For Antje. Without her - no word, no sentence, no story - would ever have been written.

Chapter 1

"This lovely real estate belongs to Mr. Abernathy," the scout leader chirped happily, while Katniss raised her dark eyebrows questioningly and glanced over the completely neglected front garden.

"And the owner buys lottery tickets?" Her young voice sounded doubtful.

"Well, my dear, he's a difficult customer, but he always supports our organization."

Katniss sighed. How good it was that none of her former friends could see her now, she thought, as she opened the rusty gate with a noisy squeak, walking over the uneven cobblestones toward the front door. Without any success, she searched for a doorbell. Finally, she knocked firmly on the heavy oak door, waiting for a response, but nothing happened. Realizing that knocking would have no effect, she began to bang her small fist against the door.

"Wonderful, my dear," Effie Trinkets high pitched voice sounded cheerfully from the garden fence and Katniss sighed again, turning her head and shouting over her shoulder, "My name is Katniss, Miss Trinket; Katniss!"

"Yes, my dear, I know." The scout leader sounded happy as ever, waving her hand towards her, and for the moment, Katniss simply gave up.

Frowning, with drooping shoulders, the young woman turned back to the door. "Hello, is anyone at home?" she called, so loudly that she was sure they'd hear her in the next village.

After all, she was able to hear heavy footsteps on the other side of the door. A key was turned with a screech and the dark entrance door was torn open.

Involuntary, Katniss took a step back as she stared into the pale, haggard face before her. The man's badly shaven cheek remembered the girl of goat while his greasy, clumpy hair looked as if it hadn't been washed in weeks. Her eyes gazed at the bottle of whiskey in his hand, then went down to his bare white feet. Giving herself a kick and making her stare less obvious, she tried her best to ignore his thin dressing gown, wearing over an ugly pair of pajama pants.

"Yes?" Abernathy asked while his free hand went instinctively to his eyes, shielding them from the bright sunshine.

Taking in a deep breath, the young woman rattled off her small, boring speech. "My name is Katniss Everdeen, I'm the new head of the local girl scouts, and I wanted to ask you if you could support our group and buy a lottery ticket."

The man looked down at her and tried to follow her words with his fogged mind. "What?" he asked again; mystified, taking a long pull from his bottle for moral support.

Katniss swallowed hard; if Miss Trinket hadn't been waiting for her on the other side of the gate, she would have already turned around and run away. Anyone could see that this undertaking was pointless.

"Yoo-hoo, Haymitch!" Effie's voice sounded delightedly from behind, and the girl asked herself how someone could sound so artificial and entirely happy at the same time.

Haymitch's blurred gaze tried to focus on the owner of the voice. Finally he managed it and snorted derisively. "Not that old harpy..." he said through thin lips and Katniss hoped that his rough voice hadn't carried to the garden fence. "I'll buy a batch," he slurred. "But she," he lifted his right hand and pointed with the bottle towards the garishly attired scout leader, "must stay away."

"Ok, sir." The girl gritted her teeth. She didn't give a damn if she sold anything or not, she just wanted to say goodbye to him as quickly as possible.

Leaving his whiskey on the balustrade, the man disappeared into his dark house. A few moments later she heard cupboard doors banging open and shut, accompanied by a stream of colorful curses. Embarrassed, Katniss's face stayed warm until Haymitch finally reappeared in the doorway, pressing a crumpled hundred dollar note into her hand.

"Enough?" he asked from behind a curtain of filthy hair.

Stunned, she stared at the note. "Yes, sir."

She'd expected anything; a few cents, even pennies, but not this. "For that much money you get fifty tickets, sir!" Frantically, she searched for more ticket batches in her outdated fanny pack.

"Keep the change," the man answered as he turned around and shuffled back inside, slamming the heavy door behind him.

"Mr. Abernathy!" Katniss called after him. "Your tickets – you've forgotten your tickets!" Irritated, the young woman looked down at the pack of batches in her hands. Making up her mind, she walked to the front door, bent down and shoved the pack through the mail slot, listening to it thump onto the floor inside.

Sold was sold.

...

"Who was that?" Katniss asked, totally baffled, still holding the crumpled hundred dollar note in her hand.

Effie's laughter filled the car as she pressed on the gas and switched gears. Both women sat in Miss Trinket's elegant two-seater, a modern sports car which no one would ever have expected to find in the lonely countryside while they were heading back to the small village.

"That was Haymitch Abernathy, our beautiful town's very own resident drinker."

Katniss frowned. "Drinker?" she echoed, her dark eyes fixed on the passing trees on the roadside.

"Please, don't worry about that impossible man," Effie replied lightly. "We won't see him again till next year."

"He seemed to know you," Katniss pointed out.

Effie rolled her eyes in amusement. "Of course he knows me. Everybody knows everyone in the country; that doesn't mean anything."

Katniss didn't believe a single world, but she simply shrugged and glanced down at her knotted fingers.

Only two month ago, she and her small family had moved from Richmond to this tiny village in the isolated mountains of Kentucky, the hometown of her mom, which Katniss had only known from rare visits as a little girl. But after the tragic death of her beloved father some years ago, her mother couldn't afford any longer the high rent of the small flat in the city.

To her deep regret, she knew no one, and after moving into the abandoned and rundown house of her late grandparents, the young woman had started working part-time in a small coffee shop in the neighboring town, serving cheap food and warm beer to old, ugly truck drivers, and finally giving up her dream of going to college.

Unfortunately, she hadn't inherited her father's warm, winning personality. No matter where she appeared, strangers always thought she was cold and aloof. Therefore, Katniss was more than grateful when the always cheerful scout leader took her under her wing.

Even though Katniss had known Effie for only a month, she had never seen her without perfect make-up on. The rest of the small town population hadn't heard anything of the latest fashion trends, but Miss Trinket seemed to have been born in skinny jeans and high heels. Even her long shiny blonde hair was perfect with every movement of her head. It was impossible to imagine Effie pitching or fishing with her artificially long fingernails and dramatic black eyeliner.

"I'm so proud of you," Effie trilled, yanking the young woman out of her thoughts. "I cannot remember the last time I had such a diligent and responsible teen in my group."

Katniss forced herself not to roll her eyes. "I'm not a teenager anymore, Miss Trinket."

"I won't tell anyone," Effie giggled, and waved her bright turquoise fingernails. "We girls must stick together and make ourselves a little bit younger." She parked her red-colored BMW in front of the Scouts headquarters and turned eagerly to Katniss. "Is there anyone back in Richmond who owns your heart, my dear?" Effie asked innocently.

Yes, there was someone. Blond, broad-shouldered, with radiant sea-green eyes. How many hours had she spent daydreaming about the most successful quarterback at her school?

Countless hours.

She had tried to catch his attention at every opportunity, at team sports, charity events or the annual school ball but he had never so much as glanced in her direction. In the end, he had fallen in love with a red-haired, elf-like beauty. To Katniss's great disappointment, his beloved was the complete opposite of her, in every possible way.

"No, Miss Trinket, there's no one."

"Perfect, my dear!" The scout leader smiled at her. "Our annual ball takes place in spring, and I promise you, by the end of the year, I'll have you successfully hooked up or my name isn't Effie Trinket!"

With these words, she winked conspiratorially with her long, false eyelashes, and Katniss wondered what she had done to deserve this.

Author's note: All of my stories are based on the movies/actors, not on the books.