Author's Note: Based on reviews, I think there may be confusion among some readers. The live feed from the penthouse is only being aired in the Capitol. (Cinna mentioned it to Peeta in Chapter 6 and Fulvia mentions it again in Chapter 7.) No one in District 12 saw Katniss' and Peeta's toasting on television. Hope this clears everything up.
Chapter 9 – Show Time
Katniss was in good spirits the next morning. The act of openly rebelling with a fake toasting that was aired live on t.v. in the Capitol made her smile.
While it didn't change anything at present – The Match Game was still scheduled to go on – it was a weapon, as powerful as her bow and arrow, which she could use in the game being played against her. She would need to pick exactly the right moment to reveal it.
Even Effie, intent on gobbling down the muffins Peeta had made, noticed Katniss' mood. "Did you have a good evening?" she asked pointedly.
Katniss narrowed her eyes at her chaperone, wondering if Effie had watched the toasting on t.v. and if she understood its meaning. As the District 12 escort for The Hunger Games' tributes, she probably knew more about the district than the average Capitol citizen.
"It was fine," Katniss replied.
Effie continued eating without comment. Katniss guessed Peeta was right. No one in the Capitol was aware of this District 12 marriage custom.
She glanced at Peeta, catching his eye and nodding slightly.
The morning passed quickly as Peeta showed her how to make cinnamon rolls. Afterwards, when they were done icing the batch with a special frosting made of powdered sugar and maple syrup, Katiss and Peeta split one and shared it.
"I need this recipe for the book," Katniss said as she licked her fingers clean of the frosting.
Peeta smirked. "Are they better than cheese buns?"
Katniss shook her head. "No, but they're a close second."
Neither had an appetite for lunch after the sweet treat, but Peeta made a sandwich and a fruit salad for Effie.
"This looks lovely," Effie exclaimed as she picked up the bowl and small plate to carry into the dining room. "Where is your food though?"
"We're not hungry," Peeta explained. "We filled up on cinnamon rolls."
Effie nodded. "Why don't you two enjoy yourselves up on the roof while I eat this yummy salad," she suggested. "It's a beautiful day."
She glanced at Katniss, tilting her head toward Peeta. "Practice makes perfect," she mouthed.
Katniss rolled her eyes, but she followed Peeta down the hallway to the door that led to the roof. Peeta went into his room, grabbing the statue to use as a prop to hold the door open. Together they climbed the stairs. Katniss squinted when she walked out onto the sunny roof. She inhaled deeply. Fresh air. A strong breeze. Loud chimes.
She followed Peeta over to the railing. The city below looked the same as it had the other evening, only now she could see the people clearly as well. They looked like tiny dots of color scurrying about.
"Everything looks different in the light of day," Peeta said.
"It does," she agreed.
"Do you regret last night?"
Was Peeta referring to their fake toasting? Or was he referring to their brief kiss? No she didn't regret any of it. Not if it could be used to set her free from a forced marriage.
She shook her head.
"Let's go look at the garden." He reached for her hand.
She glanced at him for a moment before placing her hand in his. It was all right for friends to hold hands she guessed, although she couldn't remember ever holding hands with Gale. Besides if they were on camera it was probably better if they gave the appearance of being a couple.
They walked over the bench where Peeta had told her about the cameras the other night. It was windier now and the chimes gonged even louder.
Peeta leaned toward her ear speaking loudly. "What did you mean about having a deal?"
"What?" What was he talking about?
"On the train, when you first saw me, you mentioned something about having a deal to Fulvia. You were upset."
Katniss remembered. She had been worried at that moment that Fulvia had selected Peeta as the District 12 contestant instead of Gale.
She bit her lip and looked toward the garden and watched the large trees that were planted in oversized pots sway in the wind. Should she tell Peeta about the deal? It shouldn't matter. He'd find out soon enough.
She turned to Peeta. "Fulvia let me choose the District 12 contestant for the show. When I saw you on the train…"
"You picked Gale."
She nodded, biting her lip.
"Then why are you so unhappy about the show? You probably would have ended up together anyway." He stood up.
She reached for his hand trying to pull him back down onto the bench. But he was planted solidly and she stood up to face him. "No, Peeta. Gale and I are not like that."
He looked at her skeptically, and she felt the anger bubble up inside.
"I had to pick someone," she shrieked, wondering if her voice was louder than the chimes. "I didn't want to be forced to marry a stranger and move out of District 12."
Tears formed at the corners of her eyes. She blinked quickly to brush them away. Did he understand that picking Gale was her only measure of control in the situation into which she'd been trapped?
A look of surprise crossed Peeta's face at her emotional reaction. But neither had time to continue the conversation because Effie suddenly appeared to take her downstairs to begin prep for the next day's interview with Caesar Flickerman.
"Tomorrow is a big, big, big day," Effie chirped. "All the contestants will be arriving in the morning. They'll be specially groomed first before they're whisked off to the studio for Caesar's show."
Gale was arriving tomorrow, which meant he was already on the train traveling to the Capitol. Katniss' euphoria over outwitting the Capitol was quickly dying. The hard reality that she was the star of a national television show that was about to begin caused a sick leaden feeling to settle in her stomach.
She spent the next couple of hours formulating answers to the scripted questions Caesar would ask and learning how to sit like a lady, keeping her legs together and her ankles crossed. Effie had her put on a pair of high heels to practice walking and Katniss wobbled her way around the living room, nearly tripping at one point. Lastly, Effie had her practice smiling; so much that Katniss' cheeks were aching when Cinna arrived.
Cinna had a garment bag. He immediately took her in the bedroom and handed her the bag. "Change into this," he told her, pointing to the bathroom.
She went in and put on the gown he'd designed for the interview. It was a floor-length green dress that had been designed to flatter her slender figure. It had a beaded bodice that shimmered as she moved. The skirt was made from several layers of flowing chiffon. Katniss came out of the bathroom and twirled in the dress before Cinna.
"I love it," she told the stylist.
He smiled. "Stand still, I want to check the fit." He looked it over carefully. "You've gained a few pounds since Venia took your measurements back in Twelve."
Katniss smiled. "It's all the food I've been eating here in the Capitol."
Cinna chuckled. "Effie mentioned that Peeta is a good cook."
"He is," she agreed, her mind wandering back to their conversation on the roof. She needed to talk with him and be sure he understood what she'd been trying to say. Peeta was her friend, too, after all.
After she changed out of her interview dress, Cinna handed her a pale blue dress.
"Wear this for dinner tonight," he told her.
"Why do I need to get dressed for dinner?"
"You'll be meeting with the show's advertisers," he explained.
Maybe this dinner would be the right moment to break the news about the toasting. She and Peeta could tell everyone before the show got underway, and then they could leave the Capitol and return home. Since they wouldn't be filing papers in the Justice Building to make the toasting legal, they could return to their old lives. The only difference: she and Peeta would be friends now. Good friends.
After Cinna left, Katniss went looking for Peeta to figure out a plan.
Effie was sitting on the couch flipping through the magazine the photographer had left behind from the photo shoot a few days earlier. Katniss hurried past her and entered the kitchen. But Peeta wasn't there. She returned to the living room.
"Where's Peeta," she asked Effie.
Effie peered at her over the top of the magazine and slowly lowered it.
"Fulvia thought it was best that he move out this afternoon since your baking lessons are over. Besides with the show starting tomorrow, it would be inappropriate for him to be here. What would your suitors think?"
Katniss realized then how much she'd leaned on Peeta to get her through the past several days in the Capitol. She had counted on him being at this dinner. He could explain the District 12 marriage custom so much better than she. What was she going to do now?
"When do we eat?" she asked Effie.
"We'll leave at 9 p.m.," Effie said. "Nightlife in the Capitol doesn't begin until after dark."
By the time she and Effie left the penthouse to travel by car to the restaurant, Katniss was starving, even though she had gone into the kitchen and eaten a cold cheese bun she had found wrapped in foil in the refrigerator.
When they arrived, Katniss was overwhelmed with introductions. She ended up sitting between Fulvia and Plutarch.
Servers brought out drinks for everyone. It didn't take long for the guests to get tipsy, if not outright drunk.
Katniss quickly decided that this dinner would was not the time to tell them about the toasting.
From the conversations she heard around her, she knew that the people at the table had been watching the live feed of her activities over the past few days. She heard Peeta's name mentioned several times by an elderly woman half-way down the table. The woman mentioned something about his buns and the man next to her snickered.
Another person asked Plutarch about compiling the recipe book and suggested that it be published and distributed to women across the country.
"Wherever, did you find such an lovely virgin to sacrifice," a man called out to the network programmer. Plutarch choked on his drink for a moment, then chuckled. Katniss, meanwhile, turned beet red.
She didn't drink anything, even though the food was heavily salted, because after two sips of the drink the server had given her, her tongue began to tingle. She remembered Peeta's comments about Ripper's liquor.
Even so, at the end of the evening she had a nasty headache and had a difficult time keeping her eyes open. Several of the advertisers hugged her good-by breathing their boozy breath into her face. One man grabbed her backside and squeezed.
She screamed and Effie put a halt to all the hugging.
"Keep your hands to yourself," Effie warned the man in her chirpy voice before pulling Katniss along to the car.
Once they were inside the penthouse, Katniss got ready for bed. Just before she drifted off she wondered where Peeta was tonight. Was he on his way back to District 12?
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Katniss was standing on the sidelines of the stage that had previously been used to conduct tribute interviews for The Hunger Games. The district contestants were hidden behind a curtain on the other side of the stage.
Caesar's theme song played and Effie pushed Katniss out onto the stage. "Remember, eye contact," she hissed before Katniss slowly made her way to the upholstered chair next to Caesar. Beyond the stage she could see an audience of a few hundred people watching her intently.
Caesar had stood to greet her as she came forward, and clasped her two hands in his, before letting go. He indicated that she sit.
"What do you think of the Capitol?" Caesar asked her.
Immediately her mind went back to her conversation on the roof with Peeta when he'd asked her the same thing, before going on to tell her that they were being filmed in the penthouse.
She gave Caesar the same answer she'd given Peeta. "It's very different from District 12." She forced her face into a tight smile.
Besides eye contact, Effie had told her to smile, a lot.
"I'll bet it is," Caesar replied.
The audience laughed loudly and Katniss scowled for a moment.
At the side of the stage was a large television screen and Katniss saw that a movie was starting to play. It was a story about her life in District 12. It opened with the footage Castor had taken months ago in the Seam of her mother cooking breakfast for her and Prim.
The recent footage of her saying good-bye to her family was also included. It was followed by a short-segment of her makeover by Cinna's prep team and a snippet of Effie giving her flirting instructions.
The movie ended with Katniss' interview with Cressida where she talked about her parent's love for each other and her hope that she could experience the same.
"What a delightful girl you are," Caesar gushed when the film ended. "Now you'll have exactly that opportunity to love. And we'll get to watch it unfold.
"Katniss Everdeen, behind that curtain is your future husband. Are you ready to meet him?"
She gulped. Her stomach dropped. Her heart was thumping loudly. Should she stop the show now and tell Caesar about the toasting?
But there was no way to get a word in as Caesar continued.
"To make this interesting, I'm going to have you sit off to the side, Katniss so you can watch and listen, but the contestant will not be able to see you."
Katniss stood up as a stagehand walked her to the far right corner of the stage, indicating that she sit on the other side of a large pillar. There was t.v. monitor stationed there that she could watch the interview on.
When she was seated, Caesar introduced the first representative from District 1. A tall, thin man came out, shook Caesar's hand and sat down. His name was Marvel. He acted cocky and arrogant in the answers that he gave to Caesar regarding his hopes to win Katniss' hand in marriage. District 1 was known for its luxury products, and Katniss thought he has the air of a spoiled brat who gets everything he wants.
A buzzer sounded in a couple of minutes and Marvel exited the stage.
The second contestant, Cato, a tall, muscular blonde from District 2 sat down. Immediately Katniss suspected he had spent his youth training to be a volunteer in The Hunger Games because of his size and his overconfident demeanor.
Caesar asked him some basic questions. His answers all spoke to his competitive nature.
"What do you think your chances are to win the heart of Miss Everdeen?" Caesar asked.
"One hundred percent," he stated flatly. "I always get what I want. I'm a winner."
A shiver ran down Katniss' spine.
A buzzer rang and Cato's time was up.
Next was the District 3 contestant. A dark-haired man with a kind face wearing glasses sat down. His name was Gates. He appeared uncomfortable. He tapped his foot nervously while Caesar spoke. Gates' answers were vague, but he got quite excited when Caesar asked him about his work. The buzzer interrupted as he went into detail about some new electronic technology he had invented.
The audience went wild when the District 4 contestant, former Hunger Games victor Finnick Odair, walked out onto the stage. He and Caesar were old friends and their conversation reflected it. They talked about all kinds of things unrelated to the show, like the latest Capitol gossip and Finnick's new beach house.
"What do you think of our lovely Miss Everdeen?" Caesar questioned.
"When I see something sweet, I grab it quick," he purred.
The audience roared as the buzzer rang.
The representatives were beginning to blur in Katniss' mind. All she could remember was that Five had brown hair and Six had dirty blonde hair. Seven was wearing a plaid shirt and had muscular arms. He told Caesar he was a lumberjack – his favorite thing was to chop down trees.
Katniss' mouth dropped open. One of her favorite things was to climb trees. They definitely did not have much in common.
As the buzzer rang and each man left the chair and a new one came onto the stage, Katniss grew more nervous anticipating Gale's entrance. She was nearly shaking when Eleven came onto the stage. He had dark skin and was built like an ox. He stood nearly six and a half feet tall. His answers to Caesar's questions were a simple yes or no.
His name was Thresh and his district specialized in farming. Was he looking for a wife to work on his farm?
The buzzer rang. Thresh stood up and left. Gale came out.
Katniss inhaled quickly. Gale's hair was shorter and styled in a kind of pompadour with a swoop in the front and the sides combed up and back. Anger showed in his grey eyes as he sat down across from Caesar. His hands were formed into fists, which he rested in his lap.
"The lovely Miss Everdeen is a resident of your district," Caesar stated. "Do you know her?"
Katniss heart leapt. Had Fulvia warned Gale not to mention their friendship? Would he be thrown off of the show if everyone knew they were friends?
"I've seen her around," he smirked.
Caesar smiled. "What can you tell us about her that we don't already know?"
Katniss could hear her heart pounding in her chest.
"Katniss is an excellent hunter. I have no doubt she's already got someone in her sights already."
The audience groaned, while Caesar grinned. "This is very intriguing. And what type of man would our huntress favor?"
"Well, I don't know which man she'll pick, but I know whoever he is will be someone she can't survive without."
The buzzer sounded and Gale left the stage.
Caesar called for Katniss to return to him. "So Katniss, have you seen anyone you can't survive without?"
Katniss shook her head and smiled faintly. She could survive just fine without any of the men who had been paraded in front of her, including Gale.
"Not telling?" Caesar grinned. "Well, that's alright. You've only just seen these men. In the next few weeks you'll get to meet them up close and personal."
Caesar's theme music began to play and the show ended. Effie came onto the stage to get Katniss. The cocktail party was being held this evening. Maybe that would be the perfect moment time to put a stop to everything and mention the toasting.