A looong chapter this time! A little Hayffie too ;) Please read and review. I love reviews. They help me to improve my writing, so thanks to all the people that wrote one! All characters belong to Suzanne Collins, except for you know who. Enjoy!
Haymitch sat at breakfast with Peeta and Katniss the next morning. It was 10:30, Eden had gone to training an hour ago. Effie hadn't shown her face yet, which was strange. She was usually and early bird. No one dared to go to her room; She didn't allow anyone in. "I might be in the shower or changing, for all you know!" She had once said. You wouldn't want an angry Effie in your hair all day nagging about your impropriety. Haymitch took a sip of his wine and thought about it for a moment. He remembered kissing her in the elevator the night before. And sure, he had felt something. But why Effie, of all women? He used to hate her. Her bright and bubbly mood had annoyed him. She had constantly whined about him drinking too much. She still did that, sometimes. But for different reasons, he figured. She had worn dresses, wigs and makeup that made her look like a box of melted crayons. It had made him wanna puke.
But last night… she was different. She didn't even remotely resemble the Effie he used to know. The feeling in his stomach returned as Effie walked into the room, disheveled hair and a wrinkled dressing gown. "Good morning." she yawned and rubbed her eyes. "Good morning, Effie." Peeta was the only person that seemed polite enough to greet her. "Sweetheart, do you have any idea how late it is?" Haymitch asked as Effie took a seat next to Katniss and grabbed a roll of bread from the basket that was placed in the middle of the table. "No." Effie pushed her hair out of her face and then stared at her plate absent-mindedly. Haymitch snapped his fingers before her face. Her eyes shot up. "Huh?" Haymitch then pointed at the clock on the wall. "It's past 10:30." "Oh good heavens!" Effie sprang up from her seat and walked off before returning slowly. "Haymitch, can I talk to you for a minute?" Haymitch shrugged. "I'll count down, princess." He put his glass down, stood up and walked towards Effie's room, leaving the children behind. They were busy talking anyway.
Once he entered her room, Effie shut the door behind him. "Listen," she began. "what happened yesterday.." she stopped for a second. "-was a mistake?" Haymitch finished. "No, not at all!" Effie waved her hands around trying to come up with an explanation. "I just think we should keep this between the two of us. I don't want to set a bad example for the children, you know?" Haymitch smirked. "That's all?" "Not really. I think it shouldn't happen again." Haymitch's smirk disappeared from his face. "Why not?" "I just think that… you know… I'm in the Arena in a few days and I don't want you to get attached too much. Also, I don't want to get attached either. Do you understand?" Haymitch placed his hands on her shoulders. "Too late, I already care about you. A lot, to be honest. And you're not going to die, sweetheart."
Effie grabbed his hands in hers and placed them against her chest. "Let's just face it, Haymitch. Nobody decent ever wins the Games." "Nobody ever wins the Games. There are survivors. No winners." he responded, and remembered saying this earlier. "Exactly." She stared at her feet. Haymitch tilted his head slightly. "Just promise me you'll try." Effie nodded, still looking down. Haymitch put his hand under her chin, raising her head so that she could look him in the eyes. A single tear rolled down her cheek. He wiped it away carefully before removing his hand. "Now, sweetheart. Get your pretty behind in the shower and get yourself ready for training. My booze is waiting for me on the table." She rolled her eyes and then grinned. "There's the Haymitch Abernathy I know. You know, you're actually pretty sensitive." She turned around, walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. "Only with you, my love." he responded, trying not to burst out laughing. "Get out of my room, Haymitch! And remember our agreement!" he heard her yell. He laughed. "And there's the Effie Trinket I know." "Leave!" " I'm going, I'm going!" He ran off.
Training went smoothly that day and the next. Effie got better at setting traps and continued training skills such as running, climbling, balancing and dodging; all with the help of Haymitch, Katniss and Peeta. "So, today is the day you will both be evaluated." Katniss said to Effie and Eden. They were sitting on the sofa in the viewing area. Katniss stood in front of them. "You each have ten minutes to present a chosen skill. Eden, what do you have?" Eden looked up. "I think I'll go with spear throwing." Katniss nodded. "Good choice, what about you, Effie?" Effie bit on her lip and thought for a moment. She was good at camouflage, but knife-throwing would make more of an impression. She knew what it took from her, and it could be a bad thing. "Knife-throwing." she answered. Peeta, who sat next to her, bit on the end of his pen, furrowing his eyebrows. "Not much variety… but you're both good, I'll give you that. Make them remember you, and you'll be fine."
"Eden Trinket." A voice boomed through the speakers down in the Training Center. Effie would be evaluated next. She shuffled her feet as Eden stood up. "Wait." she said, and grabbed his hand. "What is it?" Effie gave him a nervous smile. "I just wanted to say… good luck." He smiled and gave her hand a squeeze. "You have to stop worrying so much, little one." Then he let go and walked through the door before it slid closed. Ten minutes passed by. "Euphemia Trinket." the voice now called. She took a deep breath and stood up. As the door slid open again, Eden walked past her. He gave her a reassuring nod. She nodded back and walked into the large room, as the door slid closed behind her. As she had expected, the people who would be evaluating her weren't paying attention at all. Throwing a knife at them wouldn't work again. And of course the force field was still there.
She grabbed a few knives and faced them. "Euphemia Trinket." she said out loud. A few of them looked her way. Of course, she wasn't as loved by the districts as she was by the Capitol. She tried to let anger grow inside of her as she faced the dummy she was supposed to hit. She closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath and let it fly. Miss. No way. She started to panic a little and looked at the rebels. They were laughing at her and mocking her. "Shut up!" she yelled. Tears started to blur her vision. Using her anger didn't work anymore. She didn't hate Haymitch. But she did hate them. She hesitated to throw the knives at the force field, just to put an end to this. She didn't care anymore. "Loosen your corset, sweetheart, have a drink!" she heard one of them say. How did they know about that. Of course, Haymitch must have told them. His 'hilarious' joke. She let out a yell and threw the knives in rapid succession, except for one. She used that one to slash the head off of the dummy. As the head of the dummy fell to the ground, she turned around, slammed the knife onto the table and walked off.
"Are you serious?" Peeta yelled. Effie sat on the sofa in the viewing area with Eden. "Yes, of course I am." Effie replied calmly. "This isn't so bad. You both did it and the gamemakers loved it." "I don't think the rebels love it as much as the gamemakers do." "Peeta, give the woman a break." Haymitch walked in with a glass of liquor. He said down next to her. Peeta protested. "What if this puts her in danger?" "It won't. Trust me." Then he turned to face Effie. "Good job, princess." Effie shot him an angry glare. Then the television flickered on and Caesar Flickerman started speaking about the tributes' training scores. He started with Atala, the head trainer. She would probably team up with Tax. "A ten." Then Tax. "An eleven." Eden put his head in his hands. "Felix Rivendell." Effie's eyes shot up. "A six." Poor boy. Flavius, a six. Octavia, a seven. "Lucius Crane, a nine." she smiled softly to herself. "Eden Trinket." Caesar continued. Effie held on to her brother's hand. "A nine." Effie squealed. "Good job!" "We can work with that." Haymitch said. "And last but not least: Euphemia Trinket." Her picture appeared on the screen, the number eight circled around it. "An eight." "You did it!" Katniss stood up and jumped up and down on the couch. "That calls for a drink!" Haymitch grinned. The television went black. An eight. Maybe she could win this thing.