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!
It's a good thing the classwork they give us before the games isn't difficult. It will be easy to finish it over the weekend and I won't have to mess with any at all when the games start on Tuesday. The Capitol expects us to concentrate more on what is happening in the arena than what is happening in the District. After my half-hearted attempt at completing my assignment, I decide to go downstairs to make a snack. Cooking always helps me get my mind off of my problems.
Walking down the stairs, I can still hear my father talking on the phone in his study. Rather I can hear him give small replies to orders from whoever is on the other end of the line. He's been on the phone since I got home, I hope it's nothing having to do with Katniss or Peeta. I've just gotten into the kitchen when I'm interrupted.
"Madge! Please come here!" My father shouts from the top of the stairs.
"What's going on?" I ask him, noticing his pallor appearance. Whatever had caused that drawn out conversation was not good.
"Look, I need you to go into town and get you're mother's medication from the apothecary. They just delivered it and she's having an episode. I need to make about a million phone calls or I would go get it myself. Can you do that for me, sweetheart?"
"Of course, Dad," I respond. How could I refuse when he is so clearly in distress? Besides, it's best to get my mother her medication early. I should have known that one would be coming. She had been fine since the Reaping and it's getting closer to the games, which fits into the pattern of times past. This time the ties are close, which means it will probably be even worse. The only possible bright side is that she probably won't feel like talking about seeing me sneak back into the house. I know my father doesn't have time to even think about that right now so I feel as though I'm safe on that front.
I walk out of the kitchen door and into the fading sunshine, happy to be out of the house. Before, I was content to sit in my house, in my father's study and just read the time away. Over the last few days, though, the house has been feeling more and more stifling and cramped and I'm simply grateful for a chance to get out and away from what I fear I might become.
Breathing the fresh air for what I feel is the first time in ages, I strut into town square and make my way to the apothecary. Once inside I find not a soul in sight. There is no one at the counter nor anyone else in the small shop room. As with most of the shops around the square, the room is modest and painted drably. The walls are a dull blueish gray that probably haven't been changed since I was born. They are mostly concealed, however, by rows of chipped, dark walnut cabinets filled with medicines. I walk over to the counter and ring the bell to alert someone in the store. While I wait, I walk over and look into the cabinets. I see that most of the bottles have herb names on them and that very few are actually from the Capitol. It is easy to tell the two apart and I go to open the cabinet to get a better look at the two when I am grabbed sharply by the shoulder and spun around.
"Are you trying to pinch some medicine when no one is look—" rumbles Mrs. Meditrina, the apothecary herself. "Oh Madge, I didn't recognize you from behind," she divulged, her countenance completely changed. "I thought you were one of those merchant brats trying to steal some medicine on a dare again. I've caught three alone in the past week."
"No Mrs. Meditrina," I assure her, "I'm just here to pick up some medicine for my mother. My father sent me."
"I know, I know," she proclaims, "let me go get it for you from the back room."
I've always liked Mrs. Meditrina, even though a lot of the kids found her cranky and mean growing up, which explains some of the stealing. She comes out the back room with the box of medicine and credits it to my father's bill.
"Tell your mother I said hello and your father thank you for the business," she asks of me as I walk to the door. I'm about to tell her that I will when she speaks again. "And Madge?"
"Yes?"
"I'm really sorry. About your friends. I hope one of them gets to come home," she divulges very honestly. All I can do is smile and thank her and I walk out the door, maintaining my composure.
I walk quickly looking down at my feet, not wanting to talk to anyone else. Forget the fresh air, I just want to go home. I must be extremely concentrated since I literally run into Delly as I'm walking around the corner out of the square.
"Ooh! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come around the corner so quickly!" Delly apologizes far too eagerly.
I'm almost about to snap at her when I realize that I just want to share her attitude and that it actually was entirely my fault.
"No Delly, it was my fault. I wasn't paying any attention and I really should have been."
"Well it's no matter. I just hope you didn't break whatever is in the package you were carrying," she noted, pointing to the bag in my hand.
"I'm fairly certain it's perfectly alright. Actually I have to get it back to my mother, it's rather important."
"Oh I see. Well I don't want to take any more of your time," she replied quickly, about to make her getaway.
"How about later though? Would you like to come watch the training scores tonight?" I inquired. As soon as I do I want to kick myself. Why did I do that? Gale is coming over tonight to watch the scores. Oh well, it might be good in the long run. Delly knows how to make herself scarce if things go well and she knows how to diffuse the awkward if it goes awry. The grin on her face makes me happy that I said it.
"I would love to! I'll see you tonight then," she replies gladly before we part ways. I make it back to the house and prepare for our visitors, hoping for the best.
It does surprise me at all when Delly arrive before Gale, well before the beginning of the score announcements. Delly is that kind of person that always arrives early and will stay late helping clean up if you would like her to. If some showed up as early as she did, it might be a nuisance. However, since it is Delly, no one minds and, in fact, she is usually a welcome sight. As soon as I open the door, she makes her typical speech and in her apologetic yet still excited way, comes inside and makes herself at home.
With a good hour before the scores start, we have to find something to occupy the time. Before the Reaping, we might have talked about school or gossiped but things are just different now. At first we do a little bit of small talk but of course it comes back around to Peeta and Katniss and the impending Games. It's hard to think that it will begin just two days from now. Tomorrow are the interviews and then the Games will start the very next morning. While things have been dragging on they also have been moving so rapidly.
"Have you overheard anything from your father about the strategies Haymitch is using with Katniss and Peeta?" Delly suddenly blurts out.
"Sort of," I reluctantly reply. I don't want to give it up that I was eavesdropping. While Delly may be one of the most genuinely nice people in Panem, everyone knows she can't keep a secret.
"So you do know something?" She queries, trying to squeeze a bit of information out of me.
"Well I suggested something to Peeta when I saw him before they left and it seems Haymitch might be listening to him," I tell her, not able to hold back this bit of information.
"You told him to use his love for Katniss as an advantage," she plainly replies. She's so solemn and reserved when she says this that I honestly can't gauge how she feels about it.
"Essentially, yes."
"Good. Maybe she will finally know how she feels about him. I've been telling him to talk to her for years. I hate that it took something like this for him to finally address his feelings."
A knock at the door breaks the tension. Prior to tonight I don't think I had ever heard Delly use the word 'hate' in it's true sense. As I go to answer the door, she looks confused. I must have completely forgotten to mention that Gale is coming over too.
"Hey," he smiles with his cool grin. "Didn't think I would stand you up twice did you?"
"If you did you wouldn't have ever gotten a third chance," I retort.
"I wouldn't have expected one," he teases. His tone changes as we round the corner and he sees Delly. "Oh, hi Delly."
"Hi Gale, go ahead and sit, I was just leaving," she begins, getting up.
"What are you doing Delly? I invited you to watch. You aren't going to leave are you?" I whisper to her.
"I just thought you would want to be alone with Gale," she whispers back.
"She's just kidding," I assure Gale. He looks a bit uncomfortable as he surveys the room and chooses a chair to sit down in near our projector screen. Just then my father enters and makes things worse.
"Hi Delly! What a pleasant surprise to see you here! I'm glad Madge has some kind of support through this whole thing and I'm very happy she has found it in you," he comments before turning to see Gale.
"Well, Mayor, I've been here to support Madge too. In fact, we've been supporting each other," Gale explains, catching my father by surprise. I don't know where this comes from, either. Suddenly he's all vocal about our spending a little time together when the other day he stood me up.
"That nice, son," my father grumbles a bit. He sits in his usual chair and turns on the projector without saying another word. I look over at Gale and see that he's smirking, trying not to chuckle. Delly and I don't offer up much of anything and I hope that the voices of Claudius Templesmith and Caesar Flickerman will more than make up for the awkward silence.
Suddenly the room is filled with the Capitol anthem and the seal of Panem.
"How do you think they will do?" Delly sincerely questions.
"I hope Katniss will have been able to impress them with her shooting," Gale answers.
"And what shooting would that be, son?" My father asks in a way that only I can tell he is teasing.
"Oh, um, well," he stammers
"I'm just teasing Gale. I know that no good strawberries grow inside the fences," my father quips without flinching. Gale turns and looks at me to see me making the same face he had been making just a few moments ago.
Suddenly Caesar is on the screen explaining the scoring systems and we're all watching him. He begins with District One and the boy, Marvel, gets a 9, which is average for a career. None of us react since this is what we expected. The girl gets an 8, which we still don't flinch at. The huge boy and small girl from Two, though, both get 10s, which makes us all murmur a little bit. The kids from Three get low scores and the kids from Four get 7s, which aren't bad. The girl from Five that caught my attention gets a five, which makes me think maybe I was wrong about her.
The rest of the scores are average and none catch our attention until they come to the monstrous boy from Eleven, who gets a 9. We are somewhat surprised until he announces that the little girl, Rue, has scored a seven. I want to say something but I don't want to miss Peeta's score. When Claudius says it's an 8, we all get excited and smile, even Gale. Finally, he's about to announce Katniss and we're all on the edges of our seats.
"And finally, from District Twelve, Katniss Everdeen. With a score of…Eleven," he announced surprised.
"Oh my gosh!" Delly exclaims.
"That's my girl," Gale smiles. Suddenly we're all talking and so excited. Katniss has scored higher than even the Careers have, which is just unprecedented. Suddenly we're discussing the other tributes and wondering how she got such a high score and how Rue managed a 7. I don't even notice that my father has taken leave until the conversation dies down. He must have made his exit to call Haymitch and see what happened.
"Wow, that was so exciting," Delly practically screeches. "I can't wait to watch the interviews tomorrow! I better get home and get to bed."
"I didn't realize how late it was," Gale starts.
"Thank you both for coming, I'm really glad I had someone to share this with," I state sincerely.
"Me too. I'll see you around," Delly says, making her exit.
"Oh wait Gale, I need to go get your jacket. I forgot I was wearing it last night," I tell him, headed towards the stairs.
"I'll wait outside," he replies and I think I spot a bit of a blush on his cheeks.
When I meet him down on the porch and give him the jacket, his face has changed back to the Gale I've seen when it's just us.
"I hope I haven't made your father angry," he smirks.
"Yes you do," I laugh.
"Okay maybe I did a little bit. I'm sorry if I upset you, though," he replies sincerely.
"You didn't. I thought it was funny. I just keep thinking of Katniss' score. I can't imagine how she got an 11."
"I can't either. I mean, I know her shooting is great but at the most, that should have gotten her an 8. Something else must have happened in that room."
"Probably. Maybe I'll be able to get it out of my father."
"If you do, you'll tell me, right?"
"Of course," I confirm. We stand there for a moment and just breathe in the night air.
"So Monday night would you want to watch the interviews in the town square with me? I know it doesn't compare to your own living room but I think your father would rather not have me in the house again quite so soon," he explains.
"I would like that very much," I respond, hoping it is dark enough that he can't see the blush on my cheeks. I wish I could stop the butterflies in my stomach but I realize that I don't think that I want to. He may be in love with Katniss but there's no reason he couldn't come to love me too. I know this is wishful thinking but I don't want to pass this up.
"I'll see you Monday then," he says taking a step back and turning to go. He stops short and opens his mouth again. "I was thinking," he starts, "and I think I have a nickname for you."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah. Did you know that your name means pearl?"
"No, I don't think I did."
"Can I call you Pearl? Will that do as a nickname?"
"I imagine it will," I say, trying to conceal my smile.
"Goodnight Pearl. Thanks for having me over. I had a good time."
"Goodnight Gale," I say sheepishly as he walks away. I run up to my room and just lay on my bed for a while. I'm not sure what lays ahead anymore. I used to be fairly certain of what my life would be. I was going to get past the Reapings, marry a merchant boy, and hope that no one in my family would ever be Reaped. Suddenly I'm not sure if I would even want that to be my life.
I just wanted to thank everyone for reading again! Bonus points for anyone that catches my two ancient greek references in this chapter. I love that SC did that in the books with all the names so I felt I should continue with that tradition. If you have any suggestions or would like to be my beta, please message me. Otherwise I just want to say thank you again!