Chapter 31: 74th Hunger Games: Victor Interview

[Summer of 74th Hunger Games]

Four days after the end of the Games, the victor interview was to be aired, and we all made ourselves comfortable in the bakery's big living room, looking forward to seeing our hopefully well restored and healed tributes.

Wheat was curious: "Do you think that they were able to patch Peeta together properly?"

"The Capitol doctors can do amazing things" Prim stated, "or so I have heard from my Mom a few times. Let's see and find out."

The show started right on time, and Caesar Flickerman welcomed the audience. First the prep team was introduced to everybody, and Caesar explained that Flavius, Venia and Octavia had been preparing Katniss for all of the shows. We were not fully sure what 'preparing' actually implied, but Caesar briefly touched on topics like manicure, pedicure, makeup, and such. Portia was named as one of Peeta՚s prep team, and Cinna՚s name was mentioned as being in charge of all. Finally, Effie Trinket was shown together with Haymitch, and their roles as escort and mentor, respectively, were highlighted.

The audience roared, and we could now see an elevator raising Katniss to the stage, which Peeta had stepped on only moments earlier. This must have been the moment the Capitol citizens all waited for, seeing the loving couple from District Twelve.

And indeed, Prim՚s sister did not disappoint and launched herself right into Peeta՚s arms, making my brother smile even more than before. He needed to step back a little to keep his balance, and this was when we noticed that he was holding and using a glittering cane in one hand.

"What is that cane for?" Wheat asked, showing some concern.

"Not sure" my father replied. "Maybe the time was not enough to get his leg fully working again; we will sure find out later."

When Katniss and Peeta kissed longingly, the audience almost went crazy, and for a few minutes nothing else but clapping, shouting, yelling, hooting and wolf whistling could be heard. Caesar did not even try to interrupt this scene.

While the kissing endured and the camera zoomed in very close, I noticed Prim looking up at me a few times; she seemed to have noticed something I may have missed, but she did not mention anything.

Maybe ten minutes later Caesar tapped Peeta on the shoulder, in an attempt to continue the show, but found himself pushed away, and the audience went even more crazy, if that was possible at all. Eventually Haymitch intervened and managed to push the two victors towards a small couch, which had been placed there as a replacement for the usual victor's chair. Katniss not only sat down next to Peeta, but kicked off her sandals, pulled her feet up, and snuggled so closely with him that she almost sitting on his lap. The audience seemed to approve, and a lot of shouting and hooting came up again.

After a few words of introduction from Caesar, the show kicked off with a review of the Games. For almost three hours, the Capitol audience and everybody in the districts was forced to endure the summary. Of course it was not possible to show all of the critical and exciting scenes from the Games in three hours, but the show obviously focused on the two lovebirds, and the majority of the summary concentrated on what they had been doing and saying. A smaller image in a corner of the screen was dedicated to show Katniss' and Peeta՚s live reaction to the review, and a few times this small image occupied the entire screen. While Peeta՚s facial expression was fixed to smiling, Katniss seemed to be troubled by some scenes she had to see again. She was almost in tears seeing snippets from her last few hours with Rue again, and she blushed a few times during some scenes later on with Peeta in and around their cave.

"How does Peeta manage to keep smiling all of the time?" Prim wondered.

"I get it" I told her. "He is still alive, and he has his love tightly in his arms; that must be more then good enough to overcome all worries and bad memories."

Prim smiled, understanding that quite well. She had been standing around for some time, getting a little bit antsy during some of the scenes, but now she climbed back on my lap, pulled my arms around her, turned her head around and told me: "Of course; that makes sense. I am doing the same now to forget my worries."

My father and brother laughed a little when they heard that, and I was totally happy about her decision, specifically as it worked in both directions for us – her being on my lap also made the show easier for me to endure.

When the review was almost over and had reached the scene with the poisonous berries at the end, there was total silence in the auditorium.

However, the show did not end with the victory announcement, but they broadcast a last scene with Katniss, already in the hovercraft, pounding on the glass door which separated her from the team taking care of Peeta. She had screamed his name a few times, and this ended the show; the lights came up again, and the anthem played.

President Snow slowly rose from his seat, and a little girl carried a victor's crown on a velvet cushion.

"How is this going to work with one crown and two victors?" Prim was curious. "Shouldn't they have two crowns rather than one?"

"No clue" I responded. "Let's find out."

There was some murmuring in the audience, obviously they also recognized the dilemma.

President Snow did the unexpected and tore the crown in two halves, putting each half on one of the heads. A camera zooming in on the President showed a very cold looking face, and it was very apparent that Snow was not happy at all. I had a feeling that our two victors were in trouble, although I was not sure for what reason.

Finally the show was over, and Caesar Flickerman reminded all of us to be there again tomorrow for the second part of the interview.

When Prim and I were in our bed again later in the evening and the light was out, my girlfriend had a question:

"Rye, when the camera was showing a closeup view of Katniss and Peeta kissing, something looked odd."

"What was odd about it? It seemed to be very enthusiastic kissing to me."

"It sure looked like that. No, what I am curious about is that they looked to have their tongues in each other's mouth while kissing."

Indeed that scene had showed some hints in that direction, as it had been a very closeup view. I recalled that my kisses with Prim so far had been much more moderate, and as far as I knew she had not been exposed to that kind of intimate kissing yet.

"I agree that it looked like that."

"You do? But this is so weird! Why would they be doing this?"

While I did not really have any personal experience with that kind of intimate kissing, I had a brother who did – Wheat – and thus I was not completely ignorant of the concept:

"Prim, actually, this is something lovers are usually doing. According to what I heard, it is supposed to be quite enjoyable."

"Are you serious? Having another person's tongue in your mouth? Yuck!"

I decided to not pursue the topic any further at this time; I would have plenty of opportunities to change her mind in the next few years, I expected; whenever she was ready.

The next day's show was obviously broadcast from a much smaller room, without a big local audience. Caesar Flickerman welcomed everybody watching and did a little bit of small talk with Peeta. I did not know that my youngest brother was so good in doing that, but apparently he and Caesar got along very well with each other.

A few minutes later Caesar started to ask specific questions, though. First he came back to the love confession from Peeta during the earlier interviews and from the cave:

"Well, Peeta, we learned from you that you have been in love with your girl for many years, since you were five years old, right?"

Peeta nodded with a big smile: "Indeed so; from the moment I laid my eyes on her."

Caesar turned to Katniss now: "Katniss, that must have been so exciting for you, and there was also a lot of excitement for the audience seeing you eventually falling in love with your boy. When did you notice that you were in love with him?"

"Oh, that's a hard one..." Prim՚s sister replied, apparently not fully sure how to address that question.

"Well, I know when it hit me." Caesar claimed. "The night when you shouted out his name from that tree!"

Katniss nodded: "Yes, I guess that was it. I mean, until that point, I just tried not to think about what my feelings might be, honestly. I had decided much earlier in my life that I'd never fall in love, and now things were so confusing; it only made things worse if I actually cared about him. But then, in the tree, everything changed."

"Why do you think that was?" Caesar asked.

"Maybe... because for the first time... there was a chance I could keep him."

At this time, Caesar pulled a big colorful handkerchief out from a pocket; he was apparently quite moved.

Katniss used the opportunity to address my brother: "So now that you've got me, what are you going to do with me?"

Peeta՚s reply was quick and simple: "Get you to a place where you can't get hurt."

The statement was followed by a hot and long kiss, and the few people in the room sighed and hooted.

Caesar asked about Peeta՚s leg injury, Katniss' fire burns and tracker jacker stings, and finally he asked:

"Peeta, how is your new leg working out?"

There was silence in the interview room for a few moments, and Wheat asked in the bakery:

"New leg? What is he talking about?"

Katniss was not shy and pulled up the bottom of Peeta՚s pants, which covered the leg which had been injured. The camera zoomed in right away, and we could all see the metal and plastic of an artificial leg replacing the skin of a natural one.

"Oh no! My poor boy!" Dad exclaimed.

"No one told you?" Caesar gently asked Katniss, who replied by shaking her head.

"I haven't had the chance," Peeta admitted with a shrug.

"It's my fault," Katniss claimed, "Because I used that tourniquet."

"Yes, it's your fault I'm alive," Peeta told her.

"He's right," Caesar nodded. "He'd have bled to death for sure without it."

Katniss buried her face in Peeta՚s shirt, and Caesar granted them a quick break.

Later on, there was another critical question:

"Katniss, I know you've had a shock, but I've got to ask this. The moment when you pulled out those berries. What was going on in your mind?"

The girl need some time to ponder her response before she told him:

"Well, you know, Peeta refused to kill me and I refused to kill him. At that time I also realized that I could not live without him any longer. Thus, the berries seemed to be the only choice – either die together or live together."

With the statement, the interview was over.

Two days later the big day was there; the train with the two District Twelve victors was scheduled to arrive. None of us had slept much, as we were so excited. Peacekeepers told us that we'd have to wait when the train arrived, as the victors would be guided to their new homes immediately after arrival. Only once they had settled in, we'd be allowed to visit, or so we were told.

Even if we had tried, we wouldn't have been able to get even close to the platform once the train arrived, almost on time. The area was completely fenced off by Peacekeepers, and we saw from a distance how Katniss and Peeta with their respective teams were getting into a big car, to drive them off towards the Victor's Village. As we had been warned, we did not even try to get there and rather returned to the bakery. Prim and myself made a detour into the Seam to pick up her mother; Katniss was expected to look for them first in their Seam house, and they wanted to be there for her when she came. I left a small food basket with them and made my own way to the bakery.

Dusk was already close, when an exhausted and not quite so happy looking Peeta arrived at the bakery and opened the front door. My father hugged him first, without many words, and Wheat and I followed. He said that he could not stay long as he was expected to stay the night at his new home, but he promised:

"As soon as I have settled and reviewed the supplies, I am going to invite you into my new home. I will let you know in a few days."

We did not bother him with too many questions and let him go.

On the next morning I visited my girlfriend, who was back at the Everdeen home by now, and I asked if Katniss had showed up the night before. She confirmed that, but could not add many details; same as Peeta, Prim՚s sister had also been supposed to spend the night in her new home, and she had not stayed long.

Okay, so we needed to wait a few days until the two victors had settled in; this we could do.

I was busy with work again; school holidays were a good time to get some repairs done in and around the school building, and once again I spent lots of time there together with Mark. Gale could not help us any longer, as he had graduated from school and was now working in the coal mines.

Peeta was good on his word and we received an invitation for Friday evening; he was very specific about not inviting Prim, and he said that he'd explain. That was odd, but all right, there must have been a reason for that.

My youngest brother was not quite as good in cooking as I was, and he asked if I could come early to help with the food preparations. Of course I did that, and the first few minutes I needed to take to admire the nice big kitchen he had, with high quality appliances. There also was a larder, almost as big as my room above the bakery, and it was full of fine goods. We selected lamb stew to get prepared, with sides of long grain rice and mixed vegetables, and I got to work.

When the rest of the family arrived on time, we sat around Peeta՚s big dining table and I served the food. Once we were done eating the main dish and had ice cream from my brother's big deep freezer for dessert, Peeta started to talk. First he outlined some of the events in the Games and before, but avoided talking much about Katniss.

Finally Dad needed to ask: "And how are things between you and Katniss? Is she going to move in with you?"

Peeta paled visibly, and after a few minutes he told us: "The thing is, we talked in the train going home. Katniss told me that the show of affection towards me, both in the cave and during the final interviews, was an act, or at least most of it."

"What – an act?" Wheat asked. We barely could believe that, although Prim had hinted in that direction.

"Haymitch had briefed her, and she got the clear impression that pretending to be madly in love would increase the sponsor gifts a lot, and so it happened. She played along to help herself and also partially for me, but only as a fellow tribute from the same district. When we were in the cave, I started to believe that she had real feelings for me, and in particular during the final interviews, when she cuddled so nicely with me. You saw that, right?"

"Yes, we saw that. And you are sure that's not real? It sure looked like it was!"

"Well, I did not know that she can act like that. At first I thought it's real, too, but her body language was not quite right about all of that, and I felt that. When we were on the train home, she finally admitted about the acting."

"You know," Peeta continued, "President Snow was not quite happy about the ending of the Games. He saw the stunt with the berries as a sign of revolution rather than a sign of love, although even Katniss probably did not intend it to be one. If Katniss fails to play along and does not show a lot of love and affection towards me, Snow might retaliate."

"Retaliate how?" my father asked.

"I do not know" my youngest brother replied, "but I am worried."

We were silent for a few minutes.

"Maybe she just needs time to understand her own feelings?" I asked.

"Maybe so" Peeta replied. "We will have to wait and see."

"Rye" he addressed me specifically, "please do not mention the issue with Snow to Prim, and best also do not mention her sister's acting. Katniss may confide in Prim anyway, but she needs to hear her sister's own version first."

I nodded, understanding the wisdom in that.

Once we had parted for the night, we came back on Saturday, and Peeta gave us the grand tour of the house.

On Sunday, I met Prim again, and she and her mother had been shown around Katniss' home a few days before. For some time, my girlfriend could not stop talking about all the wondrous things they had been shown in and around the house, and I was happy to listen. Obviously, Katniss had not talked much about her feelings towards my brother, although her mother might have been able to read between the lines.

I also told her about Peeta՚s house, and they were probably very similar inside. However, Peeta՚s house had something the other houses did not have: a greenhouse in the back yard. It covered an area of easily 100 square meters or maybe even more; some glass windows could be opened, and there was special light and special heating. Part of the area had multiple levels for smaller plants, and the center area was much higher than the rest and offered itself for one or two smaller exotic trees. What the greenhouse did not have in it were any plants, but Peeta had been told that he could order some from the Capitol. Prim was quite enthusiastic when she learned about that:

"If Peeta allows, we can grow more vegetables during winter, and maybe some herbs and medicinal plants."

"I am sure that Peeta will be okay with that; he knows that we both like gardening, and he probably hopes that we do the work for him so that he can enjoy fresh vegetables in winter."

"True" I nodded, "but he will certainly allow us to make our own selection."

I touched the topic with Peeta on the next day, and he reacted exactly like I had expected:

"Yes, of course. I do not have what is called a 'green thumb', and I'd welcome Prim and you to work the greenhouse. Part of the area you can use for whatever you want, like medicinal plants and stuff. And of course I will not need to eat all of the vegetables, there will be plenty left for our family, the Everdeens, and maybe more. And, of course, Prim՚s best friend Lizzy is also welcome here to help, if she wants. Actually, it was you guys I had in mind when I selected the house with attached greenhouse."

My brother really had a good heart, and I was quite proud of him.

As I heard a few days later, Katniss had offered her mother and sister to live with her in the victory village. Both had declined, though. For Mrs. Everdeen, she'd be too far away from the Seam, where her patients needed her, and Prim՚s way to school would be too long. However, both of them got a room assigned anyway, at least for occasional visits and taking advantage of certain amenities, like a shower.

In a similar way Peeta offered rooms for Dad, Wheat and myself, but we declined to move in as well. Dad and Wheat needed to be close to the bakery, and for me the distance to the Justice Building was too big. However, we accepted getting room assigned for visits, too, and we did plan to visit Peeta frequently.

Next Friday night, when Prim was staying with me again for the night, she sighed, cuddled up to me and told me happily:

"I am so glad that the games are over and we have our loved ones back. I so hope that I will never have to experience anything like that again."

She could not have known that next year's Hunger Games would bring big worries again.

[Author's Notes: Indeed – after the Games is before the Games. BTW, I read about a greenhouse behind or attached to Peeta՚s Victor Home in another fan fiction story, but I forgot which one that is. If you know about that story, please let me know so that I can credit the author.]