Chapter 2: Getting acquainted with Prim

On Monday of the following week, I was curious if Prim would show up again, and I found out that I was actually looking forward to her visit. To be prepared I had bought a few cheese buns and other pastry from the Mellark bakery (down in the Merchant's area), and I was looking out of my window to see when the school bus would come. In the morning I had been out in the fields discussing some seeding details with Mr. Brown in bright sunshine, but now the sun was hidden behind dark clouds, and just as the bus stopped, the first drops of rain came down. While the kids were starting to walk along the road to the Seam, I saw Prim heading straight towards the entrance to my house, and I managed to get her inside just before the rain was starting to pour down. She looked up at me and smiled: "Good thing you invited me – I would have been soaked within a few minutes during my walk home!" I smiled back and agreed: "Yes, you would have, I guess. Would you want to sit down with me and have a snack?" Prim nodded, so that her pigtails flew around: "Yes, I'd like that" and I guided her to my dining area where Mrs. Miller had already prepared two cups of hot chocolate and the cheese buns, together with a few other snacks. "Cheese buns are my favorites!" she happily exclaimed while sitting down. I encouraged her: "Please sit down and enjoy."

For a few minutes we were silently devouring our meal, but soon she started to chat again and told me a little more about herself. She lived in one of the smaller houses in the Seam together with her mother and her older sister Katniss; her father had died a few years ago in a mining accident. Katniss, I was told, was an experienced hunter and traded squirrels and rabbits for bread and other necessities. Her mother made a little money as some kind of healer, helping sick residents who could not afford to see a doctor with potions and medical services; she, Prim, was also learning that line of business. Actually, she dreamed of being a nurse or even a medical doctor in future, but knew that she would never be able to afford that kind of education. Panem did not believe in equal opportunities for everybody, and almost all of the interesting and well paid jobs were only available to those who could either pay enough money for the proper education or get their way in via connections and bribing (or at least that was what Haymitch had told me recently).

I also told a little about my background and what I was planing to do her, and she was a very interested listener. In fact, she was almost enthusiastic when she heard about my ideas to do something to help the local residents, and she provided a few comments I would not have expected from a preteen girl. After some time, though, my young visitor suddenly looked up and said: "Oh, I believe that my sister will start to get worried about me; I guess that I need to go home". Looking out of the windows and still seeing dark clouds and many raindrops falling into the puddles, I objected: "It is still raining a lot; wouldn't you want to wait until later?" But she did not want to get her sister in worries and insisted that she needed to go now. I suggested: "There is no way I let you walk all through the Seam in this rain. Please allow me to drive you home in my car." She looked at me: "You would do that for me?" I confirmed and told her: "I will, and I will say Hello to your mother, too."

I lead her downstairs to the underground parking area. Knowing that the Seam roads were mostly unpaved, I selected my Jeep and waved her in. I could see that she was not used to ride in fancy cars, and I had to encourage her to actually take a seat on the soft leather upholstery. The roads in the Seam were indeed in a bad shape, and I made a note to myself to see if this could be improved in future. She guided me to her house, and I parked in front of the entrance, noticing that the house did have neither a garage nor some kind of driveway. Most likely, Seam residents did not own cars, I assumed. Before I could get into the house with her, though, somebody (it must have been her sister) stepped out, grabbed her, and closed the door. I was not sure what to do, but decided not to push the issue and drive home again.

For a while Prim did not come to see me again, so that one day when I saw here walking home from the school bus stop, I intercepted her to confirm that she was welcome anytime again to visit me. However, she looked at me sadly and told me that her sister had more or less forbidden her to see me again – she did not believe in socializing with non-Seam people and expected I would want to exploit her sister. I was surprised to hear that: "Is your sister your legal guardian?" She answered: "No, my mum is, but I usually do what my sister tells me, although this time it is hard" and with that she left.

Hm, it looked like that sister was maybe a little overprotective, and I was not willing to lose my first friend here just like this. I guess that I needed to contact her mother, and thus I wrote a letter to her, explaining who I was, what my intentions were, and that I'd welcome to have the opportunity to have Prim introduce me to the area. I specifically suggested that Mrs. Everdeen (I had noted name and address when I had been parked there) and Prim (and, if applicable, other family members) should visit me next Saturday evening for dinner, and I'd send a car to pick them up. The letter was given to the mail right away, and now I had to wait and see.

Well, on the agreed date I sent Mr. Miller with the minivan to pick up the Everdeen family members, while Mrs. Miller had dinner ready in the oven. I had suggested that they – the Miller family (Mr. Miller, Mrs. Miller, and their children Karl and Monica) also sit with us, and I eagerly waited for the van to come back. Fortunately, it did not come back empty, but Mrs. Everdeen and Prim were there. I bade them welcome to my home and we started to have dinner first. Soon the ice was broken and nice talking was going on. Monica Miller was only one year older than Prim, and they were soon engaged in some girl talk. Karl was almost an adult already, and he helped me to explain what we were actually doing here, although this was not yet clearly defined in all details. Mrs. Everdeen could not resist to comment: "Mrs. Miller, the lamb stew you cooked is really excellent. I wish that we had access to all the herbs and other ingredients you must have been using." Mrs. Miller replied: "Oh, we are just starting a herb garden outside. If you want to get a few plants, I am sure that something can be arranged." I cut in: "Actually, I was thinking about setting up some kind of herb garden somewhere in the Seam. Part of the work here will be directed towards finding out which plants grow best and are most useful for the population. I'd just need a person or two to tend the garden." While I said that, Prim was jumping up and down: "I can do that! I know most herbs and medical plants, and I would love to tend to them!" Mrs. Everdeen nodded and confirmed: "This is true – for her age, Prim is already very knowledgeable in herbs and plants, and I believe that she would be capable of tending a small garden. Maybe one or two of her friends could also help, and I can provide some advice as well." I pondered that for a few seconds before responding: "Well, originally I had thought about hiring a couple of adults to do that. However, having local children tending a garden might actually be beneficial, and they could grow into the task. Let's find out soon where we can find a proper place for that." Of course, Mrs. Everdeen also provided her explicit permission for Prim to visit me again in future.

Only a few days later Prim came to see me again on her walk home from school, smiling all the way while walking up to my house.

"You are lucky to find me here at this time", I told her, "as I am spending a lot of time outside visiting the facilities. But I have left word with my housekeepers that you can come in at any time and at least get something to eat and drink when I am not here."

She beamed at me, and as it was a nice and sunny day, I suggested that we walk a little outside. We climbed on a hill next to the house, and from there we could see all the lands belonging to the place, so that I could explain the details to her. When I pointed out the forest and that I planned to hire some hunters and foresters later on, she said: "I know a perfect person to hunt in this forest!"

I looked at her: "Really? Who would that be?"

She told me: "My sister Katniss is the best archer I have ever seen. She can shoot a squirrel in the eye from twenty paces or so!"

I was getting curious: "Is that so? Where does she practice?"

Prim did not hesitate to elaborate: "She hunts in that big forest down there two or three times a week, and she's really good!" Having said that, she hesitated, and continued meekly: "Oh, I guess that she hunts in your forest. We were not aware of that ...".

I comforted the blonde girl: "No, you could not have been aware of that, as this forest had been neglected for decades, and I only purchased it very recently. At least for the time being, people can still go in there and hunt. At a later time, though, I may have to stop that for the benefits of my experiments."

Prim was silent for a few minutes, but than raised her voice again: "Timotheus, do you know that the Seam relies on people hunting in there? Without the game Katniss and a few other hunters bring home, some of the poorer citizens might starve!"

I looked at her and admitted: "No, I was not aware of that. However, please be assured that I will find a way to compensate for that. It is not my intention to make life harder for everybody, but rather to help, and I will need people to tell me more about local conditions here!" And I continued: "Having somebody like your sister working for me might be great – I'd much prefer hunting be done with bow and arrow rather than guns, but I was doubtful if I could find experienced bow hunters – do you think your sister would want to work for me?"

Prim shook her head: "Katniss is very guarded and does not easily trust people. She would only assume that you'd want to exploit us. She is already furious that my mum allowed me to visit you again. Maybe she'll learn over time that you're actually a friend."

I thoughtfully looked at Prim and asked: "So you do consider me as a friend?"

She nodded and confirmed: "Yes, I do. Maybe this is premature, but my feelings tell me that I am right."

I smiled at her and also nodded: "Great; let's be friends! Actually, you are my first friend here in this area, so that I am really happy about that!"

Prim said: "I have a lot of friends in the Seam, but almost none outside."

I was not surprised to hear that; a girl like her was easy to like, and she was probably quite popular at school. I guessed that I needed to learn a bit more about local habits and behavior.