Chapter 2
District 12 had blown all of the other chariots out of the water, no question about it. Whoever their stylist had been, Thresh wished he and Rue had had him/her.
All the tributes were gathered in front of the Tribute Training Center, chatting before going in. Thresh let Rue do the talking. He was too quiet, too reserved, too shy.
He wouldn't be able to keep up that excuse for long.
"Look, Thresh, look! It's her! District 12!" Rue squealed, tugging on his sleeve and pointing in a direction. Before Thresh could even look her way, Rue was off, and he had no choice but to keep up with her.
Rue bounced right over to Katniss Everdeen – she was strangely not with her district partner, that Mellark boy (what was his name? Peeta?). The two girls began chatting as Thresh sidled up.
"…. Oh, well thank you, everyone's been telling me I was brave…" Katniss trailed off as her piercing grey eyes met Thresh's green ones. She did a double take, then broke into a beaming smile. Thresh suddenly became very nervous.
"Threshy?" she asked, using the nickname she had given him as a youngster. "My goodness, you've grown!"
Thresh found himself smiling back at the compliment. "So have you," he said quickly. Wait, was that insulting? "Grown more beautiful, I mean." No, that wouldn't fly either. "For a Seam girl, I mean." She's going to think I'm an idiot.
Katniss merely shook her head and laughed. "Oh, Threshy, you'll always be that little boy I remember playing in the Meadow with in Twelve."
Something about this comment turned Thresh off. Hadn't she just noticed he had obviously grown? He wasn't little anymore!
But Rue was already jabbing away to her new friend again, Katniss being very attentive and animated with her. Both ladies seemed to like each other. Thresh could only roll his eyes in amusement. Girls….