Chapter 15
(Gale POV)
When she tells me it feels good to finally be her real self around someone, I'm surprised and I love it. I knew I had never seen her like this before but I figured that's because we had never really talked before but apparently she's never been like this in front of anyone. To know that she feels so free around me makes my heart soar. I know I'm not exactly making a good choice by spending time with her like I did today. For starters, she's kind of important to the Capitol and so it'd be really, really bad if I got her in any kind of trouble. Secondly, she's got a boyfriend. A Capitol assigned boyfriend. But I can't help myself. She's too perfect, too amazing. I have known she was gorgeous forever, anyone can see that she is, but I never knew how different she was than the way she presented herself. She totally hates the Capitol and the way they control everything. And she loved being out in the woods. Like truly loved it. I don't know any other girl I've been interested in who would love it out there the way I do.
I think about her the entire time I'm at the Butcher shop. All evening, I keep finding myself smiling like some sort of idiot. Here I am hosing off guts and blood of slaughtered animals off the floor of the back room with a cheesy grin plastered all over my face. Thank God no one is around to see me. They'd think I'd lost my mind. And maybe I have. I don't know. All I know for sure is that I have to see her again.
When I finish up at the Butcher's shop and he hands me a bundle of meat scraps as my pay. Most people wouldn't even eat these parts but I know my mother can make something of them. In the Seam we don't let a single edible bite go to waste. I head around to the back alley to dump a bag of trash on my way home and I spot today's copy of the Gazette in the trash bin. I pick it up and sure enough, there's the article about Madge. It's longer this time, more than just the one page. I take the whole paper this time, shoving it under my arm. I'll read it later after I get these scraps home to my mother. Madge may not care to see it but I do. I want to know everything it says about her.
At home I give my mother the bundle of scraps and then wash up really well at the rain barrel. The butcher shop may be a decent way to get some food on the table but it also makes me reek of dead animals. After that, I come inside and find my mother has already started making a stew from those scraps. I knew she'd be able to do something with them. I head to my room intending to go lay on my bed and read the article but Posy and Vick are both already asleep in there which means I can't turn on a lamp. Posy is one of those kids that if you accidentally wake her up, she'll stay up all night. My mother would probably kill me if I woke the kids up so I slip back outside and decide to head for the meadow.
I sit down in the deep grass and unfold the paper. It's dark but it's a clear night and the moon is pretty full so I can still read it. Just like Madge said, there's a picture of her passing out those bottles of water. And there's one of her wearing the most God awful hat, posing with that girl she's sharing the guy with and looking like they're the best of friends. I skim over the article and it talks all about how Madge is a big supporter of the games and eager to see our district do well this year. Says she looks forward to all the excitement the games bring each year. If I didn't know better, I'd probably believe that. But now I know better. I know she didn't want to do any of that stuff and also hates the games. I turn the page as the article continues and find a huge almost full page picture of Madge making out with that guy. They're on a balcony and completely lip locked. A pang of jealousy runs through me. Especially when I notice what she's wearing in the picture. It's that backless dress. The really sexy one she had on when I carried her so she would't hurt her feet. God she looked so incredible that night and he is the one who got to enjoy it. I wonder if she picked that outfit or if it was one of the ones they picked for her to wear? Like did she wear it to look good for her date with him? And where was he when she was traipsing through the Seam barefoot in the dark? Shouldn't he have gone with her? I crumple the paper and toss it to the side, letting myself fall back into the grass. He does not deserve her, he just doesn't.
As I lay there, my mind wanders from Madge to Katniss. I hate that she's all alone in the Capitol right now. Well, alone in that she doesn't have any friends there with her. I hope what Madge told me is true, that Katniss already has sponsors lining up. Sponsors are how you get weapons and medicines and stuff like that in the games and it's always been a big reason 12 is usually out early. The tributes from 1-4 usually are the only ones I ever see getting any stuff sent to them in the games. And it's almost always one of them who wins the thing. It's not just the money though. They always know how to use weapons too so that's a factor. Most of the other district kids don't handle weapons well. But Katniss does. If there's a bow, she'll be able to hold her own. Please let there be a bow.
"Want some company?" I hear a voice float over to me.
I sit up and see Madge. Standing there in some fancy dress, smiling at me.
(Madge POV)
When I get home from my trip out into the woods with Gale, my housekeeper meets me at the door and immediately starts scolding me.
"Where on earth have you been Miss Madge! Your father has last minute guests coming in town this afternoon and he has been looking for you."
"Sorry, I went for a long walk. It was nice out." I tell her which isn't exactly a lie. "Do you know what he needed?"
"My guess is as good as yours on that. He's upstairs in his study."
"Thank you." I tell her as I start up the back stairs.
"You may want to change clothes before you see him." She calls after me.
I look down and see that my shoes are scuffed and dirty from the walk through the woods. My dress is wrinkled from laying in the grass and shows a hint of dirt stain around the bottom hem. I slip quietly into my room and quickly switch to a different dress and shoes, grabbing the first ones I see. I don't even care that they're heels since I need to hurry. I toss the dress I wore today in the laundry and the shoes, as scuffed as they are I doubt any polishing can save them so I toss them in the trash. I glance in the mirror to make sure I look presentable and then head down the hall to my father's study.
"Bethany said you needed to see me?" I ask as I knock and poke my head into the room.
He looks up from a stack of papers and beckons my in with a flick of his hand. "Yes. Where were you today?"
"Went for a long walk. It was nice out and I didn't have any obligations so I thought it was a good idea."
"You are coming to an age where you need to understand that you always have obligations. Your days of ambling off on your own and doing nothing are behind you now."
I stare at him. Ambling off and doing nothing? Yes, that's what I do. What he really means is my days of finding time to disappear and escape reality for an hour or two are over. Apparently I'm always obligated to be doing something Capitol related at all times now. I know better than to try and argue this with him. "Yes sir."
"Now, Mr. Whitney called for you twice while you were out. He left the number of where he's staying while he's in the Capitol if you'll see that you return his call and don't forget to make apologies for not being available when he rang." He says as he hands me a pink slip of paper with a number written on it.
I take it. "I'll call him right away." I assure him even though I think it's ridiculous that I just got scolded for missing a phone call that I wasn't expecting.
"Also, we've got several new guests arriving this evening. Please make sure you dress appropriately for dinner. Steffi sent several new dresses, you'll find them in your closet."
"Yes sir."
He goes back to the papers on his desk and I can see that's all he wanted from me so I get up and leave the room.
Back in my own room I see the roses I threw to the ground and broken vase have been cleaned up. I feel a little bad for leaving that mess for Bethany to clean up. I really should've cleaned that up myself. I go over to my phone, pick it up and call Drew back. The call goes to his room's voicemail though so he must not be in. I leave a quick message just so he knows I saw that he called me.
"Hi Drew, it's Madge. Sorry I missed you. Looks like we're playing a little game of phone tag. Have a good night and hopefully we will catch up with one another soon."
Next I go look in my closet to see what monstrosities await me. Several, like at least 20, fancy dress hang there, shoes, all high heels nonetheless, lined up beneath them. Every single one of them is fancy. Too fancy to wear in District 12. I glance around the rest of my closet and notice it's emptier than normal. I start flipping through and see that most of what I consider my casual attire, the simple dresses and skirts, have been removed. I look down at where all my shoes are kept and see that my ballet flats and sandals are gone too. He had my clothes and shoes taken away and replaced with dressier, more formal dresses and heels? Am I just never allowed to wear anything comfortable again? I go back out to my room where I threw away the scuffed up shoes I'd worn in the woods and retrieve them from the trash can. Scuffed or not, I need to keep them or else I'll only ever be able to wear heels. And I hate heels. I hide them under my bed instead of in the closet in case this was just the first round of clearing things out.
Back in my closet, I try to decide which dress to wear for dinner. I finally decide on a strapless dress that has a pouffy skirt. It's a deep green color which is not my favorite color but the fabric is soft so at least there's that. I slide my feet into the matching heels and go to put on some makeup. After I twist my hair up, I spray on a little perfume. I consider putting on my pearl necklace but I hesitate. I don't know why exactly, I can't explain it even to myself, but I do feel the hesitation. And it bothers me that I feel that way. I run my fingertips over the strand of little pearls, feeling how smooth they are. I feel like I should wear it. It was a gift from Drew, the boy I may end up marrying. But it also may just be an obligatory gift, something I was given to fulfill a duty rather than a gift of true affection. I decide to put it on. Until I know differently, I need to assume it was a genuine gift.
Dinner is full of talk all about Katniss and this year's games. For as long as I can remember, we've never had guests the night before the first mandatory viewing. The first viewing is merely a parade of tributes and little speech from President Snow. Usually we only get the visitors the night of the interviews. Tonight though, we've got 9 visitors who just had to be in the district for the viewing of the parade of tributes. At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if more showed up tomorrow before the viewing. This is good though for Katniss. She needs to be noticed and favored if she wants to keep getting sponsors. That's essential.
When dinner is over, I excuse myself and head back to my room for the evening. Out on the balcony, I sit in one of the rocking chairs and think about the day I had. How the woods were so peaceful and still. How I could look out and see for miles and miles without seeing a single solitary Capitol building or fixture. As I rock in my chair, movement in the meadow catches my eye. Someone is walking out into the grass and sitting down. It's far from the house so I can't see for sure who it is but something tells me it's Gale. Excitement flutters in my stomach and without much thought, I indulge the urge to go see who it is.
When I get there, I see that I was right. It is Gale. He's lying back in the grass now, looking deep in thought.
"Want some company?" I call out to him, smiling as he sits up and looks over at me.