CHAPTER 3: Goodbyes

Before I was in the Games and even while I was in the Games, I didn't know that mentors had their hour of goodbyes as well. Over the years, I learned that no one ever came in to say goodbye to Haymitch, but every year the same people come in to say goodbye to me in my own room. But this year, there was a slight twist.

Prim and Lare came in first with their kids, and we had a group hug, but after a moment I realized Rob was not with us.

"Hey," I said, pulling away. "What happened to Rob?"

"He went to go talk with Gale's daughter, May or something," Lare replied. He looked kind of smug but sad at the same time. "He has a thing for her."

Oh, that was what was going on with Rob earlier. "Really?" I said, not sure whether to smile or not. "And her name is Faye, not May."

"Right."

Lyla suddenly talked about her goat, Princess Blossom (which I privately think is a ridiculous name), out of the blue. I pretended to be listening, but in reality, I was thinking about Rob.

Lare read my mind. He looked uncomfortable. He waited until Lyla finished before he spoke up. "Katniss, Rob'll talk with you after we leave. Katniss, um..."

I sighed. "I know. Rob will probably ask me to look out for Faye, and if I don't, he'll never forgive me. I'm trying to decide what to do, since I got a boy tribute in my hands too." I chuckled. "I don't think Haymitch will give me a hand this year either."

Eva crawled into my lap just as a Peacekeeper shouted into my room, "You got sixty seconds!" I rolled my eyes but still give everyone one last hug.

"Princess Blossom will miss you, Auntie," Lyla said softly.

I patted the girl's head. She was so imaginitive and dramatic. "Well, give your goat a hug for me, all right?" She nodded.

"Katniss," Prim whispered in my ear as we hugged, "please. Try to do as Rob asks. And... stay out of trouble."

"I'll do the best I can, Prim," I promised.

"Goodbye, Auntie Katniss," Eva said next. "I'll miss you."

"I'll be back as soon as I can, you little duck," I said, giving everyone reassuring smiles. "Well... see ya." They left.

Sure enough, Rob came in next. "Aunt Katniss," he said gruffly, looking at the fancy carpeting, "could you do a favor for me?"

I studied him carefully. His eyelids were a light shade of pink, and a little puffy too. I said tentatively, "What sort of favor?"

Rob took a deep breath. "Could you bring Faye back home?"

Whoa.

"Bring Faye back home?" I exclaimed. That was a huge thing to ask from anyone in my position. "Rob, I don't know about that..."

"Kat - I mean, Aunt Katniss," he said desperately. I looked into his eyes deeply. None of Prim's children had ever called me by just my first name except for Rob sometimes when he was really angry, because Prim found it disrespectful. But this time, he didn't seem angry. He looked ready to burst into tears. "Please. Or can I go to the Capitol with you? Can I take that other guy's place?"

"Rob, no," I said firmly. "I'll try my best to bring Faye home, but that's not a guarantee. And I forbid you from coming to the Capitol with me. I bet your mother will forbid that too, and so does the Capitol. You're to stay here, and that's final."

Rob glared at me, then looked away.

I said gently and quietly, "Rob, I know what a... girl..." No. Those weren't the right words. I started over. "I know what you're feeling, Rob. I know what it can do to you. Look at what Peeta did. I don't want you to go the same way." My stomach turned as I mentioned Peeta. When Rob didn't say anything, I went on, "Your mother's first love was your father, and she had you at just the age of nineteen." Nineteen wasn't such a young age to have a baby at District 12, but I was still overprotective of Prim then. "Good thing my mother approved of your dad," I joked lightly.

Rob didn't breathe a word. We sat next to each other silently, deep in thought.

"Sixty seconds!" the Peacekeeper called.

I glanced at Rob and held my arms wide, and he accepted my hug. He snuggled his face on my shoulder, and I swear I felt a tear drip.

I didn't say it was going to be okay, because it wasn't. I didn't say Faye would be in good shape, because she wouldn't. But I did say again that I would give all I got to bring Faye home. Rob let out a little "Mm-hmm," said, "Bye, Aunt Katniss," and slowly walked out the room, not glancing back.

For a moment I thought I was going to spend the rest of my goodbye hour alone, but I thought wrong. To my despair and shock, Bree came in.

"Hello, Bree," I said, sounding confused and questioning. I offered her the seat across from me.

She took it and smoothed out her red skirt nervously. She didn't say anything for a minute or two.

I glanced at the doors and reminded her, "We have a small amount of time, Bree."

Bree simply nodded, still quiet. Oh well. I tried. I couldn't force her to talk to me.

Something shined on her tight white blouse, and I saw it was a gold brooch in the shape of a rose. Real gold, I bet. Bree's grandparents, still in shape despite their age, ran the one of the two bookstores in District 12, and they make a lot of money, especially at the beginning of the school year and during the holidays. I heard her parents were gonna take over the bookstore very soon since her grandparents were getting to be too old. When Gale married Bree, he agreed to quit his coal miner job and moved to town with her, which was baffling to me. Gale has always been a kid from the Seam, never cooperating with the town kids, but I guessed he loved Bree enough to defy his own self. However, Prim once told me that Gale goes back into the woods from time to time. So I asked Bree about that.

"How's Gale?" I asked. I lowered my voice. "Visitin' the trees still?"

She shrugged and said something for the first time. "He went about two weeks ago. But he hasn't since."

"That's nice," I said, nodding. "I still go about once or twice a week," I went on, as if she didn't know.

"I heard," she said, confirming my suspicions. "From Gale," she added.

I decided to go on with our topic. "I took Rob with me a couple months ago. He liked it, but was too scared to go alone. And I usually like to go on my own, so I haven't taken him much."

"Gale takes Faye from time to time," she whispered. Aha! Finally we get to Faye. "She loves it."

There was no point in beating around the bush anymore. I took Bree's hand and said seriously, "I'm sorry this had to happen to Faye, Bree."

She burst into tears. Her shoulders shook. I patted her back comfortingly and tried to make her feel better, but that was impossible. Soon she had to go. I gave her a quick hug without saying anything.

Lastly, Gale came in. Like he did twenty years ago, he hugged me as soon as he came in. This brought tears to my eyes. He hadn't hugged me in so many years.

"Gale -" I started to say, but he cut me off.

"Sh..." he whispered. He lead us to the chairs. We sat down side-by-side, which was a little awkward. He faced me directly. Suddenly his softness disappeared and he was serious. "We don't have any time to waste," he said. "I need you to protect Faye for me."

I tried not to look exasperate. "You're the third person who asked, Gale. And I'm gonna give you the same answer as the other two: I'm gonna try my best, I really will, but I cannot absolutely guarantee -"

"I know you can't, Katniss," Gale snapped before I even finished my sentence. "That's why I want to talk about other things. Sponsors, for one."

Duh. Why hadn't I thought about that?

Gale went on to talk about my personality, to get lots of sponsors. Apparently he had already talked with Faye about that. "Since you're still known as the Girl on Fire, you should act sassy. Firey, you know? Then get to the subject of money right away, so you can get a lot of sponsors for Faye so she can survive and come back alive." He also talked about training her throughtout the week of prepping. "And the rest Faye knows," he concluded. He got up and left.

I stared at the doors as it closed and continued staring at it. What would happen if Gale were a mentor? There'd be more victors from District 12 for sure, I decided bitterly. I hadn't brought home a single victor since I became mentor. Knowing that, I made myself a vow for this year's Games. I would think like Gale, and make my choices like Gale. If I did exactly that, I may have increased my chances of being a successful mentor.