I sit down next to her at the table, opposite Cole. Haymitch still seems sober, and he scoops up some of the yellow soup with the tiny spheres of red flecks in it, and shoves it in his mouth. He looks at me as I sit down. "Took your time, princess." He says.
"I had a bad night." I mutter, and smile as an attendant puts a bowl of the soup in front of me. I find that I have to chew the little red blobs, and they taste like bacon, with the soup itself tasting of a mixture of vegetables. We're silent as we eat, until the main course is brought out, and Effie exclaims, "Oh, rpast pheasant, my absolute favourite!"
We quickly lapse into silence, eating out meals without much chatter. Effie tries to start a conversation, but is quickly subdued. And then, as I look out of the window and pull another forkfull of food to my mouth, i drop it to the table.
"There it is." I murmur, hearing Effie cluck in disapproval, but I ignore her. I move to the window, stumbling slightly, and peering out of it. As we pull through the tunnel, Cole joins me, and together we meet the crowds of the Capitol.
They're all dressed in pastel colours, this month's trend, I assume, with pastel coloured wigs in crazy styles. They wave and they cheer, ecstatic to see us. A few girls at the front chatter incomprehensibly, but so loudly that I can hear them. I feel caught up in their obvious happiness, and I find myself smiling, waving, grinning at them all. I turn to Cole, who is waving but not smiling, ad he turns to look at me too. My smile is seemingly infectious, as he begins to grin, and we turn to face the Capitol citizens together.