Chapter 3:
As soon as they were inside the building Katniss darts away from the rest of the group into the nearest bathroom. She quickly wipes away the threatening tears that were about to leak out of her eyes. The distant sound of a heavy shuffle alerted Katniss that someone had followed her.
Peeta now stands in the open doorway his face full of concern for the girl who had stolen his heart. He grabs a wash cloth off a gold-plated rack hanging off the wall and wets it a little in the sink. "Don't let them get to you okay? You're better than they are." Katniss closes her eyes as Peeta steps closer to her and gently rubs the soft cloth against her clenches her fist tight from the anger of wanting nothing more then to be left alone, and not being babied by Peeta Mellark.
"Peeta, will you just leave me alone! I can clean myself up on my own just fine!" Katniss jerks away from the boy's annoying attempts to wipe away the horse feces from face.
"I'm only trying to help you." Peeta said quietly. He places the wet wash cloth down by the sink and turns to walk out of the bathroom leaving Katniss alone.
Katniss lets out a frustrated huff and begins to pull off her now ruined and smelly tribute costume. The once shiny black material that was now smelly and covered in brown chunks falls softly to the gray floor, leaving her standing there in nothing but her underwear.
Looking in the mirror Katniss finally saw how bloodshot her eyes had become and the now visible tiredness and stress that were appearing as well. I just want this to be over with. Whether I live or die I just want it to be over with.
Katniss glares at the white cloth that Peeta had used to wipe her face with. She grabs it and throws it in the trash can near the door. She wished she could throw away Peeta as easily as she did the wash cloth.
A soft knock breaks Katniss out of her thoughts. "Katniss, dear are you alright?" The signature high-pitched voice of Effie Trinket's is hard too mistake for anyone else's. Katniss pulls off her underwear and begins to unravel her braided hair.
"I'm fine Effie, I'm just going to take a quick shower." yelled Katniss. She already had one of the showers running, ready to jump. "Okay, then I will have one of the Avoxes leave you some fresh clothes and just head on up to the 12th floor when you are done."
"Okay fine, whatever." Katniss didn't try to hide or sugar coat the fact that she was trying to quickly dismiss the woman, but she just wanted to be alone for the time being. The sharp tapping of Effie's high heels grows faint and Katniss happily jumps into the steaming water.
With minutes all the horse feces and its horrid smell is finally gone leaving Katniss smelling like a field of flowers. The clothes the Avox left her were lying on a bench and Katniss wasted no time in clothing herself with the clean materials. All she was wearing was a simple white blouse and a black pair of loose pants. She decided to just leave her hair wet and let it air dry on its own.
Grabbing the dirty costume by letting it drag on the floor away from her was the only way she would get it out of there and back to Cinna. She didn't want to treat it in that kind of way but it was still covered in the smelly clumps of horse feces and she didn't want it on her again.
Everything was quiet when Katniss stepped out into the hallway. The rest of the tributes and their stylist had cleared away a long time ago and all Katniss had to do was hop on the elevator and ride it to her District's suite floor. A few Avoxes came and went doing whatever it is that they were ordered to do, and several armed Peacekeepers stood guard near the exits. She could feel their cold eyes trail her every move.
The elevators were located down the long hallway and Katniss made her way towards them with the costume trailing behind her. A long row of glowing buttons with the numbers of all the training center's entire floors ran along the wall by the elevators. Katniss pressed the 12th button and the doors opened silently for her.
The ride to her floor wasn't long but it still made her stomach uneasy. Back home she didn't spend much of her time riding elevators for fun. When the elevator doors opened she didn't see anyone but a few Avoxes that stood near certain doors but other then that the 12th floor felt empty.
Before Katniss could make her way towards the room where she figured everyone was in another set of elevators opened up down the hall.
"Where the hell are we this isn't our floor?" Two girls stepped off the elevator swaying and staggering with each step they took. Katniss rolled her eyes knowing the girls were more then likely drunk.
"Glimmer, you're such an idiot you can't tell the difference between 12 and fucking 2?"
The tall blonde girl finally managed to lean herself against the wall before spotting Katniss staring back at them. "Hey Clove, isn't that the bitch you pushed in that pile of horse shit outside?" Katniss's eyes widened in surprise for a moment before narrowing with hate at the shorter dark haired girl that was now looking back at her smirking.
"Yeah that's her." said Clove pointing at the dirty costume in Katniss's hands. Katniss threw down the costume and started charging at Clove.
She pushed Glimmer out of her way who easy fell over on the floor and passed out not a second later.
Katniss grabbed Clove by the collar of her shirt and flung her hard against the wall with her fist raised to hit the girl.
Clove laughed at Katniss who was now seething with rage. "Is this the part where I beg for my life?"
"No it's the part where I knock you the fuck out." sneered Katniss. Katniss sent her fist flying into the side of the girl's face and she slumped down onto the floor unconscious.
The Avoxes who witnessed the who altercation stood dumbstruck as to whether or not they should do something. Katniss ignored their stares and grabbed her costume ready to join up with her team until a thought came to her mind.
Katniss dragged her costume over to where Clove laid still unconscious. Grabbing a handful of horse feces in her hand from off her costume Katniss spread the defecate all over Clove's face and in her hair.
Katniss smiled at her handy work and in less then a minute she had managed to drag both Clove and Glimmer back onto the elevator they had come off of. She pressed the glowing number 2 button and the doors closed taking the girls back to their floor.
Before Katniss went inside the room to join her team she looked back at the Avox boy that stood next to the doors. She places her finger on her lips smiling at the Avox to keep this all between them. The Avox boy just stared back at her in puzzlement.
"Well there she is at last!" Katniss braced herself as Effie came at her with arms wide open for a hug. The older woman engulfed her in her arms.
Cinna walks up to Katniss and looks at the damaged costume in sadness. "Don't worry it's nothing that I can't fix." Her stylist takes the costume from her and lays it on a chair across the room.
"Come,come we can finally eat." Effie ushers Katniss and Cinna into the dining room where Peeta, Haymitch, and the rest of the styling team were located around the dinner table.
Katniss takes the empty seat by Peeta refusing to make eyes contact with him. "Hey you okay now?" asked Peeta. Katniss forces out a smile that may have looked more like a grimace at the boy. "Yeah I'm good now, just hungry and tired is all."Peeta places his large hand on her shoulder giving her a comforting squeeze that felt surprisingly good to her.
"Glad to see you're still hanging in there sweetheart." slurs a drunk Haymitch. The man downs himself another glass of white liquor before passing out over a bowl of food.
"Oh no, Haymitch, not in the chicken casserole dish." cried Effie. "And it was my favorite, now it is just ruined."
Peeta tried to pick Haymitch's head up and out of the hot food so he could breathe. Effie motions for one of the Avoxes bringing food to the table to carry Haymitch back to his room.
Cinna has an Avox bring out a cake that he ordered specially in honor of the tribute's fiery debut. Peeta turns on the TV to the one channel on it where the Capitol was airing the Tribute's Parade again, but of course District 12 got the most airtime then any other District in the parade.
Katniss began fixing her plate while Effie went over their schedule for the next few days here in the training center. "And you both will start the agenda off with three days of training that starts every morning at 10:00 sharp." "The rest of the agenda we will handle as it comes along, and meet me here for breakfast, any questions?" asks Effie.
"Yeah are they going to bring out anymore of this lamb stew with dried plums it''s so good?" Katniss asked with a mouth full of food. Peeta couldn't help but laugh and smile at her.
"Honestly Katniss take this a bit more seriously you will need all the help you can get in this short amount of time before the games begin." Effie said crossly. Katniss rolled her eyes before fixing another plate of food.
Katniss stops eating and her eyes grow wide in surprise. A red headed Axov catches her attention that looks so familiar. The Avox girl who was clearing away the mess Haymitch made looked up to meet Katniss's gaze and she to shows her recognition of her.
"Katniss, what's wrong?" asked Cinna.
"I think I've seen her once before." said Katniss pointing at the Avox.
"Don't be silly, how could you know her she's an Avox of all things, a traitor to her own nation." stated Effie who was already dismissing the whole thing.
"She does kind of resemble Delly Carthwright from school doesn't she?" asked Peeta.
Katniss shakes her head clear the memory of meeting the girl before she became an Avox racing through her mind. The memory of seeing her and the little boy that was with her running away from their District only to be caught by the Peacekeepers.
"Yeah of course, that's who I was thinking of. It must be the hair," exclaimed Katniss.
"Well now that we've settled that let's continue this lovely meal." smiles Effie.
After dinner Cinna and Portia said their farewells for the night as well as Effie who made it clear that she stuck to a strict sleep schedule that she couldn't afford to mess up on.
"I encourage you both to get a good night's rest and be ready to starting training tomorrow, goodnight dears." Effie softly closed the door to the dining room behind her as she left.
"I guess that just leaves me and you to keep each other company, huh." Katniss looks at Peeta who was smiling back at her.
"Actually...I think I'm going to take this bowl of chocolate delight with me and go to bed." said Katniss already getting up from the table.
"Wait, wait...do you trust me?" asked Peeta.
"What?" Katniss furrowed her eyebrows together trying to process his question. Do I trust you? Him? No I can't trust him how could I?
"I just want to show you something before we call it a night. Please?" Peeta holds out his hand for Katniss to take.
Katniss against her better judgment places her smaller hand in his and he softly grasps it leading her out of the dining room. "Don't worry you won't regret it I promise."
"Peeta Mellark we've only been here a day and already you are making promises to me?"
The boy looks back at Katniss with a soft glint of playfulness in his eyes. "Well how else am I to gain your trust? And my promises are never broken that's for sure."
Katniss pulls her hand out of his. She still hasn't gotten use to the hand holding yet not that she planned on getting use to it though."Okay, but this better be worth my while like you promised it would be or I may just have to kill you now."
"I never took you for a girl with a sense of humor, but come on it's this way." Peeta leads the way and Katniss all but follows with a knife tucked safely in the waist band of her pants.