Chapter 3
Flashbacks.
It was a dark and rainy day in Panem.
I had tried to find a buyer for some of Cat's old clothing the entire day, but no one seemed interested in threadbare baby clothes. I couldn't even strike up a deal at the blackmarket, which was unsual. Normally there'd be at least one person generous enough to offer a few coins in exchange for the clothing.
My father had taken off not long after the incident that took away not only my mother, but my cousin's parents as well.
He never looked back. We were left to fend for ourselves, and I didn't dare tell any of the officials. They would only ship me and Cat off to some foster home to some fate worse than not having any adults around to support us.
I'd seen some of those kids at school, and swore to myself that I would never end up like them, even if it killed me. To have Cat end up like them was unthinkable. To see her red hair fade to a dirty brown, her playful Bambi eyes turn black and souless- I wouldn't let that happen.
Not, now, not ever. She was my only family and I'd do anthing for her.
But we hand long ago run out of money. We had always been so careful about where and how we spent it, but the day came when there was nothing left.
That day was about a week ago, and we were slowly starving to death.
If we could only get enough food to last us about a week and a half, I'd be able to sign up for more food in exchange for having my name entered more times in the reaping bowl.
I couldn't come home empty handed again and stare into her sad eyes, fall asleep to the sound of her whimpering softly about a painful stomach when she thought no one would hear her.
I had to keep going.
'Just one more street,' I told myself, pushing myself to my feet. 'One more street and then you can start looking through the garbage or start begging.'
I stood up shakily, my limbs screaming out in protest as I started to walk down the street. It hurt like hell, but I just clenched my teeth and fought back the urge to cry out.
A cat darted across my path and I fell face-first into the puddle in front of me, the clothes flying everywhere around me. I swore under my breath when my stomach hit the pavement, the tears I'd been holding back for so long springing into my eyes.
I was tired of walking around. My stomach ached from not eating and I had a searing headache. My hands were shaking and I was chilled to the bone. I wanted my mom...
After a moment, I forced myself into a sitting position, the smells from the bakery only increasing the instense throbbing in my head. I kicked over the trashcan, desperately hoping that they would've thrown something out-maybe some stale bread or a burned bun.
I screamed in frustration when I found out it was empty. The waste collectors had probably taken away the trash a few hours before I had gotten over here.
I pushed myself up, kicking the trashcan once more for good measure and stalking angrily out of the alley I had been going through. That alerted the owner of the store, unfortunatley, and she all but ran out and screamed at me. "I'm sick of you beggers always going through my garbage! Why don;t the whole lot of you just get a job and doi something instead of going through people's garbage."
Maybe it was just the exhaustion, hunger, or the headache..or maybe all three, but I snapped at her words and slapped her across the face. "Don't you think we actualy try to get jobs?" I screetched, glaring at her . "We don't just sit around and beg all day, alright bit-"
"What's going on out here?" a vaguely familiar voice asked quietly, the person stepping out not long after. A boy with thick dark hair brushed into a short ponytail and a few stains splattered on his apron stepped out, worry creasing his face.
It look me a few moments to recognize who he was. Beckett Oliver, one of the most popular guys at Region 12's secondary school. And here I was, standing on the doorstep of his mother's bakery while staring at the red mark on her face indicating where my hand had made contact. And after digging through his garbage can.
His dark eyes landed on mine, confusion etched across his face as he looked from me to his mother. "Jadelyn?" he asked quietly, tilting his head to the side. "What are you doing here?"
"I was just leaving," I snapped, turning on my heel and storming off into the street. I only made it a few feet when the hunger pangs shot through my stomach once again, causing me to unwillingly whimper in response.
I pulled my knees up to my chest, squeezing my eyes shut and breathing in shakily. No food. Again. I'd have to come home without anything, since the confrontation with Beckett's mother left me with the realization of what the rich in Region 12 were like.
Selfish. Cruel. They thought we were below animals- like we weren't even human beings like them. Begging would only reinforce their ideas that we meant nothing in comparison to them.
"You clumsy, good for nothing boy!" a voice from inside the bakery, presumably Beckett's mother, screamed. The sound of someone hitting someone extended even as far as where I sat by their pig's pen. "Feed it to the pigs, no one will want burned bread!"
He stumbled out the door a few moments after, a flaming red handprint painfully evident on his left cheek. After looking inside quickly, he turned to face me and threw the loaves of bread at me before walking back inside.
I didn't hesitate, just grabbed them and stuffed them into my coat before running as fast as my weak legs could take me to the house I shared with my cousin-the very one where just a year ago I had both a mother and a father.
She looked up at me, chocolate eyes widening when I tossed the bread onto the table. "Where'd all of this come from?" she asked when she finally remember how, looking from me to the bread and back again.
"Someone gave it to us," I responded, peeling off my jacket and grabbing a knife off the table. I walked over to the sink, carefully scraping off the burned parts before slicing the bread into pieces.
Cat grabbed the piece as soon as I offered it to her, tearing off the crust and popping it into her mouth. "Mm..." she said, closing her eyes for a moment before looking up at me. "We're gonna be okay?"
The side of my mouth twisted into a faint smile as I took a bite out of my own piece, savoring the taste of the rains and cinnamon. "We're gonna be okay."
I can still taste the bread in my mouth as I look over at him. I never did get the chance to thank him any time after that and now I doubt I ever will, considering we'll be trying to kill each other in just a few short weeks. Does he still remember? Or has he just dismissed it as another thing that would help him sleep at night?
Trina grabs my wrist and his, holding our arms up in the air like we're the trophies she's trying to show off. "Presenting Jadelyn West and Beckett Oliver, this year's Region 12's tributes!" she exclaims in an overly exaggerated happy voice. "May the odds be ever in your favor!"
A/N: Oh my God. It's been forever since I updated this and I'm sorry about that. I'm sorry I haven't been on this website as much, and I've been working on some personal tuff. Everything's been crazy since the last time I updated, but I'm not gonna bore you with the details of my personal life. Anyways, I hope you guys liked this chapter.
Oh, and another thing. I was orignially gonna go by the book and make a few changes here and there to keep it interesting, but I've decided I'll use some of the ideas from THG, but create a different plotline with possibly different outcomes.
Til next time.