A/N: Yeah, it's been a while. I'm sorry! I've been busy finishing school and then... Enjoying summer break and not doing much of anything! Yay!
Anyway, I'm not sure if I like this chapter or not. I've been putting off editing it because my first draft was awful and I've decided that I'm finished editing, whether it's good or not. :/ I hope you at least kind of enjoy it! :P
Also, a side note, I DON'T SHIP PRORY (Prim/Rory)! Sorry if any of you do, I just personally can't stand it. xD
The next morning, I wake up early and lie in bed, pondering what I should do to keep my mind off of things today. Eventually, I decide that I will do chores for at least the beginning of the day. The house is dusty and in need of a sweeping, and I can give Lady a bath and brush Buttercup... Maybe I could also pick some flowers to brighten up the house with. My mom would like that. I can also watch the training update and try to get a feel for how Katniss is doing. By then, several hours should have passed.
I debate adding 'look at cakes in town' to my list of things to do, but somehow that seems silly and childish to me now. It's strange, because a week ago I would have loved to admire the graceful flowers and flowing lines of frosting. Now, however, it just seems like a waste of time.
I shake the thoughts off and step out of bed, shivering as my feet land on the floor. Although it is only late July, at night the house gets chilled and, starting in early September, there will be frost on the floor.
After changing into my outfit, which is made up of a pair of brown pants that used to belong to Katniss and a green shirt, also a hand-me-down from my sister, I put my hair up into the single braid that I have worn it in the past couple of days. I slip into the old pair of Katniss's hunting boots that I wore the morning of the reaping, and, pulling on my too-large jacket, I step out of the house. I feed Lady and make sure that her water bucket is filled before milking her quickly. When I'm finished, I dip my fingers into the pail of warm milk and lick them clean, savoring the warm goat's milk.
After I have finished my outside chores and have reassembled Lady's shelter into a better formation, I slip back into the house and pour a small amount of the milk into a saucer before setting it down in front of Buttercup. We can rarely afford to give him goat's milk, but occasionally I give in to his pleading eyes.
While my cat greedily laps at the milk, I look critically at his coat and decide that he really needs a cleaning. His fur is matted in places, and dirt is crusted around his ears. He really could do with a bath, although I know from experience that he will attempt to kill anyone who attempts to bathe him. Instead, I wet my hands and pet him until all of his fur is soaked. Then I pull out the hairbrush that I use on Lady and him, as well as myself, brush out all of the mats in his yellow fur, and smooth the fur until it gleams. Although Buttercup isn't usually overwhelmingly handsome, today he somehow looks almost dignified. I resolve to brush him more often.
Then I go through the house, dusting the shelves and taking extra care when I polish my father's shaving mirror. He had hated the layer of coal dust that always coated it, and when he was still alive I would polish it for him every day before he shaved. After he was killed in the mines, I couldn't bring myself to stop. So, five years later, I still clean his mirror. I can't remember the last day that went by without it's being polished. It must have been years ago, maybe even before he was dead. I sigh inwardly, but I can't afford to get sad now. I want to have a good day, just like yesterday, but it's hard to force myself to be cheerful when I'm feeling so gloomy.
Once the house is cleaned, I try to think of another thing to occupy me. I never thought that I would miss having school, but today I do. My mother isn't even awake yet, and I'm already at a complete loss as to what I should fill the rest of my day with. I sigh, leave a note on the table telling my mother where I am, and head out to the meadow in the hopes that its bright colors and lively nature will cheer me up a bit. When I arrive, I go to the spot where the primroses were, but someone has picked the entire clump of them since yesterday. I sigh for the third time in the past few minutes and try to decide what I should do instead. I decide to walk back home, and on my way back I come across Posy and a bored looking Rory. I smile, seeing that Posy is holding an enormous bouquet of primroses. She must have just picked them.
"Hey Prim!" Rory calls out. "Posy was on her way to your house right now," he says, good-naturedly shoving Posy forwards. She stumbles for a moment before regaining her footing and trotting towards me.
"I picked these for you!" she says happily, holding out the bouquet for me to admire. I take it gently from her and sniff the beautiful primroses.
"Thank you, Posy! They're beautiful. It really means a lot to me that you did this," I tell her honestly. And it's true. She has lifted my spirits a lot, and helped me to feel better.
"Yay! She likes them!" Posy tells Rory happily.
"Oh course I like them! They're gorgeous," I tell her, giving her a big hug. She hugs me back, and I grin. She squeezes hard for a four year old. Rory stands off to one side awkwardly.
"Thanks for helping her pick them. The flowers really cheered me up," I tell Rory awkwardly. He's a good friend, but since he just helped to deliver flowers to me, it's kind of strange.
"It was nothing. I needed a little fresh air anyway. But those flowers were from her, not from me," he laughs.
I can't keep a snort from escaping me at the thought of Rory delivering me flowers. Rory and I are nothing more than friends. We never have been, never will be. "Obviously," I say, in reply to his statement. I turn back to Posy.
"Thanks again for the primroses. They're absolutely stunning. But I should get back to my house now. I want to see how Katniss's training is going. Do you guys want to come with me?" I ask.
"Can we?" Posy squeals happily. I love her utter joy at the simplest things, like the offer of coming to my house.
"Sure, I guess. But I need to go home and do some chores," he tells Posy. Then he turns to me. "Is it okay if I leave her with you?"
"Yeah, that's fine. You're sure you don't want to come with her, though? I haven't seen much of you lately."
"Are you worried that Posy will be handful?" he asks, and I shake my head,
"No, she's good. Usually."
"Wow, I'm impressed. She's a handful at home. Anyway, I do have some chores to do at home, so I should be heading back. I'm sorry, I wish I could come," he tells me.
"Bye," I say as he turns towards his house. I take Posy's hand in mine. "Come on. Let's go see how Katniss is doing," I tell her.
She skips off, clutching my hand and dragging me behind her. I hurry after her, and together we make our way through the Seam to my house, and settle down in front of the television. My mother was awake long before we got home, and it was fine with her, as it always is, for Posy to come in. I play with/babysit the little girl a lot, and my mother knows that I can control the little ball of energy that is Posy. We sit together on the old couch, watching attentively for any updates on Katniss. As usual, they are focusing more on the careers, but occasionally there is a clip of Katniss or Peeta training. They don't seem to be showing their skills off, probably so that they won't be targets.
After about ten minutes, I notice that the girl from District Eleven is following Katniss and Peeta around. She joins them at different stations, and after a while Katniss starts to converse with her. And the more that I get to know the girl, named Rue, the less I want her to be killed. I have no idea how I'm going to be able to watch this year's Games.
A/N: What'd you think? Please leave a review (I update faster when I get them!) and feel free to scream at me through review and/or PM about how I didn't update sooner. :D
Also, random thing. I'm already dreading writing (spoiler alert for the end of Mockingjay!) Prim's death. It's going to be awful. .