A/N: Thank you for my first review! I know I just put the story up yesterday, but I got so excited when I saw that my work was not only read, it is starting to get praise. So, shoutout to ovoxogang :)
Disclaimer: I am not the owner of the wonderful Hunger Games trilogy. All credit goes to Susan Collins.
Chapter 2: The Reaping
Katniss POV
"What do you mean we can't tell anyone?" I say the words in a whisper, just in case anyone else is nearby. Gale puts the palms of his hands on top of the green grass behind him. "Well, we wouldn't want our families to worry, now do we Catnip?" Gale whispers in response. "Pretend this didn't happen until tomorrow. If our plan gets out, well, they'll stop us. It'll be our little secret."
I wait a moment to let everything sink in. If I want to carry out our plan into the woods, I'd have to hide the truth from Prim and my mother. Although there's no telling when they'll piece two and two together. In response, I nod and leave my game bag with Gale as I head towards the fence.
The square is empty by the time my hunting boots click on the stone floor. Not a soul is in sight. Most likely, mothers are preparing their children and teenagers for the reaping. However, the village has not felt this empty since the last disease that swept through district 12. Most people were too weak to leave their bed. The heavy flow of patients kept my mother busy; my family had been lucky. We hadn't become sick. Reaping day makes the day hard enough, but it simply feels eerie where everyone hides in their homes.
As a desperate attempt to escape these thoughts, I walk back to my house. My mother puts the final touches on Prims hair as I slip into my/Prim's bedroom. I gaze in awe at the dress laid before me: a dress from my mother's apothecary days. "I thought you'd like it." I spin around to see my mother right in front of me. "Are you sure it's alright that I wear this? I know how special it is to you." I nervously fidget with my hands as I wait for her response.
"Yes, I want you to wear it. You want to look nice for the camera after all." She replies flatly. Once I'm alone, I wash off the dirt and grime of hunting with Gale this morning. I slip on my mother's baby blue dress and matching shoes. I sit down on an oak chair in the kitchen while my mother fixes my thick hair into a braid. It's not my normal braid. My hair is pulled tighter so the braid appears smaller, and wraps around my head. As the final touch, she fastens a black bobby pin by the hair under my right ear.
As I stand up, Prim gapes at me. "You look…beautiful Katniss." Prim's blouse is un-tucked in the back. "Thank you little duck." I smile back. Prim quacks a few times on our way to the square.
The square barely has enough standing room at this point. Except for the roped off areas, only a few spots scattered throughout the crowd remain. Prim follows behind me as the peacekeepers usher in the eligible tributes. I'm used to the prick of the needle, so I walk to the roped off area for 16 year old girls quickly. Prim is in the girls section in the far back with the other 12 year olds. I wish I could comfort her, but she seems too far away.
Madge spots me right away, and I walk in her direction, since the other girls stare me down when I walk past. "You look great Katniss" Madge says with a slight smile. The smile fades quickly under the circumstances. Small talk, just what I need at a time like this. How do girls talk like this all day long? "Um, thanks. So do you Madge." Without maintaining eye contact with Madge, I scan the crowd for Gale and try to give a reassuring look. I do my best to give him a weak smile, but it fades when I see the terror overtaking his emotions.
This year, Effie Trinket wears a slightly lopsided, light pink wig with a green jumpsuit. "Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor." Despite the distance between us, I can tell Gale shuttered at those words. The odds are certainly not in his favor today. He's probably silently cursing me for not leaving when he wanted to.
"Ladies First!" Effie reaches in her fingers with her extraordinarily long pink fingernails. She pauses a moment before grabbing a slip in the center of the reaping ball. She slowly unfolds the slip with the writing of our first tribute. "Madge Undersee."
I feel Madge tense up beside me as the girls from our section make a path for Madge up to the stage. Her face looks as white as her dress by the time she stands next to Effie. I never felt too close to her, but now my only friend from my grade will fight to the death. I can't help but feel sorry for her.
Effie wears her plastic smile and calls out the name for the boy tribute. "Peeta Mellark." Oh no. Peeta doesn't seem as nervous, mostly because his face didn't turn white. "Well, isn't this exciting." Effie remarks. No one else in the crowd acknowledges her words.
Mayor Undersee reads the Treaty of Treason then sits down. His face is almost as distraught as his daughter's. Madge and Peeta shake hands as the anthem of Panem plays. Then, the peacekeepers usher them offstage towards the peace building.
A/N: In case you were wondering, Gale and Katniss won't go leave until the fourth chapter. I will try to post on a daily basis so the wait won't be too long. Mostly, because I enjoy doing this. :) If you enjoyed this chapter, please review, favorite or follow at your leisure.