In the bitterest January anybody could remember, his father is killed in one of the most devastating mine accidents in District Twelve history. Of course to him, it'sthemost devastating thing that could possibly happen. At eight months pregnant, his mother is unable to find work, no matter how hard she begs. At thirteen years old, with Rory at just seven and Vick at five, Gale takes over as head of the family. Their money runs out. And even with his tesserae, they begin to starve.
"Gale, I'm hungry," his Rory whined.
"Gale, Rory stole my biscuit," Vick wailed.
"Gale, the baby..." his mother whispered.
There are just too many mouths to feed, and with the weight of the world on his thin shoulders, Gale feels like he can't breathe, he can't think, he can'tlivehere anymore.
Not knowing what else to do, he began to walk, not caring where his feet took him. He finds himself stumbling along a muddy lane that served the wealthiest townspeople, the merchants. When he passes the baker's, the smell of fresh bread is so overwhelming that he begins to feel dizzy.
He stops in his tracks, mesmerized by the heat and luscious scent. As the rain runs its icy fingers down his back, he realizes something: he hated the merchants.
The thought twisted inside his stomach like a hook ripping out his deepest, darkest secrets. They don't have fathers that risk their lives in the mines everyday, they don't worry about suffering the same fate once they turn eighteen, their own futures are secure, safe clean jobs tucked away in town.
But he knows it's not their fault, it's not anyone's fault and he's ashamed of himself for feeling that way. He hates how he's not even allowed to resent the merchants. He punched the apple tree in anger. Why did life have to be so unfair? A sob escapes his throat and he is grateful for the rain washing his tears away.
Suddenly, he hears feet sloshing through the mud toward him. It's the baker's youngest son carrying two large loaves of bread in his arms which must have fallen in the fire because the crusts were scorched black.
"Here, take it," the boy says, holding out the bread to him.
Gale glares at him in return. "I don't need your charity," he spits. But he does, and he hates himself for it.
"It's not charity, I can't let my mom know I've burnt another two loaves," he glanced back at the kitchen nervously, "if she sees these in the trash she'll really let me have it. You'll be doing me a real favour by taking them off my hands."
It's a lie and they both know it. But when he puts it like that, Gale has no choice but to accept the bread.
"Fine, but you owe me," he growls. Gale grabs the two loaves and runs all the way home.
When he drops them on the table, Rory's hands reach to tear off a chunk, but Gale makes him wait as he scrapes off the black stuff and slices the bread. His family eats an entire loaf, slice by slice, of the hearty raison-nut bread.
Feeling better for the first time since the accident, his eye falls on the knife he had used to slice the bread, and a bell goes off in his head. He remembers the hours spent with his father in the woods, and realizes he knows how they are going to survive.
But snares are harder than they look, and practicing under the supervision of his father is different from doing it by himself with no one to help. For the first few weeks, he catches nothing, but wild strawberries that the mayor has a particular fondness for keep his family afloat.
In the middle of March, his mother gives birth to his baby sister Posy, "my beautiful bouquet of flowers," his mother chuckles.
Gale's heart melts at the sight of his first sister. He doesn't see her as another mouth to feed, but stares at her lovingly, as something to be treasured.
He resolves to work harder.
He wracks his brain, trying to recall his father's lessons. He keeps his nose to the ground, searching for paw prints and rabbit holes, he places a few berries inside a noose hidden by leaves, he makes note of where bird droppings fall, and slowly, his hard work pays off.
He takes a plump hare, so fresh it was still wriggling around with the noose around its feet when he found it, and skins and guts it. He treks to the bakery and hesitates, then knocks quickly on the back door.
Luckily for him, Peeta answers.
"Can I help you?" he asked curiously, drying his hands on his apron.
Gale clears his throat and handed him the game bag. "A Peacekeeper was tailing me all the way into town this morning. Take this off my hands, will you?" And before Peeta can reply he rushes off.
The next day at school, he's walking home when Peeta catches him.
"Thanks for the rabbit yesterday, my family really liked it."
"What rabbit?" Gale said brusquely and turned away.
Peeta grabbed him by the shoulder and dragged him back, he was younger, but strong from lifting heavy bags of flour everyday.
"You know what I'm talking about, and I want to make a deal with you. Every Sunday, come over and I'll set aside my freshest loaves in exchange for first pick of what you got."
Gale stops in his tracks and mulls it over. His family always needs bread so why not?
"Alright, Sunday at noon."
And so a tentative friendship is born. The two of them would meet up every week to trade.
Everything begins to fall into place. No longer pregnant, his mother is able to find work laundering clothes. He runs into Katniss Everdeen in the woods one day and she gives him one of her father's bow making game too large for snares now available to him.
It seems things are going to be alright for Gale after all, and he can't help but make the connection between Peeta Mellark and the bread that gave him hope.
When Peeta is twelve, Reaping day falls on a Sunday so he and Gale walk to the square together.
"You worried?" Gale asked.
"A little."
Gale snorted. "What do you have to worry about? Your name's in there once. When I was twelve, I had my name in there five times."
"Actually, my name's in there three times," Peeta said quietly.
Gale stopped in his tracks and raised an eyebrow inquisitively.
"I thought merchants didn't need tesserae?"
Peeta shook his head. "My family doesn't, but widowed Mrs. Jenkins and old Mr. Hanson really need the extra help," he said, listing a couple of merchant seniors. It had to be, people in the Seam would starve before asking a someone to risk their life for more food.
"Does anybody else know about this?" Gale asked.
"Yeah, Madge and Delly and the other merchant kids in our little club. Oh, the Peacekeepers too, but they don't care. Our parents don't know though, otherwise they'll probably make us stop. I don't think it's that risky though, when everybody takes extra entries, it's like nobody does."
Gale said nothing, but quietly started to re-evaluate his opinion of some of the merchants.
"Think District Twelve has a chance this year?" Peeta asked.
The television in the bakery had automatically switched on for the mandatory viewing and everyone had stopped what they were doing to watch.
"Well, the guy's still alive and it's been a while since we had a tribute who didn't die in the first two days," Gale replied.
They watched the forteen-year-old stagger across the white dunes, machete in hand. He stopped every few seconds to wipe the sweat from his forehead before he finally found shelter under the shade of a mountain of rocks.
"He's dehydrated, he needs water," Peeta noted.
"But Haymitch doesn't have enough sponsors," Gale pointed out.
The two of them watched as the boy from Twelve's panting became slower and slower. Finally, the cannon rang out, signalling his death.
Since there was no more mandatory footage to watch, the televisions switched off.
"I sat next to Frederick in school," Gale said numbly. "We had the same number of entries in the bowl, and when he was picked, I first felt relief it wasn't me. Then I realized it wasn't me this year, but there was next year, and the next, and the next." He drew in a shaky breath.
"We never did stand a chance. It isn't just that our tributes are underfed and lack training. Sometimes our tributes had been strong enough to really make a go at it, but they never go far without any sponsor gifts. No matter who's reaped, they're going to die," he finished quietly.
"Gale..."
"If I was ever reaped, it's my family that's going to suffer. The Games, they don't just kill twenty-three tributes, they kill twenty-threefamilies," he said angrily, beginning one of his long rants that really shouldn't be taking place outside of the woods.
"Gale, stop," Peeta shoved a roll of bread into his mouth.
"Listen, if you're reaped, I won't let your family starve," he promised.
Gale chewed through the doughy bread and swallowed.
"Why?"
The question hung in the air, suspended.
"Because we're friends."
Gale gave him a weak smile, then for some reason, burst out laughing. "Yeah, I guess that's true."
Sharing his deepest worry with Peeta, it was like an enormous weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Cheered by the thought that his family would be alright, Gale began to relax.
"Ah, Gale, there's something I want to talk to you about." Peeta stammered shyly.
"Yeah?" Gale leaned his elbow on the counter and cocked his head curiously.
"There's this girl I like and I have no idea how to talk to her," he blushed furiously, his pale cheeks turning bright pink the way only the merchants can.
"It's Madge, isn't it?" he asked, thinking of the pretty mayor's daughter.
"Ah, no, she's from the Seam."
"What? You got a crush on a Seam girl?" He had Gale's full attention now. "Does anybody else know?"
"No, my mother would actually kill me if she found out. You're the only person I've told actually."
"Ok, what's her name?"
"Katniss. Your hunting partner." Gale's elbow slipped and he nearly toppled to the floor.
"Oh man," he began to laugh. "When you go, you really go all the way don't you? Alright, I'll talk to her for you."
"Thanks Gale," he smiled gratefully.
"Hey Katniss," he said casually one day while they were fishing. "What do you think of that baker boy in your class?"
"Peeta?" she frowned. "I dunno, he's alright I guess."
"Hypothetically, if he and a groosling fell in a river, who would you save?"
"The groosling, of course," she said without hesitation. "No sense letting dinner for a week go to waste."
"So I'm less than a groosling to her, she hates me," Peeta groaned and clutched his head in his hands.
"You can't say that. Katniss is from the Seam, survival will always be a higher priority than romance," Gale said consolingly, patting him on the shoulder.
Peeta frowned and paced back and forth across the wooden floor.
"Gale, I really don't understand the Seam," he finally said "can you teach me?"
Gale was taken aback at his request. "Teach you? How?"
"Show me around the Seam, let me know what you go through everyday, and maybe I can understand."
...
Next Sunday
"Everyone's staring at me, and whispering," Peeta said through the corner of his mouth. "Are you sure nobody's going to mug me?"
"Just stick with me, you'll be fine."
Peeta stepped closer to Gale.
"And over there's the goat man," Gale gestured to what looked like a pile of carpet clutching a cane.
"Wha- who's there?" The goat man grunted as he awoke from his sleep.
"Good afternoon sir," Peeta said politely "I was just-"
"If you ain't buyin' a goat get the hell out of my face and leave me alone," he snapped.
Peeta jumped back, surprised at his outburst.
"This is how business is in the Seam, no pointless chitchat or niceties like in the town," Gale explained.
Peeta nodded, making mental notes.
They walked to the Hob next, where Peeta purchased a bowl of soup from Greasy Sae.
"Smells delicious ma'am, what's in it?"
"Wild dog," she replied, then burst out laughing at the expression on his face.
"C'mon, try it," Gale said, pushing the bowl towards him.
"Where's the spoon?"
Everyone within earshot burst out laughing at his question.
"Here in the Seam, we don't waste time taking frilly sips with spoons. Just pick up the bowl and slurp it down," Gale explained.
Peeta picked up the bowl hesitantly and stared at the dubious contents. "Well here goes," he lifted the bowl to his mouth and tipped his head back.
The entire Hob cheered when he slammed down his empty bowl. "Wow, that was better than my mom's beef stew!" he exclaimed.
"Thank you kindly," Greasy Sae bobbed into a clumsy curtsey. "Don't see too many townies in the Hob but you're welcome to come back any time y'hear?"
Their next destination was the small apothecary business Mrs. Everdeen had set up in her house.
"How many I help you?" she said, dashing from a patient sitting on the counter.
"Do you have any herbs that reduce swelling?" he asked, thinking of the nasty weals his mother left on his face.
"That we do. Prim," she called "ten ounces each of feverfew and meadowsweet please."
She turned back to Peeta. "It'll just be a minute. Mash with warm water and apply to inflamed area in a poultice. Take care now." She dashed back to the long line of waiting patients
Prim took her place and solemnly handed him a parcel of herbs wrapped in white paper.
Peeta recognized her as the tiny blonde girl always looking at the cakes from the window but never coming in to buy anything.
"How much do I owe you, little lady?"
"Fifty gil," she said shyly.
He reached into his pocket and put the coins in her outstretched hand.
"How old are you?"
"Eight, but I'll be nine next week." she said quietly.
"Is that so? You'll have to come to the bakery on your birthday then, I'll make a special birthday cupcake for you, on the house."
Her pretty face broke into a wide smile. "Really?"
"Of course, a helpful little girl like you deserves a treat."
In the back of the house, hidden from Peeta's vision, Katniss throws some entrails from a hare she was cleaning to Buttercup, a thoughtful frown creasing her forehead.
"So do you think you understand where Katniss is coming from now?" Gale asked as they walked back to town.
"Yeah, I think I do." He turned to Gale and grinned. "And I can only respect you and Katniss more knowing where you come from."
Not knowing how to take a compliment, Gale lookes at the ground and blushes.
"Hey Gale," Katniss began. They were setting up their fishing poles before hunting wild game. "I've seen you hanging around Peeta Mellark sometimes. He's a good guy isn't he?"
"The nicest guy you can ever meet," Gale said honestly.
A week later Peeta musters up the courage to ask Katniss to watch the fireworks with him during the midsummer festival.
When Gale sees the two of them together in the square, he gives Peeta the thumbs up.
On their own, Peeta and Katniss grow together. Peeta confesses that he fell in love with her when they were five, and after avoiding him for two weeks, Katniss admits that she returns his feelings.
They become a couple at fifteen, ignoring the nasty gossip from the town and Seam alike.
"Katniss," Peeta said one day when they were sitting together under the shade of the old oak tree in the meadow, "can you promise me something?"
"What is it?"
"Please, even if it's just by one day, I want you to outlive me," he turned to her and kissed her lightly on the lips.
She blushes and turnes away, still not completely comfortable with his generous affection. "Why?"
"Because I don't think I can be able to live without you."
She doesn't speak for a long time.
"Don't say that." She gave him a sad smile. "Please Peeta, I can't make a promise like that."
"At least try," he whispered, placing his hand over hers and burying his face in her hair.
She isn't even thinking of Peeta when she volunteers for Prim. Only when she's standing on the stage watching the district salute her did she realize with horror what she had done.
"And our male tribute is... Peeta Mellark," Effie trilled.
Despite a lifetime of priding herself on being strong, Katniss couldn't help but cry as she watched Peeta walk up to the stage because she knew he was going to die for her, and there was nothing she could do about it.
Through her tears, she saw Gale raise his hand and volunteer.
"Why Gale? Why did you volunteer?" Peeta cried when they were inside the Justice Building.
Gale held up a hand in defense. "I did it for you! Calm down Peeta, I'm not planning to win, I'm planning on bringing her back so you don't have to die for her."
Peeta raked his hands through his hair furiously and paced the room. "No. My name came out of the bowl, you have no obligation to die because of me!"
Gale sighed. "Peeta, I should have died a long time ago," he said slowly as he turned to his friend and gave him a small smile.
"Remember when you gave me the bread five years ago? You saved my life back then, and every year after that I was just living on borrowed time. I'm not dying because of you, I'm only alive because of you."
The two boys stare at each other for a long time. Then Peeta begins to cry and launches himself at Gale.
It's not the first time in history, but a boy from the Seam and a boy from the town hug like brothers.
"I'll look after your family," Peeta promised.
"And I'll look after Katniss."
And that's all that she wrote...