Chapter 18: A goat for my birthday

[Summer in the year of the 72nd Hunger Games]

Once the victor interview and celebration was done three days after the games, we were finally free to enjoy the summer holidays. Well, the school children were, whereas I had to work, of course. However, I was lucky because I actually liked my work. There was a nice balance between paperwork and administrative stuff to do one one side and practical construction and repair work on the other side. Working with the mayor on the admin issues gave me some insight on how the district was governed, while Mark and I worked nicely together on the construction front, and we made a good team. Gale still helped out from time to time, specifically now during the holidays, and while we occasionally had to do some repair work on Seam homes, we focused again on the school building and grounds, taking advantage of having the place for ourselves with no kids in the way.

At the bakery at home, Dad had been interviewing a few applicants for the position as bakery apprentice, and he had made a choice. To our surprise, the new person was a boy from the Seam. His name was Philip, and he had graduated from school just recently. Normally he would have started in the mines, but he had been able to demonstrate to Dad that he had some skills in a kitchen, and so he got hired. We would take turns in training him, and although he was initially a little shy, he would get used to us sooner or later, I guessed.

In order to get him introduced to the family, we had a dinner together at the end of his first week, and Prim also joined. Poor Philip was a little confused about not finding a grown woman, but only a little girl at my side, specifically one who looked like Merchant, but told him that she was Seam. He was even more surprised when he learned that she was my girlfriend. Prim took the initiative:

"So, do you have a girlfriend, Philip?"

The poor boy just shook his head.

"Don't have one or don't want to tell us?"

"Don't have one" the poor boy whispered.

"Then this is the right place here" Prim stated. "You will learn how to make good cakes and bread, and this is going to be something you can use to impress the girls later on".

"You think so?"

"Yes, sure"

With Prim՚s remarks Philip started to live up a little, although he looked confused about a ten year old girl giving him advice on dating, and we had a nice evening together. Of course, as it turned out later on, Wheat was going to tease him a lot on various things, but he did that with all of us. Anyway, we would have to wait and see how quickly Philip's baking skills were going to improve.

Regarding the repair efforts and maintenance at school, we were asked to focus on renovations and required repair work in some classrooms, but we should also look at the grounds where the children were supposed to spend their breaks. There was an open break area, and there was some kind of sports field for the kids to practice running, and both were in bad shape. The break area had only very few places to sit on and no toys, and the sports area needed more variation. At this time, there was basically just an oval for running and not much else. Mayor Undersee told me:

"Children need to get proper physical education in parallel with learning. Specifically in order to be prepared for coal mining later on, this is critical, and I have requested some material and budget on that basis from the Capitol. I have not received much, but something should arrive with the next train. I want Mark and you to find out what you can do with what we get."

I replied: "We will certainly try to do our best, there. For proper physical education we will need advice from a teacher, though, I should guess."

"You are right, of course." the mayor responded. "I will send one of the sports teachers over after the train has arrived."

"Thank you, sir" I concluded the conversation.

While we were waiting for the train with supplies to arrive, Mark and I first looked at what we had on the school premises. There was a shed with some supplies like lumber, wooden beams, nails, screws, and some paint, and we should be able to use those in addition to what we would receive. Further, there were a few abandoned buildings in the Seam, too old and worn to repair, and we had permission to loot those and reuse whatever we could.

The supply train arrived a couple of day later, and we had to make a few trips with a cart to get all of the material to the school shed. The sports teacher, a Mr. Wilkins – he had recently arrived from another district and he had never been one of my teachers – showed up right away, and we told him what we had. He looked and then explained:

"Look, we don't really need much for a start. Right now all we have for outdoor sports is the oval for running. I want to get a practice area for jumping and one for throwing weights, if that is possible."

He had actually drawn a few illustrations about his ideas, and while his drawings were not on par with what Peeta was able to do, we could easily see what the idea was. The jumping idea was to have a short track for running, a bar to jump from, and some kind of sandbox to come down in, and he wanted to be able to measure the distance being jumped. For the throwing, Mr. Wilkins wanted to have some weights of a few kg each, ideally as spheres, and some kind of small round area from where to throw from. A sand area formed like a section of a circle should allow the distance measurement.

Mr. Wilkins further explained: "If we can have this ready soon after school start, I can have at least some kind of triathlon with running, jumping, and throwing rather than just running. Why don't you focus on that, and later on we can see what else can be done."

I nodded and promised that we would see what could be done. Mr. Wilkins added:

"I would like to keep the main area inside the oval with grass for some ball games; can you use the outer areas, inside of the curves, for the new stuff?"

I nodded again and replied: "Sure, this should be a problem at all. Let us see what we can do, and we will let you know once we have something set up."

On the next day Mark, Gale, and myself started to get to work. Mark was concerned about the area where the jumpers needed to accelerate to top speed:

"What are we going to use for that? We have plenty of sand, but on sand kids might slip, and they probably cannot run very fast."

"True," I responded, "let's just check what we have and find out what's best."

It turned out after some testing that we had a lot of roofing cardboard, which was mostly made of tar, and this provided very good friction to run on. Prim knew that we were working here today and she stopped by later on, asking if she could help. Thinking about it I told her:

"Actually, yes, you can. We are experimenting with different kind of material to run on for jumping, and we have different kind of roofing cardboard. I would like to lay out a few tracks with different material, and while I can see how this works out for larger and heavy children, you could give us a feeling for small and lightweight kids."

Half an hour later I had various tracks laid out on the ground, and we all took turns to run on them and judge how good traction was and if there a risk of slipping. We also decided on the size of the sandbox where the participants could jump into, while the throwing area would to wait for a later day. Eventually Prim asked when we had planned to finish for the day, and I found that we had worked for much longer than intended. I replied:

"Good point, Prim. Normally we would have called it a day hours ago, but sometimes I tend to forget about time when you are around. Have you had supper yet?"

My girlfriend shook her head, and I decided to get us to the bakery for some food; Mark was also invited. We got some slices of bread and leftover meat from a rabbit Katniss had traded in recently, and for desert there were a few cupcakes which we had not sold today. Mark soon took his leave, and I walked Prim home.

The night was a very clear one, and when we had reached some distance from the lighted Merchant homes, lots of stars were visible in the sky. I stopped and looked up, and Prim did the same when she saw what I was doing. The milkyway was not visible, though, as a three quarter moon was shining too brightly for that.

"The moon." Prim started to say quietly. "I wonder what's up there? Are there people living on the moon, what do you think?"

"I don't know" I replied. "At school they don't say a lot about the moon and the planets and the stars, but from what I have heard, the moon seems to lack air for breathing."

"What a pity!" Prim said. "It would be nice to fly up there for vacation or so."

"Maybe one could try to build a huge cannon and thus shoot a large projectile there. If it is a hollow one, it could take a few passengers, but it might get tricky for them to return, I guess. However, I have to admit that I am much more curious about what's outside of the fence down here on Earth."

"Oh yes, me too. Maybe when I am grown up I will talk Katniss into running away from the district and staying out there, far away from everything..."

"But I would sure miss you!"

"Silly, I wouldn't go without you, naturally!"

"Glad to hear that, and I wouldn't want to stay behind if you left."

Dark clouds were everywhere and rain coming down, so that next day was not a good one to continue working outside. Rather, Mayor Undersee made me write up some reports and help him to plan future distribution of supplies. We knew that the cold part of the year was coming, and the good mayor wanted to be prepared as well as he could.

Prim and I spent most of the evenings together, and most of the time we shared supper, either at the bakery or at the Everdeen home. When we were in the Everdeen house, Prim՚s cat, Buttercup, was carefully watching me most of the time. Somehow I got the feeling that he did not like me to be so cozy with Prim. However, also Katniss was not really on friendly terms with the cat and tolerated more than like him.

Lady, Prim՚s goat, was a different story entirely. Whoever approached her with some food or even just an open hand to stroke her fur was welcome. However, she did not fell comfortable for anybody but Prim to milk her, and I did not even want to try.

At this time of the year Prim was also frequently working in the garden behind the house, sometimes alone, and sometimes together with her mother or Lizzy or both. When I came over after work I usually joined them and also helped with whatever there was to do. Both Prim and Lizzy were getting quite knowledgeable about various plants and their medicinal use, and that was good, as we had neither a doctor nor a hospital in the district, and we rarely received even the most basic medicine from the Capitol. Mrs. Everdeen once told me:

"Those two girls would be wonderful doctors one day, I believe. They are gifted in how they care about the medicinal plants, and Prim has assisted me a lot already in treating sick and injured people. Lizzy has already shown interest as well, and maybe I will take her as assistant as well next year. However, both of them will likely never get a chance to study and become doctors, and this makes me quite sad."

There was not much I could add, so I just nodded. It was really sad; quite of few of the young people in the district had potential to learn and do something great, but could not. Rather, they either could learn a merchant trade – if they were 'Townies' – or do coal mining, one of the very few options for young 'Seam' people graduating from school. Some of us were lucky, like myself, with finding an occupation which was kind of nice, but most of the coal miners simply did not have a choice, and the mines, even while paying poorly, were the only means to feed the families. Sometimes I wondered how many citizens managed to look quite happy most of the time. Maybe some of them just did not know any better, whereas I had seen some glimpses from other districts in the Justice Building.

Coming to the Everdeens after work was something I really enjoyed. When there was rain, Prim sometimes waited for me in the bakery, but on nice days, she would work in her garden and wait for me to join. I always smiled when I walked around the house, because she was usually too busy to notice me right away. When she did, I saw her eyes getting bright, the corners of her mouth going up, and her entire face lighting up like Christmas. Then she would run towards me, jump into my arms, hug me and look at me with her fantastic smile until she got a quick kiss. She would usually show me what she had done, and I would also get my hands dirty helping her. Lizzy, when she was there, sometimes commented on us like this:

"Look at the two of you, you are so happy and cozy with each other like newlyweds, but I am happy for you, too."

Even Mrs. Everdeen, when she was home, sometimes could not help herself and also smiled a little bit at least when she saw us together, specifically when we played some games like eating a carrot together, Prim starting at one end and I on the other, which inevitably ended in a kiss, of course. Little games like that always made my cute petite girlfriend giggle and smile, and I just loved to see and hear that.

A few days before the new school year started we went to our meadow again on one of my free days, and Lizzy and Posy were with us as well. Posy was always fun when she was with us, and she enjoyed the attention she got from us. Lizzy was just a few months older than Prim, and she also found a few hours at the meadow to be quite relaxing.

Today the sun was shining from a cloudless sky, some summer flowers provided colored dots around, and bees were busy humming from blossom to blossom. Prim decided that we needed to have a staring contest. We liked to look into each other's eyes for some time and could kind of lose ourselves in there, unless one was distracted. Today Lizzy should judge which of us got distracted first. Thus, both my girlfriend and I sat down across from each other within a very short distance, and we started to look at each other. I had deliberately placed myself next to a large group of daisies and crysanthemum flowers, and I tried to take advantage of that by saying:

"Prim, have you looked at the beautiful flowers next to me yet? They are particularly colorful and pretty today, aren't they?"

Of course, this did not work, but was worth a try.

Prim also tried something:

"Rye, look at all of those birds high up in the sky. Wouldn't you want top be up there, too?"

So far both us had managed to stay serious and keep focused. Lizzy already started to giggle. And Posy, liking that, started to giggle as well.

Eventually I got an idea. As my upper body was just clad in a tee shirt with very short sleeves, I flexed my right arm and did my best to let the muscles show. I saw Prim՚s view flickering, and I continued to bend and stretch my arm a few times. Finally Prim gave up and looked at my arm rather than into my eyes any longer.

"I won!" I shouted.

"You cheated!" Prim objected.

"Why is that cheating?"

"I don't know, but it just is."

"Poor Prim just does not like to lose, I guess."

"What am I going to do with you!" Prim sighed. "I am having so much fun with you!"

Lizzy started to laugh again and told us:

"And it is really funny to be around the two of you. The games you play are silly but totally funny!"

Until the new school years started, Mark and Gale and I had succeeded to complete the two additions to the outdoor sports place, and Mr. Wilkins was quite happy with that. Prim started fifth grade now, and again I sometimes managed to have my own lunch break at school, on days when Prim had afternoon lessons, and most of the time we were joined by Delly, Madge, Lizzy, and sometimes Peeta or Katniss. Gale and Rory Hawthorne also made it a habit to sit with us occasionally. I liked it to have kids of different ages around, and we heard all kind of gossip and news from different classes while eating. Madge was not talking much most of the time, and I understood why she was one of Katniss' best friends. To be honest, I was also not a great talker, but Delly and Prim easily compensated for that.

Kids in Prim՚s and Lizzy՚s age were mostly worried about school work, homework, and games, but specifically Delly had all kind of information available on who was currently friends with whom or who had broken up with whom. Gale was still considered one of the most attractive boys at school, and quite a few girls swooned over him and batted their eyelashes at him when passing our table. He behaved as if he did not care, but I knew that he occasionally took a girl to the Slag Heap. He did not talk about that in public, but sometimes we had some 'men conversation' when working together, when no girls were around.

When my birthday was getting closer, I was asked by all of them if I wanted to get something special, and I honestly admitted to the whole group around the table:

"You know, I really cannot complain. I live at the bakery and get decent food, I have a job which allows to do some useful work and which I like, and in particular I have the best girlfriend in the whole world. Prim is all I need to be happy, and she is so much better than any present I could ever get, really!"

Prim loved to hear that, of course, and she showed her wide smile immediately. She hopped onto my lap, gave me a long hug and a quick kiss, and decided to make herself comfortable on me, which she knew I would not mind at all.

When she saw that, Delly went a little gooey and said: "It is so cute to watch you two together. I so wish that I also had a boyfriend saying nice things about me."

Delly was a real popular girl and liked by almost everybody, but so far she had not been able to get into some kind of relationship. I mean, she was Peeta՚s age and only 14, so from my point of view there was no hurry. I could understand, though, why some girls got envious of Prim, who was only 10.

I woke up in the morning of my 20th birthday, and my father and brothers and I had a nice birthday breakfast together. Usually, they'd have a few small presents for in the morning, but not today, and my father told me:

"Son, this year we and a few of your friends worked together to get you a larger present, and we will hand it over as soon as your friends are here in the afternoon."

This was just all right for, and I left home to get to work. Prim had been conspicuously absent for the last few days and also today so far, which had surprised me, until Mrs. Everdeen had hinted that my birthday was coming up; maybe she was also involved in preparing that larger present.

When I got home after work, there a small birthday cake waiting for me together with my friends Tyler, Karl, and Delly. My brothers and father were there, and Mrs. Everdeen had also arrived; she told me that Prim would show up later and it would be a surprise. When I entered the living room, there was a very large box standing there in the center, and it had a number of small holes in it. The box was partially wrapper in paper, and there was a large sign saying 'For Rye'. Of course I was getting curious about the content, but before I could start to open the box I could see and hear something moving inside, and I asked around:

"Don't tell me that there's a goat or a cat or something like that inside!"

They all shrugged and grinned, and I had to work on opening the box to find out. Of course, opening the large box required some work, and I did need to get some tools to achieve that. Once I had managed to open part of one side, I glimpsed inside, and I could indeed see part of a goat pelt, and it clearly moved around.

"Oh no," I moaned, "You actually got me a goat. This is more a prank than a birthday gift! What am I supposed to do with a goat?"

Everybody laughed, and I got the feeling that I was missing something important. I managed to open the side further, and I noticed that the goat had two small baskets hanging on the sides, and there was some kind of collar with a big sign attached: 'Rye's personal goat for happiness'.

"A goat is supposed to make me happy? Seriously?" I asked around, shaking my head, not getting the point.

Looking inside the box again, I noticed that the goat looked a little odd. The head seemed to be too large, and somehow body proportions were off, at least according to what I had seen from Prim՚s goat 'Lady'. Hm, maybe another animal similar to a goat? I scratched my head and opened the box further to allow the goat to step out, and suddenly I heard a giggle from the goat. Goats could giggle? Well, what did I know.

Delly looked at me and asked:

"You are still not getting it, are you?"

"Whatever it is, obviously not." I replied and shrugged.

"Check out the goat again!" she suggested.

Obediently I looked again and noticed that the animal's hooves were not real hooves, but more like shoes formed like hooves. There was another giggle, louder this time, and suddenly the goat jumped at me. I was not prepared for that and fell down on the carpet in our living room, with the 'goat' right on top of me. Now I heard even more giggling very close to me; the 'goat' awkwardly wrapped its front legs around my neck, and suddenly I noticed that the giggling sounded very familiar. As I did not think a goat would be able and willing to wrap legs or arms around me, I finally realized that there must be a human being hidden in the goat pelt, and this could only be Prim:

"Prim, is that you in that goat pelt?"

"Yes, silly, of course. Took you long enough to get it!" a muffled voice sounded from the goat's head.

Everybody around me was laughing now, and eventually I joined in, with the 'goat' still being kind of wrapped around me. Dad explained:

"Well, they heard you saying at school that Prim was everything you needed to be happy. Katniss was able to trade for a large goat pelt, and we made a team effort to fit it for Prim. Over the last few days I think she had as much fun as we had making that look kind of real."

"Well, it sure looked real enough to fool me!"

Addressing my girlfriend, who was still in my arms, I asked:

"Prim, would you like to get out of the costume?"

"No, not at all, it's fun to be wearing it. I totally enjoy to be your pet for today, and you will need to feed me!"

I laughed and replied: "Okay, I can do this."

Eating the cake and drinking juice and hot chocolate was fun. Prim was sitting on my lap; in order to eat and drink, I had to removed her head mask, but as hooves were also attached to her hands, I head to feed her. Sometimes she hopped down to the ground, and raised her arms kind of begging for food like a puppy might do, and all of us laughed again. Before eating we had removed the baskets from her side, which had a few small additional presents in them.

Later on the evening my friends took their leave, and they all assured me that they had had a lot of fun and that they had really enjoyed playing that prank on me. Mrs. Everdeen also wanted to go home, but Prim wanted to stay. She insisted on being my special pet for the night, too. Her mother smiled and took her leave. Prim had a bag with clothes in the box as well, but wanted to stay in the costume for the time being. Before going to bed, I had to help her undoing a few buttons between her legs so that she could relieve herself, but she insisted to go to bed still being dressed as a goat. Well, she was a ten year old girl, and I loved to play her games with her, so that was okay.

It was a strange feeling to cuddle with a 'goat' rather than a girl for a change, and on the next morning I needed her to have a shower in my bathroom before I could send her off to school. I did not think that it would have been a good idea going out with that goat smell on her and being somewhat sweaty. Later on, I also had to give my room a long airing.

Of course we kept the costume around; maybe we could have more fun with it in future.

[Author's Notes: The idea to shoot a projectile with people in it to the moon with a huge cannon is taken from a novel written by the French Science Fiction author Jules Verne, of course. I do not speak French and read the German translation, titled 'Von der Erde zum Mond'.

About the goat costume, I imagine that it might look like some 'Onesies' you can buy nowadays, but made from a real goat pelt and somehow much more realistic.]