Chapter 33: 76th Reaping
December melts into June in the blink of an eye. In the interim, Katniss and I celebrate Riley's first birthday on March 17th. I bake a beautiful cake, and we give her tons of presents. Haymitch even bequeaths her with a toy rocking horse he apparently whittled himself.
When June rears its ugly head, so does the Reaping - my first as a Victor. In the weeks leading up to it, Haymitch and I discuss our mentoring duties, and quietly agree that we will both attend for the next few years until I have sufficiently learned the process. Only then will we trade off.
The day of the Reaping dawns humid and sticky, and I can't tell if my profuse sweating is naturally from the heat or just plain nerves. This will be Katniss's last Reaping ever - if she can just get through the day without being picked, we will be free to live as a family together forever.
Of course, the odds have a weird way of choosing who is not in its favor.
"Katniss Everdeen!" Effie calls and I nearly choke. In the crowd, I can actually see 14 year old Prim begin to open her mouth to volunteer but Katniss shoots her a look that warns her to keep quiet. Wordlessly, my lover takes the stage with Riley squirming in her arms, and wailing. The sight flusters Mayor Undersee.
"Should she have the baby with her?"
Katniss looks like she wants to attack the portly fellow, so I step in. "As her mentor, she has my permission, sir." I don't really know if I actually have the authority to dictate who can be in our entourage and who cannot, but none of the Peacekeepers make a big stink.
Effie draws from the boys bowl. "Benny Roberts!" A boy of twelve takes the stage and I want to cry. He reminds me painfully of Jesse, Martin's district partner whom I failed to save last year.
The ceremony wraps up unusually quickly. Peacekeepers practically sprint us all onto the train and it is pulling out of the station within two or three minutes. The hurriedness unnerves me.
But not as much as the fact that my family might be torn apart all over again.
Like last year with Haymitch and Bond, dinner is a painfully silent gathering. Everyone seems to be on edge: Haymitch is already on his second bottle of liquor, Effie for once is stone-cold quiet and Benny can barely eat his food without his hands shaking.
And Riley? My child has not stopped crying since Katniss's name was drawn, which by now is leaving her mother quite frazzled. She shoots a look of pure venom at me.
"Peeta…. can you please not just sit there staring into space and help me calm OUR CHILD?"
I get up, trying not to let a sigh escape my lips and circle the table, taking the wailing infant from her. Nothing changes.
After trying and failing to rock her to sleep, I thrust Riley back into Katniss's arms. "This isn't working. Take her to your room and put her to bed. We need your undivided attention while we mentor you."
"Fine," Katniss snaps shortly, before turning on her heel and marching out of the dining car.
Jeez. I haven't seen her this angry since her mood swings while she was pregnant.
At last, she returns, but no longer seems angry, just….. tired.
"She's asleep."
"Good," Haymitch huffs, shifting in his chair. "Let's get down to business. Now, the way I usually do things is to let you guys ask questions of me first. Either of you have anything?"
Benny's eyes shift nervously to Haymitch before returning to his plate. He remains quiet. I get the feeling that the poor kid has given up hope. It reminds me of something Haymitch said to me on my first ride to the Capitol: victors choose between their tributes. And even if Katniss was not the woman whom I slept with every night, I would certainly throw my lot in with her to win. So that's what I do. Comparing Benny to Katniss, and his resignation, only make my job easier.
"How do we win?" Katniss asks with determination.
Haymitch smirks. "I think you can answer that question better than I can, sweetheart. How do you think?"
"Sponsors," she answers.
"Bingo. That's the most important thing, but it's not the only thing. You will need to judge whether or not you can handle the Bloodbath. My advice: grab what's nearest you and then take off."
I pitch in. "Also really important: if you want allies, get them. You will have to start right away laying that groundwork in training. Martin and I became close last year and then agreed to team up."
I can tell by the look on Katniss's face that she rejects this idea. But then again, she never was very good at making friends, which only makes me marvel how she even fell in love with me in the first place. I trust her judgement, though. With her hunting skills, she might have what it takes to strike out on her own in the arena.
"But most important of all…" and I look to Haymitch before we say simultaneously, "You have to make people like you!"