Disclaimer: I do not own Hunger Games and anything from the novels is attributed to its author.
What can I say? School got busy and has been consuming my time. Here is the next chapter. Please review to let me know what you think. It helps the chapters to come faster when I know I'm on the right track. Enjoy!
Chapter 18
The Penthouse
"Good job, sweettart." Haymitch grumbles, giving me a thumb up against his better judgment. The annoyed gleam in his eyes reminds me of how I turned one of my mentors against me before the reaping. If I want the best chance to survive long enough to help Peeta win, I have to get Haymitch on my side. This might just be an impossible task.
The parade ends up being an overwhelming affair with the shouts and screams from the crowd drowning me in noise. Holding hands with Peeta set us apart, eliciting cries of adoration from the Capitol and glowers from our fellow tributes once the parade ends. Flaming wings erupting from our backs gain us looks of envy and the hearts of the capitol people. Our stylists' idea of presenting a united front, mirror reflections of each other, works out better than any of us expected, almost too well.
The glares from our fellow tributes as Peeta and I step off the chariot confirm my bitter suspicions. While the united front and fiery display helps us gain the Capitol's attention, it also took it away from the other tributes. I glance around the room, wincing each time a formidable glare is cast our way. One of the tributes catches my eye, the strength of his anger trapping me in his gaze. The male tribute from 2 does a cutting motion across his throat as he looks at me, the bloodlust reflecting within his eyes terrifying. Monster…
I look away quickly, trying desperately to calm my frantic heartbeat. How can they allow such monsters into the Games? The answer to this is easy, entertainment value. Who doesn't love a good slaughter of our districts' children, cheering enthusiastically for the death of the weak ones and sympathetically for the strong ones who will fight? The capitol does. The only way to find out where Peeta and I fit into this particular lot is through evaluations and scores. In order for sponsors to find out if we are strong enough to survive, we have to play the game by their rules. Damn bastards.
"You were wonderful Ms. Everdeen!" Effie exclaims, snapping me out of my morbid thoughts. I never thought I would be happy to see the peacock until this moment. Maybe Ms. Trinket has uses after all. Besides making my life a living hell for her personal enjoyment.
"Thank you Effie." I reply pleasantly, causing all the surrounding conversation from our companions to cease. Apparently my kind remark to the peacock is surprising enough to all parties. Am I really that mean to the capitol woman? Considering all the hell she has put my family, friends, and me through, it would be shocking to see me be friendly towards her. I should do stuff like this more often if I can get this kind of response.
"You alright there, Sweettart?" Haymitch prods a flicker of concern lacing in with his words. I must be hallucinating. Who would have thought that Haymitch cared about my wellbeing still? There is no reason he would even show a hint of worry for me after the way I treated him over the last few years. I deserve his scorn much to my chagrin.
A slight smile from me is his answer, causing curses to erupt from his lips as he turns to Katniss. They whisper frantically to each other, Haymitch's eyes darting around anxiously during the entire conversation. Katniss shakes her head, biting her bottom lip as she glances back at me. I groan in frustration, realizing that I must have done something to aggravate them.
Peeta places a hand on my shoulder, causing me to look up due to his tall frame. Blue eyes gleam with confusion, trying to understand what is going on with our mentors. I shrug my shoulders, grey eyes expressing my own mirroring confusion. We make quite the pair. Tributes lost in the aftermath of the situation, unable to understand what exactly we did wrong to aggravate our mentors. I know I am the one in trouble by default, Peeta guilty only by his association with me. This has always been the case, even with Kit-Kat and Prim.
Effie is oblivious to the entire situation, checking the itinerary while clucking quietly to herself. Her drawn eyebrows scrunch up as she frowns, her annoying clucking increasing in volume. Peeta suppresses a chuckle at my annoyed expression, knowing that my kindness towards the capitol peacock is quickly evaporating. How anyone can stand this woman in large doses is a mystery to me.
Not able to take her chicken noises anymore, I clear my throat loudly in agitation. Effie glances up from her clipboard, an air-headed smile lighting up her face. She waves her finger at me, a condescending tone taking over as she chirps. "Nightlock is there something in your throat?"
A blush splatters my cheeks as I fight the urge to correct her; knowing arguing with the woman is pointless. Her dull and slow processing of thought makes it impossible to use reason against her. Katniss once told me that Effie believes that if you press a coal hard enough, it will become a diamond. I couldn't stop laughing for a whole minute after she told me this. What kind of an idiot believes stuff like this? Effie Trinket, the capitol peacock, of course.
Peeta comes to my rescue, taking pity on my self-brought humiliation from Effie. "She is fine, Effie." He states, casting a wink in my direction. I groan quietly, wondering why I am glutton for punishment in front of Peeta. The capitol might as well kill me now.
Effie studies the both of us, suspicion creeping into her eyes as she clucks in agitation. "Well, we will be heading upstairs soon." She taps the clipboard, smiling knowingly. "Must keep to the schedule dearies."
Oh yes, the blasted schedule that Effie lives and breathes by. It would be horrible if she somehow misplaces it or it somehow accidently catches fire. I can imagine quite a few things I would love to do to that damn schedule. Too bad I will never get my hands on the horrible thing. For all I know, the peacock probably baths and sleeps with it.
"Sweettart stop plotting." Haymitch scolds, a smug smile forming at he reads my mind. How the heck did he even know? He must have gotten his answer from Katniss, since she is watching the proceedings with cool indifference. Do I even want to know what they have decided to do about me?
I roll my eyes, giving Haymitch the fiercest glare I can muster. "She started it." I mumble, shuffling my feet uneasily. The lack of concern from my sister is frightening me as Haymitch chuckles at my childish comeback. Smug drunken bastard.
"Now children play nicely." Peeta jokes, trying to ease the tension growing between Haymitch and myself. It works much to my surprise, Haymitch taking on a sterner demeanor. I search out Peeta, seeking the silent support that my sister refuses to give. Blue holds gray as the tension in my body eases, the patience and calm that Peeta naturally exudes working wonders on my frazzled nerves. With Peeta silently supporting me, I can handle anything Haymitch throws at me.
"As you two can guess, this is not the place to discuss our personal feelings." Haymitch states quietly, a serious tone to his words. Peeta and I nod our heads in response, waiting for him to continue. "This would be a good time for Ms. Trinket to lead us to our rooms. Isn't that right Effie?"
Effie almost preens herself in excitement, an overwhelming sense of importance taking over her features. If Haymitch wants to give her even more of a superiority complex, he has succeeded. She clucks as if to spite me, her bright white teeth gleaming as she speaks. "Yes, yes. Right this way." She motions us towards the elevators on the far side of the room.
Suppressing the recurring urge to strangle her once again, I follow the rest of our little group to the elevators. I elect to remain at Peeta's side much to his amusement, not wishing to confront Katniss about her abrupt change in behavior yet. Peeta surprises me by placing an arm around my waist casually, winking at me as we pass by the other tributes. Haymitch coughs behind us, making my back stiffen as I feel his eyes on me. Damn him to hell.
I shoot a quick glare behind me, hoping that he will understand my anger. Haymitch smirks at me, winking obnoxiously in my direction. My cheeks flush from embarrassment, the damn idiot once again getting one over me. There has to be a way to get back at him. Maybe a full night's rest will help me. I quickly turn back around, fighting to keep my eyes forward and ignore Haymitch behind me. Smug drunk.
We enter the elevators, the entire group fitting with ease. Since I am still refusing to leave his side, Peeta guides us to the back of the elevator. Katniss gives us an analyzing stare, as if to try to figure out what is going on between us. I give her a half-hearted smile, shrugging my shoulders in indifference. Nothing is going on between Peeta and me except support between tributes. It is not like the capitol will reprimand us for Peeta touching my waist.
"Well each district gets a floor." Effie chirps as the doors close, still jittery with excitement. She glances down at the schedule as the elevator moves, continuing to speak as she reads. "Since you guys are from District 12, you get the penthouse."
"Oh goody…" I mutter, rolling my eyes at her. Whatever a penthouse is, it can't be that amazing. The elevator dings as we reach our destination, the doors open to reveal an ostentatious and over-decorated room that I assume is the penthouse. My mouth drops as we exit the elevator, taking in the over the top design and look of the room.
Effie happily steps into the room, indicating to two people to come forward. She points to us, smiling conceitedly the entire time. "These two will show you to your rooms. You will find all the proper necessities waiting for you. If there is anything you need, just let them know and they will get them for you. Dinner is in an hour. Any questions?" She asks, giving us a look that there better be none.
I shake my head mirroring Peeta's motions, knowing I will have plenty of time to rile the peacock up during dinner. The girl steps forward, bowing her head slightly as she indicates with her hands to follow her. Sharing one last glance with Peeta, who winks at me in encouragement, I follow the girl towards the back of the room and down a long hallway. My eyes can't keep still, constantly analyzing the room and scanning every detail the penthouse has to offer.
The girl stops in front of a door, pressing a button that opens to reveal a bedroom that is decorated in the same style as the rest of the penthouse. She walks inside, motioning me to come in and take a look around. She stands off to the side, waiting quietly as I take in the bedroom that easily fit our old house from the Seam.
I gasp and turn to look at the girl, a question on my tongue. Seeing the exasperated look on her face, I bite back the question and smile sheepishly. "Thank you. I will let you know if I need anything." She nods in acknowledgment, quickly exiting through the open door. The door shuts behind her, leaving me alone for the first time in hours.
Collapsing on the bed comes easily, my body physically exhausted from the grueling torture from my stylist team and the excitement of the parade. I tug at the curls in my hair, wishing nothing more than to get rid of them. Mustering up my remaining strength, I stand and head to the bathroom. The sight that greets me makes me almost shriek with excitement. A fully functional shower and tub sit in the corner of the room, waiting for me to choose which to use. This makes the day's torture almost worth it.
Quickly stripping off the ridiculous outfit, I lay it on the bed to keep it from getting wrecked. Even if the dress is too over the top for me, Cinna must have spent hours making it and I would be a horrible person if I ruined it. I rip the ornaments out of my hair, biting back a cry of pain as one gets tangled in the curls. Working my nimble fingers quickly, I untangle it and toss it next to the others on the bed.
I elect to take a shower, studying the numerous buttons that weren't labeled. I hit two of them, hoping to get an idea of their function as pink colored water comes out with the scent of roses. My stomach churns as the familiar smell, memories of meeting President Snow rushing to the forefront of my mind. Fighting off the urge to vomit, I press two more buttons in hopes of getting rid of the rose smell.
A spicy smell comes out next, the water turning a darker red color in response to the new scent. I sniff the air, finding the new scent pleasant enough to keep as I step in under the water and wash out the product in my hair. A sigh escapes me as I feel my tense muscles ease, the water massaging my skin soothingly. This feels amazing.
After shampoo, conditioner, and almost falling asleep twice, I step out of the shower feeling clean and like myself for the first time all day. I towel myself off before wrapping the towel around me as I walk back into the other room. The clothes on the bed are gone along with the ornaments with a new outfit laid out for me. I bite my lip nervously, my eyes darting around looking for the intruder.
I take a deep breath before quickly changing into a rust colored dress that falls thankfully at my knees. With a quick trip back to the bathroom, my hair is held up messily with a clip, wet strands tickling my cheeks as I slick on some slippers the same color as the dress. Not wishing to even attempt to put on makeup, I glance at my appearance in the mirror. Good enough.
A knock at the door gains my attention, making me rush over to open it. Katniss is standing on the other side, a grim expression on her face. Katniss smiles slightly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Mind if I come in?" She asks quietly, shaking me out of my stupor.
I shuffle back, allowing space for her to step into the room. She walks forward, the door shutting behind her as she turns around to look at me. I must have appeared confused as she licks her lips and addresses me for the first time all day. "We need to talk Lock."
"About what?" I mumble, sitting on the bed. What did I do now?
She turns away from me, refusing to look in my eyes. "I think the capitol is planning to get you to kill in the arena."
I laugh hollowly, surprising her with my callousness to her statement. "Of course they are, Kit-Kat. It is survival of the fittest." She shakes her head, grey eyes boring into mine as she speaks. The pain I see in them drains the color in my face as her next words stab me deep.
"They plan on making you kill Peeta."