Volunteering for Prim

On the morning of the reaping, Katniss Everdeen wakes in the Seam of District 12 to find her younger sister Primrose curled up asleep with their mother. The day is heavy with dread, and Katniss prepares for the mandatory ceremony by putting on her hunting boots and retrieving a gift of goat cheese wrapped in basil leaves that Prim has left for her. She slips out of the house and into the woods, where she meets her hunting partner Gale Hawthorne. They share a breakfast of bread and cheese, joking bitterly about the Hunger Games in a Capitol accent to mask their fear. Gale suggests they run away and live in the woods, but Katniss dismisses the idea because of their families—Prim, Gale's two younger brothers and sister, and their mothers—who depend on them for survival. They hunt and gather, trading their catch at the Hob, the black market, and selling strawberries to the mayor's house, where his daughter Madge Undersee gives them a polite but distant greeting. Gale's anger at the unfairness of the reaping system, which forces the poor to take out tesserae for grain and oil, is palpable, but Katniss knows that rage changes nothing. At home, her mother has laid out a soft blue dress for her, and Prim wears Katniss's first reaping outfit. They eat a meager meal before heading to the square, where the population of about eight thousand gathers. The mayor reads the history of Panem and the rules of the Hunger Games: twenty-four tributes, one boy and one girl from each of the twelve districts, must fight to the death in an arena until only one remains. The Capitol presents the Games as a festivity, a reminder of the districts' defeat in the Dark Days. Effie Trinket, the district's escort, draws the name of the female tribute. She reads "Primrose Everdeen." Katniss is stunned, unable to breathe, as she sees Prim walking stiffly toward the stage, the back of her blouse untucked. The sight of that detail brings Katniss back to herself. She shoves through the crowd, pushes Prim behind her, and gasps, "I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!" The district has not had a volunteer in decades, and there is confusion on the stage, but the mayor allows her to come forward. Prim screams and clings to her, but Gale pulls her away. Katniss climbs the steps, and Effie Trinket, delighted by the drama, asks her name. The crowd of District 12 refuses to applaud, instead giving the silent salute—touching the three middle fingers of their left hand to their lips and holding them out to her—a gesture of thanks, admiration, and goodbye. Haymitch Abernathy, the district's only living victor, staggers onto the stage, drunk, and congratulates her before falling off and knocking himself unconscious. The boy tribute is then drawn: Peeta Mellark. Katniss recognizes his name and remembers the day years ago when he threw her burned loaves of bread, saving her family from starvation after her father's death. She owes him a debt she has never repaid. The mayor finishes the Treaty of Treason, and Peeta and Katniss shake hands. They are taken into the Justice Building, where Katniss says goodbye to her mother and Prim, making her mother promise not to abandon Prim again. Madge gives Katniss a gold mockingjay pin, asking her to wear it in the arena as her district token. Gale gives her a final embrace and advice on getting a bow. The train to the Capitol departs, and Katniss, overwhelmed by the luxury of the train and the food, tries to steel herself for the Games ahead.