Effie's Diary

A Different View

--
Effie POV:

On the train, thoughts cloud my mind. There are so many possibilities of what he'll do when he sees me. Will he smile? Check me out? Completely ignore me? Pulses of anxiety rush through my veins. Just be confident, Effie, you're only friends with a secret, right?

Soon enough, the train comes to a stop. I take a deep breath, grab all my belongings, and step out. My outfit is a metallic royal blue dress, that compliments my shape and has a bow on the waist. My nails are accented with tiny rhinestones, my heels black. I keep my hair simple, a small hat with my wig.

There I spot Katniss, who rushes up to me and smiles.
"Nice outfit. Maybe blue is his favorite color." she smirks.
"Thank you.." I say after a pause.

When we arrive at her house, Katniss stops in her tracks and turns around.
"Oh, you're staying at Haymitch's for your visit!" she exclaims.
"Nice joke. Escort me to the guest room, please." I say seriously.
"It's not a joke, he's all cleaned up for you."
Katniss crosses her arms, and leads me to his house.
"Good luck," she says meaningfully.

I pull out my mini mirror and check how I look. I am extremely nervous...
I knock the door and hold my breath. The knob starts to turn.
The door flies open, and there he is, in clean clothing, all washed up.
"When Katniss said you cleaned up, I didn't know she was serious." I say with a nervous laugh.
"You're lucky I did. The house is clean too," he says.

I walk in and set everything down.
"CanIseeit?" I say too quickly.
"See, what? You mean this?" he smiles, as his hand reaches out from behind and there it is, my diary.
"Uhh, yeah. That," I say.
I snatch it out of his hands, still angry he even bothered looking at it. Especially Katniss, but she is curious.
"Have a nice stay, princess," he says, walking away.

Walking away on your guest who just arrived? He didn't even offer food! Keeping my calm, I unpack all my suitcases for my stay.

--
Haymitch POV:

Effie arrived earlier, with her crazy outfits and hair. She should really lay off the accessories. I'm still pretty curious to what she looks like without her mask. She's probably pretty, or decent, under all of that.

Determined to see what she looks like, I plan to walk in on her when she's done washing it off her face and her wig is off.

That night, I wait outside her door until I hear the water shut off, and, not to risk anything, I peek under the crack in the door and see her dress hit the floor, then a new one go up. I decide to wait a few minutes after that. When the time comes, I'll just walk in.

That's when I hear a loud bang, and a cry, and I rush in. I look in, and see that the wardrobe has fallen on her foot. Maybe she screamed cause her clothing was crushed, maybe not. I rush over and lift it back up, setting it in place. I look back, and there she is, hunched over, cradling her foot.
"Sweetheart, what happened?" I ask.
"I was... Trying to.. Put my clothes away... And it fell..." she says through sobs.
I can't see her face, but I lift her up and set her on the bed. I grab some ice and hand it to her.
She sets it on her foot and lays back. Brushing her hair out of her face, I finally see her natural self. Strawberry blonde hair, dazzling bright blue eyes, and creamy pale skin. Taken aback by her appearance, I just stare at her for a little too long. She covers her face again, wiping up tears.
"I'm so sorry you have to see me like this, it's not my usual put-together self," she says sadly.
"I think I like this way better," I say, noticing her scent. Strawberries and champagne.

I plan on calling Katniss tomorrow for help with Effie's foot. I doze off on the couch with a bottle of who-knows-what clutched in my hand.