The Hunger Games; Peeta

~The train~

I trodded back into the main area of the carriage, to find Effie and Haymitch sitting around a round,sturdy wooden table laden with food, more than i'd ever seen before.

"Ah Peeta!" Effie said in her flouncy capitol voice, "Glad you joined us!"
She let out a soft laugh, though it was monotone and there was an underlying sadness too it.

Thinking about it; it must've been so hard for Haymitch and Effie to do the same job for so long, watching hundreds of kids die every year. I could see why someone doing that would drink themselves away.

"Right uh... i'll go fetch Katniss!" says Effie to no one in particular.

"I'm going to take a nap" slurred Haymitch.
and with that he stumbled and groaned away, into the depths of the giant train.

And with that I'm left alone. I can feel my fists clenched. I'm scared. so scared. The last thing I want is to be alone with my thought. I will cry, again, and all the other tributes probably already think i am weak.

But thankfully footsteps enter the room, The loud trotting of capitol heels and the birdlime steps of katniss.

"And here's Katniss!"Effie exclaimed.

And there she was. She walked into the room, wearing a evergreen blouse and loose fitting trousers, and a gold pin glimmering on her chest I was sure I'd seen somewhere before. Her hair hung around her shoulders, framing her perfect face. She was beautiful. I didn't want to, i couldn't, imagine her dead. Especially not because of...me.

"Where's Haymitch?"

"Oh- uh he said he was going to take a nap i think!" I was growing flustered. I probably looked ridiculous.

She slid silently into a chair, her feet as light as air. I didn't want to seem like I was staring at her, and i didn't want to freak her out or anything, so I looked down at a plate i was pretty sure i would break if i ever got my hands on it.

Soon food begun to fill our plates. More food than me, and definitely Katniss, had ever seen in our whole lives. Naturally we  immediately began to scoff ourselves, although we were constantly reminded by Effie to "slow down" or "save room" but neither of us hesistated. There was course after course, and the food was better than anything I had ever eaten, except for my father's cupcakes.

I missed him.

"Well at least you two have manners! The two last year age everything with their hands like savages! Honestly!"

I remembered the kids from last year. One of them was 13 and the other my age. I never really spoke to him but I knew he was from the seam, and she was too, so this would've been a dream come true for them.

Not that it lasted long, anyway.

A lump rose in my throat at Effie's words. Of course it wasn't her fault she said things like this, she was born and bred capitol, had things like this spewed into her ears since birth, yet it still hurt. Katniss clearly is too, as I see her make a show of proceeding to eat with just her fingers, and then wiping them on the lace tablecloth. She was so brave. So defiant. I smile to myself. That's one of the many reasons why I lov- liked her.

By the time we have finished eating I'm starting to feel slightly queasy, and by the looks of it Katniss is too. We aren't used to such rich-tasting food. Not at all.

Soon Effie ushers is out of the food train, and into another compartment to watch the other reapings, Haymitch nowhere to be seen.

One by one, we watch the other reapings. Only a fez kids stand out to me, the kids i wish k could've saved. A 13 year old boy from district 4, a boy with a disabled foot from district 10, and most horrifically, a twelve year old girl from district 11.

I see Katniss's face grow pale out of the corner of my eye, there is something similar too her sister Prim in the way that she stands. Yet this time, there is no one there to volunteer for her. No one to save her.

Then it's our reaping, and I watch again the tortured faces of Prim and Katniss, having to let go of each other's  only support systems. And then I decided, in that moment, that no matter what I would keep Katniss alive, at any cost.

Effie, ignoring the tears in Katniss' eyes un-deliberately rambles on about her wig being on slant. It seems ridiculous to me that that's what she's thinking about, but the capitol is the capitol.

"Your mentor has a lot to learn about behaviour, especially televised!"

Then suddenly i take myself by surprise by laughing.
"He was drunk!" i laugh. "He's drunk every year!"

"Every day " adds Katniss. I was happy to see she was going along with me, it stirred something in my stomach that i could only ever feel with her.

"Yes!" Effie hisses "How odd you find it laughable! That your mentor, your lifeline in these games, The one to advise you and line up your sponsors, Your difference between life and death, is a crazed drunk the majority of the time! "

Just on cue, Haymitch wanders into the room. "I...miss supper?" He has the voice of a tired toddler, and the truth of Effie Trinket's words begin to truly sink in. Then Haymitch proceeds to vomit all over the carpet that cost more than my house, and fall in it.

"Laugh away!" Then Effie hops away on her wobbly heels around the pool of vomit and exits the room.