We were both sent to our rooms to shower and get changed before dinner.
On first inspection, there were two things that shocked me about this train. Firstly, I was surprised by how fast it moved. I had never even rid horseback before, so watching the trees fly by in a blur made me feel a little uneasy. Secondly, I couldn't believe how rich and grand the train looked. There were materials used in the décor that we couldn't even dream of in District 12. It made me realise how right we were when we said that the Capitol had money to burn. I even had a bathroom all to myself.
I stripped off my clothes and walked into the shower, initially confused by what to do in there. There were so many buttons, so I just kept pressing the ones that looked the most important until warm soapy water started to pour down on me. The feel of the droplets beating down on my bare skin was incredible. And the calming lavender smell that was now attached to me, was something that I could appreciate even if it was the Capitol's design.
Once I had finished, I had been told to look in the closet for a change of clothes. I scavenged through the colourful mess to find the plainest top and trousers that they had.
Soon Orna was knocking on my door, ready to show me to the dinning carriage. The dining carriage was even more grand than my quarters, with mahogany tables and crystal vases. The plates that were all ready laid out on the tables were definitely China and the many different sets of cutlery were made of silver.
I took a seat at the table next to Haymitch who barely glanced up from the floor to greet me. I placed a hand on his knee under the table. He smiled weakly in response.
Moments later, Brier brushed into the room wearing the same slick navy suit that he wore for the reaping. He froze before taking his seat, looking Haymitch and I up and down a couple of times with an amused look on his face. I felt vulnerable under his stare, confused by what it was that he was doing.
"Well, look how miserable the two of you are. Good. It can only mean that you have excepted your inevitable deaths." He said casually as if he was commenting on the weather and not our impending demise. That's when we realised that our mentor wasn't the nice caring person that he had initially led us to believe. He was, in fact, an arse.
"I think that a congratulations is due!" Orna singsonged, completely ignoring Brier. She raised her glass into the air which Brier mimicked.
"Congratulations?" Haymitch's eyebrows knitted together. "For what exactly?"
"For being chosen. It's a great honour you know- being your district's tribute." Orna explained like Haymitch was the most brain dead person to ever exist.
"Oh, yes, of course. We're both very privileged to die for the Capitol's entertainment." The venom in Haymitch's voice was completely lost on Orna, by the way she just beamed back at him.
Starters was soon served. We each were given a large bowl of creamy vegetable soup with buttered bread on the side. At first I wasn't going to touch it in my small little way of a protest. But I couldn't resist the intoxicating aromas that were drifting from the bowl any longer. I grabbed a piece of the bread and started scooping the soup up with it. I looked up and was met by Orna's horrified eyes. Apparently dipping bread isn't very ladylike here. So I continued to do it, making as much of a mess as I could. At least this made Haymitch smile.
"So, what's the plan?" Haymitch asked Brier, as a fresh bowl of some type of curry was placed in front of him.
"The plan?" Brier laughed, looking genuinely puzzled.
Haymitch blinked slowly in frustration, I could tell that he was trying to contain himself. "Yes, the plan. For the games. What strategy will we be using?"
Brier rubbed at his forehead as if he were trying to fend off a headache. "Well aren't you an eager beaver? Ok, fine. But I'm asking the questions first." A coy smile emerged on his face as he leant over the table towards us. "What type of trouble did you kiddies get yourselves into?"
"What?" I asked too quickly.
"It's not a hard question. It's a little too much of a coincidence that you two best-friends-for-life get thrown in the arena together. No, no, no. You did something which really pissed some people off. And not just a couple of Peacekeepers, but we're talking people with power here."
"It's none of your business." I shook my head and started cutting up a piece of lamb, indicating that the conversation was over.
"Actually it is, Honey, because if I'm going to help you, I need to know how much trouble you've got yourself in." Brier glared at me. "Whether it's worth them targeting you or not. If they would want to embarrass you. If they would want to torture you. How long they would want to drag your death out for. Do you understand?"
"Yes." I muttered.
Brier frowned and lifted two fingers to his ear. "Sorry? I didn't hear you."
"Yes! I understand!" I yelled, clutching onto my last straw of sanity.
"Well, there's no need to shout." Brier laughed.
"We painted something on the Justice Building." Haymitch admitted.
Brier broke out in a grin of recollection. "That was you? Well, I've heard stuff about the two of you, but that was pretty ballsy."
"Sorry, what did you do?" Orna asked.
Haymitch and I opened and closed our mouth like carps, unsure of what to say. But it was Brier who answered. "The odds are never in your favour. Graffitied up on the Justice Building. You have to appreciate the irony of it."
"You didn't." Orna gasped.
"So do you think we'll be targeted?" I asked, but not wanting to hear the answer.
"You committed an act of treason. What did you think would happen?" Brier scoffed.
"But that doesn't make any sense." Orna frowned. "There was nothing set up about the reaping. I chose their names myself."
"And you can bet that every name in those bowls either say Haymitch or Maysilee." Brier said.
It was starting to hit me just how much of a target we had become.
"But they wouldn't do that." Orna protested. She paused for thought, then added, "Would they?" I wasn't expecting her to be so oblivious to everything. She clearly wasn't the smartest escort but I didn't think that she would be so ignorant to what was happening right under her nose. Orna was just another specimen brainwashed by the Capitol.
"So about our strategy?" Haymitch prompted.
Brier finished his mouthful, and washed it down with a large gulp of red wine before speaking. "Well, if I was you, I'd wait for the cannon to go off, run straight to the Cornucopia, close your eyes and wait for a Career to chop your pretty little heads straight off. But if you're that intent on playing the game, we will have to start off by doing something about your personalities."
"What's wrong with our personalities?" I gritted my teeth.
Brier raised his eyebrows in amusement. "Where do I start? Well, for one, you're both criminals. You're also rude, moody, hateful, irritating, sulks like a bitch... Shall I continue?"
"No, you're ok." Haymitch bared his teeth in a threatening smile.
"You're both fairly attractive but there's only so much that looks can make up for. So we're going to have to work on making you likeable." Brier thought carefully before turning to me. "You were dumped as a kid weren't you?"
"Yes." I answered, pushing my food around my plate.
Brier clapped his hands together, a big grin stretched across his face. "Great! Everybody loves a good sob story. Wait until the interview and rinse that gem dry."
I didn't feel comfortable talking about my abandonment, let alone telling my story to the whole of Panem. But I wasn't going to say this now, I was becoming too exhausted to start another argument, so I pursed my lips and kept silent until we had finished our meal.
"Here we go." Brier rubbed his hands together as they brought dessert out. "You'd never find anything like this in District 12. I have a lover in the Capitol who sends me some every now and then."
Haymitch frowned. "So, what you screw her, and she sends you cake?"
Brier's back shot straight, a defensive look appearing on his face. "Have you got a problem, Haymitch?"
Haymitch did the worst thing that he could have done in this situation, and burst into laughter. "No, no, I feel perfectly safe knowing that I'm in the protection of some glorified whore."
Brier was suddenly on his feet. For a minute I thought that he was going to throw himself across the table at Haymitch but he just stood there. His cheeks were burning and eyes smouldering. "You do not know the first thing about me!" He yelled before storming out of the carriage.
Orna was the first to break the seemingly everlasting silence. "Oh, dear." She said simply. "You probably shouldn't have said that."
"No I probably shouldn't have." Haymitch growled, stabbing into his cake.
We were soon sent to bed so that we would be bright and fresh for tomorrow's big event. It was the Tributes parade tomorrow where they make us up like dolls and parade us around for the Capitol to watch. It was just one more thing that we were going to have to endure during this experience.
After getting ready for bed, Haymitch slipped into my room, flicked off the lights and joined me in bed without saying a word. I snuggled up to him and took his hand in my own, as if we were back in my room in District 12. As if we had just got home from a hunt and we had school in the morning, where we were going to learn about where in a mine you would find coal. And in a few years time Haymitch would be down in the mines digging out the coal himself and if I'm lucky, I would be manning a stall at the Hob with all my pickings from the forest. And I'd probably get married to somebody for financial support. Once I turn 18, I get kicked out of the house and I would have no where to live unless I married someone, so that's what I would have to do. It never seemed like a bright future, but compared to the one that I was now facing, it was dazzling.
The moonlight seeped through the curtains, allowing me to see the outlines of Haymitch's face. His eyes were still open and I could tell that he was deep in thought. I knew what he was thinking about- Toby. And I knew that there was absolutely nothing that I could say that would ease his pain, so I stayed silent.
I ran. Fast. My feet pounding on sand. The same sand that was finding its way into my eyes and fighting for my sight. I couldn't remember how the chase begun, but I knew that I couldn't stop running. Somebody was behind me and if they caught me, I was dead. My breaths were rapid and shallow and each and every one excruciating. My throat was so raw that even a simple intake of air was like a fire igniting inside of me. My skin felt soaked as if I had just emerged from a lake but the taste of salt told me it was just sweat.
I took in my surroundings, looking for somewhere to take cover and escape from whoever was chasing me. The only cover that I could find was within the ruined stone walls in the distance. I realised that this was a Labyrinth; I had seen it before. I recognised this entire place to be an arena for the games from when I was little. It was one of the shortest games ever- only lasting for three days. It was a complete blood bath because the arena left the tributes so exposed. And if they were clever enough to hide, they died from dehydration because of the heat.
I was almost at the Labyrinth when my body had began to let go. My legs stumbled beneath me, and my arms hung limp at my sides, no longer able to wipe away the sweat dripping into my eyes. Suddenly, a force was pushing me to the ground and I had nothing left in me to fight it. I was rolled onto my back before a girl with short blonde hair and vile grin straddled me, pinning me to the floor. She grabbed my arms and crushed my wrists under her knees, ensuring that I wouldn't be able to fight back. Her fingers danced around my throat before clutching down on it. She looked into my eyes as I struggled for breath, my body helplessly twitching under her weight. She released her grip before I started to black out, then pushed back down again. Through the blur I could see the whites of her teeth baring in a smile. This was a game- she was the cat and I was the mouse. The strength I had was my speed, but now that she had caught me, the game was as good as over. I gasped as air started to return to my lungs. I coughed and splattered desperate for the oxygen that my body craved so badly. I managed to focus my sight back on the girl. She was drawing a knife out of her pocket and running it along the tip of her finger. Once satisfied that her knife was sharp enough, she wrapped her hand around my chin keeping my face still. She took the blade and ran it down my cheek. I felt the skin tear and I had clench my teeth together to hold back a scream. Unsatisfied with the outcome, the girl took the knife and plunged it deep into my leg. Suddenly, it was as if all I knew was pain. I didn't hold back this time and once I started to scream I couldn't stop. I had lost all of my dignity at once and had deteriorated into hysterics. I could just about hear her laugh as she returned to carving my face.
"NO! PLEASE!" I managed to yell, my voice hoarse and my words slurred. "NO!"
"Maysilee!"
I shot up in bed. I grabbed the sheets beneath me. I took in the décor of the train. The open door to the bathroom. Haymitch sitting beside me, his arms pulling me into his embrace.
"It was just a dream." I told myself, but not yet quite believing it. I'm on the train to the Capitol. Yesterday I was reaped. Today is the Tributes parade. In five days time I will be in the Hunger Games.
"It was just a dream." Haymitch repeated, his fingers now running through my hair, in a soothing motion. He waited until I regained my breath, until he spoke. "Talk to me about it, Sweetheart."
I didn't speak. I didn't want to talk about it. I preferred to just rest my head on his shoulder and enjoy the comfort and the safety that Haymitch could still offer, like a toddler clinging on to their dad.
But he took my silence as another indication to speak. To break my bubble of ignorance."The games, huh? Getting hunted down? Being ripped apart?"
"Yeah, something like that." I rubbed the remaining tears out of my eyes, collecting myself back together. "You get them too?"
"Every time I close my eyes." He admitted with a huff.
"Don't worry." I forced a smile, my bottom lip still wavering slightly, "I've got your back."
Haymitch just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that makes me feel much better."
I punched him on the arm lightly before resting my head back on the pillow. I knew there would be no way of brushing off my nightmare because it would be playing out in real life not before long. All it did was bring the truth to light. And all I could do now, was to accept it.
Haymitch also laid back down but was staring up at the ceiling, his teeth pulling at the broken skin of his lips. "You, know," I began.
"I don't want to talk about it." Haymitch cut me off, talking to the ceiling, his expression unchanged.
"I'm just saying..." I tried to explain myself.
"I said I don't want to talk about it, Maysilee." He snapped.
"Rise and shine."
My eyes flickered open to find Brier's face hovering inches above my own.
I jumped away from Haymitch who I had curled up with during the night and pushed myself up into a sitting position, ready to defend myself.
"What on Earth is going on?" Haymitch groaned rolling over to find Brier creepily beaming down at him. "For fuck sake." Groggily, he picked up one of the many excess (and unnecessary) pillows and held it over his face.
"Good morning to you, too." Brier laughed.
Was he still angry from last night, I asked myself. And had he had come here to get some kind of weird revenge? No. He actually looked genuinely cheery. Perhaps he had forgotten about the argument all ready.
"Quickly, get showered and dressed and then go to the dining cart for breakfast. If you thought dinner was good then you are in for a treat this morning. They usually have these little pastries full of chocolate. They are to die for. Really. Oh, and wear something a little more... jazzy. There will be crowds and cameras all looking at you as soon as you get off of this train. First impression at the Capitol. Don't screw it up." Brier instructed.
"Is that it?" I asked, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.
Brier hesitated. "One more thing. You're not... Are you?"
"Not what?" I sighed, knowing that whatever he was about to say would not be good.
"Romantically involved." He replied bluntly.
"We're engaged to be married." I said instantly.
I watched Brier's jaw drop. And regret fill his eyes. And then I heard the muffled laughter from the pillow next to me which gave my game away.
"Just screwing with you." I grinned.
A thousand emotions flashed across his face at the same time, as if he was unsure which one to chose. "It was just, Orna was worried about waking you up in case she saw anything that she'd regret."
Haymitch pushed the pillow off of his face and to the floor. "And naturally you volunteered straight away, you pervert."
"Well I am only human at the end of the day." Brier shot a wink in our direction before leaving the room.
"I cannot keep up with that man." I stared at the door behind him.
Haymitch ripped the sheets back and pushed himself out of the bed. "Right then, better go dress to impress."
"Please never say that again." I cringed.
Haymitch smirked. "I'm sorry, but it's not my fault that I have a passion for fashion."
He left and shut the door behind him. Like every other time we've been in a situation, we made a joke out of it and messed around. But the difference was: this time it wasn't funny.
Reluctantly, I climbed out of bed and made my way to the bathroom. Deciding to make the most out of the luxuries that the Capital had to offer while I still could, I jumped into the shower.
I quickly washed myself, not allowing any time for thought because all that I could think about was the games. But I decided that I would ask Brier more questions this morning, in hope of putting my mind at rest. But I had a feeling the only thing that Brier could put to rest was a corpse.
Once I had dried myself off I pulled on the black outfit that I wore yesterday. I considered doing what Brier suggested, but I couldn't bring myself to try to prove myself to these monsters.
"Well, you look underwhelming." Brier looked me up and down as I entered the dining cart.
In silence I made my way to the table that held a wide spread of food. It all looked so delicious and so foreign, and I just wanted to eat it all. I picked up a warm plate and started to pile it with pancakes, fruit, bacon, eggs and a few pastries on the side (including one of those chocolate ones Brier mentioned).
"Try the hot chocolate." Brier's voice came from behind me.
"Where's Orna." I asked, pouring myself a mug of the thick brown substance.
"She's in her room making herself look all pretty. Precisely what you should be doing." He reminded.
"Why? Don't you think I look pretty as I am?" I raised my eyebrows, as I took a seat at the table.
"Well, if we're being brutally honest..." He pulled a face as if to say, I definitely wouldn't say so. "Orna should be here soon though."
The door clicked open and we both looked around to find Haymitch, hair combed, and wearing a smart black suite. I don't know why I was so shocked by this sight. Its just, as someone who spends half of his time ranting on about the wrongs of the Capitol, I would have thought Haymitch would be the last to conform to their ways; to play fairly by the games.
"Now that's more like it." Brier clapped his hands together, probably in relief that one of us was listening to him. "You see that, Maysilee? Sleek and sexy, not horrible and homeless."
I watched Haymitch as he moved to the table of food, avoiding my eye contact for some reason. Once he had finished, he took his seat next to me but I noticed the proximity between us was slightly larger than last night. And that's when it hit me- would the games be the wedge between us? Would we even be friends by the time we got into the games?
"One thing that I can say about the two of you is that you have an incredible appetite." Brier watched us eat with a mixture of impress and disgust.
"So when we get into the games, the canons fired, what's our first move?" I asked, remembering our priorities.
Brier sighed as if I had asked him to do anything but his supposed job. "Well, let me guess. The two of you are going to want to team up?"
"Yes." Haymitch answered immediately, with a hint of annoyance.
"Of course you are." Brier sighed.
I gritted my teeth. I already hated the way that he moaned about something without actually telling anyone what he was moaning about. "Is there a problem with that?"
"Well, seeing that there's only one survivor, and there's two of you, I'm going to say there's a very big problem. Saying that you make it out of the Cornucopia alive, I've never seen an alliance end sweetly before. One minute they're all buddies, then they start to get twitchy, and then suddenly there goes the knife in your back."
"Are you saying that I would betray Haymitch?" I felt my cheeks start to burn, infuriated by his accusation.
"Not off the cuff, no. But the games play mind tricks on you; they make you paranoid. But you're not my main worry. You're stupid enough... Sorry I meant stubborn enough to be unconditionally loyal. Haymitch on the other hand would sell you out for a packet of chocolate biscuits. You can see it in his eyes."
A thud echoed through the room. Haymitch had driven his knife straight through the table cloth and into the grain of the mahogany table. His fingers were still wrapped tightly around the handle as if he was ready to withdraw it and jam it into Brier's neck; his face red and his eyes unblinking. "How dare you?" He yelled, teeth barred. "It doesn't matter what happens, I would never.. never let anyone hurt her! And that's including myself!"
Brier was wrong. Sure, alliances have always had a bitter ending in the games before. But there's never been real friends in the games before. The alliances are formed out of fear, not out of love, so why wouldn't you betray them if it meant your life? We were different. We had history. Haymitch is like my brother and I'm like his sister. We could never do anything to hurt each other like that.
"Oh dear." I turned to find Orna, her eyes wide and her delicate hands cupping her gaping mouth. "That was a brand new table. But never mind. It's ok. It's all ok." She said, reassuring herself mostly. "What happened here?"
"Brier said that Haymitch would betray me for, what was it? A packet of chocolate biscuits?" I told her.
"Oh, you didn't! Brier, you are truly terrible." Orna squeaked.
"You don't know the half of it." Brier drooled, shooting a seductive wink at her. Orna suddenly fell into her seat in a fit of giggles, her cheeks blushing extraordinarily. And just like that, she was on his side.
I was getting sick of this. The games were quickly approaching and all we were getting out of Brier was insults and sarcasm. And that's when I erupted. "You're our Mentor, God damn it! Do your job! Stop telling us what you think we will do, or what we shouldn't do, tell us what we have to do to survive! You're not smart and you're not funny and I hate the fact that my life is in your hands, but it is! So do something about it!"
He just sat there staring at me, his expression stern. And alike the Peacekeeper at the whipping post, I had to keep my eye contact. I had to show him that I meant it and that I wasn't the weak little girl that he all ready thought I was.
"Well," Brier begun, his eyes fixed on me. "Let's take it a day at a time, shall we, Honey? Today is the day of the tribute parade. We get to the tribute centre, you get your make-up done, you get changed and then you get on the chariots. All you have to do is stand on the chariot and not fall off. Easy peasy, even for you. Now here comes the hard bit: you have to be pleasant. You wave and you smile because that's how you get sponsors and that's how you survive in the games. Do you think you can manage that, Maysilee?"
"Yes." I replied.
"Have I completed my job to a satisfactory rate for you?" If he woke up in a civil mood, we had definitely changed that now.
"Yes."
Orna stood up and rushed over to the window like an excited school kid. "Look at that, we're here all ready. Time flies when you're… Having fun. Oh, isn't the Capitol beautiful?"
And it was. The city was built of skyscrapers and architectural masterpieces as far as the eye could see. It was like looking across an ocean of marble, so beautiful that it was too easy to forget about the dangers. I craned my neck to get a final glimpse of the Capitol before we plunged back into darkness. We sat in silence until we emerged out of the end of the tunnel and into the train station. Like Brier had said there were swarms of people gathered to greet us, to welcome us to their city. Every single citizen of the Capitol looked just like Orna with flamboyant dresses, brightly coloured hair and tattoos masking their faces. It was safe to say that they were not afraid of surgical enhancements; a freakishly small nose here, disproportionately large lips there. Seeing that the people of the Capitol were supposedly the happiest people in Panem, I found it weird how they felt the need to change everything about themselves.
The train was slowing down to a halt so we could see everyone clearly and they could see us. They were jumping up and down, waving their hands and grinning, trying to get our attention. I wondered if any of them really saw the games for what they were? If they realised they were smiling about our suffering? If they were routing for the child who they thought would turn into the most brutal murderer? Had they become so desensitised that this is now classed as normal?
I hated the way they were all gawking at us through the window as if we were an exhibition at a zoo. I turned to Haymitch for comfort but he was no longer there. Instead, he was up at the window, waving and I could see in his reflection that he was wearing the same seductive half-smile that he used when talking to Alisia.
"Maysilee, do something." He hissed through a forced smile.
The suit I could accept, but this? Not so much. He was now grovelling to the people who he has been moaning about since he learnt how to speak. And now he was asking me to do the same and please the crowd. I just thought he would have more morals... More dignity than this. I just thought that I knew him better.
"Come on then, off we go!" Orna singsonged, ushering us to the exit once the train had come to a complete stop.
"What was that?" I asked Haymitch once we were away from the windows.
He rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Oh, come on Sweetheart."
That only made it worse. But before I had time to reply, we were off of the train and Haymitch was wearing his mask again. So was Brier. Orna too. If this was the way to get sponsors, then I didn't want any. I've survived perfectly well without the Capitol's help so far, and I will continue to do the same. Haymitch can do what he wants and he can treat me as stupid if he likes, if it makes the shame any less heavy on his shoulders. But I'm not going to support it.
A red carpet was laid out from the train to the road where a shiny black car was parked. On either side of the carpet, fans and reporters lined up, trying to get our attention.
"Remember," Brier hissed from behind us, "big smiles and play nice."
"Haymitch!" A small group of girls screamed, fanning themselves and giggling. Haymitch walked up to one of the girls; she was wearing a pink wig, looked a couple of years younger than myself and was truly beautiful. She looked up at him, smiling shyly, as he took her hand and bought it up to his lips. As soon as he turned his back, her friend jumped on her and dragged her into celebratory hugs.
"Oh my God, Effie! I'm so jealous!" One of them squealed.
In the districts, tributes are treated with pity. Here they are treated like stars.
The stretch to the car seemed never ending. Even though, unlike Haymitch, I wasn't stopping for anyone, it seemed like I was on the carpet for longer than the mere three minutes that I actually was. As I got closer to the car I had to pass a pen of reporters with hundreds of flashing cameras and notepads which half-truths were being scribbled down on. They called my name and beaconed me over. And I was doing a good job at ignoring them until I heard one ask, "Maysilee, why do you look so grumpy on such an exciting day?"
At this I spun on my heels and stared at the accusing reporter. I held a moment of stillness that could only be read as intimidating.
"You're asking me why I look so grumpy?" I asked, my tone deadly. "Are you seriously..." I begun but was interrupted by Brier wrapping his arm around me in a friendly embrace.
"No, no she's not grumpy, just tired. Long journey and little sleep isn't my favourite combination either." He laughed. "So I'm very thankful to be back in the Capitol. God, I've missed this beautiful place! Beautiful place, full of beautiful people."
"Will you be meeting up with your girlfriend, pop singer, Jewels Songbird?" One of the reporters asked Brier.
He laughed again and shook his head. "No, I'm sorry to say that there is nothing going on with me and Jewels. You know me, I'm not exactly the settling down type."
The faithful type more like, I thought.
"No," he continued. "Well, the way I see it is, why stick to one dish when you can try the whole menu?"
Charming.
"Brier, what do you think of your tributes this year? Do you see potential?" Another reporter asked.
"I do. In fact I think that this years winner could be on this very carpet right now." Brier said. I wondered if any of what he was saying was true and if so I wondered which one of us he meant. "The fact they got thrown in with their best friend- and I don't exaggerate when I say that. I've never met two people so close, they even finish each other's sentences. But it's a terrible shame. However, I think that this is the perfect drive to win the games. And we've never had these dynamics between tributes in the games before... Ever. So it's going to be very interesting to watch, I think. And what can I say about Maysilee and Haymitch. Well, they're both lovely and caring people but they both definitely have their fiery side. And look how pretty they both are." Brier grabbed my cheek between his finger and thumb, the way that grandparents do, and instantly I heard the clicks of cameras. I have to force myself to smile and not bat his hand away, knowing that it would be better to keep him on our side and that rejecting his "help" now would mean the end of our fragile understanding.
After making an excuse and another joke that sent the reporters into fits of giggles, Brier escorted me towards the car, his arm still tightly wrapped around my hip. As we got to the car the chauffer opened the door for us and we climbed in, shortly followed by Orna. Haymitch was the last to arrive. We watched him take pictures and flirt with all ready captivated fans. He flaunted himself arrogantly down the carpet until Brier had to jokingly drag him into the car, giving the audience a show.
Soon I was on the road to the justice building with my impressionable escort Orna, my changeable mentor Brier and my lifelong friend Haymitch who I loved unconditionally but didn't know the first thing about.
