The 71st Hunger Games is full of promises, according to the gamemakers. They are determined to make up for the mess of last year's game which lead to instant eliminations of most of the tribute due to the destruction of the dam. They campaigned for it a month prior to the start of the season for hype. It was not particularly fun for Effie since she's the one living in the Capitol.
The campaign means escorts, gamemakers, stylists must work the media to hype the audience about the incoming game. Despite adoring the spotlight, she does not love it as much as she used to. Being surrounded by prying eyes made her conscious but she kept repeating in her head the deal she made with Haymitch. She keeps it together and pretend to be the perfect Capitol doll and he will control his drinking.
She kept contact with Haymitch throughout the break. He's her sanity and she would rather hear his voice than pop a bottle of pills. They talk about anything under the sun and she listened to his ranting about the lack of alcohol supply in his district. It's a nice comfort to know that he's always there to listen to her and make her feel better in his own way.
When she arrived on Twelve the day of the Reaping, the atmosphere is different than the previous years. She can still feel eyes on her, scrutinizing every inch of her Capitol look but at the same time, she can see the shift, the change with the way they look at her. This is what Haymitch was telling her about. The people in Twelve hate her but they don't want anyone else to replace her either. She plastered the escort smile on her face as she made her way to the Victors' Village to visit its only resident.
She wrinkled her nose upon walking inside the house. Of course, he did not bother cleaning up the house. The entire place reeks of alcohol and there are leftover spoiled food on the table. She found Haymitch inside his bedroom, still asleep. Her first impulse is to wake him up but she had learned never to come close to him whenever he's asleep. It's not fun being sliced by a knife. She spent quite a fortune in erasing the scar. It's for beautification purposes but at the same time, she does not want to remind him of what happened each time he will see it on her skin.
No matter, she can wake him up without closing the distance to his bed. Effie cleared her throat and pushed the door harder than it should be which made it slammed against the wall creating a loud bang. It startled Haymitch awake, hand still gripping his knife. His eyes are searching for any threats.
"Good morning, Haymitch! Although, it's not really that early in the morning. We got two hours before the Reaping and you need to get ready or else we will be late", she finally strutted inside his room and placed the clothes she picked for him for the ceremony.
He watched her with curious eyes for a moment before she turned to him and frowned. He looks like he does not want to move away from his disheveled bed.
"What are you wearing?" is the first thing he asked.
That made her look at herself and shrugged.
"It's custom made, Haymitch, but I wouldn't expect you to understand fashion. Now, kindly drag yourself into the bathroom and clean up. Your clothes are here and I will wait for you downstairs. Make it fast", she answered and left the room to give him the privacy.
She wanted to jump onto him as soon as she saw him but that would ruin her dress and she does not have extra. Besides, they don't have much time to fool around. While waiting for him to get ready, she took the liberty to clean up the mess he left in the kitchen. Just because she's from Capitol and used to have Avoxes running around her, it does not mean she does not know how to tidy up. She lives alone in her apartment and she does a good job at making her place presentable and comfy.
There's a good chance she will ruin her nails by doing the dishes but she cannot leave it there to rot until Haymitch returns after the season. That's just unacceptable.
The door opened and it startled her, dropping the plate onto the floor. Her first thought is the Peacekeeper burst inside the house but when she turned around, she saw an old woman standing by the living room.
"What are you doing?" the woman asked.
She cannot detect whether her tone is laced with irritation or just mere curiosity.
"Oh, doing my best to tidy the kitchen although it's hopeless at this point. Forgive me, I haven't properly introduced myself. I'm Effie Trinket", she responded with a smile.
She suppressed the urge to scold the woman for not knocking first before coming in but it's not her house in the first place. She's not accustomed to the ways of District Twelve so she bit her tongue.
"I know who you are. You're the escort and in a few minutes, you'll be on stage to reap another pair of Twelve's kids to die in the arena", the woman spat.
Effie tried her best to keep the smile from straining on her face but that one hurt. She tried her best not to think about what she's about to do at the Reaping and she's succeeding until now.
"I did not catch your name", she simply said.
"They call me Greasy Sae. Where's Haymitch?" the woman asked.
Effie asked herself silently what kind of name Greasy Sae is but that wouldn't polite to voice out loud.
"He's getting ready. He usually takes long to will himself into taking a shower so I make it a point to arrive here few hours early to give him time to clean up so we wouldn't be late", she answered.
Sae eyed her curiously before frowning at her.
"Why are you cleaning up his kitchen? It's not your job. Your job is to pick names of who's to die next", she asked again.
The woman has no filter, Effie figured. She knows the question of hers is purely out of curiosity but her words are blunt in a brutal way.
"I couldn't trust he would do it himself and I like to keep myself busy while he's in the bathroom. Honestly, I don't know why I bother doing this every year. I told him to get someone to clean up his house but he did not want to so I just…it's not a big deal anyway. It keeps me busy until he's ready to go", she answered or more like she rambled.
She does not know the proper answer to that. Sae was right. It's not really her job to clean up Haymitch's mess but she's happy to do it anyway. Of course, she will appreciate it if Haymitch will learn to clean his house himself but she does not mind doing it herself. Now, she realizes how it looks to other people.
"I can see why you lasted with the boy compared to those drones years ago. You can stop with the dishes. I'll take care of it. Wouldn't want you to break those ridiculous long nails now, would you?" Sae mused.
The conversation was interrupted by Haymitch clearing his throat from the stairs.
"Stop grilling my escort, Sae", he muttered.
Effie couldn't help the smile from her face. He looked good in that gray suit she brought him.
"Well, you should start cleaning up your kitchen, boy", the woman scolded.
It's refreshing to see other people talking to Haymitch that way. She's used to see Mags scolding him in the Capitol but someone from Twelve doing the same? It's new for her.
"I did not ask Trinket to clean up my kitchen. That's her choice", he said in his defense.
Sae just scoffed and handed him a small box.
"Came by to drop this but I'll stay to finish cleaning that mess", she replied and then proceeded to the kitchen to finish what Effie was doing.
Haymitch turned to a very amused Effie.
"You find this very funny, don't you?" he asked with slight irritation.
Only Sae and Mags can call him boy and get away with it.
"I do actually", she straightened up his tie, "You look dashing when you take a shower", she answered.
Now, she wants to pin him against the wall but they're not alone.
He saw the way her eyes darkened and his grip on her waist tightened. She looked at him with alarm, warning him to stop before Sae sees them.
"I need to show you something upstairs", he said immediately and pulled her by the arm.
"Haymitch! Seriously, manners! You can just ask and not drag me like a suitcase", she exclaimed but failed to resist him.
He brought her back to his room and closed the door before pinning her onto it.
"You wouldn't want me to do this to you while Sae was watching, would you?" he asked and attacked her neck.
"No marks…and mind the dress", she warned as she closed her eyes, "Haymitch, we don't have time for this. The Reaping will start soon", she then said as his kisses became hungry.
He growled against her skin and found the hem of her complicated dress and pressed his palm on her center that had her gasping.
"It's not my fault you chose to clean my kitchen first rather than climbing up my bed earlier", he muttered and played her in a circling motion.
Her long nails dug on his suit.
"Your bed is not enticing enough. It has been washed for ages", she argued while panting.
He pulled back just to watch her face as he pulled her underwear to the side and thrusted two skilled fingers into her. Her jaw slackened before she bit her bottom lip. He always love seeing her become undone because of him.
"I think we should stop now. We don't have time, right princess?" he teased.
He knows there's no way she would want to stop now, not after he builds her up like this. Her body is responding well to him.
She glared at him.
"You stop and you will lose an arm like Chaff", she threatened.
Haymitch chuckled at her empty threat and curled his fingers which hit her right on the spot that had her suppressing a moan. She's still aware of Sae's presence downstairs.
"Keep it quiet, princess. I'm going to make you come now", he whispered into her ear which she reciprocated with a whimper.
Sae was waiting at the living room when they came downstairs. There's only fifteen minutes left before the ceremony and Effie is on the verge of panic. She managed to get herself presentable although her lipstick is not as bright as it was when she first arrived in his house. Sae did not say anything and just watched the escort exclaimed how he is making them late.
"I have to talk to the mayor. Be a dear and don't give the Peacekeepers a hard time escorting you to the stage", she then turned to Sae, "It's a pleasure meeting you but I must go", she said politely before walking out of the house.
That leaves Haymitch with Sae who is now looking at her with curious eyes.
"What?" he asked.
"That girl is an odd bird", she muttered.
"She's Trinket…nothing new", he countered.
The old woman hummed.
"You think it's wise to sleep with your escort, boy?" she asked.
Of course, she knew. Effie is not particularly the silent one. Loud is part of her DNA.
"I always sleep with my escort", he answered.
It's not a secret. It's how he drives those other escorts away from Twelve. It's his revenge on the Capitol, of some sorts.
"Trinket is different. I see the way you look at her. I see the way she looks at you. Wouldn't take a scientist to see it, boy. I just want you to really understand what you're getting yourself into", she pointed out.
She knows what happened to the people he loved before. She wants to spare him from going through the same thing again. A person can only takes so much before he breaks.
"Nothing is going to happen, Sae. She's my escort and that's it", she does not buy that but she stopped pushing him, "The Reaping is about to start and Trinket is going to cut off my supply for the rest of the season if I'm late", he responded.
That made Sae smiled.
"Of course…good luck this year, boy and take care…both of you", she replied.