Coal and Firewood

Chapter One

We are now reaching the end of may, which means that I turned 18 just a few weeks ago. It also means that summer is gradually making its way to district 12. The trees and the flowers have come back to life, giving a little color to the mostly gray land – or so I've been told this morning when Greasy Sae showed up to check on me. Other than just trying to shove food down my throat, she always makes sure to talk to me, to keep me entertained and informed about what's going on outside of my house, which I refuse to leave. Most of the time, I don't even respond, but that doesn't seem to bother her, since she loves to talk.

Everyday is the same: she comes in and greets me cheerfully; proceeds to tell me about the weather, the reconstruction of the district, and gives me updates on the government's decisions for our country; moving on to the kitchen, she checks if I ate the dinner that was left for me the day before – complements me if I did, lectures me if I didn't; she makes me eat breakfast, seats near me at the couch and talks a little more; she gave up making me lunch a while ago, because I always rejected it, so she takes this time to tidy up the house a little bit; she makes dinner and can only hope I will eat it as she leaves.

I haven't seen Haymitch since the day we got back to 12 – he's probably too drunk to keep his promise to babysit me, right now. Peeta shows up sometimes, always bringing with him fresh bread and our memory book. We work on it quietly – I write, he illustrates. He tries to make me engage in conversation, but I just don't have the energy for that. It seems that I don't have the energy for anything lately. I appreciate his efforts and the company anyway, because it allows me to escape my own head for a while.

From my spot on the couch, I can hear Greasy Sae finishing dinner at the kitchen. I'm so used to the sounds of her working that, closing my eyes, I can practically see her in my mind – filling a pot with water, turning on the stove, cutting what I assume to be vegetables and putting everything together. After some time, the smell that fills up the house confirms that she's making soup. But what I hear next is completely unexpected and disconnected from our daily dynamic.

The loud knock on the door startles me, making my eyes fly open. It's such a foreign sound to me and it doesn't make any sense. Peeta never knocks; Greasy doesn't knock, and she's also already at my house; no one else visits me. I start to feel anxious, locking my eyes at the door and wondering who might be standing outside. My brain works to create thousands of the worst possible scenarios, making my heart race. I think about getting up and answering, but Greasy beats me to it and I hear her animated voice as she seems to recognize the visitor. I'm about to ask who it is when she calls out to me. "Katniss! Get up, girl, your friend is here to see you!"

Friend? This sounds foreign to me too. What friend? Greasy stands aside, holding the door open to allow the visitor in, and my heart skips a beat as I take in the sight in front of me. Without an invitation, Johanna Mason, with a bag over one shoulder, starts to walk towards me, her short, messy hair getting down to her ears now. She's still a little pale and has some dark circles under her big brown eyes but seems to have put on some weight. Overall, Johanna looks a lot better and healthier than she did when I last saw her. She drops the bag in the middle of the living room and looks around curiously, finally fixating her eyes on me. Unceremoniously, she lets herself fall into an armchair right across from me. "Are you not going to say hello to me, brainless?"

I'm speechless. Luckily for me, Greasy cuts into the conversation saying: "Well, dinner's ready. I'm gonna go and let you girls talk. See you tomorrow, Katniss!" I watch her go and see the door close behind her.

"Dinner?" Johanna asks in her usual high-pitched voice "Good, I'm starving!" She gets up and heads to the kitchen, stopping and turning around when she realizes that I'm not following her. "What? First you don't speak and now you won't eat either? You know that I'm not going to feed you, right, Everdeen? So, you better get up before I eat everything by myself."