The Hunger Games (Told by Primrose Everdeen)

Chapter 9

              I had never seen Gale cry before. His eyes were all puffy and red. I knew the reason for his tears. He steps inside and I immediately give him a huge hug. I wrap my arms around his waist. He hugs me back. I look up into his glistening eyes. 

              "It's going to be okay," I tell him. He wipes his eyes. I release him. He brings his sack of animals to the kitchen to prepare. "Do you need any help?" 

              "No. That's okay. Thanks though." 

               "If you change your mind, I'll be outside." 

               "Okay." I go to the back door and open it. I step out and shut it behind me. There, I find my mom, sitting in the grass. She turns to look at me. 

                "Hey, baby," she says. 

                 "Hi, Mama. Gale's here." 

                  "Good. Did he catch anything?"

                  "Yes. He brought home a full sack." 

                  "Wonderful." I sit next to her on the lawn. I lean my head on her shoulder. She strokes my head, like I do with Buttercup. "Does he need any help?" 

                  "He said he was fine." 

                  "Gale always says he's fine. I'll go see if he needs help." She gets up from her spot in the grass and goes to the back door. She goes inside and leaves me alone. I look at my neighbors' houses and I could see that everyone was wrapping up their outside work and going in. Then I remembered. We were going to square tonight to watch the recap of the day. The pit of my stomach dropped. I stand up and run to the door. I rush inside to the kitchen to find Gale and my mother working hard, skinning his catch. They both look at me when I come in. 

                   "What's wrong, Prim?" asks my mom. She must have seen the alarmed look on my face. 

                  "I just remembered what tonight was," I reply. My mother drops her work at the counter to come and hug me. 

                 "Prim, it's like you said. Katniss is an amazing hunter. She's smart and quick. She's going to be alright." I nod, still holding onto her tightly. Gale comes over and puts a hand on my mom's shoulder. 

                 "Katniss is very smart," says Gale. "I have a feeling that she'll be fine." I look up at him and smile. 

                  "Yeah," I agree. 

                  "Alright, let's finish these guys," says my mom, referring to the animals. 

                  "Do you need help?" I ask again. 

                  "Sure," agrees Gale this time. I helped them skin the rest of the squirrels and rabbits until it was time to get ready to go to the square. Gale went back to his house to get cleaned up. We thank him as he leaves. After that, my mom helps me get a bath ready. I wash my hair and body and dress in a blouse and nice pants. This event wasn't as important as the reaping, so everyone wasn't forced to come, but most of us did. My mom washes up after me and then gets dressed. 

                    "You ready?" she asks me, once she had braided my hair down my back. 

                    "I guess," I say. 

                    "Okay. Let's go." She grabs my hand and we set off to the square.It was nearly dark by this time. People crowd the streets. It wasn't as busy as the reaping day, but it was definitely a close second. 

                    Once we were all settled in the square, Mayor Undersee welcomes us. There was a big screen set up in the middle of the stage, just like on reaping day. I feet butterflies in my stomach. I take a deep breath to attempt to settle my nerves. I grip my mom's hand tightly. Everyone crowd the square, and I start feeling claustrophobic. 

                    Finally, Mayor Undersee finishes speaking and signaled the start of the day's recap. The screen shows the beginning of the Hunger Games. All the tributes were on their pedestals. A timer counted down. When it reached 1, all the tributes rushed around. Some of them ran to the middle, where the Cornucopia is, and some grabbed items that were by their feet and ran off. Many of them were killed. The very beginning of the Hunger Games is called the bloodbath. Most of the weakest tributes are killed then. 

                    I saw lots of people run to the woods. That's when I saw Katniss! She was running away with a backpack. She was running away from everyone else to the safety and coverage of the woods. I let out a breath I had apparently been holding. She ran until you could no longer see her. Everyone who was left scattered. I caught a glimpse of Peeta, the baker's son. He also ran to the forest. Maybe he and Katniss would team up.

                   After everyone had left and gone their separate ways, the camera focused all of the dead tributes. There were a lot of young ones, like me, who didn't survive the bloodbath. A tear ran down my cheek. This was so unfair. These kids had barely begun to live. And now they were dead. 

                 The rest of the video had the highlights of today. The career tributes teamed up. Some kids found shelter. Some found a water source. The video ends when it started to get dark. Then it fades out. I look at my mother, and her eyes are watery as well. 

                 "She made it," she whispers to me. 

                 "Yeah. She did." Mayor Undersee then wishes us a good night and then we start to file out of the square. It's almost pitch black by now, but even though it's so dark, I catch a glimpse of Gale. I smile at him. He does the same. 

                  Soon enough, we are back at our house. I change into my nightclothes and unbraid my hair. I kiss my mom goodnight and head to bed. I lay there in my bed thinking about Katniss. 

                                      She made it through the first day.