out for Vick as she went. I opened the door to my mother's room and stepped inside to find her sitting on her bed.
"Hi, mom," I said, and my mother turned to look at me.
"How are you?" she asked, but I cut straight to the point.
"You know about Katniss's wedding, don't you?" I asked, and my mother looked down at the bed.
"Yes, Gale. We got an invitation a few weeks ago," she said.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked, my voice rising, even though the answer was obvious.
"What do you think, Gale? I didn't want you to get angry for no reason," my mother said, her own voice getting slightly louder.
"Well, it turns out the TV station wants me to cover the wedding, or else I lose my job," I said, and my mother's eyes widened.
"Gale, don't go," she said shakily, "Y- you'll just upset yourself." And Katniss, I thought. What's better than to see your little sister's killer on your wedding?
"But I can't lose my job either," I said, wanting to yell at someone and punch something. I settled for the wall, and began to beat it with my fists as I started to throw a tantrum. It was incredibly stupid, but I didn't know what else to do.
"Stupid baker," I said through gritted teeth, punching the wall once for every word, "Stupid Capitol, stupid Games." My mother came up behind me and grabbed me, barely restraining me with her frail arms.
To my surprise, she started yelling at me. "Get yourself together, Gale! You can't just do that whenever you feel like it! Think about Posy, what if she sees you like this? What do you think she'll say? She looks up to you, Gale!" I clenched my fists.
"I'm leaving." I walked out the door, ignoring a very confused Posy in my anger, and slamming the door just in time to hear Posy ask herself what happened. I ran all the way home, wanting to shrivel up and die.
My Katniss, in Peeta Mellark's arms…
No wonder my dreams I didn't sleep well that night.
