The door opens and my mother and Prim walk in, followed by a peacekeeper in a white suit. "You have three minutes," he tells us. Then he leaves, slamming the door behind him. I wipe my sweaty palms on the skirt of my grey dress and swallow hard. Prim climbs into my lap, just like she did as a child, and I hug her tightly as silent tears drip down her face. For a moment, no one speaks. Finally, I clear my throat and smooth her hair. "Prim, listen. We don't have much time."
She sniffles and pulls back, looking at me through red-rimmed eyes. "Okay."
"You're going to be fine. Don't take any extra food from them, it isn't worth putting your name in more times. Gale will bring you game. You can sell cheese from your goat."
"Just try to win. If you can," she whispers.
There's no chance of me winning the Games, and we all know that. But since I can't bear the thought of her in pain, I say, " maybe I can. I am smart, you know."
"And you can hunt," she adds, sniffling again.
"Exactly."
I touch my forehead to hers, and she pulls out the gold mockingjay pin I gave her. "To protect you," she says, closing my fingers around it. I take it with a nod of thanks and kiss the top of her head. I squeeze her hand gently, and then turn to my mother. She lowers her head and laces her fingers together; she must know what's coming.
"You can't clock out again," I say harshly, moving to stand directly in front of her. I need to get through to her; she's all Prim has.
"I won't-"
"No. You can't. Not like when Dad died. You're all she has. No matter what you feel, you have to be there for her. Understand?"
She nods, her eyes wet with tears.
"Don't cry." I pull her into a hug. "I love you, Mom."
"Love you too."
The door flies open, and the peacekeeper marches in. "Time's up," he announces. Prim starts to cry again as the peacekeeper shoves her through the door, along with my mother.
"Remember, I love you both!" I call as the heavy door shuts me away from my family and the only home I've ever known. I take deep breaths, willing myself not to cry. I can't leave this room with puffy eyes and a red nose. There will be more cameras at the train station, and I don't want to be marked as a weakling. A target.
My next visitor is Gale, and there are no secrets between us as he pulls me into a tight hug. Although we aren't lovers, I find that know every detail of his lean, hard muscled body, and that the rhythm of his heart is as familiar as my own.
What am I going to do without my hunting partner?
"I'm fine," I say weakly. I shouldn't ask for comfort. That's selfish.
"No. You're not."
"I am."
"Listen," he says, pulling away from me and grasping my shoulders. "You're stronger than they are. You are. Get to a bow."
"They may not have a-"
"They will if you show them how good you are. They just want a good show. That's all they want."
I nod and look down at my feet. All I can think is that even if I get a bow, I'm still going to die.
"And if they don't have a bow, then you make one. You have experience, Katniss. You know how to hunt."
"Animals."And I'm all the more selfish for it.
"It's no different, Katniss," he says softly.
The scary thing is, he might be right. "There's twenty-four of us, Gale, only one comes out."
"Yeah," he says, reaching around to touch the back of my neck. And it's gonna be you."
He pulls me closer, but the doors are opening again and the peacekeeper is waiting.
"Take care of them, Gale, whatever you do, don't let them starve!" I shout as they drag him away.
"I won't! Remember, Katniss, I-"
And then the door slams, and I'll never know what he wanted me to remember because I'm going to die. I'm going to die, and I'll never get a Choosing Ceremony, or a faction, only white roses and a wooden coffin and I'll die undeserving of my faction anyway.
But I have to try, for Prim and Gale and Mom.
I sink down to the floor and sob into my hands, unable to hold back the tears.