Deranged

      I choose to seek out hope in everything. At the moment, I’m trying to find the hope that lies in the ever-so-psychotic brain of my pal, Iris. I knew that she was misdiagnosed. Iris knew it, too. She just didn’t want to admit it for the sake of her family, and partially her ego. If President Snow realizes that what is actually going on in her brain is not unstable, then he will have the ones she loves killed. Consider it his way of revenge that I will never understand. Nothing good comes from the Games.

     Haymitch “banned” me from going into the room where her confined cell was located, although I happened to make my way inside. It was unappealing; seeing her sit in the bullet proof cube with only the glass window to look out of.

     Iris sipped on the bottled water that they gave her. I watched with a smirk as she spit it out of her mouth at the sight of me. She effortlessly rolled her eyes and turned her back from the glass. Her unwelcoming gestures didn’t stop me from saying something.

     I pressed my hands against the glass and gave it a slight knock. “Ya know, I miss your voice.”

     “No you don’t, Finnick,” said Iris. She spoke faster than a blink.

     The foolish way she said my name made me want to talk to her longer. I took a breath and said, “You've spent two months in this cage. Sad, isn't it?”

     Her last words weren’t necessarily loving or considerate. The conversation turned out to be more like an attempt at manslaughter. Although she could’ve killed me, I still wanted to help her. I don’t believe that the rage was her fault. What I did to her was something far worse than a game of tattle-tale.

     Instead of sparking a pointless argument, I apologized to her. She eventually melted down after what felt like hours and tapped a finger on the glass.

     "Hey, dolphin boy." Iris spoke smoothly and softly, just enough to hear through the barrier. Her long, dark hair was covering parts of her face. It made me want to fix it and tell her how much I love her.

   Instead of saying what I really wanted to, I said, "Is dolphin boy the best you could come up with?"

     She laughed, and we mirrored each other's smile. Nothing has been this happy since we got out of Panem's death dome.

     I heard boots clanking against the metals floors and a the door opened, showing a wobbly Haymitch. He scoffed and pointed in my direction. "I knew I'd find you in here." Haymitch walked towards me and I stood up to walk out. He took ahold of my shoulder and dragged me back. With a click, the glass window soon revealed a small door, and Iris ran out into my arms.

     Haymitch cleared his throat and stated, "Next time, listen to what I tell ya."