10. Surprise

"What are you going to show them?" I ask once Nudge has gotten up to show off to the Gamemakers. She had tried to make conversation with Iggy, and despite it sounding well, I didn't think it was going quite the way she wanted to, for when the girl left she had this sad sort of look on her face.

My District partner shrugs and slumps in his seat. "I've, uh, got a few tricks up my sleeve." He turns to face me, the seed of a grin beginning to grow on his lips. "What about you? What are you gonna show them?"

"Definitely not what I did last year." I huff, and fall back so that I am laying face-up on the bench. I stretch my hands out behind me.

"Oh?" I could feel Iggy break out smiling by the way the atmosphere changes. "And what, might I ask, did you do?"

I fake clearing my throat and say in my best Effie Trinket impression, "You shot an arrow at the Gamemakers' head?!"

We collapse into laughter. The halls echo with Iggy's shrills, as mine die off at the start of an ache in my stomach; I don't remember the last time I have laughed that long, though it couldn't have been more than a few precious seconds. It must have been some time ago, for my body is unaccustomed to this action and tires of it easily. The laughter slowly dies down when I realize that we are not alone.

The one sent to fetch Iggy is frowning at us, as if we are two children laughing in the face of death. But of course, we are. He clears his throat. "The Gamemakers are ready for you, James Griffiths."

Iggy stands, but hesitates. I lean over to grab his hand and squeeze it softly. "You'll be fine."

He half-turns towards my voice. "I sure hope so," he says grimly, and walks off towards the man. The door swings shut and I am alone. I strain to hear something from the other side from my bench, wanting to know if Iggy was doing alright. I start to get up to press my ear to the wall to the gymnasium when I stop. Iggy is blind. Anything he does in there would be considered a miracle.

Satisfied with this, I sit back and wait for the man to collect me.

When he does, it is 20 minutes since Iggy disappeared into the room. The man doesn't say anything; we nod at each other and I rise to meet the Gamemakers. I stop just before the door to flush out the nervousness but to my surprise, there is none. Where there should've been fear or even guilt from my last meeting with the Gamemakers, I have already replaced with determination and bravery. Just like Iggy. I hold my head high and walk through the threshold.

The Gamemakers are paying close attention to me as I strut to the center of the room and the door closes behind me. Maybe they don't want a repeat of last year. Or maybe it's something else. I open my mouth to speak.

Before I can say anything, however, one of the elder, obviously drunken, Gamemakers asks, "Going to show us your wings before you begin, Miss Everdeen?" The others laugh, as if this is some sort of inside joke.

I feel the prickles of confusion run across my skin. Wings? "No sir," I say loudly. The laughter quiets as Plutarch looks at them sternly. He turns back to me and the pocket watch in his hand glistens in the light. He gestures for me to begin. I steel myself with a deep breath, and do what I do best.

I refuse.

…

"Can you pass the potatoes?" Effie asks me. As I hand the bowl over, she asks another question. "So what did you do for the Gamemakers?"

I hand her the bowl and respond with a thin smile. "Nothing."

Once again, all the clatter at the table, save Iggy's incessant eating, ceases, and all usable eyes found me. "Nothing, sweetheart?" Haymitch asks cautiously.

I flash him the same smile. "That's right. Nothing."

After a moment or two, the table begins to awkward bustle around again. I cut off a chunk of the unknown meat in front of me and eat it, not bothered one bit by my performance, or lack thereof.

It takes Effie a bit longer to process this information. After we have all continued on with our meal, she brightens and strains the chirp, "Well. It'll be a low blow from last year's score of eleven, now won't it, Katniss?"

I fake another smile and say, "I guess we will just have to see, won't we, Effie?"

After dinner the scores are announced. The girl from District 1 gets the low score of 3; the woman from District 2 acquires a 2; Angel gets a 4; Gazzy receives a 9; Fang and Johanna an 8 apiece; Nudge a 10. Iggy is greeted by the flashing score of 11. Everyone claps for him, but the noise seems hollow. I pat him on the shoulder, as if to say good job. Finally, my score appears.

"And Katniss Everdeen, the girl on fire, with the score of 12."

I sit there in astonishment while everyone else in the room gapes at me in shock—well, almost everyone. I feel Iggy grow rigid next to me.

The anthem starts to play and the screen goes black.

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, guys! But don't worry—the Interviews are next, and one of our characters accidentally reveals something she's not supposed to (SPOILER ALERT)