Cookies, Scores, Candy, and More - A One Shot
Several days have passed since the Opening Ceremonies and Katniss and Peeta's fiery debut there. Everyone here is still talking about it like it was greater than a free shipment of bread from the Capitol. Apparently, fire plays well with the audience.
People all over the district have said things like, "Whoever made that costume should get an award" or "I could barely recognize them". It makes me upset. District 12 hasn't had such a splash in years. I doubt it ever has.
Tonight is when we will be shown each of the tributes' training scores. I don't expect Katniss to get anything less than an eight. She's the best hunter I know, hands down, and definitely one of the most persistent ones, too.
As usual, I head over to the Everdeens' house at a little before six, when the scores are supposed to be shown. I feel a little guilty going over there empty handed, but my mother insisted that Mrs. Everdeen wouldn't mind.
Madge answers the door when I knock. She's wearing her school outfit (even though it's a Saturday) and her hands are covered in flour. She looks as if she's been here for hours.
I raise my eyebrows smoothly. "Get in a fight with the baker on your way here?"
She laughs. "No, I've been teaching Prim how to make cookies. Or at least trying to. Come on in."
I enter the house and Madge shuts the door behind me. Together, we walk into the kitchen to find Prim and Mrs. E watching cookies bake in the dilapidated oven in the corner. Prim's little face is covered in flour like's Madge's hands, and her eyes are squinted in pure observation.
"Mother, are you sure we added enough sugar like Madge said?" she asks. "I hope we did. Cause I think I didn't, cause I didn't want to the waste all the sugar, cause what if we don't have enough, and -"
Mrs. E rolls her eyes, grins, and tousles Prim's blonde hair, identical to her own. "Yes, sweetie, I'm sure they'll be fine. Madge, can you give me a hand - oh! Hello, Gale. I didn't hear you come in."
"Sorry," I apologize.
"It's alright," she says. "You don't have to knock next time. You're practically family now."
I feel a smile on my face. "Thanks."
"Prim!" Madge exclaims. "Oh, no, look at you. You're covered in flour from head to toe. Do you, like, dunk yourself in the sack I brought over?"
Prim giggles and looks at her hands. "Oops. Katniss always says that I'm a mess waiting to happen."
"Let's get you cleaned up, okay?" Madge grabs one of Prim's arms and leads her over to the small tub in the corner.'
I grab a few of the decorative mixing bowls from the counter (obviously belonging to Madge's family, since almost no one in the Seam can afford fancy household materials) and start washing them out with Mrs. E. "So, Madge is over here again?" I say, when they're out of earshot.
Mrs. E seems to brighten. "Oh yes. You know, she's been such a sweetheart ever since the reaping. She's been coming over quite a bit to help Prim with homework or me with housework. Every day, it's either her or someone that she sent over. It's so nice of her. And she won't let me pay her a cent!"
My eyebrows shoot up. This doesn't sound like Madge at all. "Really?"
"Oh yes," she replies. "And, Gale, we can't forget about you. You've been helping us a lot too, you know. All the meat from the woods and the herbs and everything. You're such a dear!"
"It's no problem."
"Yes, but we're ever so grateful for everything you've done for us. It's just so kind of you!" Mrs. E exclaims, scrubbing a bowl clean while humming merrily to herself.
I take this opportunity to slowly put down the dishes, sneak out of the kitchen and turn on the old excuse-for-a-television in the corner of the room. Mrs. E must be taking the medicine that helps her control her sadness. She has an apothecary business that Prim helps with, and I've seen her treat people, like her, who suffer from pain and/or depression.
It makes me sad to wonder about how Katniss and her family survived the months after the mine explosion. I was a bit older than she was at the time, and I already knew a little bit about the woods from my father. But it must've been absolutely despicable for her.
Madge reappears with a clean Prim and sits down on the worn couch next to her. It strikes me funny how similar they look. They both have blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, although Madge's hair is almost white blond. Katniss and I have the more traditional Seam look: black hair and gray eyes that make us stand out against Madge and other merchant kids.
"So, Gale," Madge says, crossing her legs and resting her chin in one hand. "Excited to see Katniss's score? I know I am."
I roll my eyes. "That's a given. What about you Prim?"
Bad, bad move. Prim already looks like she's going to explode, and my question just makes her do just that. "I can't wait! Oh, it's starting! It's starting! Mother! It's starting! Come here; it's starting!'
When, in fact, I'm pretty sure it's won't start for another few minutes.
Nonetheless, Mrs. E walks into the room, carrying a plate of the cookies that were just baked. I now notice that they are slightly raw, by the appearance. Mrs. E looks just as ecstatic as Prim.
"Do you want some cookies, Gale?" she asks. "What about you, Madge? Here! Take some cookies. They're so good."
"Uh, thanks," I say cautiously, taking one cookie from the pile. Madge does the same. I turn mine over in my hand and take a small bite. Not enough sugar. Not enough sugar at all. One look at Madge tells me that she's noticed it too.
"Oh, no," she mutters. "Just what you were worried about, Prim."
Prim's face falls as she realizes the mistake. "Oh, no! Mother! Look what I did!"
"No, sweetie, it's okay," Mrs. E tries to say, to calm her down, but it doesn't work.
Prim starts to weep about cookies and Katniss and schoolwork and a bunch of other stuff that's been building in her mind for the past few days.
"Shh!" Madge cries. "Prim, it's okay, we can make more cookies tomorrow. Pay attention. It's starting!"
Madge's voice has just the right amount of gentleness and firmness to shut Prim up and get her attention. I'm glad because a screaming twelve-year-old is not something I can put up with for long. I already have one of those at home, and two other siblings to take care of.
The program finally begins after an announcer lets us know that 'each tribute did their best and that the scores are not an actual guarantee of who will win the Games'. The first to appear on the television is the District 1 boy, who gets a nine. Then the District 1 girl comes up with an eight.
"Great, that means District 12 and Katniss is going to be dead last," I say to no one in particular.
"Shh!" Madge repeats. "Gale, seriously. When are we not last?" I stick my tongue out at her, just to annoy her.
"My poor cookies. They were so young, so much life left for them to live," Prim wails, oblivious to the high scores showing up on the screen.
"Oh, shut up," I mutter to myself as the scores pass by. Prim is a very sweet girl usually, but today she is getting on my nerves. Maybe it's the anxiety of seeing Katniss's score that is making me stressed.
District Five. A four and a five. No one's coming close to what the tributes from 1, 2, and 4 got. The Careers, the rest of us call them here. None of them got anything less than an eight, and things are looking dreary.
"Oh, what if Katniss gets a low score?" Prim says fretfully, eating a bitter cookie.
"Prim, calm down," I scold gently. "Katniss will do a good job."
Districts Seven, Eight, Nine.
"I wonder how Peeta's family is doing right now," Madge says quietly.
I shoot her a look of awe. Peeta? The baker's son and the boy tribute? Why is she caring about him and his family? He'll be dead in a few days, certainly.
"The Mellarks?" Mrs. E says, a bit curtly.
"Yes," Madge replies. "Surely they are as anxious as we are. I hope Peeta does well on his score."
"I like him," Prim says suddenly. "He said 'hi' to me one day before school. Oh, and his father gave me some bread for free one time."
I stifle a laugh. The bread thing is alright, but just because someone said hi to you is not reason enough to like someone.
District Eleven. The boy tribute impresses us by getting a ten. A ten. The only person who scored that high so far is the boy from District Two, the ruthless killer tribute. The little girl, who reminds me of Prim, gets an impressive seven.
Then, Peeta's smiling picture comes up with the number eight next to it. Everyone breaks into a grin except me and, for some reason, Mrs. E. I can hear some cheering coming from the square. Eight is not a bad score. But for some reason, I'm jealous.
All is forgotten, though, when Katniss's picture shows up with the number eleven flashing next to it. Eleven!
I let out a holler and stand up with my fist in the air. Madge does the same, except with a little less gusto. Prim and Mrs. E are too shocked to do anything.
"She got an eleven!" Madge shouts, grabbing my arm. She has a huge smile on her face that's as bright as the moon. "Can you believe it?"
"Way to go, Catnip!" I cheer.
Prim finally drops her sugarless cookie and runs up to give the television a big hug. "I love you! This is the best thing that's happened all day! My sister's going to come home! Did you hear that, Mother? She got an eleven and she's coming home! She got an eleven and she's coming home!"
Madge and I look at each other with a knowing and yet happy look. Prim is so delightful and innocent that it's impossible not to love her.
The program ends with a flourish and Mrs. E turns off the television. "That was magnificent. I wonder what she did to get such a fabulous score."
"Katniss is going to win," Madge says firmly.
I hope so.
On the walk home, Madge surprises me by asking if she can come over for a while.
"To my house?" I ask, surprised.
Madge rolls her eyes. "No, Sera Lowden's house," she says, referring to a girl in her grade that almost everyone dislikes. "Of course your house, silly. I want to say hi to your family for a minute."
"Oh," I say, relaxing. "That's alright. Vick will be glad to see you."
"Why?" she asks curiously.
"Nothing." I bite my tongue, struggling to keep a smile off my face as I remember what he said about her.
When we reach my home, Posy answers the door shyly. When she sees us, she cries, "Mommy! Gale is home!"
My mother comes to the door to say hello, but Madge beats her to it.
"Hi, Mrs. Hawthorne," she says, waving her hand.
"Madge?"
"Yes, it's just me," she says, fighting a smile. "I just wanted to say hello. How have you been doing?"
My mother looks shocked. "Um, we've been fine, thank you, Madge. It's getting late; you should be getting home soon."
"Yes, of course," she replies. "Here, this is for Posy and Vick and Rory."
Madge holds out a small bag of candy that she must've been hiding in her pocket all along. I recognize the emblem on the front. Karina's Sweet Shop, down in the square, on the corner.
My mother takes the bag cautiously, as if there's a bomb in it. "Thank you, Madge."
"No problem," she says with a smile. "You all have a good night."
With that, she's gone.
I step inside the house, still curious about the candy.
"Gale?"
I turn around to see Rory and Vick staring at the bag of candy. "Yes?"
"Where on earth did you get enough money for a bag of candy?" Vick sounds like he's never ate candy in his life, which is pretty close to the truth.
I smile. "It's not from me."
"Then who's it from?" Rory asks, finally turning to face me.
"A really nice friend."
A/N: Aw, I like the ending. It's cute. :)
The whole thing about cookies and Prim was based on something that happened at school a few months ago, that I won't get into. But it's supposed to be funny, so please think it's funny. Haha.
