I'm stood here waiting anxiously for the tributes of district 9 Zeet and Moil to arrive back from the ceremony.
I was hoping this year our district might make some sort of impression in their bright orange costumes but after seeing what Cinna created for the district 12 tributes I think that dream failed miserably. District 12 did look great though I can't deny that. The fire, the makeup, everything was perfect. Especially the boy he looked so handsome and strong.
I see Haymitch to my far left; he weirdly seems to be standing straight. I guess he hasn't hit the bottle yet. He notices I'm staring at him and comes over.
"Everlay, how are you doing? Not breaking down yet sweetheart?" He rests his hand on my shoulder.
Last year was my first year as a mentor and I found it incredibly difficult. The tributes were terrified, I was petrified which resulted in a messy. Confusing mentoring sessions, poor advice and ridiculous tactics all resulted in very low scores and their brutal murders on the very first day. I couldn't deal with it.
I ran outside into the centre of the Capitol.
Large groups of brightly coloured people cheered at a large screen as a tribute beat another to death.
I felt sick; my stomach full of knots. I sat on the edge of a large gold fountain and buried my head in my hands feeling the stream of tears run down my face.
That's when Haymitch found me. He sat next to me, didn't talk for a while, just let me breakdown.
"Hey kid you know it isn't your fault right?" He takes a swig of drink from a hip flask.
"Then why do I feel sick?" I ask.
"Because you know how it feels, being in that arena, scared to death of everything. Seeing those kids go through it just brings back all those nightmares". He takes another drink. "Besides Miss Gaddon this is your very first year it's not meant to be a barrel of laughs "
I start to calm down a bit; Haymitch, as much as he reeks of whisky, has a sense of calm to him.
"Who are you?"I ask.
"Haymitch District 12 it's nice to meet you sweetheart". He gets up wobbles a bit and walks away.
After that I met up with Haymitch a couple of times during the games as his tributes died quite early too. We had conversations about our own experiences and he gave me some advice on mentoring nothing highly useful but still it gave me some confidence.
"Not yet" I assure him. Haymitch smiles, he seems different this year. I smell a scent of optimism. I'm guessing he's happy with the ceremony; his tributes did steal the show. "You must be pleased with how it went?".
"They did well" He remarked.
I like Haymitch but sometimes he can come across arrogant any other mentor would've been over the moon.
"They did better than well Haymitch and you know it" I poke him.
He smirks I can tell he's proud.
"Come over and meet them in a minute okay sweetheart?" He asks.
Before I can ask why he waves his hand and makes his way towards Effie Trinket who seems overly excited.
I stand there watching the chariots enter the hall. Some are angry, some seem to be genuinely happy and others appear still in shock. As I see the white horses of my District 9 chariot I see Moil comforting Zeet who's crying. I hope to god he wasn't crying out there.
I know it sounds selfish but I need them to be strong. I take Zeet's and sit him on a bench by the wall the horses block the other tribute's view. I don't want them getting a whiff of a weak tribute especially not the career pack.
"What's wrong?" I stupidly ask.
It is a ridiculous question. I know what's wrong he's scared, he misses his family and he doesn't want to die. I sometimes forget Zeet and Moil are the youngest tributes, both only 12 years old. A knot turns in my stomach.
"I think he got overwhelmed with the noise and the lights" claims Moil who seems to be genuinely worried about him.
I take both their hands.
"You two did great out there, I'm very proud". I smile at them both hoping to give them some kind of comfort. They smile too, but I can tell it's mostly to reassure me than anything else.
I ask Bruni to take the two of them back to their rooms and make sure they eat and then get to bed.
I can feel tears forming in my eyes as an image of little Zeet pops into my head. He's struggling to survive, cold, crying and hurt. Luckily Haymitch calling my name disintegrates the picture.
"Everlay!" He calls. The district 12 team all turn to look at me, Effie runs over beaming.
"Everlay how are you darling? You look beautiful so much more a woman than when I last saw you". She compliments.
Well I do turn 18 soon. The last time she saw me I was a weak but determined 15 year old who had just won The Hunger Games.
I don't reply just give a nervous laugh. She drags me over to the team, as she calls them.
As I enter the small circle they seem to have formed, I notice the girl tribute staring at me; I feel intimidated.
Haymitch places his hand on my back.
"Everlay I'd like you to meet Katniss and Peeta".
I hold out my hand to Katniss who shakes it but seems less than bothered about my appearance.
As I turn to greet Peeta my heart starts to race, the handsome boy I saw on the screen is now about to talk to me.
"Nice to meet you" He smiles. His smile is beautiful, his jaw is perfect, and every inch of that boy's face makes my entire body melt.
"You two looked amazing out there" I say.
"Thanks, I'm just glad I made it out alive" teases Peeta. Everyone laughs at the irony of the joke.
Minus Katniss of course.