Haymitch POV
The Hunger Games: Page 297
There were four of them left. At this point, they let us mentors and the escorts into private viewing rooms to see exactly what was going on at all times. Right now, Katie and Peeta were in the cave, Katie on guard. At the moment, Cato was stalking around the Cornucopia, hoping someone would come out of hiding and fight. Jackie, the girl from 5, was doing her usual hunting, trying to stay as far away from the other tributes as she could. She was getting close to the cave where Peeta and Katniss were, but I knew, even if she found them or thought she did, she would immediately flee. Soon, my tributes would have to fight either Jackie or Cato, and then it would be over and done with. They would get to go home, along with the glory of being the first pair of victors to both live. Currently, the cameras were focusing in on Katniss and Peeta's conversation about their plans for the day.
"We're wasting hunting time," said Katniss, after yet another make-out session.
"I wouldn't call it wasting." The glint of actual love shone in his eyes, and I knew that for him, this was real. "So, do we hunt on empty stomachs to give us an edge?"
I snorted. Peeta may be a whiz with bread, but survival? He didn't have a clue.
"Not us," she replies, sparing him the embarrassment of not knowing anything. The Capitol people didn't know anything either, and the people in the Districts didn't care. She continues, "We stuff ourselves to give us staying power."
"Count me in," he says eagerly. When she hands him his equal share of the whole lot, one of his eyebrows raises and he asks, "All this?"
"We'll earn it back today," she says hopefully.
And I hope they do. All of this angst is getting to me, and the sensation is overwhelming. In my 24 years of Mentoring, I have never felt as strongly for any of my tributes, much less 2 of them.
The two are eating silently until Katniss snorts from out of the blue. She is twirling her fingers in the rest of the sauce on her plate, and she says to Peeta, "I can feel Effie Trinket shuddering at my manners."
I look to my left to see Effie in-between laughing and crying.
Peeta catches on to what little bit of humor you can have in the arena, and says, "Hey, Effie, watch this!" He throws his fork over his shoulder, successfully hitting a camera in the process, and literally licks his plate clean like a dog. Katniss is giggling like a giddy 5 year old, as well as the entire Capitol, I bet. When he's done, he blows a kiss to four of the surrounding 20 cameras, and yells, "We miss you, Effie!"
She's defiantly crying now. "I miss you two!" she says to the wall of monitors we both face.
Back in the cave, Katie is still laughing, but scolding Peeta at the same time. She smacks her hand across his mouth and says, "Stop! Cato could be right outside our cave."
He grabs her hand and takes it in both of his. "What do I care? I've got you to protect me now."
"Come on," she says after a kiss.
But it's not Cato they have attracted. It's Jackie.
As they pack up and get ready to head out, Jackie sits outside the cave, multiple expressions crossing her face. I can tell she is contemplating whether to kill them or run. But she runs out of time, and when they emerge from the cave and ready to set out, she decides to simply follow them.
I gasp when Effie grabs my hand. When I turn to her, for the first time since the beginning of the Games, I notice that she is not in her usual Capitol-getup, but in plain black slacks, a shimmery gold top, and her only makeup was gold eyeliner to match. She smiles warmly, and says, "It's going to be alright. They are going to be alright." Again, to my surprise, she has somehow switched out of her Capitol accent, and something closely related to something out of District 4. "I know what you're thinking, and yes, I wasn't originally from the Capitol." She smiles sadly, probably remembering a memory of younger times.
Come, to think of it, I realize I know nothing about this woman that I hate so much.
"Why do we hate each other?" I ask suddenly. I don't know why, but it feels good getting it off my chest.
"Because silly, we are so much alike." She pats my shoulder, and I nod knowingly. We both focus back on the screens, and I see that Jackie is close on Peeta's unsuspecting trail.
Effie sighs, and I give her a little shake. "C'mon, give him some credit. He's made it this far, hasn't he?"
She pulls a half smile. "Yes, I suppose so."
Now it's my turn to comfort her. "We will see them in no time. And then, well, then you can yell at the both of them for their manners." She bursts out laughing, something I had never seen the ever-so composed Effie Trinket do. I chuckle along with her, and I put a comforting arm around her shoulder.
During our little exchange, a cannon has gone off. It's Jackie.
"Damn," I whisper under my breath.
Effie looks confused. "What's wrong?" she asks.
"Two reasons," I start simply. "One, if anyone could win it besides one of ours, I would have wanted it to be her." Effie nods in agreement. "Second, selfishly, if I wanted them to fight either Cato or Jackie, it would have been Jackie."
After I sigh, Effie says, "Well, I believe in them. They were meant to come home, I just know it."
I nod and smile in agreement. "For once, Miss Effie, you are exactly right."
She snorts delicately, and we join hands. I wasn't planning on letting go until the Games were over.
As I realized that this would be the climax of the Games, I thought:
Let the Games begin. Let them begin for real.