Chuck enters the house chirpily surprising me completely.
"Oh hey. Didn't think you'd be here until tonight." I call from the kitchen as I put the milk into my cereal bowl.
"Hey babe, thought I'd pop by before work." He calls as he pulls off his workers boots. I come out the kitchen and join him in the living room.
He pulls me into a hug leaning down and kissing my lips. Pleased that he dropped by before work, I toe him over to the sofa where he begins telling me about the old lady who bought a beat up old rocking chair. I nod enthusiastically at his story, nodding and agreeing in all the right places.
I'm just about to start eating my bowl of granola, when the phone rings. I jump up and run to the phone before it stops.
"Hello?" I say sitting back down on Chuck's knee.
"Hey Jo, it's me." Finnick says chirpily. I use my free hand to stroke Chuck's chest in a silent plea for him not to get mad.
"Hey Finn. How're you?" I ask still studying Chuck's face in great detail.
"Good. Jo have you heard about this new honey made by 'bumblebees' it's so good." He says.
Right. This is no small talk. This is about a certain bumblebee. This is about Plutarch Heavensbee. He is asking if I've heard from him.
"No I haven't." I reply.
"Oh. Well it's been promoted to the best honey in the hive." He drifts off. Best honey in the hive? I'm still sat in complete confusion when something suddenly triggers in my mind. Plutarch has been promoted to Head Games Maker. Apparently Finnick's just as good as Fulvia at this code talking.
"Really? You'll never guess what Silver told 've had to hire a 'crane' to build lights for the games next year. Is that true?" I ask him. That probably makes no sense but hopefully he registers that I'm meaning Seneca Crane. What have they possibly done to this man? I'm sure he'll be in trouble for the stunt that Miss Everdeen played but demoting him?
"Not true. They've got rid of the Crane." He says and there's this slight humour behind his words. Got rid of him? Does that mean they've forced him to an early retirement or that they've killed him?
"Really?" I ask.
"Hmm. I've bought a new wardrobe to hang my clothes in. Think you'd like the wood." He says drawing at the word 'Hang'.
Could that even be possible? Does he really mean that Seneca Crane has been hung?
"You're kidding?" I breathe.
"We don't particularly need it but its definitely going to BENEFIT us." He chuckles. It sure is. It's going to benefit this whole rebellion. What an interesting games this next one is going to be if we have a rebel making it.
"Right. Have you heard anything from the Capitol recently?" I ask him. I haven't been informed once since I left the Capitol and it is really starting to aggravate me.
"Afraid not. Sure we will do soon. Later Mason." He says just as Chuck begins kissing my bare arm in boredom.
"Take care Odair." I say with a laugh putting down the phone and turning my attention to the boy who's lips are trailing down my goose-bumped skin.
I pull my hand through his hair making him look up at me. I kiss his hairline then jump off his knee and towards the kitchen.
"You fancy a coffee?" I ask Chuck as I pop my head around the corner. He gives me an apologetic look as his eyes fall back from me to his watch.
"It's fine. I'll walk with you, I'll check on Egor on the way back." I assure him grabbing my jacket off the hook and putting on my snow boots.
I take his hand as we emerge out into the cold air. You think we'd get a break from all the snow at some point but we never do. Even when the snow does clear it soon comes back and hits us in the face after a little while.
I'm surprised by the emptiness of the market to be honest. The textiles store is almost completely bare except for the stuff he makes himself. "No money?" I ask him as we past. He gives me a shake of his head telling me I'm wrong.
"Don't know Dear. We've had no material in for weeks. Something dodgy going on in 8 ma love." He says going back to his work.
How odd. Why would there be shortage of material? 8 are a hardworking District from what I'm aware of.
"See you later." Chuck says unaware that I am lost in thought.
"Bye." I say as he kisses my forehead.
I walk slowly through the market probably being the most inconvenient person ever. Women with babies in prams dodge past me as I walk into thin air unaware of my surroundings.
Egor looks relatively dead when I enter the house.
"Wake up!" I scream irritably as he screams and shouts in his sleep. He brings himself conscious pretending that he hadn't even been asleep.
"Lorraine?" He says croakily.
To be honest I have no idea who half the people he blabbers onto me are but it's easier to just go along with it so I nod.
"How're you?" I ask him with as much concern as I can master. If anything this man is a burden to Blight and I, since if it wasn't to him we'd get away with drowning ourselves in a bottle for the year.
He's talking to me about the magpie he saw perched on his window this morning but I am still in complete oblivion about Finnick and I's have killed Seneca Crane. They have subconsciously awarded this prestigious role to a man who is no more Capitol loving than you or I. They have been outsmarted by the bumblebee himself. He now rules this hive.