Haymitch was actually having a pretty good day. Which should have been his first sign that something was about to go horribly wrong. It started like most other days. After school, he snuck through the same gap in the fence that surrounds district 12 that he always uses, and went into the woods to help Hattie brew her latest batch of white liquor. Helping out the old bootlegger wasn't technically the most legal gig, but it was a way for him to earn some extra money to help out his Ma. And it was pretty easy work. Chopping wood, carrying bags of grain, hauling bottles of alcohol down to the Hob. Hattie paid decently well for it, too. Hattie hadn't needed as much done today as she normally did, so she let him go early. And even though it wasn't a day where he'd normally get paid, she decided to give him an extra bottle of liquor as a gift today. Haymitch didn't drink, but he could trade that bottle at the Hob and get a decent price for it. The prospect of that had him in high spirits as he made his way back to the fence.

Only for him to stop dead in his tracks when he saw who was standing on the other side. Guest. A Peacekeeper's daughter. She was around Haymitch's age, and they had never spoken to each other before, but he was all too aware of who she was. Everyone in the district knew her. And no one wanted anything to do with her. It was rare for a peacekeeper to have children with district citizens, but the handful of times it happened was always met with the same response. Suspicion, disgust, and distance. No one wanted to associate with a peacekeeper's kid. They were practically predestined to be snitches and Capital kiss-ups, as far as the district was concerned. Not someone to be trusted. Not someone you want as a friend. Great, Haymitch couldn't help but think, I'm so dead.

Going beyond the fence is illegal. Brewing bootleg liquor is illegal. Selling liquor outside of the one bar in town is illegal. Everything about this is illegal. And, sure, it's not exactly a secret that people do these things. Hell, some peacekeepers even buy Hattie's liquor from time to time. But it was all a matter of plausible deniability. The peacekeepers could turn a blind eye to that sort of thing if they didn't have proof that the law was being broken. It was when someone got caught that there were consequences. The consequence for going past the fence, alone, is supposed to be a public whipping in the square.

Maybe it was a good thing that Haymitch was the one to get caught, rather than Hattie. He was certainly better equipped to take the beating than the older woman. But still, he wasn't too happy with the prospect. He couldn't think of a way around it, though. Guest was a peacekeeper's kid, a born snitch, there was no way she wouldn't go tell her dad and get him arrested for this. Maybe he could try to talk his way out of it? Or bribe her with the bottle of liquor he's got? Or trade a favor in exchange for her silence? But even as he tried to brainstorm, he knew it was useless. His fate was already sealed.