Inferno

Disclaimer: I am not Suzanne Collins and I don't own the Hunger Games.

Chapter 11

"Katniss? Kat-niss!"

I frown and screw my eyes shut, trying to block out the insistent knocking. After a few minutes of politely rapping on the door, Effie's manners fail her and she lets herself into my room. I can hear her heels clicking rhythmically as she approaches my bed. How does she stand to wear heels in the morning?

I feel the covers being lifted off of me, and Effie suddenly squeaks in surprise. I open my eyes slowly, trying to see what made her emit the unladylike sound. I shift my elbow, trying to prop myself up, but I hit something soft. Someone groans beside me and I sit up with a jolt, elbowing the person in the face a second time.

Gale rubs his cheek and lazily sits up, leaning back against the headboard.

"What is he doing here, young lady?" Effie turns to me, her voice scolding. "I thought I told you sleep in your own rooms."

"What is she doing here?" Gale says, still half-asleep and blinking several times to clear his eyes.

My cheeks start to warm. "I-"

"Wait 'till Haymitch hears about this," Effie mumbles, making a move to leave.

Oh, god. Not Haymitch. I don't think I can stand any more teasing from him. By the time I make up my mind to say something, though, Effie has already disappeared through the door.

"Shall we go to breakfast, Catnip?" Gale asks me, barely aware of what just happened.

"So, since Effie found you two together in bed this morning, I think it's safe to assume that you two wouldn't mind being trained together. No problem, really. We'll be able to get more things done this way," Haymitch says once we finish breakfast.

"Don't talk-" I start to snap at Haymitch, annoyed with the way he phrased his comment about me and Gale, but Haymitch interrupts me.

"Okay, no more bad jokes, alright? You have a drunk man's word," he says. I roll my eyes.

"You'll both spend four hours with Effie first, and then four hours with me for your interview angle," Haymitch tells me and Gale, and we both nod, exchanging a fleeting glance. Four hours with Effie does not sound like a good time.

"Okay," I reply hesitantly, "When do we start?"

"Right now."

Haymitch pauses, then laughs shortly. "I almost forgot, good luck. Knowing Effie, you'll definitely need it."

Ten minutes later, I'm wishing with all of my heart that I could go back into my room and just sleep for the rest of the day.

Gale watches, looking amused, as Effie makes me do all sorts of ridiculous walking exercises, wearing a floor length gown and high heeled shoes.

"Come on, Katniss, this shouldn't even be that difficult. I walk around in seven and a half inch heels all the time, and yours are only four and a half inches," Effie says, trying to be encouraging.

I attempt to take a few more steps in the ridiculous outfit, almost tripping over myself in the process. I can hear Gale chuckle from across the room, where he is comfortably seated on a sofa. I shoot a glare at him, and take another cautious step. I wobble, almost losing my balance, but I catch myself and bend a little. I gather a bit of the dress's hem in my hands and hike it up to the middle of my shins, but Effie suddenly appears in front of me, and slaps my hands away. I almost fall backwards but Effie steadies me by the shoulders. Gale's laughs echo through the room, but one glare from Effie shuts him up.

After half an hour of awkwardly hobbling around and getting reprimanded by Effie, I have almost mastered the art of walking around in heels. Towards the end, the only thing that keeps me going is the determination to be able to do anything Effie Trinket can do.

"Stop laughing, young man," Effie says, growing increasingly annoyed with Gale's constant chuckling. "I would put you in heels too, but I don't think we have any in your size." The laughter soon turns into stifled smiles.

When I'm finally able to walk the length of the room with minimal tripping, Effie claps and smiles, although she is obviously exasperated. "Finally! Thank goodness Cinna won't have you in heels this high," she says. I breath a sigh of relief and plop down onto the carpet, ripping the useless shoes off of my feet.

Once I'm back into normal clothes, Effie has me and Gale sit down on a couch. She circles us, and it seems as if she's trying to memorize every curve of our bodies.

Suddenly, she reaches over and slaps me and Gale on the back. We sit up with a start, and I look at Effie questioningly. "Horrible posture," she says, frowning, "Keep your backs straight."

Another blow to Gale's back.

"I said straight! Good, now stay that way," Effie says, keeping a careful eye on us.

After a few minutes, I feel my back curve just a bit, so little that it shouldn't even be noticeable. Effie somehow catches the minute movement and sharply delivers another slap.

All of the adjustments done, Gale and I sit frozen in our positions for what seems like an eternity. I want nothing more than to be able to slouch and get out of this uncomfortable position, but Effie's watching both of us like a hawk. When the faint ache in my spine becomes almost unbearable, Effie casually glances down at her watch and says that it's been enough time. Gale and I both simultaneously hunch over, earning us another slap from Effie's manicured hand.

"Fine," Effie sighs, obviously feeling a twinge of sympathy for me and Gale, "You can lean back on the couch, but do not lean forward and slouch."

Our next lesson is in smiling, which mainly consists of a long lecture from Effie on why we need to smile more and how it will benefit us.

"Gale right here could be the new, darker Finnick Odair, but you frown too much. Make your mood lighter, Gale, smile a bit," Effie says, and then waits patiently for Gale to smile. The smile never comes.

"Come on, it's only me, you, and Katniss here. Just one smile, and we can move on," Effie coaxes. Gale's face seems to be frozen in a permanent scowl.

"It can't possibly be that hard," Effie says, exasperated, and then turns to me. "Okay, you try, Katniss. One smile."

I make an effort, I really do, but I obviously cannot forcibly smile. I try to turn the corners of my mouth up, but I can feel them twitching.

"Relax your face, Katniss. You can't smile with only your mouth," Effie says, frowning. She suddenly starts beaming at me. "See, like this," she says through her upturned mouth.

I take Effie's advice, and apparently the end product is satisfactory, because Effie turns back to Gale.

"Now you try," she tells him. Gale stays stubbornly still, and Effie looks like she wants to rip her hair out. "Fine, if you won't smile for me, then turn towards Katniss and smile at her. Pretend I'm not even here," she says, throwing her hands up dramatically. Gale shifts a bit so that he's facing me.

"Go ahead, now," Effie says.

The first try, Gale twitches his lips abnormally, earning a laugh from me. When I laugh, though, Gale's face breaks into a genuine smile, and my heart almost stops upon seeing how different he looks. I never really noticed before, but when he actually smiles, his whole face lights up considerably, briefly taking away the hardness in his eyes and in his set of jaw.

"You should smile more often, Gale," I say, the corners of my own mouth turning up. Gale shrugs, and Effie starts to clap from her place.

"Now, all we have to do is see those smiles one more time."

After lunch, Gale and I are led to the sitting room by a surprisingly clean and sober Haymitch. He gestures for us to sit on the couch, and we do so obediently. I wonder what sort of torture awaits us for the next few hours.

Haymitch observes both me and Gale silently, and he stares at us for so long that I finally ask, "What?"

"I don't know what I'm going to do with both of you," Haymitch says, leaning back into his seat.

"Actually," he starts again, "I know what we're going to do with the boy, but not with you, sweetheart. The boy already has quite a reputation. Volunteered in a District 12 reaping for no apparent reason, got a perfect score of twelve, which I must add is the first twelve for as long as I can remember. And since you don't have a tendency to smile and be cheerful, I think we'll just continue with the mysterious thing you've got going on. Give vague answers, and you won't need to smile too much, just once or twice."

Gale nods, seeming satisfied with his angle.

"Let's sum up what sweetheart's got going for her," Haymitch says, moving on. "Volunteered for her sister, got the second highest training score, and has Cinna's showcasing during the opening ceremonies." Haymitch pauses. "People will want to know more about you. Where you came from. And if the boy successfully carries out his dark, brooding, and mysterious angle, Caesar is going to ask you questions about the boy. Why did he volunteer, for one."

Gale and I are both silent, letting Haymitch's words sink in.

"Which brings us to another point," he continues. "There have been rumors going around the Careers that you two are sweethearts, and the rumors have leaked into the Capitol. Now half of them think you might be related, because you look alike, and half of them believe the theory that you're sweethearts. Which is it?" Haymitch asks.

"Neither," I respond automatically, amazed by how the Capitol people will believe anything.

"Neither?" he repeats, "So you're not actually related, are you?"

"No," Gale says, a hint of annoyance creeping into his voice.

"We're just best friends," I say, "That's the truth. We're not messed up sweethearts or relatives or whatever the hell the Capitol thinks."

"I already told you, the truth doesn't matter in the Capitol," Haymitch says, his voice rising, "All that matters is what the people think is the truth, so you have to choose one of the two angles. You're either relatives, sweethearts, or you drop it altogether." I start to butt in, but Haymitch cuts me off. "And if you drop it altogether, you can't be allies in the arena. That'll only confuse people."

"That's not fair," I say, frowning at Haymitch. I want to argue against everything he's just said, but it's useless. What he's said is true.

"It's not," he agrees, "But you have to go with it. So which will it be?" Haymitch eyes both me and Gale.

"Relatives," I respond, only to have Gale give me a funny look. "Isn't it obvious?" I ask. I'm met by silence.

Haymitch starts to laugh. He laughs and laughs until his alcohol weakened body can't take it anymore, and I just stare at him in complete bewilderment, wondering if he's finally lost his mind. "You two have got yourselves in a nasty little situation here," he says, once his laughter subsides.

"We'll let the whole thing play out by itself, is that fair enough?" Haymitch says, looking specifically at Gale. "Let's focus on sweetheart's personal angle right now."

So for the rest of the session, Haymitch asks me a heap of questions about my life and my family. He gets short, vague responses.

"You have to open up more," Haymitch says, growing irritated, "So far, I've learned nothing about you."

"I don't want you to learn about me," I snap, sick of this whole thing.

"That attitude's not going to get you anywhere," Haymitch says, narrowing his eyes. "You have to be someone."

Gale watches wearily as we launch into another tirade of angry questions and answers, and in the end I'm literally spitting out answers at Haymitch.

"You know what? Just be your sullen, hostile self. Maybe the Capitol will find that charming," Haymitch says, giving up.

"Any real advice?" I practically snarl.

"Fine, then. Gush. Gush about the Capitol and how much you love it and answer a few personal questions along the way. Are we satisfied?" Haymitch asks, not waiting for the answer.

"I don't like the Capitol!" I scream, but it's too late. Haymitch is already gone, probably off to get drunk somewhere.

I storm out of the room with Gale right behind me.

"Catnip," he starts, but I cut him off.

"Just don't," I say. "I just want to get something to eat, and then maybe I can sleep. This...this whole thing's hopeless."

Gale's about to say something in response, but Effie appears at the end of the hallway, and she rushes towards us. "Come on, come on!" she exclaims, shoving us towards our rooms. "You have to go to bed right now and get some beauty sleep." Effie pauses, considering something. "Well, maybe Gale doesn't need his beauty sleep, but still. Tomorrow's a big, big day!"

Once I'm in my room, I order an insensible amount of food and eat and eat until I'm sick and have to go rushing to the bathroom. I'm angry at Haymitch; I'm angry at the world right now for treating us this way. Me, Gale, and all of the other kids in the Seam who have to provide for their families have never lived. We've only survived. We survive on the scraps that the Capitol throws away for us, while they feast from their fancy linens and eat only the finest food. It's so unfair, so outrageous.

My rooms feels the full force of my fury. I pick up all of the fancy vases and decorations and empty plates lying around and chuck them at the walls and the tables. I scream and scream myself hoarse, and just as I'm about to throw an enameled bowl at my dresser, someone grabs my arms from behind and restrains me.

"Calm down, Catnip," Gale says, sounding a bit shaken.

I whirl around, roughly tugging my arms out of his grasp. I just stare at him for a while, his face looking blurry through my rage-clouded eyes. When my breathing finally steadies and I can see clearly again, I collapse into his arms.

(A/N)

Thank you everyone for all of your wonderful comments! Since so many people seem to like the movie, I guess I'll have to watch it as soon as I can ;)

The interviews are next! *drumroll* I already have the basic interviews set up, but if you have any ideas at all, please let me know!