Chapter 10 - Cocktails And Bicycles

Effie and Katniss left the television studio and traveled by car to the penthouse. Cinna was waiting to dress Katniss for the cocktail party. She took off her green dress and he put her in long red dress that had a slit on the side that ran up a little past her knee.

"What do you think?" Cinna asked her.

"It's beautiful." She didn't have time to elaborate because Effie was pulling her by the hand and out the door, down the elevator to a waiting car in the parking garage below the street.

"Tonight is your chance to mingle with everyone," Effie said, while they rode to the party. "Be sure to have at least a few words with every contestant there. There are agents behind most of them and they'll be very upset if their contestant is ignored. The party won't be televised until tomorrow evening so if anything goes wrong it can be edited out."

The car pulled up to a large house made of grey stone and set back on a grassy lawn. There was a circular drive in front and the driver pulled up to the door to let Effie and Katniss out.

Effie knocked, and when the door was opened she pushed Katniss in first. Katniss walked into the house, squinting because of the bright lights needed for the cameras.

She entered through a grand foyer and was pushed by Effie into a large living room filled with couches and chairs arranged into several seating areas. Most of the men were holding bottled beverages with the manufacturer's label facing forward. As she walked in, a shout of "Katniss" was called out and the men tipped their bottles toward her.

Embarrassed, Katniss wanted to turn and leave, but Effie pushed her further into the room. Immediately, she looked around for Gale. Even though she knew he was upset, he was a familiar face in a sea of unknown faces. If she could get him alone and tell him about what she and Peeta had done to outwit the Capitol, maybe he'd be less upset with her. Maybe. Or would he be even more upset?

She couldn't locate him at the moment. She sat down on one of the couches and the contestant from Two joined her. He reached for her hand and squeezed it. "I'm Cato your future husband," he introduced himself.

A sour taste rose in her throat. She scowled.

"I know how to wipe that frown off your face."

He leaned in closer as if to kiss her, and immediately she whipped her head back.

Laughter sounded and Katniss saw that every man in the room was watching.

She looked around again for Gale. She finally located him. He was standing in the corner of the room with Finnick Odair and Gates from Three.

"You're bothering the lady," said Marvel, the contestant from One. He had sat down on the other side of Katniss.

Katniss turned toward him.

"Hi, I'm Marvel, nice to finally meet you."

Kantiss nodded.

"I imagine this must be fairly nerve-wracking for you."

"It is," she said quietly.

"Here, why don't you drink this," Marvel said, holding out his bottle to her. "It will calm you down some."

Katniss shook her head. She didn't know what was in that bottle and she wanted to keep her wits about her.

"Oh come on," he insisted, pushing it toward her face.

She pushed his arm back, knocking the bottle to the floor and spilling some of the drink onto his clothing.

"Now look what you made me do," Marvel spat out.

Katniss stood up quickly and moved away. At one end of the room was a large table filled with all kinds of finger foods. Katniss picked up a plate and began to fill it. At the end of the table she noticed a platter of cheese buns that looked very similar to the ones she and Peeta had made.

She missed him. But she didn't have time to fret because immediately two other men appeared by her side.

They were from Five and Six and introduced themselves as Axel and Tesla. They were also filling their plates.

"Katniss, did you hear about the cannibal who invited his friend to dinner?" Tesla asked.

"No," Katniss answered.

Tesla continued. "His friend said, `I don't like your wife.' The cannibal told him `set her aside and just eat the vegetables'."

Katniss looked at Tesla curiously, but Axel laughed heartily.

"You people from Six have the best cannibal jokes," Axel said.

"After Titus, we've had to learn to laugh at ourselves," Tesla admitted.

Katniss shook her head at the reference to Titus, the only Hunger Games tribute that had resorted to cannibalism. What an odd sense of humor both men had.

She left the buffet and carried her plate to a nearby chair and sat down, picking at her food.

Gale snuck up quietly from behind and squatted in front of her. "So Katniss, how are you doing?"

Gale hadn't used her real name in years and it sounded strange to hear him say it. But he couldn't call her Catnip here; he had to pretend that they barely knew each other.

"Fine," she mumbled. She looked up to see that Finnick Odair was standing next to Gale.

"Funny you never mentioned my involvement in your show," Gale muttered.

"It's not my show," she hissed.

Finnick smiled. "Once the Capitol has its claws in you, they'll never let you go." His voice was low. He bent forward and leaned in close, whispering into her ear. "What was your threat?"

Gale's eyes took on a steely glint, but Katniss leaned into Finnick and whispered. "A medicine factory that would bring jobs to Twelve."

Finnick pulled his head back. "Your district is in fairly dire shape?"

She nodded.

"I'm not surprised then. But your friend here could rescue you," he said. Finnick tilted his head toward Gale.

"You know Katniss.." Gale began, a scowl crossing his face.

She looked around. Were people listening to them? "We can't talk here," she told Gale, worried about what he might say. This was not the place for an argument, especially if it was going to be a denouncement of the Capitol. "We're being taped for the show."

Gale frowned.

Finnick grabbed Katniss by the hand and pulled her off the couch.

"Come with me while I get some food," he said, pulling her back to the buffet table.

She followed Finnick.

"These look interesting," he said holding up a cheese bun. "I watched a cooking show just the other day showing how these are made."

Katniss eyed him carefully. He was obviously referring to her baking lesson with Peeta that had been aired live on t.v. Had he been in the Capitol to see it?

"They're tasty, but not as dramatic as a simple slice of toasted bread."

Katniss' eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. He knew. How?

"Be careful," he whispered, leaning his face in so close that he was almost touching her cheek. "The Capitol takes its television very seriously. The one thing they can't stand is being laughed at and if they find out they were tricked, well, there could be serious consequences for both of you."

"But it's not real," she said, referring not only to the toasting but to The Match Game, as well.

Finnick laughed. "You'll learn soon enough that nothing the Capitol does is real."

"Are you real?" she asked.

"I'm not what you think I am."

He walked away leaving her alone.

The remainder of the evening was bewildering to Katniss. She talked briefly with Gates from Three who had invented some kind of electronic device. He was pleasant and non-threatening, but his description of his work was confusing. She found her cheeks aching as she oohed and awed over his latest invention.

Thresh was intimidating. Katniss found herself trying to make small talk with him, but his answers were monosyllabic.

The others, from Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten spoke with her, but at that point everyone seemed so blurred together, that she could barely distinguish between them. She did remember telling Seven that she liked to climb trees, and he laughed at her in a patronizing manner, which made her angry.

After a while Effie appeared, grabbed her forearm, and headed for the door. "Goodnight," Effie called out to the men in the room. "You'll see more of this lovely lady tomorrow."

Katniss followed Effie out of the house and into the car. She was silent on the ride back as she thought over her evening. Finnick's warning had left her worried. For now, at least until she thought of a way to reveal the toasting that wouldn't cause repercussions, she'd have to go along playing The Match Game.

"Katniss," Effie chirped. "You look like you're dreaming about your wedding. Tell me what you're thinking?"

Katniss suspected the car was bugged. She wouldn't be surprised it their entire conversation was being aired live throughout Panem right now.

"I don't know if I can make up my mind with so many men to choose from." Katniss' tone was sarcastic but it seemed to go right over Effie's head.

"I liked the one from Seven," Effie giggled. "You both have a love of nature in common. Plus, he's very handsome."

"Effie, he destroys nature," Katniss huffed "He chops down forests."

"Of course Finnick would be a good pick as well. I noticed you two were very cozy. He is such a gentleman. But then Finnick has had a lot of access to the Capitol. He has very good manners."

Kaniss scowled.

"Well, tomorrow you'll be meeting the men in two different group dates. That should help you feel less overwhelmed."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day, Cinna appeared before breakfast to dress her for her first group date at a site outside the center of the Capitol called Velodrome. He told her it was a place where people rode bicycles on a banked oval track.

"What's a bicycle?"

Cinna laughed. "I'm guessing you don't have them in Twelve. A bicycle is a vehicle that is propelled forward by using your feet and steered with your hands. It can be a little tricky to learn to ride, but once you get the hang of it, you never forget. Bicycle riding at Velodrome is quite popular here in the Capitol."

He dressed Katniss in a button-down sleeveless shirt that tied at her waist. Her pants fell just below her knees, and she wore laced up flat shoes. Cinna braided her hair, wrapping it up across the back of her head. He spent a long time on her makeup, but when he was done, Katniss marveled that it looked so natural.

"Perfect," Cinna said. "Now have a good time."

Effie rode with her to Velodrome. "You'll be here with the men from Districts One, Three, Five, Seven, Nine, and Eleven," she said. "Remember what I taught you. Eye contact is the key, Katniss."

When the car arrived, Katniss saw that the men were already there, all of them dressed in some outfit made of stretchy fabric that emphasized their muscles. A few of them were stretching and posing in front of one of the camera operators standing nearby.

Cressida rushed over to Katniss. "You'll all get a brief lesson on how to ride before we do any filming," she explained. "It shouldn't be too difficult."

The bicycles were set out on the edge of the track, shiny with thin tires.

Katniss wondered how anyone could possibly balance themselves on the thin wheels without falling over. She glanced at Thresh from Eleven worriedly.

A tall athletic woman named Atala stood nearby to give instructions.

Immediately Marvel from One hopped on a bike and pedaled one loop around the track before stopping in front of everyone.

"It's easy," he bragged.

"We build these in Five," Axel said, hopping on the seat. He shot down the track and leaned his weight back onto the bike. The front tire lifted off the ground and he circled the track on the rear tire only.

"So easy," he smirked at Marvel when he returned to the group.

Gates from Three squatted down, studying the wheels. He rested his hand on the thin tire; seemingly fascinated by the mechanism that made the wheels go round.

The lumberjack from Seven looked distastefully at the bicycle. He sat down pedaled two revolutions of the wheel and the bike fell over onto its left side.

The contender from Nine, a tall thin man, sat down on the bike and slowly propelled himself around the track keeping his feet on the ground and walking forward. Half-way round, he put one foot on the pedal and eventually the second. By the time he got back to the start, he was riding easily.

"Wonderful," Atala told him. "That's exactly the way to do it."

She looked at Thresh. "Are you going to give it a try?"

"Sure."

Thresh sat down on the tiny seat, his body dwarfing the bicycle. He put his feet on the pedals and easily rode around the oval track.

Katniss marveled. Where had Thresh learned to ride? Did they have bicycles in Eleven? She thought that was an agricultural district.

"You've ridden before?" Atala called to him.

He nodded. "There are a few in our district. We use them to send messages between farms. I've even repaired them."

Immediately Gates stood up, walked over to Thresh, and began asking him about the gearbox.

"Now Katniss, you give it a try," Atala asked.

Katniss sat down on the bike and walked around the loop using the technique the man from Nine had shown. Halfway round she put one foot on the pedal and by the time she got back to where she had started, she was riding, albeit a bit crookedly.

Cressida cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted. "Everyone ride some loops, we'll be doing some candid shots of you."

The next hour was spent riding in circles. Katniss didn't talk to any of the men and none of them made any attempt to speak with her.

She noticed, however a rivalry had developed between Marvel and Axel. Each was trying to come up with some kind of stunt that would impress the other. Axel was clearly the more talented rider, but Marvel was either very daring or very stupid, or a bit of both. One of his tricks caused him to fall over the handlebars onto his head. Everyone who was standing nearby ran toward him, including the two camera operators who immediately begin filming his injuries.

Katniss had braked her bike to watch the activity when Cressida called for her. "Get over here now."

Katniss dropped the bike onto the track and jogged over to where a crowd had gathered around Marvel.

"Act concerned for the camera," Cressida instructed her before pushing her past the crowd.

Katniss looked down at the man who had reaped the consequences of his stupidity.

"Are you alright?" she asked, wishing her mother or Prim were here. They'd know how to deal with the injured man.

Marvel lifted his head, looked at her and smiled. His two front teeth had been knocked out and blood was dripping from his mouth.

Katniss felt the bile rise in her throat. She was glad when Cressida shouted "cut."

Marvel was put into a car and taken away for repairs.

Meanwhile, Cressida led Katniss over to Axel. "Tell him that you're very disappointed that his behavior caused the accident."

"What?" A puzzled expression crossed Katniss' face. "Marvel caused the accident. He did it to himself."

Cressida nodded. "It doesn't matter Katniss. This is for the camera."

Katniss grimaced. She looked at Axel, remembering Effie's call for eye contact.

"Action," Cressida called.

"You should have been more careful," Katniss said stiffly. "Look what happened. Now Marvel is hurt."

Axel's face dropped. He looked like a pouting child. "Sorry," he said.

Katniss burst out laughing.

"Cut," Cressida called. "It's not funny, Katniss. Now Axel make your face and Katniss act stern."

Axel repeated his hang-dog expression again and Katniss bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from laughing a second time. She narrowed her eyes and shook her head sadly at Axel.

"Perfect," Cressida called. "Cut."

Once the camera had stopped rolling, Katniss turned to Axel. "You're really good at bike riding."

Axel smirked. "My dad is the biggest bike manufacturer in Panem. We paid a lot to get onto this show."

He turned and walked away, leaving Katniss shocked. What did he mean? She thought the show was about finding her a husband, not advertising a product.

The event ended shortly thereafter and Katniss was back in the car with Effie to return to the penthouse.

"That was wonderful," Effie said. "The bike accident added just the right touch of drama. You can't script those types of things. It was just so perfect."

Katniss didn't say anything. She was thinking about what Axel had said. The "date" had been one long commercial for Axel's family's business. It had nothing to do with finding her a husband because other than her few on-camera comments, she'd had little to no interaction with the men. She wasn't complaining because she wasn't interested in any of them, but it wasn't what she'd expected at all.