Disclaimer: All characters are the property of Suzanne Collins. It is not intended to infringe on any copyrights held by Suzanne Collins or Scholastic Press. Any original story directions and plot lines herein are the property of the author. This work is written solely for the enjoyment of exploring that world in new ways.
Author's blog: gkkstitch-gkkmouse(dot)blogspot(dot)com
Drabble Ticker: The only person Katniss ever spoke with on the telephone in her new house, was Cinna
#7. Phone calls to Katniss
I close the door behind Effie as she mutters her way out of my office in the Remake Center. I know that she's benignly clueless, but that's exactly why she gets on the nerves of most people, especially our victors.
Specifically, Katniss.
Effie has been explaining the importance of the victors developing their innate gifts after the games have ended, but she should have known that Katniss would already know this because everyone knows this. She should know that if Katniss were ignoring this fact, it wasn't out of ignorance. It was her silent way of saying she either could not do it... or simply did not want to.
I promise Effie that I will call Katniss to help her understand. The phone rings seven times, and I almost hang up, thinking she must be out, when I hear a tentative hello from the other end. The voice is too young to be Katniss. Her sister?
"May I speak to Katniss, please."
"Umm, she's... she's not..."
I can hear the anxiety in her voice. "This is Cinna, her stylist from the games."
"Cinna?"
"Is this Prim?"
"Uh-huh."
"Is everything all right? You sound upset."
I hear a nervous laugh through the phone. "The phone scared me. I didn't know we had one."
"Oh!" Now I'm laughing, too. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you."
"That's okay. You're our first phone call! Katniss isn't... oh, wait. I hear her coming in now." And then Prim yells for Katniss through the telephone. I move the phone to my one remaining good ear, making a mental note to see the doctor who fixed Katniss' damaged ear drum after the games.
Luckily, I'm able to hear the highly entertaining exchange going on between them.
"Cinna wants to talk to you," says Prim's now muffled voice.
"Cinna? He's here?" I recognize Katniss' voice immediately.
"No. He's on the phone."
"We have a phone?"
I'm laughing to myself as I hear bouncing and scraping and several loud thumps, and I begin to wonder where the phone might be located in the house to warrant such effort to see it, let alone reach it.
"Cinna, why are you calling me on a phone?"
I almost laugh outright at her completely unique telephone etiquette when I realize she's talking to me as if I were truly standing in the same room with her, so I just go along with it. "Is there another way of calling someone that I'm not aware of?"
There's silence on the line and for a moment I wonder if the call has been disconnected, then I hear a very confused, "What?"
I stop teasing her and get to the point. "Effie says you're having some trouble with your talent?
Katniss graces me with a very distinctive snort. "That's an understatement."
"Why don't you tell me what you've tried."
"Cooking. Flower-arranging. Playing the-"
"Wait, let me guess. The piano?"
"No, the flute."
"Hmm... You don't seem like the flute type to me."
"Right! Wait, do I seem like the piano type?"
"Well, no, it was the first thing that came to mind. Did you offer an alternative?"
"Yeah, the drums."
"Beating something with sticks? Yes, I can see that. Also let's you take out aggression."
"Yeah, like a two-fer."
I laugh.
"Let's face it," she says, "the only thing I'm good at is being a pain in the ass."
"...Katniss..." I hear her mother scold, followed by Katniss' muttered apology.
"You have a lot more talent than that, you know," I assure her.
"Yeah, but nothing I can brag about or show off that won't get me into trouble."
I had no problem imaging what those skills might be, after knowing what she could do with a bow and arrow. I hated hearing her sound so sad though.
"Why not try to create some thing. How about pottery?"
"I don't create things, Cinna. I destroy them."
I hate hearing the sadness in her voice. "You should haven seen me destroy a fantastic bolt of silk today."
My efforts are rewarded with a smike that I can hear in her voice. "Yeah? Did you go all 'Career' on it with your wild pins and measuring tape skills?"
"It was quite brutal. Not a single thread escaped. Women were fainting in the streets over it."
I'm glad to hear her quiet laugh and I can practically picture her shaking her head at me.
"How are Haymitch and Peeta?" I ask.
"Haymitch is drunk, as usual. I'm beginning to think it's the only way he can sleep. I envy him for that."
"You're not sleeping?" I ask, and immediately regret it. After what she's been through, of course she's not sleeping. "What about Peeta? Does it help that-"
"Peeta finds his own way of dealing with things," she says, cutting me off with what I've come to understand is her nervous voice. It's very similar to her annoyed voice. It makes me feel bad for the part I have played in creating the illusion of their romance, until I remember what Myka has discovered about the Capitol's misuse of the victors.
Despite the perception of Peeta's and Katniss' love affair—or maybe because of it—Katniss' company is in high demand by those undesirable people of position and power. When I think of how Finnick Odair has been used, I'm grateful that Reeba's still hospitalized and Myka can work against this practice from within the president's office for now. Peeta was right about one very important thing. Katniss has no idea what effect she has on others.
"Effie tells me he's painting," I say, leading us away from dangerous ground.
"Yeah, even his cookies are painted."
"Have you tried painting?"
"That would fall under the category of creating things."
"Ah, so it would. Then how about you help me destroy more expesive bolts of rare cloth? That could be fun and you'd get to rip thing up with scissors," I offer.
"Sure, why not."
"I'm serious."
"What, really?"
"Of course."
"Sounds promising. If there's a lot of ripping, that is."
I know I'm succeeding when she starts teasing me about it. "Yes, then we could work together. You'll be my awkward but eager protégé and I will be your benevolent and gifted teacher."
"Okay." I can hear the humor in her voice and can tell she thinks I'm putting one over on her. "What's the catch?"
"No catch. I'll help you with your talent to give poor Effie a rest."
"I'm not saying no, but, Cinna, this still sounds like I'd be creating things again."
"No, I'll draw all the designs, and it will be your job to help me destroy the fabrics... In a judicious manner, of course."
"Isn't this cheating? Are you sure we won't get in trouble?" she asks.
"I have no idea," I say honestly. "So let's give it a try and then we'll know."
Katniss laughs loudly this time. "I had no idea you were such a rebel."
Oh, if she only knew.
