The train is refuelling by the time I get back to my room. I open my window and I see a patch of dandelions. Before I know it, the train moves away and I close the window. It suddenly reminded me of the first dandelion I saw when I looked away from Katniss Mellark's face five years ago.
That dandelion symbolized hope for me since that day. I carefully plucked it from the ground and ran back home. I got a bucket and Prim and went to the Meadow. Dandelions were all over the place. The bucket was full of dandelion flowers and stems by the time we went home. We had dandelion salad and the rest of the bread I got yesterday for supper.
"What else can we find?" asked Prim.
"All sorts of stuff, just have to remember them," I answer.
My mother had a book she brought from the apothecary. It has pictures of plants and descriptions like names, where to find them, their blooming season, medical uses and stuff. My father added some edible plants, too. That night, Prim and I read it page by page.
The following day, I gathered the courage up to go under the fence. This is my first time to go alone without my father's protection. I retrieved the small bow and arrows my father made me from a tree. I didn't go far from the fence, though. I spent most of my time sitting on a branch of an oak tree, waiting for game to come or pass by. Hours later, I shout a rabbit on my own for the first time.
The rabbit seemed to somehow wake my mother up. When she saw it, she skinned it and made a stew with it and some of the greens Prim gathered. She went back to bed but when the stew was done, we made her eat at least some of it.
The woods were the answer to my prayer and each day, I went further in it. Slowly, I started stealing eggs from nests, catching fish, shooting some squirrels and rabbits, and gathering some plants. It was tricky. I had to double-check the ones I harvested to my father's pictures.
Any howl, breaking of a branch or any signs of possible danger got me running back to the fence. Sometimes I climb trees. Bears and wild cats were far; maybe because they didn't like the smoke full of soot and dust from our district.
On my twelfth birthday, I went to the Justice Building and signed up for tesserae, and go my first batch of grain and oil. On the eighth of every month, I should go back there and get the next batch. It wasn't enough, though. I still have to go hunting because there are still other things we need like soap and stuff. When I caught something we don't really need, I traded it at the Hob. I also sold at the backdoors of the merchants. The butcher likes rabbits. The baker trades my squirrels when his wife isn't around. The Head Peacekeeper loves wild turkeys. The mayor enjoys strawberries.
My mother also started to return and recover. She cooked and preserved our food. She also traded medicine with people for money or other stuff.
Prim was happy about it, but I wasn't. I didn't trust her anymore. After all those months of neglect she did to us, who could blame me? I returned the cold shoulder she gave us, and since, my relationship with her was strained.
I stare through the closed train window seeing the lights of another district. I see the people getting ready for bed. I thought about home and wondered about Prim and my mother. Did they eat supper? Did they watch the replays of the reapings? Did my mother leave Prim alone again?
I'm sure Prim will sleep beside our mother tonight. I'm glad that Buttercup will be there if ever she cries. Now, I'll never regret not drowning him before.
Just thinking about home makes me feel nostalgic. It seems like centuries ago when Gale and I were just hunting like we usually do. I wish this is just a dream. I wish if I wake up, I'll be back at home in District 12.
I thought that the drawers will be full of pajamas and stuff, but I went to bed with just my boxers on. The sheets were so soft it made me sleepy. I pulled the fluffy comforter up to my neck and it feels so warm.
I think this would be the best time for me to at least pour all my feelings out by crying. I know that doesn't sound manly but when it comes to my family, especially Prim, I really can't hide it. What happened today is just too much it numbed me. No tears. All I want is to be somewhere else. I just let the train rock me to sleep.
Effie Trinket's voice is the first thing I hear the next morning. Grey light is pouring all over the windows. "Up, up, up! It's going to be a big, big, big day!"
I change my clothes when I get up. Before I forget, I get the pin from my other shirt and put it in the same position on the new one. It made me think of my father. We're not far from the Capitol now. When we get there, my stylist will be deciding my look for the opening ceremonies tonight. I hope I'll end up with one who doesn't think that being nude is fashionable or stylish. Hey, men get sensitive too.
When I enter the dining car, I come across Effie Trinket holding a cup of coffee while swearing under her breath. Haymitch is chuckling. Katniss is looking a bit embarrassed.
"Sit down! Sit down!" says Haymitch.
When I sit down, I am served lots of food. Food that are enough for us for a week. There are some orange juice and coffee and a rich brown liquid I've never seen before. I've had orange juice only once, and I tasted coffee but I found it bitter.
"They say it's called hot chocolate," says Katniss. "It's nice."
I take a sip of it, and the next thing I know is that my cup is already clean. I stuff myself with a bit of everything on the table. I remember when my mother told me that when I eat, it's like I'm not gonna see them again. "I won't. If I bring it home," I tell her and just like that, I shut her up.
When I felt really full, I lean back on my chair and look at my companions. Katniss is still eating and dipping bits of her roll into the hot chocolate. Haymitch is drinking some kind of spirit. I always see him at the Hob drinking white liquor. He won't be sober enough when we get to the Capitol.
I hate Haymitch because he's the main reason why our district's tributes don't stand a chance in the Games. Not that they're lacking nutrition or training, but because they lack sponsors even if they have a chance of winning. Haymitch's job is to get us sponsors. Every mentor's job is to get their tributes sponsors. How could we get sponsors when the one they're going to deal with is gonna give them smelly drunkard hugs rather than smooth negotiations and proper talk?
"You are to give us advice," I tell Haymitch.
"Here's some advice. Stay alive," says Haymitch, then laughs.
Katniss and I glance at each other. I'm surprised that her expression's hard. Most of the time, she seems gentle.
"Haha, very funny. But not to us," I say, and then I grab his glass and throw it on the floor. He punches me at the jaw, knocking me out from my chair. When he is about to reach for the spirited drink, Katniss drive her knife into the table between his hand and the bottle, missing his fingers. He squints at us and said, "Well, did we actually get a pair of fighters this year?"
I stand up and get some ice from the fruit tureen. The bruise really hurt. It's like the baker's wife hit me with a rolling pin.
"Let your bruise show. They'll think you fought with another tribute before even getting to the arena," Haymitch tells me.
"It's against the rules," I tell him.
"Only if they catch you," says Haymitch. He turns to Katniss, who's still holding the knife stuck on the table. "Can you hit anything else?"
Effie suddenly enters the room. "What was that noise all about?" She looks at me, eyes wide, then at Katniss and gasps loudly in horror. "THAT IS MAHOGANY!"
I'm good with bow and arrows. But what I saw in Katniss was surprising. She's pretty good with knives. I see her yank the knife out of the table and throw it against the wall, exactly in the middle of two panels. It made Effie gasp even louder.
"You two, stand here," says Haymitch, then nods at the center of the room. He circles us, as if speculating some sort of criminals.
"Not bad. If your stylists worked their magic, you'll be attractive."
In the Games, the best-looking tributes get more sponsors.
"So we'll have a deal. If you didn't mind my drinking business, I'll stay sober to help you," says Haymitch. "But you have to do exactly what I tell you to."
It wasn't much, but at least, we have some guidance now.
"Deal," says Katniss.
"So help us, what would be the best strategy at the Cornucopia—" I say, but I was interrupted by Haymitch.
"One at a time. Whatever your stylists tell you, never resist."
"But—" I say.
"No buts. Don't resist. Never resist," says Haymitch, taking the drink with him and the train goes dark. I think we're in a tunnel through the Capitol.
Katniss Everdeen and I stand quietly as the train moves. I think I'm encased in stones and I hate it. I remember my father being trapped and buried. Suddenly, the train goes slower and the train is lit.
We're now in the Capitol.