Effie burst into the room, clad in one of the most ridiculous outfits Katniss had ever seen. She was forced to bite back her laughter, knowing how easily Effie's pride was wounded when it came to her look. She began thrusting notecards at Katniss, briefly explaining the purpose of each one, and adding in her thoughts on how Katniss should deliver each of the lines. Effie had always been on top of her preparation for each and every event during the games, and Katniss was grateful for her guidance, but it seemed as though no matter how many times Effie had tried to drill the pre-written lines into her head, they vanished without a trace when the cameras were rolling.
"Posture, Katniss! You simply look barbaric trudging around with your knuckles dragging the ground. How many times do we have to go over this? Shoulders back, chin up, and smile, darling," Effie nagged. Barbaric? Last I heard, we barbarians weren't the ones tossing children into an arena to fight to the death. Katniss cracked a small smile in attempts to calm Effie, who began pacing nervously.
"The cameras will be here any second, and you still haven't the first clue of what you are going to say, do you? Oh well. If in all the time I have known you, you have definitely proven one thing. Spontaneity is your specialty." Katniss buried her face in her hands. She tried to focus on anything other than the arrival of the cameras. Prim's cat, Buttercup darted into the room, and leapt onto the vanity Katniss had been occupying. The stupid cat had always hated Katniss, and the feelings were quite mutual, but if Prim was happy, Katniss was happy. Buttercup's eyes followed the brightly dyed feathers adorned on Effie's dress. Before Katniss could bat him away, the cat had made his move, and was now very firmly latched onto Effie's skirts.
"What in the world!?" Effie bellowed, trying to kick Buttercup away from her. He continued to claw and chomp down on the many feathers around him, relishing in his new play toy. Katniss felt like rolling on the floor, dying from laughter, but came to her friend's aid instead. With great effort, she was able to detach Buttercup's claws from Effie's dress with minimal damage to the skirt.
"This is exactly what I need right now! A fashion emergency moments away from your big moment. Oh, this whole day has just been destined to be awful, right from the start!" Effie huffed, scowling at her new, furry nemesis. Buttercup simply licked his lips.
"Well, I still think he likes you more than me," Katniss stated with a laugh. Effie spun to face her.
"Yes, Katniss. Because that is what I am searching for in life. A cat's affection. Now, I would appreciate it if you would do me a favor, and keep that mongrel away from me!"
