The b✰y with the bread

Chapter 1

                                                                        Chapter 1

It was reaping day. The worst day of the year. Twitching my eyes and turning in my bed , five minutes just five more minutes. Please. To my dismay, Mother comes in screeching and shaking me: "Wake up and get dressed boy!”

 “Yeah, yeah I’m getting up okay” I said rolling my eyes

 “Don’t give me attitude” she screamed. She left my room.

 I clinged to my duvet cover, wobbling, trying to get up.I didn't want to get out of bed,I was dreading the day. Finally, with great effort I got washed. I scanned my clothes.Nothing decent.I clawed my hand to the back of my closet. Finally after a good thirty seconds of scavenging I found something. A white shirt, with a high collar. That seemed suitable, but not like anyone would care what I wore. My family wouldn't give a damn if I was chosen.

 I mean why would they, I'm basically their dog that they trample over. My mother hates me , I think my brothers and father hate me less. Father and I have never really had a close bond. But he doesn’t hate me. Or that is what I keep telling myself.

 I slap myself mentally, as I realise that I am late. I hear mother stomping up the stairs, so I rush from my room to the bottom of the stairs. She has a frustrated expression on her face. I got lucky. If it wasn't reaping day, she would have smacked me and gone crazy.

 I was shaking in my shoes as we walked the square. It’s normally quite a busy atmosphere. But today everyone, all the parents, relatives and kids looked depressed. I ran my fingers through my ashy blonde hair, trying to keep it out of my eyes. "Agh" I feel like one of those vain guys. You know. The ones who spend all day looking into a mirror. Again. Appearances don't help me today.

 I shoved and pushed my way through the, what seemed to be, never ending crowd. After a while I finally got to where I needed to be. Most people where waiting for the Capitol woman. Effie Twinklet, I think was her name. But I was looking for one person.

 Katniss Everdeen. Dark brown hair, in a braid, draped over her shoulder. Grey, eyes, vague, cold expression. She rarely ever smiles. Ever since her father died in that mining explosion, she seems to have shut herself out from the world. I doubt she even knows I'm alive. The only time I even see her is at school and my father buys her squirrels,(when mother isn't around).

I averted my eyes to her again as my body fills with jealousy and anger when I saw her eyes turn to that tall boy, Gale. When she sees him, he gives her a ghost of a smile, she smirks back. She rarely smiles; he must be doing something right to make her smile. It’s rumoured that they're dating.

I have always had a crush on her since I was like five years old. My brothers always taunt me, they say that I stalk her and I am practically her shadow. I wouldn't call it stalking, that sounds like an activity a creepy middle aged man would be doing, maybe admiration.

On my first ever day of school father pointed her out, saying that he wanted to marry her mother. He told me he didn't because she married a coal miner. Being a kid, I looked up to my father and was confused why someone would marry a coal miner instead of my father. Father told me that when her father sang, the birds stopped to listen. One day she sang in class, and I thought I was in love with her, as the birds stopped to listen to her. From that day onwards, I always watched her but I had never spoke to her. Every day I worked in the bakery, I used to spend all day decorating the cakes with delicate orange marigolds, hoping that she would buy them so I could speak to her. She did come in to the bakery sometimes, with her sister. Whenever she did I used to get nervous, and get my brothers or father to go to her. 

That, Gale just makes me feel worse about myself, I got to give it to him; he is a much better suitor for her though, tall, handsome,definately Seam, shares the same interests as her. I kind of envy him, but also hate him at the same time. If I was that close to her, I would've asked her out already. He probably has. Maybe the rumours are true.

She disappears into the crowd. My head searches around the crowd to find her. I realise people are staring. So I casually dip down, minding my own buissness,just as Mayor Undersee walks on the stage. He goes on about the history of Panem, and how merciful the Capitol was to us. How they 'saved' us. And as a punishment for defying the Capitol, we had to give our children to a televised 'fight until the death’. The Hunger Games. He only lists the good things. He didn't talk much about how they blew District 13 off the map. He didn't mention that there is no equality, how they make us live in fear. No one really listens, I zone out, like I do every year."It is both a time for repentance and time for thanks" he intones. He then starts reading a 'list' of the past District 12 victors. You can hardly call it a list, in seventy-four years we have only had two. The only one alive is Haymitch Abernathy; he's a drunk middle aged man, who appeared to be staggering onto the stage speaking unintelligibly.  "Rugh-ugh-uh-de-wuuu! " he hollers. He appears to be confused. Mental maybe? No. He's drunk, again , very drunk, apparently. He wobbles back, as a chair cushions his fall. An applause follows; but the crowd still seemed to be confused, so did he. He tries to hug Effie. She barely manages to get him off.

Mayor Undersee looks concerned, he remembers the fact that all of this is being televised. And this won't help our district's reputation. He quickly draws the attention from Haymitch. He introduces Effie, flamboyant and preppy as ever she says her signature "Happy Hunger games, and may the odds be ever in your favor!" She says how honoured she is to be in our district, but everyone knows she's lying, waiting to get promoted to a better district.

"Ladies first!" she exclaims and dips her hand into the glass bowl. Effie pulls out a slip of paper and unfolds it, "Primrose Everdeen!" I loose all sanity as I realise who that was. It was her sister. She made her way to the stage. She tugged on to her sisters’ arm as the Peacekeepers pulled her back. "Please don't volunteer, please, please..." I thought in my head.

“I volunteer!" she gasped. "I volunteer as tribute!" It was her Katniss.

Well, the odds are in my favor today.