Chapter-12

Chapter 12

I'm not lady-like at all, I have no manners, and I don't know how to walk in heels. "I have my work cut out for me," Effie says.

She tries to teach me how to walk in heels of all different sizes. To no surprise, I can't walk in any of them, and continue to trip and wobble as I slowly take steps around the room. I even fell a few times, and I broke two heels already. We're only half an hour into the session.

"Katniss, you need to relax, you're going to break another heel!" Effie says.

For how nimble and quick I am on my feet, I can't seem to get the hang of walking in heels. I'm used to walking on my toes in the woods, I do it for hours at a time. So why is this so difficult?

"Effie, I give up. I can't stand these heels, and clearly I'll never get the hang of walking in them. Just let me wear flat shoes," I ask. She shakes her head, and tells me to keep trying.

After about an hour and a half, I finally am able to walk without my legs wobbling, although I look ridiculous.

"Alright Katniss, let's work on your walking with dresses," Effie says. Dresses? I have to walk more?

She has me change into a short dress, coming to my mid thigh. I find walking in this dress easier than I thought, it doesn't really affect my walking as much as the heels do. Effie says I'm doing well, and I change into another dress. This one comes down to my knees, and Is a little harder to walk in, but still not affecting my movements much.

The last dress however, comes to my feet, and has feathers all around my feet. I can't move more than a few inches a step. Eventually, I get the hang of it, and she allows me to stop.

Next, she teaches me how to sit like a lady, talk like a lady, and act like a lady. It's annoying, and by the end, I feel as if I'm not even myself anymore. She starts asking me interview questions to help prepare me for the interviews themselves.

"Katniss, you need to answer the questions like these people are your friends," Effie says.

"These people are not my friends. They're betting on how fast I get killed," I yell at her.

"I understand dear, but your survival may depend on this."

She's right. If I want sponsors, I need to be perfect in this interview. I need to act lady-like, especially when Peeta announces his love for me. I need to look desirable by the audience.

We finish our session after what feels like hours. After a lot of yelling, talking, and preparations for the interviews tomorrow, I'm finally finished, and allowed to go to the dining room for dinner.

"So Haymitch, how did your session with Peeta go?" Effie asks.

"The boy was fine, we were done in 20 minutes. It's like he was made for this."

"Lucky you, Katniss here took two hours to learn how to walk in heels!" Effie exclaims.

Haymitch and Peeta laugh until I give them each a scowl. "I'm sure it wasn't too bad, she's a great listener Effie," Haymitch says. That even gets a laugh out of Effie. I can feel my face grow red.

That night, Peeta and I couldn't sleep at all. We're nervous about how these interviews will go. We're nervous about how the crowd will react to his confession.

"Peeta, why didn't Rye volunteer for you? It was his last year, right? So he could have volunteered for you," I ask. It hurts me inside knowing his brother left him to most likely die.

"He was nervous that morning, it was his last year in the Reaping. I don't know why he was so nervous, my name was in there more than his, but he was scared. Petrified really. So when I-" I cut him off.

"What do you mean, your name was in there more than his?" Did he take out tesserae? I thought Merchant children didn't need to.

"My mother made me take tesserae out every month. She said to my father, 'we might as well get some worth out of him.'"

"Did your brothers ever have to take tesserae out?" I ask.

"No, only me," he whispers. My heart breaks for Peeta. He didn't deserve that kind of life, he deserved a mother who loved him and cared for him.

"I'm sorry Peeta," I whisper. I feel terrible for bringing it up at all.

"So when I heard my name, he looked at me. I could see in his eyes, he was asking me if he should volunteer without words. I shook my head no," he says. "I couldn't let him volunteer for me, it wasn't fair to him. Plus, my mother would've blamed me for his death, and I couldn't live with myself for that."

I don't say anything. There's nothing to say to that, so instead I curl up into him and fall asleep, listening to his steady heartbeat and feeling his chest rise and fall as he breathes. I feel his breathing steady, and know he's asleep. I fall asleep too.

The next morning, I wake up in a panic. Peeta isn't next to me like he normally is. I hear people talking in the kitchen, where Peeta probably is. I get up, brush my teeth, and leave his room.

"Interviews are today Peeta, are you excited?" Effie exclaims.

"Not really Effie, I'm a little nervous to be honest. If I mess this up, Katniss and I could lose sponsors," he replies.

As I walk out, the ever so cheerful Haymitch greets me. "Morning Sweetheart, you finally decided to join us." I give him a scowl and head over to see what Peeta's up to.

Peeta's baking bread with chocolate inside of them from the looks of it. They smell amazing, and I bet they taste as good as they look, but Peeta playfully swats my hand away as I try to grab one.

"They're cooling Katniss, you'll burn yourself," he says laughing. I don't care, so I grab one anyway. He wasn't lying, as I bit into the bun, it burnt my tongue. The taste is amazing though. It's amazing that I went my whole life not eating things like these.

"The interviews are at 4:00 sharp. You'll be travelling to where the interviews are being held at 3:30. When you're done eating, you'll get prepped by your prep teams, and meet with your stylists. Got it kids?" Haymitch asks. We nod

We eat the buns Peeta baked, and go to our rooms to meet our prep teams. They go to work immediately, ripping hair from my arms and legs, plucking eyebrows, and braiding my hair. This time, they put a cream on my skin and it burns. "This will keep your hair from growing so we don't have to go through this again," they say to me. If it means I won't need to go through this anymore, then I'm all in, no matter how much it burns.

They paint my nails, complaining again about how bitten they are. "Katniss! Your nails are destroyed!" I don't see the problem, nobody in the crowd will see my nails well, but they seem to be losing their minds over this.

After what feels like hours of them prepping me, they rush out of the room. I'm left on my bed, waiting for Cinna. Eventually he walks in after knocking.

"Alright Katniss, how are you feeling?"

"Nervous, I don't know how to get people to like me," I reply.

"You got me to like you," he rebuttals.

"That's different. I wasn't trying."

"Just be yourself. The crowd will love you Katniss," he says.

He shows me my dress and helps me put it on. The dress is red and comes down past my feet. It's frilly at the bottom, but smooth from my knees up. My right shoulder is exposed, my left shoulder holds the dress on my body. It's a beautiful dress, not too flashy or elegant. It's perfect for me, to be honest. I feel like myself in this dress, Katniss Everdeen, not the female tribute of District 12.

We head outside of the Training Center, and get in a car to go to the interviews. When we get there, I see all of the other tributes in dresses and suits. Peeta is wearing a black suit with red accents on it, to match my dress. We look like a couple, and this will help greatly when his announcement is made.

We head backstage, waiting for our interview with Caesar Flickerman. I don't mind Caesar, he is loud and obnoxious, but so is everybody else in the Capitol. He tries to help you look better though with his questions. The mentor gives him a series of questions to ask us, so our answers can boost our popularity.

One by one, the tributes go onto the stage for their interview. District 1's girl starts things off for the tributes. Her approach for the interview is obvious, she's being sexy for the crowd. Her blonde hair and emerald green eyes compliment her tall and lush body.

The tributes only have three minutes per interview. When the three minutes are up, a buzzer sounds, alerting the next tribute of their turn.

The boy from District 2, Cato, plays the angle of a ruthless killing machine. He pretends to be excited about the games. At least, I think he's pretending. I hope he's pretending.

The girl from 5 is smart and sly. Her face has the features of a fox, so I whisper to Peeta, "I nicknamed her Foxface." He laughs at my joke, and I hope the crowd likesp me as much as Peeta does.

The boy from 10, I can't help but feel terrible for. He has a crippled foot, and I can tell he's scared. He stays quiet during his interview.

We're nearing my interview now, we're up to 11. My palms are sweating now, and I try to wipe them on my dress, but the dress is not absorbent.

The girl from 11, Rue, I recognize. She followed me and Peeta around during the three days of training. She wears a gossamer gown with wings. She received a seven in training.

"So Rue, what will be your greatest strength in the arena?" Caesar asks.

"I'm very hard to catch. And if they can't catch me, they can't kill me. So don't count me out," she says with no hesitation.

"I wouldn't in a million years," Caesar says encouragingly.

The boy from 11, Thresh, has the same dark skin as Rue. He's tall and muscular, built like an ox. The Careers asked him to join their alliance, but he rejected that offer without even thinking about it. He answers Caesar with a yes or no, or just remains silent. He's not one for small talk, that's for sure.

"Please welcome, Katniss Everdeen!" Caesar says as the crowd goes wild.

I walk onto the stage and shake Caesar's hand. He either doesn't notice how sweaty they are, or says nothing about it.

"So Katniss, the Capitol must be quite a change from District 12. What's impressed you most since you arrived here?" Asks Caesar.

"The lamb stew," I say after a moment of silence. I can barely breathe, it's as if I'm being choked by sawdust in my throat. Caesar and some of the audience laugh.

"The one with the dried plums?" He asks. I nod my head. "Oh, I eat it by the bucketful!" He turns towards the crowd with a hand on his stomach. "It doesn't show, does it?" The audience applauds and reassures him it doesn't.

"Now Katniss, when you came out in the opening ceremonies, my heart actually stopped. What did you think of that costume?" He asks.

I look for Cinna in the crowd. "You mean after I got over my fear of being burned alive?" I ask. The audience and Caesar laugh again.

"Yes, start then," Caesar replies.

"I thought Cinna was brilliant and it was the most gorgeous costume I'd ever seen and I couldn't believe I was wearing it. I can't believe I'm wearing this, either. I mean, look at it!"

The audience oohs and ahs my dress, and I look for Cinna once more. He's twirling his finger, telling me to spin for him.

I twirl once and the audience goes wild.

"Oh! Do that again!" Caesar says. I lift my arms up once again, and spin over and over, letting my dress engulf me in flames as I spin. The audience is so loud, I can't hear Caesar.

"Don't stop!" He yells happily.

"I have to, I'm dizzy!" I giggle and laugh like a little girl.

Caesar wraps his arm around me saying, "I've got you, don't worry. Can't have you following in your mentor's footsteps." This gets another laugh out of me.

"So Katniss, that training score! E-le-ven. Give us a hint what happened there."

"Um… All I can say is I think it was a first."

The Gamemakers on the balcony are chucking and nodding, so I think that was the right answer.

"You're killing us!" Caesar says. "Details! We need details!"

"I'm not supposed to talk about it, right?" I say to the balcony of Gamemakers. The one that fell into the punch bowl laughs and says, "No she's not!"

"Thank you," I say. "Sorry Caesar, but my lips are sealed."

"Let's go back then, to the moment they called your sister's name at the reaping," Caesar says. "And you volunteered. Can you tell us about her?"

"Her name's Prim. She's just twelve. And I love her more than anything." It's so quiet, you could probably hear a pin drop.

"What did she say to you? After the reaping?" Caesar asks.

"She asked me to try really hard to win." I say into the quiet crowd.

"And what did you say?" Caesar asks gently.

"I swore I would try. Try to win. For her," I say quietly.

"I bet you did. And try you will," Caesar says quietly. "Sorry, we're out of time. Best of luck, Katniss Everdeen, tribute from District 12!"

I hear them call Peeta back to the stage, and as I walk past him, I give him a hug. "You got this," I say quietly. He gives me a squeeze and lets go.

"Peeta!" I hear Caesar say. "How are you finding the Capitol?"

"It's different. It's very different," he replies.

"Different. In what way? Give us an example," Caesar says.

"Uh, okay, well the showers here are weird," Peeta says.

"The showers? We have different showers," Caesar says to the audience. They give him a loud laugh.

"Tell me Caesar, do I smell like roses to you?"

They take turns smelling each other over and over again. "You definitely smell better than me," says Peeta.

"Well, I've lived here longer," Caesar replies. The audience bursts out laughing.

"So Peeta, tell me, is there a special girl back home?"

"No, no, not really," Peeta says. What is he doing?

"Handsome lad like you. There must be some special girl. Come on, what's her name?" Caesar asks.

"Well, there is this one girl. I've had a crush on her ever since I can remember," Peeta says.

"She have a fellow?" asks Caesar.

"I don't know, but a lot of boys like her," says Peeta.

"So here's what you do. You win, you go home. She can't turn you down then, eh?" Caesar says encouragingly.

"I don't think it's going to work out. Winning… won't help in my case," Peeta says sadly.

"Why ever not?"

"Because… because… she came here with me." Peeta's blushing now, his face a bright red. I can't help but smile. That will get us some sponsors for sure. My face turns red too as I see myself on camera from backstage.

"Oh, that is a piece of bad luck," says Caesar. He truly sounds heartbroken for Peeta.

"It's not good," Peeta agrees.

"Well, I don't think any of us can blame you. It'd be hard not to fall for that young lady. She didn't know?" Caesar asks.

"Not until now." Peeta says with a shake of his head.

"Wouldn't you love to pull her back out here and get a response?" Caesar asks. The crowd screams and cheers. "Sadly, rules are rules, and Katniss Everdeen's time has been spent. Well, best of luck to you, Peeta Mellark, and I think I speak for all of Panem when I say our hearts go with yours."

We board cars again, and head back to the Training Center. Peeta and I board an elevator with nobody else, and head to our floor. When we get back, Haymitch, Effie, Cinna, and Portia are waiting there to congratulate us.

"That was fabulous!" Effie exclaims.

"Well done kids, the sponsors will be swarming me soon enough," Haymitch says.

Tomorrow is our last day before the Hunger Games start. I'm nervous, and I can tell Peeta is too.

At dinner, Cinna decided to celebrate our interviews with a cake. By the looks of it, it's not Peeta's, but it still looks delicious. But as Cinna sets it on the table, he lights it on fire. I watch as the cake burns, but it doesn't melt. There must be alcohol on the cake.

"Don't worry, it's safe to eat. All the alcohol is burned off," Cinna says. "To the Girl on Fire!"

We eat the cake after dinner, and go to the living room to watch the recap of the interviews. I look frilly and shallow, twirling and giggling in my dress, but everyone else agrees I'm charming. Peeta actually is charming. He seems to have a way with words.

We head to our rooms after the recap. I turn into Peeta's room with him, and each of us take turns showering. We brush our teeth together, and lay down to go to sleep.

When we wake the next morning, Effie seems to leave us alone. She didn't wake us up for breakfast, and everyone else stays in their rooms. Peeta and I decide to spend the day on the couch in the living room. We watch movies, eat popcorn with melted butter on top, talk and laugh. It's a perfectly peaceful day before all hell breaks loose. After today, it's possible neither one of us will be alive. But I push that thought away, thinking of being here with Peeta.

Haymitch eventually comes out of his room, and sits on the couch with us. "So kids, what's the plan for tomorrow? Or do you want to hear what I think you should do?"

"If there are trees around, Peeta and I will run towards them. We aren't falling for the bloodbath, and we don't need any of those supplies anyways. I can hunt, I'll just need to make a bow," I say.

"Sounds good to me. Remember, you're in love. The audience needs something to cheer for, and sponsors need a reason to sponsor you," he says, and with that piece of advice, he goes back to his room.

Nobody comes out of their room for dinner, but I hear Haymitch talking to someone in his room. It doesn't sound like Effie or Cinna, though. Peeta and I eat dinner, making sure to eat as much as we can. We'll need the extra strength for when we're starving in the arena.

Effie exits her room and meets us in the living room after dinner. "Now kids, you can't spend tonight together. You need to be seperate tomorrow morning before the Games, got it?"

"But Effie, we-" I start to say until I'm cut off by her.

"This is nonnegotiable. I'm sorry dear, I really am, but these are the rules," she says. She leaves too.

Peeta and I decide we need our rest tonight, who knows when the next time we'll get a full night's sleep in. If we make it to another night, but neither of us say that.

We each head our separate paths, and I can't help but feel worried. What if this is the last time I see Peeta? What if one of us dies trying to make it to the other in there?

As we part, I grab Peeta and hug him. He holds me, not saying a word. He knows what this hug means. It means good luck. It means goodbye.

I let go, and walk into my room. It feels empty without Peeta next to me. But I know how important rest is, and tonight's the last night I'll get it. So I lay down and try to sleep.

But sleep doesn't find me. I can't stop thinking of the arena. What will we find? Desert? Swamp? A frigid wasteland? I pray we find trees, that's where I'll feel most comfortable. Trees are often in the arena, because without concealment for the tributes, the Games don't last long. But what will the climate be like? Will it be scorching hot? Will it be freezing cold? What traps will we find?

I become restless, and start pacing the room. It's obvious sleep won't come any time soon, and I need fresh air. My room feels like a prison cell. I open my door and run down the hall, the only place I can go for fresh air is the roof. The door to the roof is opened slightly. I don't care who is out there, I just want to see the sky, I want to see the stars, I want to see the moon one last time before I'm being hunted down by 22 other tributes.

The roof is unlit at night. I step out onto the roof, my bare feet feeling the tiled surface under them, and see him. I see his silhouette, behind him the lights of the Capitol. I can hear all of the commotion coming from the streets, cheering, car horns, screams of joy. Music and singing, and I'm sure they're dancing too. I walk towards him, my silent steps not alerting him I'm here.

"You should be getting some sleep," I say.

"I didn't want to miss the party. It's for us, after all," he replies.

I walk towards him until I'm next to him, leaning on the railing of the roof. "Are they in costumes?"

"Who could tell?" Peeta answers. "With all the crazy clothes they wear here. Couldn't sleep, either?"

"Couldn't turn my mind off," I say.

"Thinking about your family?" He asks.

"Thinking about everything. About what to expect tomorrow, about Prim, about Gale, about you," I say quietly. "What about you, what's got you out here at this hour?"

"Thinking, I guess. I just don't want to disgrace myself and…" He hesitates.

"And what?" I ask.

"I don't know how to say it exactly. Only… I want to die as myself. Does that make any sense?" He asks. I shake my head. How could he die as anyone but himself? "I don't want them to change me in there. Turn me into some kind of monster that I'm not."

"Do you mean you won't kill anyone?" I ask.

"No, when the time comes, I'm sure I'll kill just like everybody else. I can't go down without a fight. Only I keep wishing I could think of a way to… to show the Capitol they don't own me. That I'm more than just a piece in their Games," he says.

"But you're not," I say. "'None of us are. That's how the Games work." I don't understand what he's saying.

"Okay, but within that framework, there's still you, there's still me," he says. "Don't you see?"

"A little. Only… no offense, but who cares, Peeta?" I ask.

"I do. I mean, what else am I allowed to care about at this point?" He's getting a little angry now, but tries not to show it.

"Care about what Haymitch said. About staying alive."

"Okay, thanks for the tip, sweetheart," he says with a sad smile.

"Look, if you want to spend the last hours of your life planning some noble death in the arena, that's your choice. I want to spend mine in District 12," I say.

"Wouldn't surprise me if you do," Peeta says. "Give my mother my best when you make it back, will you?"

"Can you stop thinking like that? You have people you need to go home to, Peeta. Stop acting like I'm the only one who can win between the two of us," I say angrily.

"Alright. Goodnight Katniss," he says. "See you tomorrow."

"Goodnight Peeta," I say. He walks away, to his room I'm guessing. I stay on the roof for another couple minutes, and head back myself. I need rest for tomorrow.

A/N: So I know there was a lot from the books here. I couldn't change the interview, only how she acted after. I could have changed the rooftop scene, but I thought it was amazing, so I only changed the ending of it. However, in the next chapter, they enter the arena. Will they be able to meet up? Will one of them die? We'll see!