Katniss and the Rebels
Chapter 37: KATR
AN: Short but an important chapter. Sorry it took long to upload, I was on holiday :)
Katniss POV
Boggs's narrowed eyes skim through the contract, his fingers tracing under the words and nodding every now and then.
I fidget with the hem of my mother's suit jacket; this is only a meeting but the Rebels and I decided to try and look our best.
Though wearing our parent's suits isn't really that impressive. Gale is the only one who fits well into his. Thom is half a foot smaller than his father so he is practically swimming in his suit while Darius is the opposite and his trousers come up to a few inches above his ankle.
I don't fit too badly into mine but the fabric of the cotton is making my skin red and uncomfortable.
We mightn't look the best but of course James Heavensbee is looking exceedingly dapper on the other side of the table.
His custom-made black suit is crisp and proper. His navy tie is spotless and is tied correctly; unlike Darius's was an hour ago until Thom fixed it for him.
"I can tie my own tie." Darius had mumbled bashfully
"Yeah you can, badly." Thom had countered causing Darius to stick his tongue out at him.
"Well..." Boggs puts the paperwork on the conference table "It's definitely legitimate."
Boggs is a family friend of the Undersee family and he agreed to help us out at a few meetings with James and his company.
"He's highly recommended" Madge informed us in a study class at the beginning of March "Good at his job, we've known him for years. He's very kind."
"I'm not sure if we'd be able to afford a lawyer." I admitted
Madge just waved a hand in dismissal "Don't worry about it; he's repaying a favour for me."
Gale raised an eyebrow but Madge only winked at him in response.
In the present, Boggs is handing copies of the contract to Thom, Darius, Gale and me. I'm not someone who understands a lot of technical law language but as far as I can tell this seems pretty legit.
An album contract, if it sells a certain number of copies then we can make another with their company. In signing this contract we cannot switch record labels for a second album and we have to go along with the promotion guidelines to a certain degree unless we're uncomfortable. In signing this contract the employees of the company must treat us with respect, not discriminate and not put out any of our music without discussing it with us first.
There are other deals and points but they seem to be pretty much common sense.
I look at the boys and see the knowing expression on all of their faces.
"Well I agree to it anyway." Darius says, placing his copy on the table
Thom nods, "Me too" he places his alongside Darius's
Gale looks at me and at the same time we put our contracts on the table.
"Okay we'll sign." I say
James's face brightens with a wide smile and his lawyer is just about to say something when Gale speaks.
"Actually there's something we'd like to add to it."
I whip around to gape at Gale; wondering what on Earth he is playing at.
He isn't looking at me though; his eyes are on Thom and Darius who are nodding at him in agreement over something I clearly don't understand.
"Gale what is going on?" I hiss, forgetting briefly about being professional and glaring at him.
"What would you like to add Mr. Hawthorne?" James's lawyer Mrs Coin asks in a skeptical tone.
Gale finally catches my eye before looking at Mrs. Coin again,
"We want to change the band name."
My eyes widen in alarm.
Why is this the first time I'm hearing about this?
I lean forward to look past Gale at Darius and Thom but they are obviously informed about this sudden change. Thom is dutifully avoiding my eyes and Darius has a hand on his face to cover his smirk.
Oh Lord, what have they done?
Mrs. Coin narrows her eyes into slits, "I don't think that's possible at this late notice-"
"Ah let them," James says, oblivious to my turmoil as he shrugs "Once it's nothing crude or offensive I doubt we will care. Or copyright! Make sure it's original."
Gale grins, "Don't worry its original alright."
Mrs. Coin's long fingers grasp at a ball point pen as she leans over to edit the contract,
"Right what is the new name then?"
'Yes Gale', I think to myself, 'what is this new name?'
Gale turns in his chair so he's facing me, smile never wavering from his face,
"We're changing it to 'Katniss and the Rebels'"
My mouth drops open and I can hear my own heart beat twice as fast in my chest.
"What?" My word barely comes out as a whisper "But-"
"Katniss" Thom catches my gaze and smiles genuinely, "We've already talked it over. There's nothing you can do about it."
Darius nods aggressively, "I agree, it's done Katstar so you may as well get used to it."
My mind can barely wrap around everything that's happening when I hear a feminine sigh from Mrs. Coin across the table.
The four of us turn back to face James and his accomplice.
James looks at each of us before settling his gaze on me and smiling genuinely,
"We can work with that."
...
A week later we walk out of another conference room with bright smiles on our faces.
Boggs grins at us, displaying his perfect straight teeth,
"Congratulations, you four." He shakes each of our hands, "You guys are officially 'Katniss and the Rebels'; how does it feel?"
We look at one another and simultaneously laugh,
"Surreal" I answer
"Amazing" Darius and Thom chime
"Unbelievably brilliant!" Gale exclaims.
Boggs chuckles, "Well I'm happy for you. We'll meet up again soon but right now just enjoy yourselves. Get through school, don't do anything too wild and just wait for summer to start. Because that's when the real work begins."
"Thanks so much Boggs" I smile
He returns a smile, "It was a pleasure Katniss. Now I best be off! I've another client to meet with but I will talk to you soon!"
We all say our goodbyes and the four of us walk out into the soft April air.
We stand there for a minute, leaning against the wall as we bask in the warm sun.
"This is real right?" Darius asks "I mean is this really happening? After all these years of dreaming and hoping, this is actually going to happen?"
Thom leans his head on his shoulder as he watches the birds dancing along the rooftops across the road, "This is real." he promises
Gale slings an arm around my shoulder and kisses the top of my head,
I look at them and grin, "Katniss and the Rebels having a proper plan for their future; who would have thought it?"
Gale snorts, "Certainly not us."
The four of us burst into laughter, not because he is wrong but because he is absolutely 100% right.
Sure this was what we always wanted but we never actually believed it could happen.
I understand how Darius feels. All of this seems like an elaborate joke or a dream.
But it isn't because Thom is right.
This is real, this is happening, we're growing up. In two months high school will end and we will leave it with an actual, thought out plan for our futures.
Not one that involves minimum wage jobs for the rest of our lives though we'll probably have our fair share of those too.
But we're set out a plan so that we can actually make something of ourselves.
We can hopefully earn money and help our families by doing what we love and if that isn't everything we've ever dreamed of then I don't know what is.
As we stand there in the bright sunlight, I close my eyes and let myself finally relax.
After the weeks of debating over whether to sign or not, the months of confusion and the years of dreaming here the four of us stand, Katniss and the Rebels.
And for the first time in my life...everything just feels...perfectly right.
AN: So this chapter ties up the whole James issue. Lots of fluff in the next chapter so you have that to look forward to.
KATR stands for Katniss and the Rebels by the way encase you didn't get that ;)
Also there are only 3 chapters left, anything you hope to see in this story before it ends?
Thanks for reading!
- xTeam Mockingjayx