Chapter 2 – The Deal
Two days later, a guest was ensconced in the Everdeen living room when Katniss and Prim arrived home from school. It was Fulvia Cardew, seated in the best chair in the house, drinking tea, and talking with their mother.
"Here she is now," Mrs. Everdeen said, as Katniss and Prim came into the room and dropped their school bags onto the floor.
Prim's mouth dropped open, but no sound came out when she saw the pink-skinned woman. Even Katniss was surprised at the garishness of her appearance up close in the simple house where her family lived. She now understood why Mrs. Mellark had initially screamed when the Capitol woman entered the bakery.
"Katniss, Miss Cardew would like to speak with you." Outwardly her mother looked calm, but she could tell by the tone of her mother's voice that their guest frightened her.
Katniss dragged a chair from the dining table and set it near to her mother and Fulvia. She sat down. Prim stood by their mother.
"Katniss, dear, I'm Fulvia Cardew. I work for Plutarch Heavensbee, the head of network programming for Panem."
Katniss had no idea who Plutarch was, but she listened intently to the woman speak, her voice rising at the end of each sentence, instead of lowering.
"We are creating a new television show to replace The Hunger Games."
Prim gasped and Katniss reached out to steady her. She hadn't shared with her sister the information that Madge had passed along to everyone at lunch a couple of days earlier.
"The new show will be called The Match Game," Fulvia continued. "We'll take one lucky girl to the Capitol where she'll be wooed by twelve men, one from each district. She'll choose one to be her husband and they will be married in a big Capitol wedding. Then they'll live happily ever after in her new husband's district. Of course all of it will be televised for the entire country to enjoy."
As Fulvia spoke, a bitter taste rose in the back of Katniss' throat. She jumped up from her chair, ran to the kitchen sink, and vomited up the remnants of her lunch. For someone like her, someone who didn't know if she wanted to marry or have children, this new show was on par with The Hunger Games. How could they force some girl to marry a stranger and live with him for the rest of her life? It was barbaric.
A thought suddenly occurred to her. What was Fulvia doing in her living room talking to her mother? Why had she come to their house to talk about the show? Prim was too young to be getting married. That left…
"No," she shouted, walking back into the living room. "I refuse. I will not be your tribute." She used word `tribute,' a word associated in her mind with The Hunger Games, to emphasize to Fulvia that the two shows were similar.
"Katniss Everdeen, apologize immediately to our guest," her mother insisted. "You are being being very rude."
Katniss scowled, muttering a quick, "I'm sorry."
Mrs. Everdeen spoke to Fulvia. "I always hoped my daughters would marry for love. My husband and I did. I want the same for them."
"Mrs. Everdeen, we would never force Katniss to marry someone just to get television ratings," Fulvia explained. She spoke directly to Katniss. "You will be given ample time to fall in love with one of the men we select to be on the show."
"But what if she doesn't?" Mrs. Everdeen questioned.
Fulvia looked amazed. "But of course she will. Why wouldn't she? She'll be interacting with the most handsome men in all of Panem."
"I'm not doing it," Katniss insisted. "Why would you want me anyway? I'm not pretty. I don't know how to act around the opposite sex. And I don't want to get married at all, certainly not to someone I don't know."
"That's the beauty of it," Fulvia said. "People will enjoy watching the transformation of a simple girl with an uncertain future. You will, in a your own way, be unifying our great country."
Katniss frowned, thinking that Fulvia's explanation of her role was stretching the limits of credibility.
"Citizens across Panem will be rooting for the man from their district to be the winner who captures your heart. Everyone appreciates a love story. You and the man you choose will show that at heart the new government is firmly on the side of the people. Our new government wants to take a very different approach than the old regime. We want to celebrate life, instead of destroy it."
Katniss shook her head. "I'm not interested. Find someone else." She fled to her bedroom, slamming the door.
Later, after Fulvia had left, her mother came to check on her.
"Why did you even let that woman into the house?" Katniss complained. Her face was buried into her thin pillow as she lay on the bed that she and Prim shared.
"She's from the Capitol," her mother said. "I didn't think I had much choice. Quite frankly I don't trust those people. No matter if the government has changed."
"You agree with me, don't you?" Katniss asked her mother.
Her mother sighed. "I don't want you to be forced to marry anyone. That's wrong. But I am concerned about going against the Capitol. There could be repercussions to you, to our family, to our district even."
"Repercussions! It's a television show, Mom, it's not the government."
"Katniss, the television network runs the government. Who do you think orchestrated the assassination of President Snow? These people have power. I don't think it's wise to go against them."
"So you want me to agree to do it?"
"I don't know." Her mother looked tired. "It would be a great opportunity to see more of the country, to meet men from other districts, to have a better future. Maybe you would find someone to love. At any rate it would probably be better than working in the mines."
Katniss frowned. She didn't want to work in the mines, the place where her father had died. The thought of taking an elevator down each morning to work in the bowels of the earth, never seeing the sun, never hearing the birds chip, never feeling the soft breeze across her skin, well, it made her sick with despair. She didn't know how Gale put up with it. She knew he hated the work.
But the thought of being forced to marry someone, especially when she wasn't even sure that it was something she ever wanted to do – seemed just as awful.
"Maybe she'll find someone else," Katniss said. "It could blow over."
"I hope so," her mother said. "For all of our sakes."
But when Katniss arrived home from school the next day, Fulvia was back in their living room again, speaking to her mother. But the Capitol woman had brought a friend along with her, Mayor Undersee.
"I'm not interested," Katniss immediately told the pink-skinned woman.
"Listen to what they have to say first," her mother suggested.
An uncomfortable silence followed, and then the mayor cleared his throat. "I understand your concern," he began. "I wouldn't want Madge to be forced into an arranged marriage either. But Katniss, you must know your participation on this show will bring great publicity to District 12. I've already received calls from the Capitol regarding the opening of the medicine factory contingent on your involvement. That plant would provide lots of jobs for the district. It would give people in the Seam another way to support their families besides working in the mines."
Katniss' shoulders dropped. There was no way she could refuse now. If word got out that she'd turned this down, she'd be a pariah in District 12, especially in the Seam. But being forced to marry a stranger – the thought was loathsome.
"Katniss, dear, I've been thinking about what you said yesterday," Fulvia added. "Maybe I didn't explain myself as clearly as I could have. One of the suitors who will woo you will be from your own district. If there is any man you have an inclination towards, you could select him as the District 12 contestant. We can arrange for him to be the winner and you could both live happily ever after at the expense of the Capitol for the rest of your lives. Neither of you will have to worry about anything ever again."
"There's no one..." Katniss began, but a plan began to form in her mind. Gale. If she agreed to this she'd help the district and be able to get Gale out of the mines, as well. She could help both their families. Of course, she'd have to marry him. But at least she knew him. She cared for him as a friend.
Would Gale want to marry her? She didn't think he cared about her in a romantic way. But why had he made such a big deal about Peeta staring at her through the bakery window? Maybe he was jealous? Maybe he did have some feelings for her, something she hadn't noticed at all.
"What do you think dear?" Fulvia began.
Katniss noticed her mother eyeing her carefully.
"If I agree to do it, I have some conditions," Katniss said to Fulvia.
Her mother's face wore an expression of uneasiness. Katniss glanced at Prim. Her sister was smiling. Katniss knew Prim was such a romantic, that she'd wanted Katniss to fall in love with a handsome man and marry him as soon as she heard about the show. The mayor was beaming. He shook Katniss' hand and thanked her for her sacrifice for the people of the district.
"But of course dear," Fulvia exclaimed. "You can negotiate everything in the contract that you'll sign."
Over the next day Katniss' contract to star in The Match Game was ironed out. Katniss made it very clear to Fulvia that she did not want the Capitol fashion experts to make her over in any way that involved bodily enhancements, including skin tinting, tattoos, piercings, enlargement or reduction of body parts, and hair color or eye color changes.
Next Katniss asked that Gale not be informed that Katniss had selected him as her District 12 suitor. She knew he hated the Capitol, regardless of the government in charge, and that he would refuse all help that smacked of charity. She also knew he would be mad at her as well, if he knew she was trying to get him out of the mines, even though he hated being there. If they had to be married, she hoped he would agree because he cared for her as his friend. It would be a marriage based on friendship and survival.
"Now you're sure about this Gale fellow?" Fulvia questioned. "I've met a couple of handsome men in District 12 who make excellent contestants."
"I'm sure," Katniss insisted.
"Maybe you should talk to Gale about it first," her mother suggested. "This is too big of a decision to be made without his agreement. Has he indicated that he has feelings for you?"
"Not like that. But he is my best friend."
Mrs. Everdeen shook her head. "That might not be enough, Katniss."
But Katniss ignored Fulvia's and her mother's concerns, insisting only that her family and the Hawthornes receive financial compensation while she and Gale were in the Capitol filming the show. She knew that he would refuse to participate if it meant his family would suffer even for just a short time.
Lastly, Mrs. Everdeen had a final condition. She wanted Katniss to graduate from school. She had less than two months to go and her mother said it was important that Katniss finish her education.
Fulvia agreed to everything and Katniss signed the contract. Fulvia asked her to remain silent about it.
"We'll be making a public announcement about the show in a couple of months," she said. "But for now keep quiet."
Katniss and her mother looked at Prim. She was the only one who would be likely to blab about it.
"I won't tell," Prim promised.
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A couple of days later, Madge mentioned that Fulvia had left the mayor's residence and returned to the Capitol. "Such a strange woman," Madge said. "Our housekeeper said the bed was filled with cookie crumbs and the room littered with crumpled bags from the bakery when she left."
Katniss shook her head in disgust, remembering all the baked goods Fulvia had purchased when she arrived. Apparently she had eaten everything herself. It only reinforced Katniss' negative opinion of people from the Capitol.
"Did she find anyone to star in the show?" Katniss asked curiously, wondering if Madge knew that Katniss had agreed to do it.
"I don't think so," Madge said sadly.
Katniss nodded. She didn't think her friend was lying. She guessed Fulvia, and even Mayor Undersee were keeping it secret.
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The next two months passed quickly. Katniss was able to forget about everything for most of that time. A few weeks before school ended, though, Fulvia sent a woman named Venia to take Katniss' measurements for clothing that would be specially designed for her to wear while she was on the show. Venia, was another creature from the Capitol. She had aqua hair and gold tattoos above her eyebrows.
Cressida, a film director whose bald head was tattooed with green vines, and a camera operator named Castor accompanied her.
Fortunately they arrived at Katniss' house early one Saturday morning before most people were awake. Cressida directed Castor to take shots of the Everdeen home, inside and out. He even took a short clip of Mrs. Everdeen cooking breakfast for Prim and Katniss, and the whole family sitting down to eat.
Separate interviews were also filmed of the three of them. In her interview, Katniss was asked why she had agreed to be the first star of The Match Game. She knew she wasn't supposed to mention anything about Gale, or anything that would make the show look fixed. Instead she talked about her desire to provide for her family.
When asked if she'd ever been in love before, she shook her head. Instead she described her parents' marriage and the great love her mother had shared for her father. "I hope I can have the same thing," she said stiffly, although she knew that participation in the show had ruined any chances of that happening.
"That's gold," Cressida congratulated her when the camera was turned off. "Exactly the kind of stuff we need."
"Cinna will be sending a dress for you to wear when you leave District 12, since that part will be filmed for the show," Venia told Katniss, after taking her measurements. "He wanted to know your favorite color."
"Green."
"Wonderful," Venia said, writing it down. "Well, I guess that's it. We have a few things to take care of in town before we go. Fulvia will be here to accompany you in a few weeks. You'll have a week of prep time in the Capitol before the show gets underway."
"Aren't you excited?" Prim asked after they left.
Katniss shook her head. The closer she got to leaving, the worse she felt. She knew she should tell Gale everything. But she was scared. She suspected he'd be angry with her for cooperating with the Capitol and involving him as well.
When her worries got bad or she woke up with nightmares about the show, she reminded herself it would bring jobs to District 12. It would get Gale out of the mines. It would keep her out. Neither of them, nor their families would ever go hungry again. It was worth it.
The Sunday before graduation, Katniss joined Gale in the woods for one last hunt. When they were leaving the woods, Gale asked about her plans for the future.
"There's rumors that the Capitol will be breaking ground for the new medicine factory within the month," he said excitedly. "Maybe you could work there."
"I'm doing something different," she said. "I'm going to be part of a new television show in the Capitol."
Gale looked stunned, as if she had told him she was going to fly to the moon. "What are you talking about?"
"I was selected to be part of a show to unify the country. It's called The Match Game."
"What does that even mean?" Gale stared at her like she was crazy.
Katniss was beginning to think she was crazy. This was too difficult. She would say nothing. Fulvia would be speaking with Gale soon enough. Let her explain everything. They'd be meeting up in the Capitol shortly, although she couldn't picture Gale in that place. She could hardly picture herself in that place.
"I won't be here to hunt next week, for a few weeks really." She frowned because she suddenly realized that she didn't know when she'd be coming home. How long would it take to film the show and get married? It might take a while.
"Okay," Gale said, somewhat confused. "We'll go hunting when you get back then."
She nodded.
Gale had gathered a basket of strawberries while they were out in the woods. They agreed that he would go to the mayor's house to sell the strawberries, and Katniss would go to the bakery to trade the squirrels. They'd meet up in the Hob to sell the remainder of their kill to Sae.
The kitchen portion of the bakery was empty when Katniss handed over the squirrels to Mr. Mellark. Katniss wondered where Peeta was, he was always working when she stopped by after a Sunday hunt.
At least she wouldn't have to put up with his staring at her for much longer. He would certainly stop that behavior when she was married. Otherwise, Gale would have ample reason to punch him.
As she left the bakery and walked through the town toward the Hob, she began to feel homesick. She would be leaving in the next couple of days and when she returned things would be different. She would be married. She wouldn't be living in the Seam. She would have enough money that she wouldn't need to hunt any longer; she could buy meat directly from the butcher if she wanted.
She saw Gale hurrying toward her just as she reached the Hob. He was grinning. She was glad he was happy. Little did he know, but his life was about to change too. She hoped she had made the right decision to insist he be part of the show.
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The day after graduation, Katniss woke up to a crowded bedroom. The room seemed brighter than usual. Cressida and Castor were standing over her bed. The bright light of the camera was shining in her face. Katniss wanted to pull the blankets over her head, but Prim wouldn't let her.
"Today's the big day," Prim shouted. "Wake up Katniss."
Katniss sat up in bed and yawned. This would be her last morning here in her home in the Seam. She could hardly believe she was on her way to the Capitol. The camera was strapped to Castor and he followed her closely, documenting her every move. Cressida had brought a dress and matching shoes for Katniss to wear. She took everything and escaped in the bathroom with the clothes, slamming the door in Castor's face. Would she lose all her privacy now?
She looked at the dress carefully. She was puzzled at first that the simple A-line shift with that short lacy jacket wasn't green. She was expecting that color since she'd told Venia it was her favorite. But this outfit was a soft orange hue, which looked lovely against her olive completion.
She dressed quickly, but Cressida stopped her when she came out of the bathroom to apply some makeup and rearrange her hair to hang over her shoulders. Afterwards, Katniss went into the kitchen to eat breakfast with Prim. Once they were done with their meal, she heard a strange noise outside, and peered out the window.
It was the idling of a car's engine. There were no paved roads in the Seam and the pathways were narrow so the car took up most of the dirt path. Katniss was amazed that the driver had been able to maneuver it into place.
Cressida directed her to hug her mother and Prim goodbye on the small porch of the Everdeen home, while Castor filmed it. Katniss was near tears as she clung to Prim.
"That's a wrap," Cressida called after Katniss hugged her mother. "Let's go, the train is waiting for us."
Castor filmed Katniss entering the car, and then stopped the camera when Cressida got in. The car started to drive off.
"What about Castor?" Katniss asked as she leaned back into the soft leather seats. Katniss never had been in car before and was amazed at how luxurious it was inside.
"He needs to get a shot of the car driving off and your mother and sister waving goodbye."
A moment later the car stopped, and a few minutes later an out-of-breath Castor opened the door and came inside.
No one spoke on the way to the station. Katniss noticed people stopped to stare at the car as it drove past. There weren't many cars in District 12. The Gamemakers from the Capitol had usually brought one to cart Effie Trinket and the two tributes around during the reaping. Katniss wondered if this car had ever carried tributes. The thought turned her stomach.
They quickly arrived at the station. Katniss got out of the car to face a crowd of people. "Where did all they come from?" she asked Cressida.
"We paid them to stand here to see you off. They're part of the background scenery."
"Oh." Katniss was surprised at the lengths the Capitol would go to put on a television show.
Castor filmed Katniss as she made her way into the train. She waved to the crowd, as Cressida directed, and stepped inside. The train was beautifully decorated with wood trim and lush carpets and fancy furniture. Cressida pushed her forward into a car that was set up like a fine home with two high-backed sofas that faced each other and a long mahogany dining table set with crystal.
Katniss immediately saw Fulvia sitting in the middle of one of the couches. She was talking to someone, wearing a forest green shirt, who was sitting on the other couch.
Katniss walked toward Fulvia, just as the train started to move. It picked up speed rapidly and Katniss was caught off guard, flying forward and stumbling a bit. The person speaking to Fulvia leaped to his feet to catch her from falling. When she steadied herself she looked up to find herself staring into blue eyes.
What the hell was Peeta Mellark doing on this train to the Capitol?
