AN: This is my first published FF so please tell me what I can do to improve. I would love any feedback that you could provide. Thanks so much for the reviews so far and for reading!
NOTE: I do not own any of these characters or claim to. All that credit goes to the brilliant Suzanne Collins.
If you have any suggestions or want to be a beta, please feel free to contact me.
Enjoy!
"Mom, don't freak out."
"Freak out about what, dear?" My mom says, slightly panicked.
"Gale Hawthorne is coming over to watch the chariots."
"So that's why you've been cleaning like a maniac for the last two hours. Why would that freak me out?" She asks, trying to keep it cool. Maniac may be a slight exaggeration but the house was really dirty and I would hate to make a bad impression since he's never actually been in our house before.
"I don't know. I just want you to know that there's nothing going on and this is nothing to get all excited over. He's going to watch it here so that we can talk about how we can help Katniss and Peeta."
"Something tells me that he wants to help Katniss more than he wants to help Peeta."
"Probably. It doesn't matter though. Helping one is going to help them both."
"And why is that?" My mother raises an eyebrow and knows that I'm up to something.
"You'll probably know soon enough whether I'm right or not." I say and turn to leave. "Anyway, I don't expect him to have dinner but I did stop and buy a small cake earlier when I went to talk to Mr. Mellark. There's enough for you to have some if you'd like."
"Thank you for the offer, sweetie, but I think I'm just going to go to bed. Have fun on your little date."
"It is not a date, Mom," I tell her, leaving the room. I look at the clock and see that I still have a little while before Gale might be here. Long enough that I have time to take a bath and really get presentable. Our house is one of the few in the district that has hot running water and oh how I do love it. I scrub the grime from the day off and start thinking about the things Katniss is going through right now. I've heard that the tribute are subjected to all kinds of painful grooming rituals at The Capitol and tonight would be when they begin so that they look good in the parade.
Once I've gotten all clean and made myself look decent enough, I go downstairs to see how else I can pass the time. Usually I would sew or read but my hands are still too shaky to sew and my mind is too cluttered to read so I sit and wait. It may sound boring but just allowing my mind to relax a little bit helps me tremendously until a knock on the front door breaks me out of my stupor.
I stand up slowly, smoothing out my dress and making sure that there are no wrinkles. I make my way to the door, not wanting to seem too eager, and open it. The smile on my face is inviting but I don't intend it for the person standing before me.
"Hiya Madge! How's it going?" My visitor says, stepping inside my house in an overly cheery tone.
"I'm doing okay Delly, what are your doing here?" I say, still confused as to why she's in my house at the moment.
"Oh, my mom wanted me to bring over this casserole. You know how she always makes too much food."
"Well tell her thank you. We really do appreciate the help," I say, trying to give her a sincere smile this time. The Cartwrights are such a nice family and they live right across the way from us. Delly's mom knows how my mother can be so she often sends over some food and we happily send over money the next day to compensate. I'm a decent enough cook but Mrs. Cartwright is one of the best cooks in the district. It shows a little bit on Delly, who hasn't quite hit her growing streak and thinned out.
"I'll be honest. That isn't the only reason that I came over here."
"Oh?" I ask, genuinely curious. I peek out the window to see if Gale is coming but I don't spot him.
"I heard that you and Gale were getting some funds together to help sponsor Katniss and Peeta. I wanted to give you what I had," she says as she hands me a small bag that feels heavy with coins. When I think about it, this donation makes sense. The shoe shop her parents own is right next to the Mellark's bakery so Delly is actually good friends with Peeta. In fact, sometimes they joke that they are siblings, since Peeta isn't close to his brothers. "You look really pretty, by the way."
I smile and am peeking outside again when she realize that she isn't the person I expected to come over. "Oh gosh! You were expecting someone else! I'm so sorry, let me get out of your hair," she says, trying to get out of the door. I'm about to let her when the guilt hits again.
"No, no. Stay, Delly, really. Why don't you watch the chariots with me? I'm not even sure if the person I invited over is coming. He should have been here by now," I say, slightly disappointed. I should have known better than to let myself get all excited. My emotions are all out of whack, though, and I'm acting like a little kid.
"He? Are you sure you want me to stay?" She replies teasingly.
"Yes, come in and sit in the living room. Do you want something to drink or eat? I think we have some fresh strawberries."
"No, I'm okay, thanks," she replies as she goes into the other room. I head into the kitchen to put the casserole into the fridge and I can feel myself crack again. It's those stupid strawberries. Will I ever be able to eat them without thinking of Katniss and how she was the one who picked them with my father and me in mind? What am I doing? Katniss is alive and well and she's tough. She's going to be okay. Peeta on the other hand, I don't know. I need to stop thinking about it so I go into the other room to be with Delly. My father is in his study, no doubt watching the feed that he alone is allowed to watch and my mother is in her bedroom, probably sleeping.
"Claudius was just on screen talking a little bit about the Reapings this year. He mentioned Katniss and how brave she was for what she did. I think that might have helped her out with the crowd. What color do you think Caesar will be this year?"
"I think you're right. Hmm, I don't know. Anything would have to be better than last year. He still appears in my nightmares sometimes," I say, faking a chill. It's not a lie though, since he was in one of my nightmares the night before the Reaping. We were in a desert wasteland and there he was, all red, looking like he was bleeding from his mouth. I shake the image from my head and hear Delly speak up.
"My money is on orange this year, he hasn't done that in a while."
"He hasn't but I think the orange is too close to the red of last year. My guess is green." Just as I say this, Caesar appears on screen with a powder blue ponytail and eyelids and lips to match it.
"Darn we were both wrong," Delly says, fake pouting. We laugh at the way he looks because it's just so unnatural. The man hasn't aged since I can first remember seeing him host the Games which is simply not possible without the surgeries he's had.
"I'm a little worried about what their costumes will be like this year. I hope they're not naked again," I say, since that seems to be the trend.
"Oh I wouldn't worry," my dad says walking into the room. "Oh hello, Delly. I didn't know you were going to be our visitor. My wife led me to believe we would be hosting a young man tonight."
"Dad!" I say, slightly embarrassed.
"Why won't we have to worry, Mayor Undersee?" Delly asks, changing the subject. I smile at her gratefully.
"Oh I just got off of the telechat with the stylists. They're both new and seem very brilliant," he tells us. "They assured me that the costumes this year are going to leave everyone breathless."
"Are you sure that doesn't mean they're going to be naked?" I say. "I'm pretty sure that would leave a pretty lasting impression."
"Stop it, Madge," he says jokingly. "Yes, they seem eager to help them out by helping them be memorable."
"Well we won't have to wait for long, it's starting!" Delly says, a little too excited once again. I overlook it, though, since that is sort of her personality.
The procession begins with an outlandish view of the tributes from District 1. They're dressed in bright pink and covered in feathers, with the girl trying to look all sexy and flirty and boy looking sort of confused and just astounded to be where he's at. Behind him the tributes from 2 are dressed in what looks like the gladiator costumes we have pictures of in our history books, except they're in shining gold. After them, the tributes sort of become a blur until Peeta and Katniss emerge from the tunnel. Claudius and Caesar are still focusing on the tributes from 5 and talking about their costumes when they come in. I feel sort of bad for the tributes in between because they are completely overshadowed by Katniss and Peeta's costumes.
"Oh wow!" Delly says, which is more than the rest of us can vocalize. Our jaws have dropped and we can't help but stare. The whole stadium is quiet and it even takes Caesar a moment to gather his thoughts to speak. The two of them sparkle in their reflective suits while they and their costumes are engulfed in mesmerizing flames. They dazzle and it makes you wonder what kind of technology this is that allows them to be on fire without harm.
"Is that… Are they on fire?" Caesar finally says, the awe clearly heard in his voice. The stadium is going nuts and I manage to glance away for just a moment to look at my father. He is beaming. For once we are so proud of our district and of the stylists that have dressed our wonderful tributes. We might actually have a shot at a victor this year, which is going to thrill the entire district.
"Did you know that this was what they would be dressed like?" I ask him.
"Well Cinna said that it would have to do with fire but I didn't know it would be this spectacular!" He says, still so thrilled that this makes them so memorable. Claudius and Caesar have finally gotten ahold of themselves and are chatting away when something else happens. When I see Peeta reach for Katniss' arm, I think that maybe he's taken my advice. However, she pulls away, making me worried that this strategy is not one Katniss is willing to try. He leans over and says something to her that isn't audible to us and she grabs his hand. They put their arms up and the audience goes insane. They screaming and throwing gifts at them. Flowers and hats are flying towards Katniss and Peeta and she manages to catch a few, which makes them throw even more. The crowd loves them, just like our district does and this procession could probably go on forever except they've just gotten to the end of the trail. The chariots line up and Katniss and Peeta's flames extinguish. The crowd quiets a bit but they're still all so excited about the fire costumes.
"Welcome, welcome. Please be seated," President Snow tells the audience. He then gives a short speech about the sacrifice that the tributes are providing and how honorable this occasion is. Soon the procession is over. No one even really payed much attention to Snow. How could we when we were all still picturing the District 12 tributes on fire.
The chariots file out and the program ends in 12 although I'm guessing it probably continues on in the Capitol. We turn the projector off and none of us even talk for a few minutes. Then all of a sudden all three of us are bursting and talking about how brilliant the costumes were and we're all acting like little girls, even my father. That is, until we all remember that only one tribute can win, which means that either my best friend or Delly's best friend isn't coming home. A hush settles over us and we really don't have anything else to talk about. Delly makes her leave and we thank her again for the casserole. My father returns to his study, likely to chat with Cinna and Haymitch about what is happening in the Capitol.
On the other hand, I go into my room and get in bed. It's only then that I remember that Gale never showed up and I get all mixed up with the emotions of remembering that my best friend might not return home and that I was disappointed by a boy that I might just like a little more than I let on. The tears start to come and before I know it, it's morning again