Chapter 18:
After viewing both the Reaping Day and opening ceremonies, we are ready for bed. Training looms on everyone's mind, and it's crucial for Prim and Paavo to sleep well, but the rest of us too- because whatever they tell us after their training sessions is going to be needed to devise strategies for the alliance- so we will need to feel rested, quick-witted, and prepared.
I don't stay in the suite tonight, but instead sleep in Prim's bed down the hall. Things are slightly awkward with Peeta with the kiss, and catching him so blatantly checking out Finnick's sister on TV, so I am a bit relieved to temporarily avoid any uncomfortable conversations with him. But mostly, Prim and I only have a few more nights to spend together, after which I probably won't ever see her again. After viewing the other tributes last night, I force myself to acknowledge the reality that for Prim, even after her extensive training, the odds aren't exactly in her favor.
Prim and I awake by 9 a.m. to ensure that she has plenty of time to get ready before heading down to the below-ground portion of the Training Center. I do anything to try to keep her from getting nervous; I sing to her as we braid her hair, I make sure that she has everything that she needs. I don't leave her side. At about a quarter to ten, we collect Haymitch, Paavo, and Peeta and head down the hall to the elevator.
"Okay, remember guys," as we enter the elevator Haymitch starts in on his spiel, though Prim and Paavo have heard it already- I suppose it can't hurt for them to hear it again though, especially in their state of mind. "Check out every station of survival skills. Every one. But there are a number of stations, particularly knot-tying, edible/medicinal plants, camouflaging, and fire-starting- where you shouldn't need to spend very much time at all. Your only objective for these stations is to try to assess what type of environment the arena will be, and determine whether that environment will change your strategy in regards to the particular task. Will the arena be a rainforest? Deciduous forest? Desert?" he rattles off some of the most common ones seen in the Games. "Make sure that whatever climate you suspect the arena will be won't affect your ability to perform the task, but then move on. Take notes, and be sure to report back anything to us this evening."
Paavo and Prim nod solemnly. Haymitch can really turn it on when he wants to. His speech is impassioned and moving, almost Capitol-esque- before everyone realized what awful people they were.
"Now," Haymitch continues, really warmed up now, "Paavo and Prim, you both are to skip the knife-throwing as well the as archery station- Paavo, you don't want the other tributes to see what you can do- and Prim- uh, you don't either. Instead, spend some time using the hand-to-hand combat weapons- they were the ones that unfortunately we had difficulty obtaining in District 12 for your training. Prim, they are bound to have a trident- for the District 4 tributes if no one else- try to practice using it. You might feel more comfortable with a weapon that doesn't have to leave your hand. God, I hope so."
Paavo and Prim nod again. A quiet tear forms in the corner of Prim's eye at the insensitivity of what Haymitch just said, but she doesn't speak up. I'm tempted to chew Haymitch out for her, but he quickly moves on.
"Also, find ways to talk to the tributes from some other districts. You know, the ones that we spoke about before?" Haymitch is purposefully being vague since we are riding a Capitol elevator. We essentially were told to assume that everything here at the Capitol is bugged. Talking about alliances themselves is not necessarily suspicious, but under no circumstances should it be revealed what the alliance actually plans to do, and if it isn't obvious who's aligned, at least at first, all the better. He continues, "I was able to speak with one of the other district mentors today. He told me that some of the tributes might want to talk to you about forming an alliance. For today, I don't want you to ask them about it directly, but strike up as many conversations as you can, and see who brings it up. Tell us tonight who has asked you- and we'll see where we stand." Haymitch goes on. "All right. That's it for now. Any questions for today?"
Prim and Paavo slowly shake their heads. Prim is visibly trembling. I give her a quick hug as the elevator door opens on the bottom floor.
"Good luck today, Little Duck," I say, giving her a kiss on the cheek and a wink. She gives me a half-smile in return, letting me know that she appreciates my effort in cheering her up, regardless of whether or not it actually worked.
"All right. Good luck down there. Come back up to our floor and meet us for dinner when you're done." Haymitch shoos Prim and Paavo out the door as he hits the Close button. Then Haymitch, Peeta, and I are skyrocketing back towards the 12th floor.
Peeta and I don't have much to do all day- just make sure we're rested for tonight. Haymitch is hunting down sponsors, Effie is off socializing with Capitol people- and we have no access to anything going on in the training rooms.
We are walking towards our suite when I decide that I may as well address the awkwardness of last night, since I haven't yet had the chance to talk with him about it. I dive in. "Look, about last night…"
"Look, if you're mad, I don't know what to tell you," Peeta says defensively. "I was just looking at her- she's a really attractive girl- but that's it. I'm already embarrassed enough about it as it is. Caught on camera. Sheesh," he rambles. Clearly he is not comfortable with the subject matter.
"Look, I'm not mad," I say. "Just…" I shrug, trying to put into words what I'm feeling, coming up unsuccessful. Is it jealousy?
The minute my mind begins to try and wrap itself around that word, Peeta looks at me with a sly smile. "Whoa, you're jealous, aren't you? Huh."
I shrug again, wishing he would drop it. He does, but not before he says, "I'd be looking at you the same way if you wore something like that, you know." His smile is a mile wide as he says it.
We end up spending the day watching TV in the sitting room. Not productive TV, mind you- the mindless drivel that the people of the Capitol tend to eat up with a spoon. It is a day off for us, of sorts- until we hear from Prim and Paavo how their training went. Given how tense things are going to be once Prim and Paavo are in the arena, and how hard Peeta and I have worked over the last few months in training them, we are both grateful to pass the reigns to someone else, if only for a few days.
At five o'clock, Haymitch and Effie return to the floor, almost giddy. Not surprisingly, Cinna's outfits were a huge success, and Haymitch in particular has been talking up sponsors all day, with very promising results. Whether those 'very promising results' actually translate into something useful for Prim in the arena is another story, but it's at least a start.
At five-thirty, Prim and Paavo open the doors to the sitting room. Effie, Haymitch, Peeta, and I immediately swarm them, peppering them with questions about the training center. 'Did anyone ask you about an alliance?' 'Did you learn any new weapons?' 'Do you know what kind of arena it's going to be?"
Prim's timid responses: "Yeah, actually all of the tributes from Districts 3, 4, 7, and 8 approached us. No one from 11 yet though" and "No, I haven't gotten to any of the weapons stations yet; watching the other tributes with weapons scared me, so I stuck with the survival stations,". She sounded much more eager, though, and had a gleam in her eye, when she said, "I don't know what type of environment the arena will be. The plants that they had were inconsistent with any one climate. They had plants from tropical climates and ones from much cooler ones- so it's clear they've been engineered by the Capitol to thrive in different conditions, unless the Capitol is putting some in the training center that won't be in the arena just to throw us off the track. One thing's for sure, though- some of the plants with medicinal properties were really, really strong- stronger than anything that Mom has ever had. The leaves were abnormally large on a lot of them. I don't know if the Capitol wants the plants to save people or poison them- but I think they could do either, or both. Oh, and as for the edible ones a few of them were flowering much more than you would expect. They might end up being a substantial food source."
A full day of training, watching all of the other tributes master sharp and deadly weapons, and Prim wants to talk about plants. It's going to be a long four days.