Chapter 2

The sound of my father cursing and the smell of burning bread automatically has me jumping out of bed. The first thought that runs through my groggy head is The house is on fire! But that is not true. This is much, much, much worse.

Somebody has burnt bread.

You'd think this is common at a bakery, but burning bread means a severe beating from my mother, and she'll make sure you don't eat for a couple weeks. It really depends on what type of bread you burn. Bread is hard to come by in the Seam, and yes, my family owns a bakery, but we are starving just as much as the people in the Seam. My family doesn't eat anything we make in the bakery, unless we spend a whole weeks pay on one loaf, or unless it goes stale. But burnt bread, we feed to the pigs.

I get dressed quickly and go downstairs. My father is retrieving a black lump from the oven, and tossing it back and forth in his bare hands.

"Feed the pigs." He tosses it to me. I do as I am told because it's the day of the Reaping and the last thing my Dad needs to worry about me being a little jerk. There are going to be plenty of customers today, getting pastries and bread for their "feasts" (Its sort of a tradition to have a feast on the day of the Reaping.) So I grab my apron and am about to head over and finish icing some cupcakes, when my dad stops me. "Go clean up the kill on the counter." He is busy kneading dough. I change direction and find a small squirrel on the counter. Poor thing still had an arrow in its abdomen, this is how I know Gale shot it. Whenever Katniss Everdeen trades with my father, the animal is always shot in the eye. Plus she never leaves her arrow still in it. Gale is no good with a bow. I carefully dislodge the arrow and clean it off, sure one of the two will come to collect it throughout the day. I hope it's Katniss.

After that task I go back to the cupcakes, and once I'm finished with that its already 11am. Reluctantly I head upstairs to my room to get ready. To my surprise, I open my bedroom door and find clothes already laid out on the bed for me. This is odd behavior from my mother, but I ignore the thought and slide into the white button up shirt and black slacks. I slick my hair back and shine my loafers afterwards. Its 12:00pm when I go downstairs and meet with my family. We all walk together to the town square, to wait yet another two hours to check in.

The line is excruciatingly long, but finally I get to the front and after all the waiting, all they do is prick my finger and smear my blood on a piece of paper. Once in my family says goodbye, my father and brothers hug me and my mother gives me an awkward pat on the cheek. I head over with the other 17 year olds. That's when I find my best friend Sammy.

"Hey man." He says.

"Hey."

He has brown hair and naturally pale skin but he seems to be a sickly shade of grey, and I know why. Today is his little brother's birthday. He is twelve. See, in order to be chosen in the games, your name is entered in a big ball full of paper slips. And the first time your name is entered, is when you turn twelve. And each year after that, your name is entered once again, but it can be added numerous times if you accept any assistance from the Capitol.

"Hey man, don't worry. Your brother's name is only on one of those paper slips, out of thousands! I guarantee he won't be picked." I pat Sammy on the shoulder.

He nods a little. "Poor kid didn't sleep at all last night. First Reaping is always the hardest."

Just then a bubbly little woman with a huge pink wig, that looks more like a rat's nest if you ask me, sitting on her head comes up onto the stage to the microphone. It's Effie Trinket.

"Hello everyone! Happy Hunger Games!" She gushes. "I'm Effie, here to give you a special message, all the way from the Capitol!"

As if that is supposed to impress us. Oh how desperately I want to punch you in the face, miss Effie. For wishing us a "Happy Hunger Games" How sick.

A dreary video booms over us, the same one that is played every. Single. Year. Then the Mayor gives us the same speech from every year about the history of Panem and why we celebrate the Hunger Games. I've heard this so many times from here and once month in school, it's practically drilled in my head. I mouth the words the same time the Mayor says them in the microphone, rolling my eyes.

Finally the Mentor, Haymitch, comes stumbling up on stage possibly having one to many to drink, and practically tackles Effie trying to hug her. He finds his seat and Effie has to hold her pink wig when it threatens to fall off as she reaches into the big glass ball full of all the girls' names. "Ladies first!" She laughs. The nerve of this woman.

The crowd is squished so closely together that we all feel one another's tension. We all catch our breath at the same time. "Primrose Everdeen!" Effie squeals into the microphone. Oh no. We all hate it when a twelve year old gets picked. I know sweet little Prim too, she is nothing more than an innocent baby. She wouldn't hurt a fly. As I watch her make her way to the stage I hear a commotion in the back.

"Prim!" A girl screams "Prim!" Its Katniss. No I think. No no no no no. But its too late, I already know what she will do now. "I volunteer! I volunteer as a tribute!" She pushes her little sister behind her as she screams for Katniss. A boy I know as Gale comes from behind and picks little Prim up as she thrashes around. Katniss makes her way onto the stage and Effie laughs

"What is your name, sweetie?" Effie hugs Katniss.

"Katniss. Katniss Everdeen." She responds in a thick voice. She clears her throat.

"I bet my buttons that was your sister!" Effie exclaims. Katniss is looking far out in the distance, trying hard to keep her composure.

"Yes." She says hoarsely.

Haymitch comes up out of his seat and says something unintelligible about Katniss, and proceeds to stumble and fall off the stage.

"Well How about a big round of applause for Miss Katniss Everdeen!" Effie starts to clap, but no one joins in. Instead, everyone starts to do an old gesture from our district, and I soon join in. One by one, everyone in the crowd holds their three middle fingers to their lips and then out to Katniss.

"Uh, ok then, now for the boys!" Effie walks over to the bowl, but I'm ignoring her, I'm staring at Katniss, trying to figure out how I would survive watching her being murdered on my television screen, when I hear Effie's shrill voice, loud and clear in the microphone.
'"Peeta Mellark!"

Sammy gasps beside me. I stand there, in shock, then I shudder, because I heard correctly. I dig my finger nails into my palm, just to make sure I'm not dreaming. Nope, they really called my name. Somehow I get my legs to work as I climb up onto the stage, next to Katniss. "Wonderful!" Effie hugs me.

I make sure I don't look at Katniss at all until the anthem is finished, and the Mayor signals us to shake hands. We stare each other down. Then her small, soft hand is in mine. How can I kill her? I can't do it. I wince at the thought as I look into her beautiful grey eyes. Stop it, Peeta. You have no choice, do you really want to make this harder than it already is? I think. Then our hands pull away. Way to fast for my taste. Stop it. I think again.