Chapter 35: 75th Hunger Games: Reaping and Interviews

[Summer in the year of the 75th Hunger Games]

School was over for the year once again. Primrose had, once more, finished the school year as one of the best in class, and naturally I was very proud of her, knowing that my girlfriend and fiancée was not only pretty, but also very smart. I was sure that she was well suited for a medical profession, but, alas, there was no chance for her to actually get a higher education. The big university in the Capitol was known to take some students from Districts One, Two, and Three, maybe occasionally even from Five and Six, but never from the poor districts, like Eleven and Twelve. After all, for tending orchards and mining coal and such there was no need to have a university degree, and I was not even sure if Mayor Undersee had received any kind of professional education.

As in every year, Reaping Day came upon us, but, naturally, the mood among the citizens was quite different this year. Due to the special Quarter Quell rules, almost everybody knew that they'd be safe this year, but the idea of Katniss and Peeta having to go again was not popular at all, and there was a lot of carefully hidden resentment. Knowing that the peacekeepers were very alert, though, nobody dared to show that resentment and displeasure in an obvious way, and most citizens tried their best to present a neutral face when everybody had to be on the main square for the reaping ceremony.

Although the tributes were to be reaped from the very small 'pool' of previous victors, all of the normally eligible children and young people were forced to stand in their usual sections, separated by age groups; a separate much smaller section had been cordoned off for Peeta, Haymitch and Katniss. Peacekeeper presence was also as strong as it always had been on reaping days.

Also as usual, Effie Trinket appeared on the stage next to our mayor. This time, her hair was some shade of blond, and she wore a matching dress in an orange like color. Even her earrings matched perfectly, at least as far as one could see from far back and on the large screen. Before the actual reaping started, Mayor Undersee repeated his customary speech about Panem՚s history and the significance of the games; he tried to show a neutral face as everybody else did, but those who knew him better, like myself, recognized that this was just an attempt to hide his emotions. Sometimes, when it was just the two of us in his private study, he allowed himself to mention some of this feelings and thoughts, but in public he needed to be the most dutiful and loyal mayor, lest the Capitol replace him with somebody else.

When the mayor's speech was concluded, Effie stepped forward and greeted us with her usual "Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor!". Even though there wasn't much to select from, she took her time welcoming everybody and carefully picked the single slip in the bowl for the ladies. Of course she read:

"Katniss Everdeen!"

Almost before she had completed saying the name, Katniss started moving forward, her face being controlled and almost bare of any emotions, just a barely discernible scowl. Effie welcomed her and smiled, and she addressed the audience:

"As it appears, I cannot even ask for volunteers, because none are eligible this time."

Effie turned towards the other bowl, which had two slips of course. She picked one and read:

"Haymitch Abernathy!"

The previous Quarter Quell victor seemed to be almost sober this morning, and he had even dressed nicely. He slowly made his way towards the stage, and when Effie welcomed him with some formal words, he grumbled:

"Cut the crap, Effie; we know each other quite well."

Effie looked at him, apparently thinking about a proper reply, but decided to skip that and rather turned towards the audience again:

"Now, for the male tribute, are there any volunteers?"

Right away Peeta shouted out loud, as planned and expected:

"I volunteer as tribute!"

While there was some murmuring in the audience, Peeta stepped forward, looking somewhat confident, just like last year. I had to admit to myself that I was proud of my brother. He stepped forward once more, and his face showed none of the emotions he must have. He was quite brave, and I would not have been able to do it like that. When he was greeted by Effie, Peeta replied:

"It is nice to see you again, Effie, and you look quite stunning today."

Effie had not expected such a compliment and needed a few seconds to recover from that and find a proper reply:

"Well, thank you, my boy. At least you have some manners, contrary to some other people". The last remark was clearly addressed to Haymitch. The last Quarter Quell victor snorted, raised his hand for a moment, and turned around to leave the stage again.

There was no chance for more small talk, as the peacekeepers started to move the tributes and Effie inside the building. To our surprise they were escorted to the train right away, without the usual time to meet with them for the last time. That did not really matter, though, because we had said all we had needed and wanted to say on the evening before already, but it was rude nonetheless. As President Snow had also defined that no mentors were allowed, Haymitch was left behind in the district for the first time in 25 years. Most likely he was going directly back to his bottles, or so most of us assumed at least.

When the train had left, we were free to go, and Prim was in my arms as quickly as she could get to me. Just like last year, she would stay with me for the duration of the games, and for this year, her mother had decided to stay with us as well, sharing a room and a bed with my father. At first, Dad had been worried about Wheat and me being fine with that, but no problem here – we were happy about the two of them, and they had announced their relation to us anyway last Christmas already. However, that would not keep us from teasing them occasionally, I guessed.

Prim had managed to stay composed for most of the day, but when we had supper in the bakery living room in the evening of the Reaping Day, the poor girl started to lose control. She sat on my lap, and I could feel her trembling and shivering. As we frequently did, we ate from one plate, and I almost needed to push some food into her to keep her nourished. This time we had known in advance who'd go to the games, but still, there was a difference between knowing and actual happening. Mabel, Dad and Wheat were also affected, although they did not show it as much.

Right after supper I carried Prim upstairs, helped her to undress, pushed her into my bathroom, and changed into my nightwear shorts. When she was done, I used the bathroom, and soon I could join her in the bed. For a while, she just sobbed and trembled, and my chest, neck and cheeks were getting a little wet from her tears. A few times she mumbled something like "Why them again?", and I tried to comfort her as much as I could, until eventually I noticed that she was asleep. My own thoughts troubled me for some time, too, but listening to the calm breathing from Prim and feeling her warm and soft skin on many parts of my own body – we were both sleeping topless again – helped to get me thinking about much more pleasant things.

For breakfast in the next morning we had not only Prim, but also her mother with us, so that I had to be careful to lay the table for one additional person. Fortunately Mabel Everdeen wasn't a stranger, and I was particularly glad that there was no need to change my attitude and behavior towards her daughter when she was around. Prim sitting on my lap was quite normal also to her, and occasional hugs and kisses between us only made her mother smile. While it was obvious that Mabel Everdeen was quite concerned about the fate her older daughter was about to encounter, she smiled at Prim and me when she saw us close together, and a few times I could also see affectionate glances towards my Dad.

Thursday offered the viewing of the reaping ceremonies in all districts, and of course we wanted to see who Katniss and Peeta would have to compete against. District One had Gloss and Cashmere, brother and sister as it appeared. Gloss had won the 63rd Games, and Cashmere the 64th Games; of course they were both Careers. Gloss looked like he could handle everything, and his sister looked both beautiful and strong. It was quite likely that they'd have a lot of sponsors, although it was unclear how the sponsoring would work without mentors being around.

Prim, who was on my lap as usual, did not get it: "Why do brother and sister volunteer together, knowing that only one of them can win anyway? I do not understand this at all!"

"Neither do I" I had to admit. "But look at them; maybe they intend to impress the sponsors together, increasing the chances that one of them can make it?"

District Two presented Brutus, a man with very little hair in his forties, winner of one of the games prior to the previous Quarter Quell, and Enobaria, who had won the 62nd Games. Specifically Brutus looked like his name, and even Wheat paled when he saw him:

"I would never want to meet this man. He looks so strong and scary!"

District Three, known for Electronics, offered Beetee and Wiress, both of them already older.

"Are they serious? Don't they have younger and fitter tributes there?" Wheat asked.

"Not sure about that, son" Dad replied. "But keep in mind that both of them did manage to win a game before, so don't underestimate them."

From District Four, there was Finnick, who had won the 65th Games at an age of only 14, the youngest age ever for a victor as far as I knew. He was quite good looking, and he also looked very capable and strong. His girlfriend, Annie Cresta, victor of the 70th Games, was reaped together with him, but an elderly lady called Mags, volunteered for her. Mags had won the 11th Games and was 80 years old, and she used a cane to walk. Prim՚s mother looked around and asked:

"Why does such an old lady volunteer? What kind of a chance does she have?"

"Probably none" I responded. "But look at it from that perspective: She sees a nice young lady, Annie Cresta, who has most of her life still ahead of her when being reaped. Herself being 80, she won't have too many years left. So maybe she just decided that this is a good time to die and give somebody else a chance to live."

We did not pay much attention to the tributes from Districts Five and Six and barely noticed that particularly those form Six had a strange behavior, almost like being drunk or so, but when Seven was up, we saw a face we had seen before: Johanna Mason, victor of the 71st Games, together with her district partner Blight. Just like Katniss, Johanna was the only female former victor alive in her district and thus did not have a choice.

We mostly ignored Districts Nine and Ten, but paid attention again when Eleven was up. Their male tribute, Chaff, had won the 45th Games, and looked reasonably strong, but he was handicapped by having only one hand, having lost the other one in the previous game he had been in. His fame partner was Seeder, aged around sixty, but still quite beautiful and looking healthy. It appeared that they had to go because there were no other previous victors to chose from.

Last but not least, of course, we saw the summary of the Reaping in our own district. The commentator, a woman, even appeared a little sad and mentioned that luck was evidently not in the favor of the 'star crossed lovers', and they'd not been able to be together for long now. I guess that she was right about that. Even if Katniss and Peeta somehow managed to defy the odds, there was practically no chance that the gamemakers would allow them to win together like in the year before; President Snow would surely prevent anything like that from happening again. Thinking about that, I could not stop a few tears running down my cheeks, and my sweet little girlfriend kissed them away as soon as she noticed.

The viewing for the day ended, and we were reminded to watch tomorrow's show, where the tributes from all districts were going to be presented in chariots, as usual.

For this night, I was the one who needed to be comforted more than Prim, for a change. This whole thing with President Snow's behavior, his suppressing the districts, the games, and specifically Peeta and Katniss having to go again, was getting on my nerves, and I started to wish that some people would think about doing something to stop it – but what could one do against so many armed peacekeepers? What kind of a world were we living in?

On the next morning I was quite slow getting up. For most of the day, we could do what we wanted, and the mandatory viewing with the chariot rides started in late afternoon. I have to admit that I did not really pay much attention to that; the tributes were again dressed to somehow resemble their districts, and I was quite distracted. Before I noticed, the show was over, but right at the end President Snow invited everybody to a special show three days later, without going into details.

I spent the next few days like in trance; for some reason the 75th Games affected me more than the previous ones. The chariot rides registered in my mind almost like a dream, and later I could barely remember any details.

Fortunately, we had a few days off after that, presumably because the tributes were training. I briefly wondered what they were training for, and I asked my family during breakfast a couple of days later:

"All of them were in the arena before. What do they need to train for, actually?"

Dad understood the question and replied:

"For some of them this last time was many years back, and they may have forgotten a lot. At least they need to reacquire themselves with some knowledge. In addition, specifically for the older tributes, they may want to strengthen their muscles. After years of being a lazy victor, some of them are not strong any longer."

We did some baking, just essential like bread, and opened the bakery for a few hours, as people needed to eat.

The next mandatory viewing was announced one or two days earlier than we had expected. The show was kicked of by Caesar Flickerman, and the camera showed a big hall, decorated like for a party. President Snow made an announcement:

"You all know that our victors from the previous games got engaged a few months ago. Now, current events force them to be in the arena soon, and so I have decided to give them a chance to get married while they are still here. Sending them off to the arena without giving them a chance to get married would have been cruel, and we cannot have that. I am even generous enough to sponsor the event and the party, and here we go!"

We all looked at each other, and our faces must have looked quite strange. Prim was the first to voice her thoughts:

"He is generous by allowing them to get married just a couple of days before the game start? What the heck?"

Father nodded and replied: "I think that he is making a strong point. Apparently President Snow is still mad at the outcome of the last year's games, and the concept of the 'star crossed lovers' has not worked as he had planned."

"So," Wheat added, "Katniss and Peeta can spend their wedding night together and then they get killed in the arena?"

"I am afraid that it looks like that, yes." I responded.

The wedding party was a spectacular event, we had to admit that. Once the short official ceremony was completed, with the 'yes' from Peeta very loud and clear and the one from Katniss barely audible, the tables were loaded to the brim with delicious food, and everybody there started to indulge.

"Look at what some of those people eat. How can they stuff that much food into their stomachs?" Prim wondered.

"I do not have a clue. This cannot be healthy" I replied.

"And besides," Prim added, "it is so unfair that they over there in the Capitol have more food than they can ever eat, and some people out here in the poor districts are sometimes close to starving."

Of course she was right, but that had been life for us long as I could remember.

Right on the next day the final tribute interviews were on, just before the games were scheduled to start.

Caesar Flickerman had his hair and face in lavender color this time, and he seemed to be as happy as ever moderating the tribute interviews. Once he had delivered the words of introduction, Cashmere was on stage first. We heard her saying:

"I really cannot imagine how much everybody in the Capitol will be suffering because they will loose 23 victors. Isn't that a shame?"

Gloss, coming on stage after his sister, had kinder words:

"I really want to thank the people of Panem for showing so much kindness to my sister and me. You, the citizens of the Capitol, have been my family, and nobody could have loved us better. It's a pity that this is now over."

Beetee from District Three criticized the Games and claimed:

"Have the Quarter Quells ever been fully examined by legal experts? Are they really legal? When has this been last investigated?"

He did not dare to push any further, though.

Finnick Odair from Four actually recited a love poem during his interview, which was of course dedicated to his girlfriend Annie. The audience was very silent when he talked, and a few female citizens in the auditorium fainted, presumably because they wrongly assumed that the poem might have been addressed to them.

Prim had tears in her exes when she listened, and I felt with her, knowing that Finnick got separated from his girlfriend during the reaping.

Johanna Mason from Seven asked in her interview if something could be done about the victors going back into the arena:

"Surely the Gamemakers never anticipated such an attachment forming between the victors and the Capitol, right?"

"So, you are angry about going back?" Caesar asked back.

"Of course I am!" Johanna shouted. "I am angry because the Capitol tries to get me killed a second time; we all know that this is not fair!"

Caesar did not have a good response to that, and he dismissed Johanna.

Chaff, the male tribute from Eleven, politely stated when he got a chance to talk:

"You know, President Snow certainly has the authority to change the Quell if he wanted. However, I believe that we and our lives do not really matter to anybody in the Capitol. We are just amusement, and nobody sees us as persons."

Seeder, Chaff's district partner, followed up on that:

"Back in our home district, everybody believes that President Snow is really powerful and can decide just about everything. If he really is so powerful, why couldn't he just change the Quell? It is quite obvious that we do not matter to him and the Capitol, indeed."

"They both have got a point there" Dad commented at home.

Finally, Katniss and Peeta were on stage together, and Katniss showed off by twirling around in her dress. The dress seemed to be consumed by flames, and after that her formerly white dress was black, with some feathers and wings attached.

Of course Caesar could not resist the temptation to ask how their wedding night had been. While Katniss blushed, Peeta boldly stated that this was nobody's business, and Caesar and the audience would have to live with that.

Caesar, though, smirked and replied:

"This, my boy, is not true at all. A few selected of us have seen the recordings, and I have to say that your performance was quite something."

Now Peeta visibly paled and asked: "Recordings? What are you talking about?"

Caesar smirked again: "Why, you did not know that there were cameras behind some of the mirrors, which were actually transparent from the other side?"

Now both Peeta and Katniss blushed heavily, and the audience cheered and hooted.

Caesar talked on: "We made a lot of money by selling copies, believe me. A lot of people wanted to see the 'star crossed lovers' in action, and I do believe that they were not disappointed at all."

The camera briefly moved over to President Snow, who had an almost diabolical look on his face, and it was quite obvious that he was happy about that particular flow of events. Most likely he had watched the tape, too.

"Oh god!" Prim shouted at home. "I can't believe it – they recorded Katniss and Peeta together in bed?"

"It certainly appears so" Dad nodded; both he and Mabel looked horrified.

"How sick is that? I will never be able to look into a mirror again without thinking about that!" Prim announced. "Rye, please promise me that we won't have any mirrors in our bedroom when it's our wedding night!"

Prim՚s mother looked at her sternly: "Primrose Everdeen, you are too young to think about your wedding night!"

Prim promptly responded: "No, Mom, I do not agree. I am not too young to think about it, I am only too young to have it yet!"

Mabel Everdeen raised her hands and replied, to nobody in particular: "What have I done wrong in raising and educating that girl? Who is this forward girl over there, and what have you done to my sweet and well behaved little daughter?

We laughed for a moment, before we switched our attention back to the screen and the tribute interviews.

When the commotion from Caesar՚s announcement had finally subsided, he asked his final question:

"How did both Peeta and you both manage to get a score of 12 in training?"

Of course there was no answer, and Caesar probably did not expect any either, and the two left the stage, but Wheat asked:

"A score of 12? Both of them, really?"

"Yes, and this probably implies that everyone else will see them as major targets in the arena" I replied.

"And this is most likely what President Snow wants, too" Dad added.

The show was not over yet, though. While Caesar tried to get a few final words in, one could hear a lot of shouting from the audience. Contrary to previous games, at least some part of the audience appeared to feel that the Quarter Quell was indeed not just, and maybe they really felt bad about losing so many previous victors. Somehow it looked like the settings for this year was not approved by a large minority, and some even seemed to be requesting he cancellation of the games. Just before the transmission ended, while the camera moved to the area where all the tributes were sitting together, we saw all 24 tributes joining their hands, appearing to be united, at least for a few moments. The final anthem blared and the screen went dark; here in the bakery we were silent for a few minutes, until Dad commented:

"I have never seen that kind of events before during the interviews, and in particular not the tributes acting like that, with joined hands. Also, I have never before heard the audience asking for a cancellation of the games. I wonder if Snow really still has the full support of the Capitol and the loyal districts behind him any longer."

"Will President Snow go ahead and actually stop the games?" Prim wanted to know.

My father shook his head: "No, my dear, I do not think so. He would lose face by doing that."

Of course President Snow had not intention at all to cancel the games, and, as it turned out, he had his gamemakers prepare a few nasty surprises for those in the arena.

[Author's Notes: Naturally, whatever else happens in the Capitol is hidden from our viewers in District Twelve. They may or may not learn more details later.]