The Hunger Games (Told by Primrose Everdeen)

Chapter 12

           I woke up on the eighth day of the Hunger Games feeling confident in Katniss. She has gotten this far, why couldn't she go further? 

           I sat up in bed and stretched. Buttercup was right beside me as always. 

           "Good kitty," I said to him as I stroked his back. He purred happily. I got out of bed and got dressed. I was going over to the Hawthorne's again today. I went out to the kitchen to find Mom preparing breakfast. 

            "Good morning, Prim," she said. 

           "Morning, Mama," I replied. 

            "How did you sleep?" 

            "Good. What are you making?" 

             "Gale brought over some berries and katniss roots for us." Hm. The plant that my sister was named after. I wonder if Gale was implying something there.... 

              "Oh, that's cool." 

              "I'll be done in a few minutes," she said. 

              "Okay. I'll milk Lady." I grabbed a bucket from the counter and went out the back door. I walked over to the side of the house and opened Lady's pen. I stepped inside and closed the gate behind me. "Hey, Lady," I said to my goat. She bleated in reply. "It's nice to see you, too." I slid the bucket underneath her and milked her dry. "Good girl. What would we do without you?" Another bleat. "Yes, we would probably starve to death. You're right." I stroked her nose softly. Just as I was about to grab the milk bucket and take it inside, someone opened the gate to Lady's pen. It was Rory. "Oh, Rory. Hi. I thought I was going over to your house?" 

              "It's Mom," was all he said. 

              "Hazelle?" He nodded. "What's wrong?"                 

              "Go inside, get your mom, and come with me." I forgot all about the bucket full of milk, and ran inside. 

             "Mom! There's something wrong with Hazelle!" I rushed into the kitchen and nearly knocked my mom over as she was coming out. 

             "What is it?" she asked, worry creasing her brow. 

             "I don't know. Rory's outside and he said that there's something wrong with her," I explained. 

             "Okay, go get a cold washcloth and some painkiller." She rushed off to fetch some other herbs and medicines. I did as she said, and got the cloth and medicine. When I was ready, I met Rory outside with my mother. She had stuffed some medicines into a bag. We followed Rory to the Hawthorne house. 

             "She's got a really bad fever," Rory explained to us as we ran. "She's burning up. It started yesterday. She said she felt a bit dizzy as she was doing laundry. She went to lie down, and this morning, Gale found her in bed, burning up." 

               In no time, we reached their front door. Rory held it open for us, while he pointed to the back bedroom. "She's in there," he said. Gale was coming out of the room when he heard the door open. 

               "Follow me," said Gale. We followed him into the bedroom to find a very pale and sick-looking Hazelle. She was asleep. My mom went over to the side of the bed and felt Hazelle's forehead. She muttered something under her breath. 

              "Hand me the washcloth, please," said my mom. I strode over to where my mom was crouched next to Hazelle and held out the cloth for her. She took it and placed on Hazelle's forehead. She started to whisper softly in Hazelle's ear. "Hazelle, wake up. You've got to wake up, Hazelle." I started to worry for Hazelle. I quickly pushed back the feeling and help my mom open Hazelle's mouth and drop some liquid inside. "This should help her fever come down," she said. "Now I think the best thing for her right now is rest." 

                We all left Hazelle in her bedroom and gathered in the living room. 

               "Thank you so much for coming over," said Gale. 

               "Of course," replied my mother. "Anything for the Hawthornes." Gale smiled. "So, we'll be back this afternoon to see how she's doing, if you like." 

              "That would be great," answered Gale. 

              "Okay. Well, we'll see you soon, then." With that, my mom and I left the Hawthorne house.