Exactly five reviews! Yay! I might not get another chapter in for awhile, because I'm flying home from Ireland tomorrow, and will be VERY jet lagged. So, be patient!
When we arrive at the training center, we are swept up a glass elevator. The sensation makes me feel sick, and I swear I am green by the time I arrive at floor 12, the penthouse, and the obvious floor for our district. Unfortunately, Effie will not be leaving us yet. She will be with us right into the arena. At least we'll get places, because Haymitch is no where to be seen, and is probably passed out drunk, not upholding his end of the bargain. Effie has been trying to win us sponsors, because, of course, she knows everyone in the Capitol. "I've been very mysterious, though," she says, her eyes squint half shut. "Because, of course, Haymitch hasn't bothered to tell me your strategies. But I've done my best with what I had to work with. How Katniss sacrificed herself for her sister. How you've both successfully struggled to overcome the barbarism of your district." Wow, thanks Effie. I'm so glad for your opinion on us and our district. "Everyone has their reservations, naturally. You being from the coal district. But I said, and this was very clever of me, I said, 'Well, if you put enough pressure on coal it turns to pearls!'" Effie says, beaming. She's wrong, but I respond to her cleverness just to make her happy. "Unfortunately, I can't seal the sponsor deals for you. Only Haymitch can do that," says Effie grimly. "But don't worry,
I'll get him to the table at gunpoint if necessary."
Effie against Haymitch. I wonder who would come out alive.
Effie leads us to our quarters, which once again are huge. They also have thousands of automatic buttons and microphones and switches. The shower has hundreds of different buttons for temperature and scent and texture of the water. I struggle with the shower, ending up smelling like lemons and lavender. I program the closet for a pair of jeans and a loose white shirt, then take off Delly's ankle bracelet that hasn't left my ankle since I left district 12. I examine it closely, seeing the complicated knots and the work and time Delly put into it. A tear drips down my face.
Portia walks into the room, and calls me to dinner. I sigh, and put the bracelet back on. She takes be to a balcony overlooking the Capitol, and we stand there in silence with Cinna until Effie and Katniss walk in.
I wonder if Haymitch will show up.
A young man offers us all glasses of wine. I refuse. I've tried wine before, and it's not very good. When Haymitch shows up, the meal is about to be served. It looks like he is keeping his end of the deal, because he's as sober as I've ever seen him. I participate in the discussion about our interview costumes, while Katniss just sits back and listens. Figures. Then, a girl comes in with a cake that she lights on fire. I grin. I've seen this trick before. Katniss, however, evidently hasn't. "What makes it burn?" she asks. "Is it alcohol? That's the last thing I was-Oh! I know you!" That's strange. She doesn't look like anyone I know from 12, and I know just about everybody. The girl shakes her head, and leaves the room, but the adults are watching Katniss. "Don't be ridiculous, Katniss. How could you possibly know an Avox?" snaps Effie. "The very thought."
"What's an avox?" Katniss asks, stupid like usual. I feel like banging my head on the table. The mess she's gotten herself into! I'll have to get her out, I suppose.
""Someone who committed a crime. They cut her tongue so she can't speak," says Haymitch. "She's probably a traitor of some sort. Not likely you'd know her."
"And even if you did, you're not to speak to one of them unless it's to give an order," says Effie. "Of course, you don't really know her."
"No, I guess not, I just.." Katniss stammers. I sigh. Now's just as good a time as any. I snap my fingers, naming the first person that comes to mind. "Delly Cartwright. That's who it is. I kept thinking she looked familiar as well. Then I realized she's a dead ringer for Delly." She looks just about as much like Delly as she looks like a pig, but that's okay. "Of course, that's who I was thinking of. It must be the hair," Katniss says gratefully. I almost snort. She could've saved herself. "Something about the eyes, too," I add, to make the story more believable. Now she owes me more. That can't be a bad thing, can it?
"Oh, well. If that's all it is," says Cinna. "And yes, the cake has spirits, but all the alcohol has burned off. I ordered it specially in honor of your fiery debut." I find it amazing the extravagance everyday life in the Capitol has. Can these people see it's not necessary? We eat the cake, then go to watch a recap of the opening ceremonies. We look amazing. "Whose idea was the hand holding?" asks Haymitch.
"Cinna's," says Portia.
"Just the perfect touch of rebellion," says Haymitch. "Very nice." Rebellion? Against the capitol? I remember Haymitch's defiance against the Capitol at the reaping. I eye our mentor with interest. Maybe he's not the drunk he pretends to be…
"Tomorrow morning is the first training session. Meet me for breakfast and I'll tell you exactly how I want you to play it," says Haymitch to Katniss and I. "Now go get some sleep while the grown-ups talk."
Katniss and I leave for our rooms, but I want to know just who she saw in the avox. I block the entrance to the room. "So, Delly Cartwright. Imagine finding her lookalike here." I say casually. Guessing that she may be hesitating on the pretense that we'll be overheard, I add, "Have you been on the roof yet?" She shakes her head. "Cinna showed me. You can practically see the whole city. The wind's a bit loud, though." Cinna didn't show me the roof, nor have I been up there. I just know there is a roof, you have views from roofs, and roofs have loud wind. So, this roof is probably like a roof. "Can we just go up?" Katniss asks. I inwardly groan. Didn't I just say that? "Sure, come on," I reply neutrally. I take her up; and found out I'm right. The roof is like a roof! What a surprise.
"I asked Cinna why they let us up here. Weren't they worried that some of the tributes might decide to jump right over the side?" I say, suddenly wondering about the problem but not wanting to seem unknowing. "What'd he say?" Katniss asks curiously. Uh oh…
I take the most likely path. "You can't," I guess. I stick my hand out, and am rewarded by an electric zap. I pull my hand back, biting back tears. "Some kind of electric field throws you back on the roof."
"Always worried about our safety," Katniss replies humorlessly. "Do you think they're watching us now?" she says, worried. "Maybe," I admit, not knowing a thing about the roof. "Come and see the garden." I lead her towards the flowers I saw when we came up. I look at Katniss waiting to hear her story. . "We were hunting in the woods one day. Hidden, waiting for game," she whispers.
"You and your father?" I whisper back.
"No, my friend Gale." Gale! That was the kid who wanted to see my father yesterday. Was it really only yesterday? Katniss continues. "Suddenly all the birds stopped singing at once. Except one. As if it were giving a warning call. And then we saw her. I'm sure it was the same girl. A boy was with her. Their clothes were tattered. They had dark circles under their eyes from no sleep. They were running as if their lives depended on it," she falls silent. I goad her on silently, praying she continues.
"The hovercraft appeared out of nowhere," She continued. "I mean, one moment the sky was empty and the next it was there. It didn't make a sound, but they saw it. A net dropped down on the girl and carried her up, fast, so fast like the elevator. They shot some sort of spear through the boy. It was attached to a cable and they hauled him up as well. But I'm certain he was dead. We heard the girl scream once. The boy's name, I think. Then it was gone, the hovercraft. Vanished into thin air. And the birds began to sing again, as if nothing had happened."
"Did they see you?" I ask. Probably, if she's our avox.
"I don't know. We were under a shelf of rock," I reply.
"You're shivering," I say, starting up the play of friendship. I take off my jacket and wrap up around her shoulders. "They were from here?" I ask. She nods. "Where do you suppose they were going?" I wonder.
"I don't know that," she replies. "Or why they would leave here."
"I'd leave here," I say loudly. Too loudly. I quickly cover for myself. "I'd go home now if they let me. But you have to admit, the food's prime." I'm such a good liar. "It's getting chilly. We better go in," I say, suprising myself. I was genuinely enjoying that moment with Katniss, for once. Inside, it's warm. I ask, on a whim, "Your friend Gale. He's the one who took your sister away at the reaping?"
"Yes. Do you know him?"
"Not really. I hear the girls talk about him a lot. I thought he was your cousin or something. You favor each other," I answer.
"No, we're not related," she says.
"Did he come to say good-bye to you?"
"Yes. So did your father. He brought me cookies." Really? That's news to me. "Really? Well, he likes you and your sister. I think he wishes he had a daughter instead of a houseful of boys. "He knew your mother when they were kids," I say, remembering his confession of love for her. "Oh, yes. She grew up in town," Katniss replies. "See you in the morning then."
"See you," I say, then head down the hall, where I crash, exhausted, on the bed and immediately fall asleep.