Here it is, chapter 5! All characters belong to Suzanne Collins, except for Magnus, Lucius, Eden and Felix. Enjoy, please read and review! And again, thanks for all the reviews! I adore you guys!
"Good job out there, princess." Haymitch said as Effie and Eden stepped off the chariot. Effie giggled. "Well, Magnus did all the work." Peeta smiled. "He did a great job with the clothes, but your smile was all the audience needed to like you." Effie blushed. "Oh Peeta, how kind of you." "You sure taught him manners, didn't you, Effie?" Eden grinned. Effie nodded. "I sure did. But Peeta is a kind young man at heart." Peeta smiled. Haymitch smirked and turned around. "Enough with the chatter. I think it's time to go to the Penthouse. Katniss is there already. I will talk with you about the other tributes." They all followed him as he started walking towards the elevators. "I'm sure you haven't had the time to meet them all."
"Flavius, Octavia.. I'm sure you knew that. They won't last long." Haymitch, Katniss, Peeta, Effie and Eden sat in the living room of the Penthouse. Effie and Eden immediately had changed out of their clothes to get into simple nightwear. Effie had her hair up in a bun and she was wearing a long dressing gown. Haymitch was looking over the list of tributes. "Felix, a young boy. Son of one of the Gamemakers. Just turned 12. Won't stand a change either." Effie gasped. Katniss put a hand on her lower arm. Haymitch ignored them and kept on reading.
"Tax, the trainer. You do need to watch out for him. He's good with a bow, if you see one at the Cornucopia, grab it. He can't have one. Vitus, Camilla, yada yada ya… And last but not least Lucius Crane. Seneca's cousin. Ex-gamemaker and trainer. He's good. You two need to think about an alliance with this guy." "Lucius?" Effie looked startled. "Yes. Is there a problem?" Haymitch asked, slightly annoyed. Effie understood, it had been a long day. She shook her head. "No, no. He was just a really good friend of mine in Games School. I haven't seen him in a while." Haymitch shrugged. "Then I think an alliance will work out. Now I think it's a good idea for you two to go to bed. Tomorrow's the first day of training. Katniss, Peeta and I will help you with that. Good night." He got up and left. But he didn't go to his bedroom. He went for the kitchen. As the others left for their rooms, Effie followed him.
"Haymitch?" Effie whispered as she opened the door to the kitchen just a little bit. Haymitch sat on one of the bar stools, holding a bottle of liquor. He didn't respond, so Effie pushed the door open a little further. "I told you you should go to bed. Training's tomorrow." he growled. "I don't care." Effie shot back. "I'm used to sleeping late and waking early. And you're not supposed to drink right now. Tomorrow you'll be feeling too sick to help us!" She sat down on the stool next to his. "Do you think it's that easy for me, princess? It kills me inside to know that I've caused this." Effie's brows furrowed. "What do you mean? You didn't do this. Paylor decided."
Haymitch shook his head. "I voted in favour of these Games. We wanted revenge. But I never wanted you to-" he was cut off by a sharp pain in his jaw. She had slapped him. He looked at her with wide eyes. She pointed at him with a perfectly manicured nail. "You could have known. I don't want to see you ever again!" Before he could say anything she was gone. He cursed under his breath, propped his elbows up on the kitchen counter and let his face fall in his hands. "What have I done…"
Effie closed the door behind her and slid to the ground. Her back against the door. She stared into the darkness for a moment. She knew Haymitch didn't really like her. But he didn't hate her either. Why had he done that? He didn't want to kill her off, right? No, of course he didn't. He had thought about his family, his girl. That's why he had voted. Not because of her. She felt selfish, but then again, so should he. I need to get back and apologize, she thought and made a move to get up. No Effie, she stopped herself. Hold your ground. You have all the right to be mad at him. She stood up and walked towards her bed once her eyes had adjusted to the darkness. She lay down and stared at the ceiling. She would deal with him tomorrow.
"In two weeks, 23 of you will be dead." Plutarch stood in front of the 24 tributes. They were clad in a black shirt and training shorts with two white stripes down the sides. "Don't underestimate the stations that will train your survival skills, not knowing how to find water or start a fire is one of the main causes of death in the arena. You will all be allowed to train with your mentors, good luck." As he walked away the tributes descended to the training stations.
Effie looked around to find Eden practicing his camouflage skills with Peeta. A young boy sat next to him on the ground, painting his hand. That must be Felix, Effie thought. He reminded her of Peeta, but younger. Katniss walked towards Effie. "I think we should start with knife-throwing." she stated. "I can't." Effie said. Katniss looked her in the eyes. "You don't think you can make it, do you?" "I'm already dead. And no, I don't think I can make it. People like Lucius, Tax and my brother. They do stand a chance." Katniss shook her head. "You're precise. You're small, you can hide. I believe you're fast too. Even in heels you're like the train, traveling at 250 miles per hour." She grabbed Effie's arm and brought her to the training station.
Katniss pushed a few buttons and pointed at the knives. Effie grabbed one. It felt cold in her hand. It made her shudder. Focus, Effie. As one of the moving hologram targets appeared, she threw the knife. Miss. Another one, miss. It didn't even come close. "Effie, concentrate!" Katniss paused the training. Effie turned around. "Whatever you're thinking about, let it go." Katniss told her. Effie nodded slightly and looked over Katniss' shoulder. Haymitch was staring at her. Her anger grew. Katniss started the training again. As a hologram appeared, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes and threw the knife without thinking. Anger was racing through her veins. She opened her eyes to see the hologram fall apart. She had hit the target.