Hunger Games 1

Chapter 19 Sleepless Night (1)
Peeta says, looking somber, and for a moment the camera pans down to his drooping eyelids.Then, the camera pans to me.On the screen I saw my half-mouthed expression of protest and surprise, magnified on each screen, which I realized only later.I?He mean me?I pursed my lips tightly and stared at the floor, trying my best to hide the complicated emotions that rolled inside me.

"Oh, that's bad luck," Caesar said, a hint of genuine pain in his voice.The audience murmured, and a few even whimpered.

"It's not good," Peeta said.

"Well, I don't think anyone can blame you. This young lady is so lovely that it's hard not to fall in love with her. Doesn't she know that?"

Peeta shook his head. "I think she just found out, too."

I raised my head and looked at the screen steadily, my cheeks were indeed flushed, that's right.

"Won't you just pull her back here and let her answer?" Caesar said to the audience.The audience screamed their assent. "Unfortunately, rules are rules, and Katniss Everdeen's time is up. Well, good luck, Peeta Mylark. On behalf of all of Panem Nation, our hearts go out to you together."

The audience let out deafening shouts.Peeta has cleared everyone else from his path by speaking out his love.The audience finally quieted down, and he said "thank you" softly with a slight choke, before returning to his seat.Then everyone stood up and the national anthem was played.We must all show respect and hold our heads high.That's when I see images of me and Peeta on every screen.We stood a few feet apart, but this distance was insurmountable in the eyes of every viewer.Poor, sad us!
But I knew better what was going on.

After the national anthem was over, the "tributes" lined up and returned to their residences in the training center, and everyone gathered by the elevator.I carefully avoid Peeta, there are too many people, designers, instructors and female companions are left behind, and the players stand facing each other, and no one speaks.The elevator stopped halfway, and after the four contestants went down, I was the only one left. When I reached the twelfth floor, the elevator door opened, and Peeta just happened to come out of another elevator.I stepped forward and slapped him on the chest. He stumbled and fell on the ugly flowerpot with fake flowers. The flowerpot shattered, Peeta fell on the shards, and his hands were bleeding immediately.

"What are you doing?" he asked in surprise.

"You have no right to do that, you have no right to say that about me," I yelled at him.

At this time the elevator arrived, and the entire team had arrived.

Effie, Haymitch, Cinna and Portia.

"What's going on?" Effie asked sharply. "You fell?"

"She pushed it," Peeta said, and Effie and Cinna helped him up.

Haymitch turned to me, "You pushed him?"

"It was your idea, wasn't it? To make me a fool before the whole country?" I answered him.

"That was my idea," Peeta said, pulling the pottery out of his hand. "Haymitch just runs it for me."

"Yeah, Haymitch runs it for you. Helps you," I said.

"You're a fool indeed," Haymitch said disgustedly. "You think he hurt you? That kid gave you things you could never get on your own."

"He makes me look weak!" I said.

"He made you hot. Let's face it. You can get all the help you can get. Before he said he loved you, you were like dust and there wasn't even a trace of romance. Now everybody's talking about you, everybody's talking about you Star lover from District [-]," Haymitch said.

"But we're not star lovers in District [-]."

Haymitch grabs me by the shoulders and pins me against the wall. "Who cares? It's a big show, you just give a vibe. The interview is over and I want to say you're amazing, it's a small miracle. Now you're literally a tearjerker. Oh, oh, oh , How many boys from your hometown will bow down at your feet. What do you think can make so many people support you?"

The smell of alcohol coming out of his mouth made me sick.I pushed his hand away and sat aside, trying to sort out the messy threads.

Cinna came over, put his arm around my shoulders, and said, "He's right, Katniss."

I don't know what to think. "They should tell me so I don't look so stupid," I said.

"No, you've done a very good job. It wouldn't be so real if you knew it in advance," Portia said.

"She's just worried about her boyfriend," Peeta grumbles, throwing the bloody pottery aside again.

I blushed at the thought of Gale, "I don't have a boyfriend."

"Anyway," Peeta said, "I think he's smart enough to know it's just a show. Besides, you didn't say you loved me. So what does it matter?"

I gradually realized the meaning of his words.My anger gradually dissipated, and I was conflicted in my heart. I didn't know if I was being used by others, or if I gained an advantage.Haymitch was right.I made it through the TV interview, but is that really me?Stupid girl swirling in a beautiful dress?The giggling, the only moments talking about Prim are really me.Compared to Saresh, who was quiet and forceful, my performance was lackluster, stupid, shallow and mediocre.No, not exactly mediocre, my grade of eleven doesn't count.

But now Peeta made me the object of admiration, and not only him.As he said, I have a lot of admirers, and if the audience really thought we were lovers... I remember how strongly the audience reacted to his words.Star lovers.Haymitch was right, the Capitol was a hit.

Suddenly, I feel like I've gone too far.

"After he said he loves me, do you think I'm really going to fall in love with him?" I asked.

"I think so," Portia said. "You're afraid to look at the camera, and you're blushing."

Others chimed in.

"You're gold now, my dear, and there's going to be a queue of patrons," Haymitch said.

I am very ashamed of my excesses.I forced myself to apologize to Peeta: "Sorry, I shouldn't have pushed you."

"It's okay," he shrugged, "even though it's technically illegal to do so."

"Is your hand okay?" I asked.

"It'll be all right," he said.

After that, no one said anything, when a scent wafted out from the restaurant. "Come on, let's go eat," Haymitch said.We all followed suit and came to sit down at the table.But Peeta was bleeding profusely, and Portia took him to the infirmary to be bandaged.We started with the meal, starting with a creamy rose petal soup.They didn't come back until after we had finished eating.Peeta's hand is bandaged and I feel guilty.Tomorrow we're going into the arena, and he's done me a favor, and I've paid him back.Can't I not owe him anything anymore?

After dinner, we watched a video of the show in the living room.People say I'm attractive on TV, but I think the image of me circling in dresses and giggling is flamboyant and shallow.Peeta, however, was charming, and his confession of love completely won over the audience.In the end, I am shy and confused in front of everyone. Cinna's skillful hands make me beautiful, Peeta's confession makes me cute, and the complex situation that true love cannot be realized makes me sad. In a word, I am unforgettable.

Finally, the national anthem was played, the program ended, and the living room fell silent.Tomorrow dawn, we will cheer up for the competition.The Capitol gets up late, and the game doesn't start until ten o'clock.But Peeta and I have to get ready early in the morning, the arena for this year's competition is ready, and we don't know how far we'll go.

Effie and Haymitch won't be coming with us.As soon as they get out of here, they go to the big game headquarters and frantically -- hopefully -- sign contracts with our sponsors, planning when and how to get gifts to us.Cinna and Portia will come with us to the venue, from where we will enter the arena, where we will finally say our goodbyes.

Effie took both of us by the hand, with tears in her eyes, wished us well, thanked us because we were the best players she had ever dealt with.Then, Effie is Effie, and usually she has to say something bad."It wouldn't surprise me at all if I get promoted next year to a more respectable precinct," she said.

Then she kissed us on the cheek and hurried out.Not only sad to leave us, but also worried about his uncertain future.

Haymitch held out his arms and looked at us both carefully.

"Any final suggestions?" Peeta asked.

"When the gong sounds, you get out of this damn place. Don't die for the Horn of Zeus. Spread out as far as possible from other people, and find a way to find water. Got it?" he said.

"And then?" I asked.

"Be sure to live," said Haymitch, who gave us the same advice on the train, but this time he wasn't drunk or smiling.We just nod.What else can we say?

I was glad Peeta stayed behind to talk to Portia when I went back to the room.Whatever the odd goodbye, let's save it for tomorrow.My sheets have been pulled back, but I don't see the red-haired Avax.I wish I knew her name, I should have asked her.Maybe she could write it down, or show it with gestures, but maybe it would only invite her punishment.

I took a shower and washed off the gold powder and makeup on my body, and also washed off the unique fragrance of a beautiful woman from my body.All that remains is the flame pattern on the nails.I decided to leave it as a reminder of who I am in the audience's mind.Katniss, the burning girl.Maybe in the days to come, it can give me the strength to persevere.

I put on my thick fleece pajamas and climbed into bed.Five seconds later, I realized that it was impossible for me to fall asleep.But I do need sleep, because in the arena, any time exhaustion breaks down, death will come unannounced.

This is not good, one hour, two hours, three hours have passed, and I still have my eyes open, thinking wildly, thinking about what kind of terrain the arena has.desert?swamp?Cold wilderness?Most of all I wish there were trees so I could hide and find food and shelter.There are trees in general, as the bare terrain is monotonous and the game ends quickly.But what about the weather?What kind of mystery did the contest organizers set up in it to add fun to the game when the pace of the game is slow?What about other "tributes"? ...

(End of this chapter)