Chapter Three: Katniss POV

I wake up to the sounds of Prim cooking. She's built up a fire in our little woodstove, and is mixing water, cornmeal, and goat's milk in a pot on the stove. I get out bed and immediately step on Buttercup's tail, who hisses and bites into my ankle.

"Stupid Cat!"

"Katniss!" Prim yelps, scooping the mangy creature into her arms. "Don't hurt him!"

"You should tell him that!" I reply, showing her my ankle.

She frowns, picking up a clean rag and instructing me to hold it to the bite while she gets some disinfecting herbs. I watch as she pulls a crate out from under our mother's bed, where she's still sleeping, and sorts through the many jars and tins within. She returns with some salve and gauze, gently takes the rag from me, dips it in water, and cleans the blood from the bite.

She holds up the tin she'd grabbed. "This is goldenseal salve, it's an antiseptic."

She spreads the salve over the bite, then wraps the gauze around it.

"Keep it clean and covered and it should be fine."

"Thanks Duckling."

Over her shoulder I can see the mixture in the pot bubbling dangerously close to the top.

"Woah!" I yelp, grabbing the pot and lifting it from the stove as the first dribbles spill over and sizzle against the stove surface.

"Oh no!" Prim grabs the spoon and stirs vigorously as I hold the pot away from the heat, calming down the bubbling mixture, which is quickly thickening into cornmeal mush. She bites her lip and her eyes look watery.

"It's okay Prim, just a little spill."

She nods and begins spooning the mush into three bowls, one for each of us. I know she's busying herself to keep from getting upset. I do the same whenever I'm roasting meat and drop some into the coals, or spill some stew. When you don't have enough to eat, every bit of wasted food feels like a blow.

I grab the last of the strawberries Gale and I gathered yesterday and slice them up to make them go even further, then sprinkle them over top of the mush while Prim rouses our mother. I'm already planning what we'll eat for the next week as we sit down to breakfast. I'll meet Gale out in the woods this morning before we head to school, but in a few days he'll start working in the mines, only able to hunt on Sundays. I shudder, thinking of him trapped in that dark tunnel, underneath ten tons of rock, without a hint of sunlight. He feels the same way about the mines as I do, of course. We both lost our fathers in there. But once you're of age it's required that you work there. For men, at least. Women can get away with looking for alternate employment a little more easily. If you can find anything that you can actually live off of, that is.

And of course, for the next month there will be mandatory viewings of the hunger games, just another cruel way for the Capitol to remind us of our helplessness. That will take up a lot of time. Time I could be spending hunting. But if I forage and spend the time in front of the TV with my mother and sister drying fruit, pickling vegetables, and grinding the tesserae grain, it could be worthwhile.

I usually try to tune the violence on the screen out, but knowing who the tributes are, I'm not sure if that will be possible this year.

I notice the jug of goat's milk Prim has set by the door.

"You going to the Hob today, Prim?" I ask, gesturing towards it.

"Oh, no. That's for Runi, Keena's boy. I wanted to make sure he's got something to eat."

I think about giving her a lecture about putting herself first, not giving food away when she needs it as much as anyone, but the milk is hers to give, and Prim being sweet, generous Prim, wouldn't listen anyway. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thinking of ways to get food to the little boy as well, though Prim would always be my priority.

Instead I just ruffle her hair.

"We can drop it off on the way to school later."

Madge's POV

Halfway through first period Katniss walks into class, wearing her hunting jacket. She takes a seat next to me in the back of the class and leans close to me. I notice the pine needles tangled in her braid.

"What did I miss?"

"Dark days, hunger games, the usual." I reply. We get the same lesson every year.

The teacher is from district one, and that's probably why they're teaching Panem history. After all, the rest of our classes are about mining coal, and what would a luxury-craft type know about that?

There's any empty seat near the front row, where Peeta Mellark used to sit. No one in the class would talk about it, but no one wanted to take his seat either. It stayed empty, a reminder to the world that someone who should be there today was missing. Throughout the school, there were more seats like this one. There would be one for Keena in the senior class. Once, somewhere, there was one for Maysilee.

The rest of the day passes without much event. We're assigned to write a paper on the formation of coal, and given a list of pre-approved books to use as references. As per usual, Katniss and I agree to work on it together.

When the day is done, instead of going straight home, I turn towards the meadow on a whim. There are wild strawberries growing alongside the fence. I pick a handful and enjoy their sweet, fresh taste, gazing up at the trees beyond the fence, longing, for the world beyond district twelve. Someday I'll get up the guts to go out there, to ask Katniss to go with me, but that won't be today.

A mockingjay takes off from the top of a tall oak, and as it flies across the sky, I fixate on the split second when its silhouette crosses the setting sun. Its wings splayed out against that golden backdrop, mimicking the image on my pin. The mockingjay, I realize, is not just a songbird, it's an oversight. Proof that the Capitol cannot control everything. Born from their attempt to destroy a weapon that failed them.

I smile, extending my arms as if, I too, could fly away from this place.

Prim's Cornmeal Mush Recipe

Ingredients:

1 part cornmeal

2 parts milk, goat's or otherwise

3 parts water

Dash of salt

Sugar or syrup to taste

Toppings (Optional)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients except for the toppings in a pot on the stove. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly, and shortly after it boils it should thicken up into a pudding consistency. Serve immediately.

The great thing about cornmeal is that it expands so much you really don't need a lot of it to make a good meal. ΒΌ cup of cornmeal will yield a big bowl of food for one person. This recipe can also be made with all water, or all milk, just so long as you keep the 1 part cornmeal/ 5 parts liquid ratio. More milk will just yield a creamier mush.

The downside to this recipe is that it's bland, in both texture and flavor. This can be vastly improved if you happen to have cinnamon, vanilla, or other flavorings to add to it. It's also improved by toppings, fresh or dried fruit, canned peaches, nuts, whatever you happen to have on hand that will add variety to the texture. And if you really want to put it over the top, mash up a banana and stir it into the mush while it's cooking.

Happy recipe making!

A/N: Edited this chapter because it came out really funky looking first upload. Enjoy and please review!