Katniss walked around checking the traps Gale had set up. She went along and picked up the animals that had caught in the traps—eight rabbits, two squirrels, and a beaver. Katniss went along and reset each snare carelessly, not really caring if they were set up right or not. She just wanted to leave the woods. It was giving her the creeps. It was…so scary in there. It was even scarier than her bedroom at night when it was really, really dark and the moon wasn't out. And she didn't even know that was possible.
By the time Katniss made it back to the fence that surrounded District 12, the sun was well up. Katniss forgot to check to see if the fence was charged—but then, she never checked; she was just reckless that way—and just wriggled under it. In the process, her shirt got caught in it. Now Katniss had a dilemma. Would she try to get free of the fence and risk getting her shirt…ripped? She didn't want to mess up her shirt, but she didn't want to stay there forever either. It took an hour for Katniss to decide to just get the heck out of there—you see, Katniss wasn't exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer. Actually, she wasn't a knife at all. More of a…spoon. Yes, that was it.
She wriggled through the opening at the bottom of the fence and came up in the Meadow, which was very near her old home. She looked down at her shirt. Now it had a small tear in it. When Katniss saw that little tear, she almost cried. It had been such a pretty shirt. Katniss went to her old home. She still got to keep it because it was the designated dwelling place of her mother and sister. But now they lived happily in the Victor's Village. There was one reason and one reason only why she still went there.
It was the only place where she could hide her teen magazines.
Yes, her teen magazines. She knew everyone would make fun of her if they knew she read them, so she hid them in this old house that nobody ever went in anymore. She sat in the kitchen with one of the magazines in hand. Apparently, neon pink skin was all the rage in the Capitol. She looked at her relatively bland, natural-colored skin and amused herself with thoughts about how she could change it. It all depended on whether her mother actually let her, of course. But no matter. She was a big girl now! She could make her own decisions!
The kitchen had an abandoned feel to it. Nobody had been used for a while. Katniss almost felt nostalgic, but then she thought about her new house in the Victory Village and the feeling went away. Because her new house was freaking awesome! But she almost wished she could go back to a time before the authorities in the Capitol all hated her. And all she did was threaten to eat a berry! Sheesh. You'd think the authorities would have more sense than to get mad over one little berry.
Katniss left the house and set off toward Gale's house. She got there within minutes because nobody stopped her. Everybody was trying to avoid her because they knew that if she saw them, she would begin to talk to them about makeup or something. Gale's mother, Hazelle, saw Katniss through the window and widened her eyes. She muttered something under her breath, and Katniss didn't know what it was. But she was sure Hazelle would be so happy to see her. Because Katniss was just awesome like that. Hazelle went to the door and opened it for Katniss.
She took the beaver and felt its weight. "Good job, Katniss. You actually got something," she said in surprise.
"Because I'm just awesome like that!" Katniss replied. "I was thinking that when I get back from the tour, I could take Rory out with me and show him how to put on makeup properly." Katniss looked extremely excited. She honestly thought this was a good idea.
Hazelle widened her eyes and her eyes looked horror-stricken. "But Rory is a boy."
Katniss waved her hand dismissively. "Makeup on guys is very popular in the Capitol. Everyone knows that."
