The Hunger Games

Chapter Three

I slump down on my bed and stare out the window. How I longed to go home, and be with my mother again. I would have Katniss by my side along with Lady, my goat. I would sit and nurture her while Katniss would be out hunting, something I disagreed strongly on. My mother would be trying to heal someone in her room, just as she usually did when she wasn't moping in the corner. If only District 13 hadn't rebelled. If only the Hunger Games hadn't been invented. If only my name wasn't chosen.

"Prim, may I come in?" A silent voice says. I open the door to see Peeta smiling at me. I frown.

"Only Katniss can call me Prim." I say. Did I just say that? He nods and proceeds to the bed. That wasn't exactly an invitation to come inside. He plops down and pats the seat next to him. I sigh slightly but sit.

"Prim..er..Primrose, I want to talk to you." He states. I manage to laugh.

"Obviously."

He half smiles and looks away. He stays like that for a while before closing his eyes, sighing, and turning back to me.

"Primrose, I love your sister," He begins.

I widen my eyes and drop my mouth. He nods his head and sighs. "It's true. I've loved her for a very long time now and...I've decided I'm going to protect you for Katniss. I'm not going to let anybody hurt you. I want you to win. I know I've been acting, well..mean since we got here, but I'm not sure what to do around you. I want to make a good impression on you so when you go home you can tell your sister about me." He finishes. I shake my head.

"Katniss isn't even in District 12 anymore. She ran away." I blurt out. Peeta stands up and eyes me.

"She what?" He asks. I stand up and look him in the eye. "Peeta, she's gone, I saw her and Gale running away during The Reaping." Peeta's face goes blank. His breathing turns heavy. "Gale?" He asks. I nod my head. Suddenly, I embrace Peeta. I wrap my arms around his waist and curl my fingers. Tears silently slip down my eyes. Peeta looks down at me.

"I'm never going to see Katniss again, Peeta. Never. I don't want to be here. I want to go home!" I cry into his stomach. Peeta softly rubs the top of my head. I hear him quietly weep. We stand there, hugging each other, crying. Peeta stops crying and sits back down. I stand in front of him, wiping the tears remaining on my cheek.

"Like I said, Primrose, I will not let anything hurt you. I don't want you to lose in the Games." He says. I sniffle. "But what if I don't win? What if there's no time for you to save me?" I ask. Peeta hushes me. "You ask too many questions," He says, a soft smile forming on his lips. He hugs me one last time before we go into the other car to speak with Haymitch.

Haymitch is sitting at a table, mindlessly shaking his empty wine cup, as if that'll make more appear. He spots us come in and stares at us as if he's never seen us before. I shake my head and pull up a chair across from him. Peeta sits next to me.

"Haymitch, we need you to focus for us." I state. Peeta and I exchange glances. He nods his head of approval, and I go back to Haymitch. He pours another glass of red wine, before tossing the cup down and drinking straight from the bottle.

"Focus on what? The way you're twelve years old and seem to do all the speaking for him?" He asks, motioning to Peeta. "No thank you."

I grit my teeth to keep me from yelling again. Peeta takes the bottle from Haymitch and sets it next to him. "No, we need advice. Advice on staying alive. Tips. Anything." Peeta begs. Haymitch leans back in his chair.

"Advice? Don't die." He says, laughing loudly. Just watching him laugh twists something inside of me, and I lose it.

I leap across the table and knock Haymitch out of his seat. I raise a knife and jam it into the floor, and inch away from his head. Haymitch eyeballs the knife from the corner of his eye. He stares back at me and smirks.

"Well, we certainly do have a little bark in you." He says as his eyes flicker over to Peeta. Peeta awkwardly stares back, not sure of what to do.

"We'll work with him. I see a spark in him somewhere." He says.

I angrily lift the knife from the floor and set it on the table. Haymitch uneasily lifts himself from the ground and holds onto the table to catch his footing.

"You two might stand a chance in the arena. We'll talk later. It's time I head to bed." He says then leaves to the other car. I sit in my chair and think about what Haymitch said. We both have a little something in us. That's good, right? It means I can stand a chance in the arena. He did say both though. Meaning Peeta had just as much a chance that I did.

What if Peeta's pretending to care about me? What if he's lying to me about loving Katniss? He says he'll protect me and once we get in the arena he kills me off? Or leaves me to defend for myself while the others kill me off? All these questions are roaming around in my head, that I don't even notice Peeta has left. I get up from my chair and head back to my room to get some sleep. If I can't process this through my mind now, I might have a better chance tomorrow.

I wake up the next morning to Effie screaming down the hall calling us to breakfast. I stagger out of bed and place a green and black shirt on with some jeans. We've never dressed this nice before at home. It felt good to wear rich clothing. I go to the next car and sit down for breakfast.

A plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, a slice of bread and orange juice is placed before me. I lick my lips and dive into the eggs. The eggs are so fluffy and moist. I look over to Peeta, who is taking nibbles of his toast. I stop eating for a minute. He's doing what I should be doing, saving my food. I might not ever taste food as wonderful as this and I should savor it. Then again, Peeta has had bread galore. He doesn't know what it's like to be starving all the time. I decide to go ahead and devour my eggs. Effie clears her throat.

"Prim, Peeta, have you discussed the games with Haymitch yet?" She asks. I nod. "It didn't go as well as we planned." Peeta says. Haymitch gives Peeta a small scowl and takes a drink of the orange juice in his hand.

"Well, you know, Haymitch is your mentor. He's the one who is trying to get you sponsors. You might want to try and cooperate with him." Effie says. I roll my eyes and swallow the eggs. "He's a drunk mess. No way anyone can cooperate with him." I shut my mouth instantly. I have never spoken to anyone in such language. I don't sass usually, and I'm never rude. This was a side of me I had never seen. Effie presses her lips together tightly. Before she can speak, the train starts to slow down. We look out the window and see the Capitol's bright lights ahead. It's almost blinding. I look at Effie, who glances between Peeta, Haymitch, and I. She smiles brightly. "We're here!" She cries in her loud-pitched voice.

We pull up into the station and are immediately escorted to the Remake Center. I see Effie waving to us and smiling. "Have fun! I know you'll enjoy it!" She cries. If only that were true.