Chapter 8

(Gale POV)

When I open that door and find her standing there I was so stunned that I couldn't even speak. What was she doing there? She seemed a little surprised to see me answer Katniss's door as well, almost shy like for a second. It was a strange but brief moment. I couldn't see her face because she ket staring at the ground but I swear I saw a flash of redness on it before she looked down. She actually came by at the perfect time though since it was jam she needed Katniss to make and we'd just brought in all those blackberries. Making jam isn't exactly a fast process, especially in a Seam kitchen and I know Katniss wasn't too keen on making it once she heard how soon it was needed but we needed this job. The money will be good, better than having a reserve of berries all canned and stored away for eating. Money is always a better deal around here.

After Madge left Katniss made sure to let me know that I was staying all night to help her make the stuff. She also finally got around to teasing me about the gazette article. When Madge was here, I'd forgotten we'd left it sitting right there on the table. Thankfully Katniss noticed it and got rid of it before Madge saw I think. She'd teased me about how I almost blew the cover off my secret crush leaving all that intel out on the table like that. To which I swore it wasn't a crush, just a little curiosity is all. She didn't believe me but let it drop without any further talk on the matter.

It'd taken us well into the night to make all the jam. Ended up with 3 full jars and a half filled one that we'll keep for ourselves. Katniss did most of the work, I mostly just had to stay and keep her company. In a way, this was a good distraction from the impending reaping ceremony. A way for us to hang out for a bit and not feel like we're in survival mode.

I head home and sleep for a bit and then spend the rest of the day with my family just hanging out and having fun at home. I try to always do this the day before the reaping, just in case my name gets pulled. If it ever happens, I want to be able to say that my last memories with my family were good ones. I think I could hold my own for awhile in the games but I'm not sure I could win. Hopefully, I'll never have to find that out for sure.

(Madge POV)

When I get home from seeing Katniss, I find my stylist has arrived and is in my room putting together the outfits I will wear to the tea party and the reaping ceremony. Normally I handle this sort of thing myself when I'm home in 12 but apparently my father decided I needed the help and has brought Steffi in to get me ready.

She's actually brought a few choices for my tea party outfit which is nice but everything looks so over the top fancy. Way too fancy for District 12 anyway. She has me try on a few things and we ultimately decide on a turquoise sheath style dress with a frilly trim around the hem for the tea party. The dress itself is okay but she brought a hat to go with it. A freaking hat. And I have to wear it. And I couldn't just pick a different dress because all the options for the tea party have hats. Oh and it has little satin gloves with frilly trim too. At least I only have to wear it inside my house while I'm at the tea party. I am not excited about the fact that I'll be photographed while wearing it though. That reporter person will be trailing me all day, snapping pictures of everything for his story.

My reaping ceremony dress thankfully does not have a hat or gloves. It's still too fancy in my opinion though. For this Steffi is putting me in a form fitting, royal blue dress. It's got a high neck, cap sleeves and has little pearl buttons all down the front. Knowing Steffi, I'm sure she'll find a way to put a few pearls in my hair too. The shoes that go with it are high heels which i normally would never wear in 12. Here I always try to wear something practical like ballet flats. Many of our roads aren't even paved so heels would be an accident waiting to happen. All said, I will look beautiful but way to formal for a reaping ceremony.

I'm about to go to bed and call it a night when I remember that I need to leave an envelope with money for Katniss in case I am not around when she brings the jam by. Knowing this was a big task to ask of her at the last minute I add a little extra for all her trouble. I write her name on front and put it on my nightstand. I'll give it to our housekeeper, Bethany, in the morning. For now, I just want a good night's sleep. Drew will arrive tomorrow and I'm hoping to be able to figure him out a little better.

I sleep like a rock all night and am woken up by Bethany, our housekeeper.

"Miss Madge, you'd best hurry and get ready. Mr. Whitney will be arriving soon and I know your father expects you to be there to greet him at the train to mention all the others who will be arriving today." She advises me as she begins opening all my drapes and letting in the sunshine.

"Good morning." I yawn as I sit up, rubbing my face.

She hurries from the room, probably to finish preparing the other rooms for the guests. She works so hard all the time but her workload is clearly so much heavier when the house is full of visitors. I pad across the room to my closet and pick a pretty sundress for today. An olive green linen one. Plain but pretty. It's not fancy at all and right now, that's my favorite thing about it. I'll spend all of tomorrow wearing fancy, formal attire and today I just want to be comfortable and try to blend in a little. I slip on a pair of sandals and pull my hair up so it's off my neck. I look in the mirror and instantly know that if my father sees me he will make me change. It's too casual, too plain. I slip on some earrings and a pendant. That dresses it up a little. Not much but a little. I slip out of my room and down the servant's staircase in the back. I'm not supposed to use that staircase but I always do. I bet my father has never even set foot on them. He always uses the grand staircase and that's the one I'm supposed to use too. I like this one though, especially because I know it's a way to avoid running into him.

In the kitchen I eat a piece of toast and down a glass of juice. Glancing up at the clock I see that I've got to get going. Drew's train is due soon. I head out the backdoor and make my way to the station. I make a mental note to thank him for the roses. I may not have cared for them but a thank you is stil in order.

My stomach flip flops a little when the train pulls in and people begin getting off. I wonder if other girls, the normal ones, if they ever feel nervous when they first start dating someone too? Of course their dates aren't arranged and scheduled according to Capitol plans, so probably not. No, it's probably just me.

I see Drew step off the train so I smile and wave. He sees me and smiles back as he walks towards me. All of a sudden I feel even more nervous. What if he kisses me? Guys do that right? They kiss girls when they greet them sometimes?

"You look lovely this morning." He tells me, leaning in and kissing my cheek. Relief floods through me. A kiss on the cheek is fine. It was the fear of a real kiss that had me sweating.

"How was your trip?" I ask.

"It was good. I'm excited to see your District. I've never been here before."

"That's right, I hadn't realized that. We can have your bags taken to the house and I can give you a tour if you'd like. I'm not sure it will compare much to what you're used to though."

"A tour sounds good. Should we go say hello to your father first though?"

I frown but then then realize what I'm doing. 'Um, he's probably very busy preparing for tomorrow and all so that may have to wait until later."

"Of course." He agrees as he holds out his hand. I take it but it feels a little awkward.

We have his bag sent to the house and I walk around town, pointing our all the merchant shops and the various buildings. Truth be told, 12 isn't much to look at. We are the poorest in all of Panem and I've seen other districts so I know our lack of money shows in how we look as a town. And 4 is such a beautiful district so we definetly don't compare to what he's used to. I don't take him to the Seam or over by the entrance to the mines.

"Are you hungry? We could grab some lunch at the cafe if you'd like." I suggest as we pause in front of the only place to buy a meal in all of 12.

He glances over at the old building with the peeling paint and dusty windows. I'm sure he's thinking it's not a good place to eat but the food is actually really quite good here. I love it actually.

"Um, I think that would be good." He replies but I hear a hint of something in his voice that tells me he isn't sure he wants to.

"Come on, this place is really good, I promise!" I tell him, trying to sound excited as I lead him inside. It's actually slightly busy inside which is unusual normally but with the games preparing to start, the Capitol guests are starting to show up.

I spot a booth over in the back and lead him to it. He slides in across from me and I watch him as he looks around the place. I sit quietly and wait for him to notice that I'm not talking. He looks uncomfortable almost, but it also seems like he's trying to push passed it. He must realize I'm just sitting here watching him because he clears his throat and straightens his tie. "Sorry. I'm just trying to take it all in." He apologizes and I swear theres a hint of the Drew I had dinner with the other night.

"It's nothing like 4, huh?" I smile as I hand him a menu.

He shakes his head. "No. It's definetly different, that's for sure."

We order some sandwiches, fries and iced teas. While we wait for the food to come, I decide to see if he's nervous about the reaping tomorrow at all. Sometimes in his district, they have volunteers so I wonder if there is less fear about having your name pulled when you know that someone may decide to take your place. In 12, we have never had a volunteer. "Are you nervous about tomorrow at all?" I ask.

He raises a brow and looks like he doesn't know what I'm talking about. "Nervous?"

"Yes, about the reaping. Don't you ever get worried that they'll pull your name?"

He stares at me for a long pause and bites his lip. Then he looks around and leans forward across the table towards me. "Do you worry that they'll pull your name?" He asks me in full whisper.

"Yes! I worry every year!" I admit.

"You don't need to worry about that. They won't pull your name." He assures me, still in full whisper.

"Well, perhaps you don't worry about it but I for one would not fare so well in any sort of battle. And I know my name is only in there a minimum amount of times but it's still in there and it only takes one slip to be reaped." I cannot believe he thinks I shouldn't worry. I wouldn't stand a chance whatsoever in the games. Not a chance.

He seems torn about something. There''s a long pause of silence between us and again he looks around as if to make sure no one can hear us before he leans really close and whispers to me once more. "They don't really put our names in. They can't pull your name."

My mouth falls open and I let out a loud gasp, stunned at what he just told me. Could that be true? Is that why it was so easy for him to travel here for the reaping? Because his name wasn't going to be pulled anyway? Has my name never really been in there either? And what does he mean by "our names"? Does that mean

Our meals arrive and he looks at me, then just starts eating. I guess that's the end of this conversation. For now anyway. I fully intend to have him explain this fully to me later when we are alone. And if this is true information, how is it that he knows this and I did not?