The Interview
I wish the first time I had suggested the idea I had made Katniss go. Nothing would have happened to her, to Prim, to my siblings. "We should run away," I had said only half in jest…"I wish" she'd replied.
"Gale, wake up. Mom wants you to wake up. The interviews start in an hour. Are we heading over early again?" Rory sits beside me on the bed as I groggily rub my eyes and stretch out.
"Are you sure you want to come today? You'll be there for the next two days. You should get some homework done so you don't forget and have a little bit of fun. Play catch with Vick tonight, he'd love that."
I grab a clean shirt and throw it on and pull on my boots. Rory sits beside me, clearly enticed by the thought of playing catch instead of watching the interview. It's mandatory viewing again, so they will hear it from wherever they are. The peacekeepers won't say anything to them. I give my mom a kiss on the cheek and thank her again as I head out the door. This time, I take the long route to their house. I already ate at home and we have food ready or tomorrow. We are all going to cram into the Everdeen house; my mom wants to be there to help for the day.
I take my time, kicking a rock along with me. Tomorrow is it. I feel only tightness in my chest and a nauseous feeling in my stomach as I walk. I try taking deep breaths, but it doesn't really help. So I finally make my way to the Everdeen house. Buttercup is sitting outside guarding the door and I nearly step on it.
"Hi Gale," Mrs. Everdeen mutters as she cleans up some bowls.
"Want me to finish that?" I ask. I eye Prim in the bedroom staring at something in her hand.
"No, no, thank you but you have done enough. Prim! Could you please put the last few shirts away? Are your mom and siblings still okay to come over tomorrow?"
I nod. "Yeah, they've got some food prepared for everyone for lunch already."
She sighs and puts down the towel that she had been twisting in her hands. "I don't know if I'll be able to eat tomorrow."
"You don't have to, but it will be there if you want it. I'll take Prim's goat milk to the Hob tonight after the interviews and again tomorrow night when some of the venders open up. You don't need to worry about those things."
"Thank you. I mean it, Gale. Thank you."
"You know how much you guys mean to me. You're family. This is what families do. You don't have to thank me."
"I know Katniss sleeps better knowing that you're around. You need to take care of yourself too, your eyes are bloodshot. I can give you a tea leaf to help you sleep tonight."
"Thanks. I could use it tonight for sure. You should have some too so you will sleep through."
She smiled, "I believe I will."
When we all pull the chair up to the screen, Caesar, dressed in a bizarre suit covered in lightbulbs, is already joking and talking about the excitement of the interviews and the start of the 74th Hunger Games. I see shadows in the background of the raised circular stage where Caesar takes his spoon-shaped seat and calls down Glimmer.
She wears a see-through gold dress that makes me glad I let Rory stay home. It's clear that she is being portrayed this way to get sponsors, but I think it makes her look weak. She grins and laughs as Caesar comments on the dress and her determination to win the Games. After all, she didn't let anyone volunteer for her. But I can't see her as a threat to Katniss when she stands up after her interview and skips off the stage innocently, but also with a not-so-subtle subtext. There is a light that goes on above her as she takes her seat in the arch of tributes despite the others remaining in the dark.
I strain to see Katniss. I want to talk to her, to tell her what I can see. Clove is sadistic and proud of it. When Caesar asks how badly she wants to win, she replies that she'd kill her own mother for the honor of winning. I can tell she isn't lying, despite the innocent laugh that she tries after she speaks. Cato is too confident, his downfall will be in his arrogance. Rue, the little girl who I know must remind Katniss of Prim is sweet when she talks.
"I'm very hard to catch. And if they can't catch me, they can't kill me. So don't count me out."
I hope it doesn't work out as well as she'd like. Katniss would never kill this girl if it came down to the two of them. And I instantly regret my thoughts. I stand and walk behind the table, needing a moment of the air near the door hitting my face. I run my hands over my face. What have I become? I wonder. I just wished for someone to kill this innocent 12 year old. I let out a long breath. I want Katniss to win, of course, but how can I support her while not supporting the games. I want 23 children to die so Katniss can live. I shudder as I suddenly feel like a member of the Capitol. And I hate myself for it.
When I go back over, they are finishing with Thresh from District 11 and calling Katniss. The lights go up on her as she heads down the steps to Caesar. The camera jumps to the audience as they are clapping, making noises of approval for what I assume is her outfit. Then the camera is back on her and I can see why.
Every step she takes, the light hits her dress and reflects off small expensive stones, thousands of them, red, yellow, white and even blue on the edges. Her every move gives the impression of live flames and danger. Her skin is smooth and sparkling. There is light bouncing off her skin too now, and her eyes are made big and bold by Capitol makeup. There are colors weaved into her braided hair and her lips are fiery red.
"She looks beautiful," murmurs Prim.
"Yeah, she does…" I find myself whispering back.
Caesar is yelling about the Girl on Fire as she makes her way to the seat. I swallow hard and watch one of the screens of the audience as they go crazy. She's sure makes an impression, even more than Glitter or whatever her name is. Caesar takes her hand as she sits and stared into the audience. She is looking for someone, someone I can only assume is Haymitch.
"So Katniss, the Capitol must be quite a change from District Twelve. What's impressed you most since you arrived here?" She opens her mouth, but no words come out. Her eyes flit back to the giggling audience before she turns to Caesar. "What's impressed you mist since you arrived here?"
She thinks for a second before almost shrugging. "The lamb stew." The audience roars, as does Caesar.
"The one with the dried plums? Oh I eat it by the bucketful! It doesn't show, does it?" He has a way with the audience, turning her three word response into something that got the audience loving every second. "Now Katniss, when you came out in the opening ceremonies, my heart actually stopped. What did you think of that costume?"
What does that have to do with the Games? How will that question get her sponsors?
"I'm sure he has a reason, Gale." I glance over to Mrs. Everdeen and realize I'd spoken out loud. Her face is kind, but she is worried that I'm right.
"You mean after I got over my fear of being burned alive?"
I laugh. It reminds me of how she talks to me in the woods, open and honest, and never holding back. I lean back in my seat and watch her as she talks about her dress and her stylist. She looks like she's uncomfortable, but the more the audience laughs, the more relaxed she becomes. Then she stands and spreads out the dress making the crowd applaud for her. But then she spins around and it's silent. Her entire body looks like it's been engulfed in flames and the more she twirls, the higher the flames rise. Then the crowd roars and I can't even hear Caesar.
"Wow," mutters Prim to herself. I take a deep breath and lean toward the screen as Katniss leans against Caesar giggling.
"Don't stop!" he says.
"I have to, I'm dizzy!"
"Don't worry, I've got you. Can't have you following in your mentor's footsteps." One screen turns to Haymitch falling off the District 12 stage at the Reaping and the other shows him waving the camera away. I find myself wondering if that really will be Katniss one day. If the games will turn her into a drunk as the only to escape any memories she'll have. I hope not… but if she wins it won't be because she hid through the whole thing. That's not her.
"It's all right, she's safe with me. So, how about that training score. E-le-ven," he emphasizes every syllable, "Give us a hint what happened in there." I wonder myself too, her skills with a bow are beyond average but do they really have the equipment in the training room to show that all off?
"Um… all I can say, is I think it was a first." The camera zooms in on the game makers in the front row and they nod and laugh. I look over at Mrs. Everdeen and she shakes her head at me, no ideas on what might have happened.
She talks to the people who are about to try killing her about her scores and if she can reveal them. They say no and Caesar sobers up after. "Let's go back to the moment they called your sister's name at the reaping and you volunteered. Can you tell us about her?"
They show Katniss rushing forward with no sound on one screen and all the following events as Katniss speaks. She looks to the audience and her eyes focus on something. "Her name's Prim. She's just twelve. And I love her more than anything."
Mrs. Everdeen wraps her arms around the back of Prim. She is being brave, much stronger than I thought.
"What did she say to you? After the reaping?" She looks over into the camera for a moment before back to the focus point she has. It was like she was looking straight at Prim.
"She asked me to try really hard to win."
"And what did you say?"
I see something change in Katniss. She is resolved, determined, and fierce, like the flames she wears. "I swore I would."
Caesar starts ushering Katniss off the stage and back to her lit up seat. Prim turns to me, her face just as determined as her sister's. "She will win. I know it."
We listen to Peeta during his interview. He's funny, likeable. He talks about bread a lot and then he and Caesar are sniffing each other. Then they are talking about the girls in District 12 and I can imagine that some of them might be thinking Peeta is talking about them. But then I really can't figure out what he means when he says, "Winning… won't help in my case."
"Why ever not?"
"Because… because… she came here with me."
I feel myself cringe back into my chair. I swallow another glob of spit down my throat where it will barely go down. Mrs. Everdeen looks more surprised than anyone, her mouth hangs open and she was barely even holding Prim anymore.
The camera shows Katniss as she realizes he means her. She looks like a mirror of her mother, her eyes narrowed in an almost angry way. She hides her red face by looking down.
They try to talk over the roaring crowd but I only hear midway through, "Well, I don't think any of us can blame you. It's be hard not to fall for that young lady." I stop listening. The cameras are showing Katniss blushing. Did she even know this guy before? Did she like him? And as the audience roared and clapped, I stand up and excuse myself. Yet again I find myself wishing another person dies in the games.
A/N: This chapter was a bit longer than usual. I got a bit carried away but this was also the chapter I was dreading because I wasn't sure if this was how Gale would react. So let me know your thoughts! Thanks for reading!
