The Girl Who Sparked the Capitol - Book 2 - Peeta

Chapter 17

The effect on the Gamemakers is immediate and satisfying. Several let out shrieks. Others lose their grips on their wineglasses, which shatter musically against the ground. Two seem to be considering faiting. The look of shock is unanimous.

Now Alessia has Plutarch Heavensbee's attention. He stares at her as the juice from the peach he crushed in his hand runs through his fingers. Finally he clears his throat and says, "You may go now, Miss Farehart."

Alessia gives a respectful nod and turns to go, but at last moment she can't resist tossing the container of berry juice over her shoulder. She can hear the contents splatter against the dummy while a couple more wineglasses break. As the elevator doors close before her, she sees no one has moved.

That surprised them. It was rash and dangerous and no doubt will Alessia have to pay for it ten times over. But for the moment, she feels something close to elation and let herself savor it.

Alessia wants to find Haymitch immediately and tell him about her session, but no one's around. She guesses they're getting ready for dinner and she decides to go take a shower herself, since her hands are stained from the juice. As Alessia stands in the water, she begins to wonder about the wisdom of her latest trick. The question that should now always be her guide is "Will this help Peeta stay alive?" Indirectly, this might not. What happens in training is highly secretive, so there's no point in taking action against her when no one will know what her transgression was. In fact, last year she was awarded for her brashness. This is a different crime, though. If the Gamemakers are angry with her and decide to punish her in the arena, Peeta could get caught up in the attack as well. Maybe it was too impulsive. Still... she can't say she's sorry she did it.

As they all gather at dinner, Alessia notices Peeta's hands are faintly stained with a variety of colors, even though his hair is still damp from bathing. He must have done some form of camouflage after all. Once the soup is served, Haymitch gets right to the issue on everyone's mind. "All right, so how did your private sessions go?"

Alessia exchanges a look with Peeta. Somehow she is not that eager to put what she did into words. In the calm of the dining room, it seems very extreme. "You first," Alessia says to him. "It must have been really special. I had to wait for forty minutes to go in."

Peeta seems to be struck with the same reluctance Alessia is experiencing. "Wel, I- I did the camouflage thing, like you suggested, Ali."

He hesitates. "Not exactly camouflage. I mean, I used the dyes."

"To do what?" asks Portia.

Alessia thinks of how ruffled the Gamemakers were when she entered the gym for her session. The smell of cleaners. The mat pulled over that spot in the center of the gym. Was it to conceal something they were unable to wash away? "You painted something, didn't you? A picture." "Did you see it?" Peeta asks.

"No. But they'd made a real point of covering it up," Alessia says.

"Well, that would be a standard. They can't let one tribute know what another did," says Effie, unconcerned. "What did you paint Peeta?" She looks a little misty. "Was it a picture of Alessia?"

"Why would he paint a picture of me, Effie?" Alessia asks, somehow annoyed.

"To show he's going to do everything he can to defend you. That's what everyone in the Capitol's expecting, anyway. Didn't he volunteer to go in with you?" Effie says, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Actually, I painted a picture of Rue," Peeta says. "How she looked after Alessia had covered her in flowers."

There's a long pause at the table while everyone absorbs this. "And what exactly were you trying to accomplish?" Haymitch asks in a very measured voice.