As the canon sounds, the screen goes black and silent for a moment before the anthem plays and the logo appears. The town square is dead silent as the people attempts to process what happened. The sobs of Maeve Silva have stopped- it's about time, I might add- and the only sound that can be heard is that from the large projection screen. After what feels like forever, smiles begin to emerge from the crowd and laughter is heard from the children who realize the twelve parcel days to come in the near future. In a matter of seconds, it's gone from a mournful silence to a full out celebration. For the first time in Hunger Games history, there has been a victor from District 12.
It's pretty exciting, especially to the Haymitch Abernathy unofficial fanclub, a group of girls in school who don't do anything but gush over how 'gorgeous and strong and funny and smart and blah blah blah' he is. The most obnoxious part about it is that they don't even know him, in fact, hardly anyone does. He keeps mostly to himself and his girlfriend, aside from a few other acquaintances. I won't deny that he's attractive, but the obsession that those girls have never fails to piss everyone off. It had already been getting worse before the games, but nobody can forget the day they were caught stealing money at school to create a sponsorship fund for Haymitch. His girlfriend Maeve just about lost it, screaming at them in front of the whole school.
I look over at Maeve now to see the change she's gone through since Haymitch was reaped. Everyone knew her to be so strong and independent, never afraid to let you know how she really feels, especially if she doesn't like you, and she usually doesn't. But seeing her now is like looking at a completely new person, weak and broken, looking like she hasn't slept in weeks. She probably hasn't, because it's been a rough last few days for her boyfriend. You might feel bad for Maeve if she wasn't such a bitch to everyone. Her family is probably to poorest of the poor, living in what you could almost call a shack, and surviving only off of tesserae and donations from merciful sellers. Haymitch is probably the only good thing in her life, and he just almost died.
Maeve is one of those people who could be really beautiful if she tried. She's tall and thin, with the same look as most people from the Seam; dark hair and grey eyes. Her hair, long and thin, is usually tied back in a messy knot with strands sticking out everywhere, as if she rolled out of bed and walked straight to school in her nightclothes. Depending on the day, she's usually wearing an oversize coat and undersize pants, and her hand-me-down mining boots are the only things that fit. Although her eyes are small, her grey eyes are so bright you can almost feel them staring you down.
To be honest, I'm more relieved that I can stop feeling bad for her than I am that Haymitch won. She hates me more than anyone in town, and she makes quite and effort to tell me so. I can remember one day when she must have loathed me more than usual, so she decided to first, trip me during lunch so my food ended up all over me, and then humiliate me during my class presentation on pre-Panem civilization by pointing out a seemingly small fact I got wrong, and proceeding to explain why it was very important in history. The worst of all was the day she slapped me and screamed at me in front of everyone about how Haymitch being in the games was 'all my family's fault' and how she would make me pay if he died. She hasn't spoken to me since then.
I guess I can understand her hatred for me, but that doesn't make me like her. My father works for President Snow, by travelling to different districts for up to three years at a time and studying the different cultures. We came to District 12 about a year and half ago, and no one really wanted to talk to the Capitol girl, although I tried my best to fit in with them, I couldn't stop everyone from finding out where my family was from. Barely anyone would talk to me, aside from my friend Pilar, and Haymitch, who talks to me only when his girlfriend isn't around to reprimand him about it. After a few months in school, some people began to warm up to me, but Maeve just couldn't let go of the fact that my father works for the Capitol. Maybe if she talked to me for once, she might realize I'm not like those people- I still participate in the reaping, and I grew up in the districts just like everyone else.
The celebration continues later that night, when Haymitch reemerges for the cameras looking good as new, his hair groomed and his wounds invisible. The recap of the games takes hours, but I stick around to watch the interviews afterward. Haymitch is back to his same arrogant self, or so it seems at the beginning. It starts out with Caesar Flickerman shaking his hand and congratulating him, followed by some joke that I don't pay attention to and the audience laughs for an extended period of time. Then the real questions start-
"So, Haymitch, this was very long and exciting Games for everyone. You must be exhausted. I know our viewers are."
"Oh yeah, I'm sure they're so tired of sitting on their plush couches and being waited on hand and foot watching 47 kids get murdered. Way more exhausted than me." His comment is so cold and cruel that Caesar hesitates on the next question.
"Well...I'm sure you're exhausted as well. Now, we saw you smile when you first saw the arena. What were you thinking right there?"
"I was thinking, well this arena is just adorable! I wonder what kind of sick, twisted dangers the Capitol has printed out this time." The audience laughs hesitantly, but Haymitch doesn't respond with a smile the way he did at his first interview. He scowls straight at Caesar, who is visibly uncomfortable. He fumbles with his question cards, trying to find a question that can't be twisted into a hateful response. When he finally finds one, he looks worriedly out into the audience, as if he knows he's lurking in dangerous waters.
"When you first came upon that force field..." Haymitch's scowl changes into a new expression, one that I can't place. It's uncomfortable, almost worried. "Did you know you would be using it as weapon?"
He takes a deep breath, and then speaks so quietly that if it weren't for the microphone, he would have been inaudible. "No. I never intended to use the forcefield as a weapon. I didn't mean to run there at the end, I was just running to get away. It was an accident."
The response is spoken so smoothly, it's as if it was written and memorized. Caesar nods and relaxes in his chair, and Haymitch glances somewhere we can't see because of the camera angle, and as soon at he finds his focal point, his face contorts and he breaks into sobs.
"I...didn't mean..." We wait while he maintains his composure, and when he does, he speaks directly to the invisible spot, "If I hadn't been so worried about that force field, maybe I could have saved Maysilee...just for a little while. I regret ever seeking it out. I regret defying that Capitol the way I did. I'm sorry."
It's like Haymitch is pleading, trying to convince someone of his words. Defying the Capitol? That gets murmurs from the audience. No one ever talks about anything like that, let alone confess to it like he just did. Not only that, but everyone in District 12 is in shock to see someone as cool and collected as Haymitch to break down like that. This is a first for the Hunger Games, and everyone, including Caesar Flickerman, is completely silent and wondering.
Eventually, Caesar leans over and pats him on the back. "It's alright, it must be hard."
That was the wrong thing to say, because Haymitch stands up and storms off the stage. The last thing we hear before the screen goes black is, "I want to go home."
The party thrown the next day by the Capitol for District 12 is extravagant, but unnecessary. I've seen Capitol parties before, and this one just seems out of place in the dirty town square, and it looks incomplete without the crazy party-goers you usually see. Still, it's nice to see the wonder on children's faces are the balloon arches and fireworks, and I have to admit I missed the capitol food. Six course meals are a rare occurrence, even for my family, but giving it to the poor here is probably the best part. Everyone is stuffing themselves until they're sick, and yet they still beg for more to take home and save for later. Hopefully this will last them a few days or fatten them up slightly.
I sit in the corner with Pilar, and neither of us speaks except to say how good the food is. I scan the crowd for Haymitch, but he's sitting next to Maeve, who has adjusted her chair a few inches from his so they can be within touching distance while eating. I won't be able to talk to him until she's too far away to say something nasty to me. I probably won't get a word to him until we're in school, since we're both a year ahead in math and Maeve isn't in our class. I wait out the party until time has come for a toast. Mrs. Abernathy stands and raises her glass of champagne, toasting her son. The rest of us return the gesture with our drinks, and soon the party begins to disperse and we all return to our homes.
A few days later, I finally see Haymitch for the first time. He enters math class seconds after the bell rings, and the teacher smiles and congratulates him before asking him to be on time tomorrow. He nods and smiles for a moment, and comes and sits next to me in the back row of desks. As she begins to teach, I whisper to him so our words don't reach the front of the classroom.
"So you must be that Capitol boy everyone's talking about." I say, looking down at my notebook with a smirk. I can barely hear his chuckle, but it's there- he knows I'm mimicking the way he first greeted me when I came to school.
"Hey, Callie." He responds, pretending to take notes. "How've you been?"
"How have I been?" I looked at him with wide eyes, "Well your girlfriend slapped me and blamed me for your being reaped, and then I had to feel bad for it, but you just survived the Hunger Games, so I'll let you do the complaining."
"Maeve is just...Maeve. You know. Don't let her words get to you." Haymitch says quietly, "I'd rather not talk about the Games. You can vent all you want."
I don't want to vent about anything, and I'm just happy to be talking to Haymitch again, so I say, "I'm glad you won. It's good to see you, Haymitch."
A small, sad smile appears on his lips. He looks at me and nods, because there's nothing else to say about the Games. I decided to change the topic for his sake. "You missed a hell of a lot in math. Good luck making that up."
"Yeah, I'm completely lost." He lets out a natural laugh, which makes me feel better to see that he's still himself. "Help?"
I explain the lesson to him quietly until the bell rings, and Maeve appears at the door of the classroom, appearing almost out of thin air to escort Haymitch to his next class. The two of us walk to the door and Maeve shoots me a look.
"He's emotionally unstable from the Games. Leave him alone." She says, and I look at Haymitch questioningly. It ticks me off the she's making decision for him, because he seems fine to me, but I don't want an argument today, and it would only upset him. So I choose the next best thing to piss her off, and I give Haymitch a friendly hug before leaving. I can hear her cursing at me as I walk away, but I don't care. As long as he's okay, I'm happy today.