Chapter Four
I wake up slowly. My eyelids feel heavy, so I open them reluctantly. I take a few deep, shallow breaths before remembering the events from the day before.
"Katniss!" I cry, bolting up into a sitting position. My heart is racing and I'm breathing deep. Is it true? Please, tell me it isn't true. I drag myself into the kitchen where I see my mother sitting at the table.
"Katniss?" I ask weakly.
My mother gives a grim nod that can only mean confirmation.
I moan and sink into the nearest chair, my head it my hands. It's a school day today, but I'm not ready to go out and face the world. On a normal day, I'd walk to school with Katniss, I'd pass her in the hallway, say hello, but today none of that will happen. Today Katniss will wake up in the Capitol probably, on the other side of Panem.
I get dressed and ready for school, trying unsuccessfully to block Katniss from entering my mind. The Hunger Games is now a topic that forever lingers in my thoughts.
After a quick breakfast, I head off to school with Rory and Vick. Of course, our age difference has us going to separate schools, but they still start at the same time and are adjacent to each other.
"Hey, Gale." One of my friends, Cormack, says as I approach our school.
"Hey." I reply, falling into stride with him.
We pause, Katniss's absence consuming us. Though we keep quiet, we both know what each other want to say. Awkwardly silent, we head inside to our separate Homeroom classes. I take a chair in my usual seat and stare off into space. There's really not much to do in Homeroom. Suddenly, I feel like there are eyes drilling into the back of my skull. I turn around to find my Homeroom teacher staring at me. When our eyes meet, she quickly looks away. Feeling invaded, I turn away also.
"Hey." A pretty girl in my Homeroom class slides into the seat next to me. Her name's Ginger and she's from the better part of District 12. She has blond hair and soft blue eyes.
"Hello." I say with a flash of a smile. Why does she want to talk to me?
"That's really sad about your friend." Ginger says.
It seems like too light a comment to make on the topic, but I know Ginger just wants to make conversation. I definitely don't want to talk about anything right now, especially the reaping.
"Her name's Katniss." I snap, rather rudely.
Ginger for a moment looks taken aback, but she soon resumes her normal expression.
"I know, she was so nice, too." Ginger says.
I hate how Ginger is talking about Katniss in past tense, like my best friend is long gone with no hope of return.
"I was thinking, maybe if you're… free this weekend?" Ginger asks. "Maybe we could, go somewhere?" She bites her lip and looks up at me hopefully, obviously trying to look cute. She's succeeded, but I'm not going to fall into her trap. I know all about snares, and I'm not just about to go walking into this one.
"I'm busy, sorry." I say without much passion. It's true, I'll probably have homework and I have to feed seven people.
"Oh." Ginger says before slowly getting up and walking away.
I look over to see a sixteen year old boy gaping at me, probably wondering why I rejected the prettiest girl in my Homeroom class. I just stare right through him until the bell rings to signify the conclusion of Homeroom, and I head to my honors English class.
"Hey, you okay?" Cormack asks me as I walk through the door. "You look a little dazed."
"Dazed? What? No." I reply quickly.
Cormack laughs lightly, but I can see that his eyes are sad. He knows that I'm not okay and he knows why.
All throughout class, I'm unable to pay attention. I really want to, but every time I catch a word the teacher says, I slide right back out into my own world of gloom.
"Gale?" My teacher's voice breaks my concentration.
I snap back into the real world.
"Yes?" I reply, too quickly and too loudly.
"Do you know the answer to the problem we just solved?" The teacher asks me.
"Umm…" I say, racking my brains I begin to panic, what was the question? "X equals 3.14?"
The class snickers and I know I've done something wrong. Well, I didn't even catch the question.
"Gale, you're in English." The teacher reminds me gently.
"Oh." I say, embarrassed.
The teacher sighs.
"Are you okay, Gale?" he asks.
"Yeah, how about you?" I reply. I'm not usually much of a smart mouth, but it relieves some tension. My teacher gives me a small smile.
"I'm fine, now Mr. Hawthorne, I suggest you pay closer attention." The teacher says.
I nod and give my best effort to listen. It's difficult, but I manage to learn a few things. The rest of my classes go this way until finally the school day is over and I'm free. Throughout the day, there seems to be an awkward tension between me and my classmates, nobody looks me directly in the eyes for long.
"Hey, are you free after school?" Cormack asks me as we get ready to leave.
"No." I say. "Sorry." I do have a lot of homework and a lot of hunting to do.
Just then, my eyes meet Peeta Mellark's older brother's eyes and we stare at each other for a moment. Clearly, he's been getting the same treatment that I've been getting today. We both know that either my best friend or his brother at least will have to die in the Hunger Games. We both choose to look away at the same time.
I go outside the school to go meet up with Rory and Vick.
"Hey, guys, how'd school go?" I ask.
"Fine." My brothers reply in unison.
"Do you think you could drop my things off at home before I," I pause and look around to make sure that nobody is eavesdropping. "Before I go to work?"
Rory and Vick understand that by 'work' I mean hunting. We just have to be careful about what we say, I can't afford to be arrested right now.
I hand my brothers my backpack and head for the woods. It's been a while since I've hunted alone, it's going to be really different.
"Gale!" I hear someone shout. "Wait up!"
I turn around to see Prim running towards me. She can't want to hunt with me, can she? Katniss has tried to teach Prim to hunt, but she always feels too bad for the animals.
"Prim?" I ask.
"Katniss would want you to have this." Prim says, thrusting a heavy book into my hands. "It's a book that helps you identify edible and poisonous plants."
I study the old book in my hands. It's heavy and sure to be helpful.
"Thank you, I'll really need it." I say.
Prim nods and gives me a hug that I didn't see coming. She's probably had a rough day at school with her sister being the new tribute.
"Bye, Gale." Prim says before turning around and walking away.
Book in hand, I head for the woods. The fence, like usual, is uncharged, so I wriggle through the hole that I usually do. I grab my weapons and materials I need and walk to the place where I usually meet Katniss and just sit there for a while.
"C'mon Gale, you need to stop wallowing in this and actually do something." I tell myself. I begin to get worried, the first sign of going crazy is talking to yourself.
I get a sudden impulse to throw something. I glance at a rock by my side and pick it up. I grunt as I hurtle it as far as I can. The rock lands with a thud and scares up a couple of birds. I hate the Capitol. I hate the Capitol. I seize another rock and throw it again. I really, really hate the Capitol. After I've thrown a few more rocks, I decide to actually hunt.
Anger somewhat relieved, I start checking the snares that I've set up. The whole process usually takes about an hour, and when I'm done I've got two rabbits, a turkey and a squirrel. I don't think it's enough, so I decide to gather some herbs and berries. During my search, I stumble across a patch of berries that I've never picked from.
"Let's see if you're any use." I say to the book in my hand.
I skim the book until I find an identical picture to the bush of berries I discovered. I match up the shape and size of the berries, along with the height of the bush and characteristics of the leaves. Finally, I determine that they are safe to devour.
I plop one of the orange-red berries in my mouth. The sweet flavor erupts in my mouth, making me want more. I disregard the temptation and gather as many as I can fit in my container. Then, I leave to gather herbs and greens.
Once I've picked many greens, I draw my bow. I need to kill at least one more animal. Stealthily, I creep through the woods, not making a sound. I spot a turkey and I ready my bow. Before the animal has time to notice my presence, an arrow pierces its middle. I run over with my knife and make sure the turkey is dead.
I sling my well hidden kills across my back and head nonchalantly into town, not wanting to raise suspicions. I walk over to the Hob where I make my trades.
I leave the Hob with half of the berries, a few loaves of bread, some soap, a few of the herbs and greens, some milk, one turkey and some left over money. Ironically, the head Peacekeeper, Cray, loves wild turkey. I plod home with my earnings.
"Get anything good?" My mother asks as I walk through the door.
"Yeah, can you butcher a turkey?" I ask her.
"Of course." My mother replies as I hand her the bird.
While my mom cleans my kill, I divide the rest of my purchases in half. When everything is split and the turkey butchered, I head over to the Everdeens' house with half of the remains. When I reach the house, I knock on the door.
"Gale?" Mrs. Everdeen answers.
"I'm here to drop off some things." I say, handing her the bag.
Mrs. Everdeen's eyes glisten with tears.
"Thank you." she manages.
"Really, it's no problem, my pleasure." I say. "Anything I can do for Katniss."
Mrs. Everdeen nods slowly and I give her a small smile, not because I feel like smiling, because I want to reassure her. Reassure her for what, I don't exactly know.
I turn around and head home. When I'm inside, I get straight to working on my homework. I place hunting as a priority over schoolwork. The work is somewhat strenuous on my brain, it really would've helped if I had paid attention in class, but I manage to get some work done before dinner.
"Dinner!" My mother calls from the kitchen
I abandon my schoolwork and go to the kitchen to eat. Will everyday be this stressful? I'm not even halfway done with my homework and I'm extremely tired. Well, school will be ending soon, so I won't have to deal with the work ever again, considering this is my last year in high school. That's a pleasing thought except for the fact that the end of school will mean work in the mines. Suppose Katniss dies in the Hunger Games, I'll have to supply all seven people and work twelve hours a day six days a week. Worry floods my brain as I wonder how I'd manage that. I could always teach Rory to hunt, but I don't want to risk him getting caught. I just pray that Katniss makes it back and then she'll have plenty of money for her family. The main reason I want Katniss to live is not because of the financial problems.
After I finish my dinner, I help my mother clean up.
"Gale." She says, drying a plate.
"Yes?" I reply.
"You don't need to help me clean up, you already do enough." My mother says sternly.
"You do enough, too, Mom." I say. It's true, my mother works many hours and manages a family of five. I can see why Katniss never wanted a family.
"Yes, but I don't have forgotten schoolwork lying on my bedroom floor." My mother says with a smile.
I grin back at her.
"Good point." I say, returning to my work.
Filling out papers keeps me up well into the night, but I won't sleep well even if I didn't have homework. I sigh and roll over in bed. Why Katniss? Why me?