So I kicked Boggs in the face, what's wrong?
"Yes, Gale did do this, Alma..." -but in some twisted way he had a right to, is what I don't say.
He deserved that kick.
"You have my permission to rid him," she tells me. But I just shrug. Gale just doesn't get that I'm not loyal to Coin. He doesn't get that I'd betray her in a heartbeat but I have to keep this up.
On the off chance that he isn't already talking to Coin and planning my demise, he still deserved it. Fine, maybe not. I might be being unfair to him, but isn't that how Panem works?
I leave the room to mull this over. I sort of have to admire him for what he did, standing up to me. I'm not sure I have the courage to stand up to Coin like that... yet. But my nose still throbs. Damn, he kicks hard.
Now I feel guilty about this. It's now my fault that his nose is broken. Thankfully, I didn't kick that hard. He should be fine in a couple days. It's already been two, and I think he's out of the hospital wing already.
Well I'm grateful that it's basically almost healed right now. But this is now a difficult situation. Alma wants a good excuse to kill Gale, but I don't want him dead. It's a weird thing. The dinner bell rings, interrupting my thoughts, and I leave for dinner.
I know Boggs probably wants me dead right now, but Coin likes me, I'm pretty sure of that. At least more than some others. I make my way to the dining hall, waving to Katniss as I pass her.
As I near the hall, someone bumps into me. Gale.
I'm close to the room when a large figure I strangely recognize crashes into me. Boggs. I take a step back but feel like that's wrong, so I resume my original position. I don't think I'm scared to fight back, but some guilt seeps into me as I take in the bandage on his nose.
I see his eyes stray to the gauze where he kicked me, and can tell he's guilty. "Hey, I respect you for that."
I'm shocked. He respects me for fighting dirty?
"For playing dirty, that's right. Sometimes, you have to do what you have to do."
"Is this some sort of mind trick?" I lean in closer and whisper, "Is this your form of payback?"
As I hear what he whispers to me, I feel myself smile, and I'm now laughing, despite the pain in my nose at his suspicion and how utterly paranoid he is.
I'm extremely surprised now, but I can't keep from laughing either. It's silly, how tightly I'm wounded. I just need to let this out.
Some people are looking at us funny, but I don't really care. Until Alma comes around. "What are you two doing? Boggs, we need to talk..." she trails off.
