AN: I'm so sorry for the huge gap in postings. I went back to college and things have been crazy. I'll try to be better in the future! Please review and let me know what you liked about the chapter!

NOTE: I do not own any of these characters or claim to. All that credit goes to the brilliant Suzanne Collins.

If you have any suggestions or want to be a beta, please feel free to contact me.

Enjoy!

I roll over and immediately decide I'm not going to school today. In District 12, you're required by law to attend school until you're 18, at which point you begin to work in the mines or something related to the coal industry. In other districts, they either school for or begin working much earlier. Due to the fact that our industry is so dangerous, we get to wait until we're 18. Lucky us. Then again, this is a perk of being the mayor's daughter. Not that I do it often, but I doubt my father is going to send the Peacekeepers after me for truancy.

When I start feeling sorry for myself again, I feel the guilt starting to rise up in my stomach and just want to go back to sleep. Suddenly, though, I have a realization. I'm going to let myself feel a little bit sorry. Just a little bit. I at least have a right to that. At the same time, I'm going to try to imagine exactly what Katniss is doing and what she is going to have to go through to put it into perspective. I settle on this as I get up and get dressed to go downstairs and make some breakfast. I'm surprised to see my mother sitting in the kitchen when I arrive.

"Good morning, honey," she says, sipping a cup of coffee while reading a book I've never seen in our library before.

"Good morning, Mom," I say a little bit hesitantly. In all honesty, it's hard to trust these kind of moods. I know they usually only last a few days so I never get my hopes up that she's going to be back to the mother I remember from my early childhood.

"There's some pancakes in the warming drawer if you want some. Your father is already down at the Justice Building so you don't have to worry about him knowing you're skipping school."

"Thank you. I kind of just want to sit at home and read today," I say, grabbing a glass of juice before helping myself to some of the pancakes. Just then, my mother gets a look on her face that tells me she's worried. This isn't her normal look of worry, though. Her normal look is usually her being worried about me staying safe from the Capitol. This is completely different and I don't really know how to read it quite yet. Before I have time to think about it further, she springs a new topic on me, one I definitely don't want to talk about.

"So, how was your little get together with Gale?"

"Oh, um, did Dad not tell you?"

"Tell me what? I heard voices downstairs. I was already asleep when he came to bed and then he was gone before we had a chance to talk this morning," she tells me.

"He…he never showed up," I finally tell her, trying not to give away the fact that I'm disappointed. "It's not a big deal, though. His loss really. I bet our projector is better than theirs anyway so he didn't even really get to see the chariots like he could have."

"Margaret Maysilee Undersee, don't you ever talk like the Capitol again," my mom says to me, more angrily than I can remember her ever talking to me.

"What do you mean?" I ask, genuinely confused.

"Don't you go acting all high and mighty just because your father is the mayor. We are no better than anyone from the Seam and just because the view you got of the chariots may have been a little better doesn't make it any more okay to act that way. Do you know why he didn't come?"

"No," I reply sheepishly.

"Then don't automatically assume it was because he didn't want to," she says, putting me in my place. We sit in silence for a few minutes as I eat until I finally speak up.

"I'm sorry, Mom. It just really bothered me that he didn't come and I didn't want to make it seem like I was upset," I admit to her.

"I understand. I'm sorry too. I should have never compared you to the Capitol. You would never be anything like them, I know it's not in you in any way. Why don't you go outside and get some fresh air? In fact, I have a few things I wanted you to pick up in town." She looks at me like she wants to say more but just goes back to her book. I agree to do the shopping now, mostly because I know I won't have to see Gale if I do it now. He should be at school and if he isn't, I'm sure he's out hunting.

After finishing my breakfast and getting dressed, I head into town. I look at the list of things my mother has given me to buy and see that most of the items on it are things we already have at home. I decide I'll buy them anyway, since most of them are not perishable. After going to the dress store, the mercantile, and the grocer, I notice that the next items on the list are those to be found at the bakery. I really hope that it's Mr. Mellark that is working today. He usually will let me sample something new he's working on and give him an opinion. Mrs. Mellark, on the other hand, will try to shoo me out as soon as I buy something, even though my family may be some of their best customers.

I round the corner and walk through the door to see Mr. Mellark at the display case, making sure the loaves, rolls, and cupcakes all are situated so that they look the most appealing. The bells rings as I enter and he turns around quickly, slightly startled. As he sees me, his face warms and it's easy to see where Peeta gets his charming warmth from.

"Hello Madge! It's nice to see you in here today. What can I get for you?" He asks, being friendly as always, acting as if his son isn't in the Capitol at this very moment, learning how to survive in an arena and use deadly weapons against other kids.

"Hi Mr. Mellark, my mom asked me to pick up a few things if you have them," I tell him, handing him the list my mother scratched half a dozen items onto. Taking the list, he scans it up and down and tries to remember what items they have fresh. I guess business has been slow today.

"I'm pretty sure we have all of these except the cheese buns. Those are still in the oven. If you're willing to wait a few minutes, you'll get them nice and fresh, though! Usually we have those early but Peeta typically is the one that makes them," he finishes, his voice dropping. I really don't think there is a right way to comfort a man that knows his son probably is not going to be alive in a couple of weeks. I've always had a good relationship with Mr. Mellark, though. The merchant kids mostly stick together so there were a number of play dates with Peeta and his brothers when we were kids. Plus, when your mother doesn't really cook, you learn that the baker is one of your best friends. I never really understood why Mr. Mellark was so fond of me until one day he explained that he always wanted a daughter but somehow ended up with three boys. I accepted it and started to spend a little more time in the bakery. At the time, I especially didn't mind since I had a bit of a crush on Peeta's older brother, Ryelee. Due to this relationship with him, though, I know he's about to open up.

"Did you see my boy last night?" He asks me, the sadness as plain as day on his face. There's a tiny bit of something else, though, as well. If I'm reading him right, I think it might be pride. I know better than to answer this rhetorical question. "He was stunning on that chariot next to Katniss. If I ever meet that stylist I am going to shake that man's hand. He gave Peeta a fighting chance with that costume. "

"It really was stunning. How do you think he's doing right now?" I ask simply out of curiosity.

"In training?" He asks. I nod my head. "Oh, I think he's probably doing alright. He stronger than most of the kids from the outer districts. I guess that's one advantage that he has because I've worked him so hard. I doubt any of his other skills are going to come in handy, though."

"That's true. I always see him carrying those trays with loaves so carefully and with such precision even though they're heavy metal and burning hot. It's always impressed me. You know that he'll be able to win over people through his interview, though."

"Yeah, he sure has got my wondrous charm," he says, winking and smiling. The timer rings in the back and I take that as the cue that this conversation is over for the time being. Mr. Mellark heads back and get's my order together. He still looks sad as he hands me the bag with the items and turns back to organizing the display case for what I discern is actually probably the hundredth time today. I can't even imagine what is going through his head right now and I certainly hope I never have to.

I exit the store and see that the square is much more full than before. They're recapping the chariots from last night and on the huge screen, it's even more impressive than before. After a few minutes have passed, I decide to head home so the food I have won't spoil.

Out of the corner of my eye, however, I see Gale leaning against a wall talking to a girl I can only see the back of. I take a few more steps and see that it's Kellan Fraiser, a girl widely known to be a huge flirt. They're talking, Gale looks all smooth, and Kellan is standing there, flipping her hair and giggling. I shouldn't let it affect me but I am suddenly livid. Still, if Gale is going to blow me off and ignore me, I can ignore him. I turn and walk straight toward my house, not even glancing in his direction. I'm so busy ignoring Gale that I don't even hear him shouting my name until he's right behind me. I turn and see him come to a stop after running after me. In the distance I can see the look on Kellan's face and she is not happy. I'm guessing that Gale basically just ditched her, which I must admit feels kind of nice.

"Madge! Hey!" He shouts as I finally come to a full stop under a beautiful oak tree. I lean against it smoothly and try to act like I don't care, which is hard for me to do.

"Oh hi Gale." I say very nonchalantly.

"Hey, I'm really sorry I didn't show up last night. Posy was sick and the apothecary was closed, not that we could have afforded to buy medicine but, you know. Anyway, I was out a good portion of the night looking for the right herbs for Mrs. Everdeen to make some medicine for Posy. I actually just barely caught the tail end of the chariot ride and I thought it would be too late to go over to your house then. We don't have a phone or I would have called you about it. I'm sorry Madge," he says, seeming very genuine. He was even stumbling over his words a little, like he wasn't sure how really to get it out in a way that sounded excusable. Suddenly I felt like a terrible person. I had been so angry at Gale for not keeping his promise that I had completely given up at any credible reason for his not showing up.

Now that I'm thinking about it, this is the second apology Gale has given me in a matter of only a few days. I did agree to a pact that we would stick together and help out Katniss so I know I'm going to forgive him completely.

"It's okay. How's Posy feeling now?" I ask, mostly just trying to get off the subject so I won't accidentally mention how angry I was.

"Much better now that she's gotten some of the medicine she needs. She'll be just fine," Gale tells me, seeming relieved that I moved past that so quickly.

"I wish I knew how to find things in the woods. That might actually come in handy some day."

"More than handy, the woods provide my family with food and warmth most of the year. It's not just handy, it's crucial to our survival," he says seriously. I can tell from his voice that he is dead serious. Where as all I have to do to go get food is ask my father for money or go pull something out of our pantry, Gale has to catch or gather it in the woods or trade for it at the Hob. How easy my life is when it is compared to his. I realize that it's been too long of a silence since I've said something so I search my mind for a way to respond to that.

Before I get the chance, Gale speaks again, "You know what? I owe you for breaking my promise. Let's meet up tonight. There's something I want to show you. Meet me at 11 under the big oak next to the Justice Building but make sure you don't get caught by your parents. Are you in?"

"Definitely," I reply, smiling.

"See you later, then," he says, turning and heading back toward the Seam.

I walk back to my house, excited and not knowing what's going to lie ahead for me. I guess there is really only one way to find out.

Thank you again for reading! Up next: Gale and Madge sneak out.