I'm in kind of a bad mood right now so I won't bother you with a long rant in the author's note.
RedheadedGodess: Thanks for reviewing! I do have some twists and surprises in mind for this story. Hope you enjoy. :)
Disclaimer: I'm not Suzanne Collins and do not own The Hunger Games.
The hours pass and we still don't get to the Capitol. Being the outermost district would have this downfall. After hours talking to Madge and me in our room, Prim starts to get quite bored, so I take her back to the dining car, expecting it to be empty, seeing as it's nine-thirty at night. Madge declines our offer to accompany us, saying she'd rather stay and organize her stuff. She insists we just go and practically has to force us out of the room. Prim holds my hand as we switch cars. I can't blame her for being scared of that. I don't like it much myself.
My prediction of an empty dining car is wrong. At a table in the corner sit one remaining boy from my grade and the blonde boy. Their eyes flit over to us as we walk in the room, but they resume their conversation quickly as if nothing happened. I'm relieved, to be honest. I'm just not in the mood to deal with questions and pointless chatter. I'm sure to steer Prim to a table in the opposite corner so as not to overheard. I have no interest in hearing the blonde boy's conversation and I don't want him to hear ours.
"So, Prim." I say with a smile.
"So," she gets a devilish grin on her face and prepare myself. "Why did you blush when that boy over there looked at you earlier? You know, when we first got on." So she saw that. Great.
"No reason, Little Duck." I reach over and tickle her cheek. Little Duck has been my nickname for Prim ever since one day last year when she was having lots of difficulty getting her blouse to stay in her skirt. It stuck out like a duck tail.
"Oh really?" I roll my eyes.
"No, Prim." But really, why did I? Was it the way he was staring at me or just the fact that he was? Did he have the same reaction? I wouldn't know, because I looked away immediately. "Are you ex-" I haven't even finished my question when there's a very hot liquid scalding my back. Prim gasps, and I whirl around to face my assailant. To my surprise, it's the blonde boy. He's holding a cup with now a few drops of some brown liquid.
"I-I'm so sorry. What-how can-do you need help?" he sputters. Of course I don't want help from him. He just dumped a hot drink on me.
"Stay away, drink boy." I growl through my teeth, trying to fight back the few tears that spring to my eyes because of the pain.
"I'm so sorry, really, can-"
"No! Go away!" I snap, getting up out of my chair and grabbing Prim's hand. I lead her back through the door to my room, where Madge is presumably folding some clothes. She gasps and drops the shirt she was smoothing when she sees me.
"Katniss, what happened?" she asks. Without answering, I grab the bottom of my shirt and fling it off, not caring that now I'm in only my bra and pants. The pain has lessened some, but my back still hurts. I rush to the large bathroom we've been given and try to get a good look at my back in the mirror. The area where the hot liquid spilled is pink, and seeing this I determine that it hurts worse than it looks. Madge comes in without even knocking, and I honestly don't mind.
"The blonde boy spilled a really hot drink on me." I sigh. "Will you please do something about it?" I suppose it's not a fair question, asking her to deal with my problem, but luckily Madge doesn't mind and gets started right away.
"Well, the first thing to do for a burn, even a minor one, is put it under cold water. We can't really fit your back in the sink, so would you prefer a bag of ice or a bag of water? Or maybe a mix?"
"I don't really care, Madge, just make it feel batter." I groan.
"Mix it is," she says, more to herself than me. "Now go out and lay on your bed, back up." She orders me. Not really feeling like resisting, I do as she says. Moments later, Madge comes out with two bags filled with water and ice cubes. She places both on my back where I was burned, and I gasp. Soon after, though, I give in to how good it feels on my burned back.
"Thanks, Madge." I say through the pillow my face is on.
"No problem." she replies. "Now just stay there. I'll go search the cabinet in our bathroom and see if there's anything I can put on your back to fix it." Madge walks back into the bathroom and it's not long before I hear small bumps and bangs.
"Will you be okay?" Prim asks, blue eyes wide with concern. I had almost forgotten she was there.
"Yes, I'll be fine." I smile and squeeze her hand. "Now go get some sleep." When I hear her footsteps, I sigh and close my eyes, exhausted by the commotion.
And that's all! Reviews are greatly appreciated!