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The anthe the audience Does he kno crucial it is to get every word right from now on? He must He ant to help us The crowd breaks into applause as the prep teaine Flavius, Venia, and Octavia bouncing around and taking ridiculous, bobbing bows It&039;s a safe bet they&039;re clueless Then Effie&039;s introduced How long she&039;s waited for this uided as Effie can be, she has a very keen instinct about certain things and must at least suspect we&039;re in trouble Portia and Cinna receive huge cheers, of course, they&039;ve been brilliant, had a dazzling debut I now understand Cinna&039;s choice of dress for irlish and innocent as possible Hayoes on at least fivenot only one but two tributes alive What if he hadn&039;t warned me in time? Would I have acted differently? Flaunted the moment with the berries in the Capitol&039;s face? No, I don&039;t think so But I could easily have been a lot less convincing than I need to be now Right now Because I can feel the plate lifting hts The deafening roar rattles the metal under my feet Then there&039;s Peeta just a few yards away He looks so clean and healthy and beautiful, I can hardly recognize him But his smile is the same whether in mud or in the Capitol and when I see it, I take about three steps and flinghis balance, and that&039;s when I realize the slihts hioes insane He&039;s kissing , Do you know? Do you kno er we&039;re in? After about ten minutes of this, Caesar Flickerman taps on his shoulder to continue the show, and Peeta just pushes hioes berserk Whether he knows or not, Peeta is, as usual, playing the crowd exactly right

Finally, Hayood-natured shove toward the victor&039;s chair Usually, this is a single, ornate chair frohts of the Games, but since there are two of us, the Gamemakers have provided a plush red velvet couch A small one, my mother would call it a love seat, I think I sit so close to Peeta that I&039;m practically on his lap, but one look fro off ainst Peeta&039;s shoulder His aroes around me automatically, and I feel like I&039; to keep warm His shirt is made of the same yellowblack pants No sandals, either, but a pair of sturdy black boots he keeps solidly planted on the stage I wish Cinna had given me a similar outfit, I feel so vulnerable in this fliuess that was the point

Caesar Flickerman makes a few more jokes, and then it&039;s time for the show This will last exactly three hours and is required viewing for all of Panehts dim and the seal appears on the screen, I realize I&039;m unprepared for this I do not want to watch h of the and I have a strong impulse to run How have the other victors faced this alone? During the highlights, they periodically show the winner&039;s reaction up on a box in the corner of the screen I think back to earlier years so their chests Most just see me on this love seat is Peeta - his arm around my shoulder, his other hand claimed by both of mine Of course, the previous victors didn&039;t have the Capitol looking for a way to destroy the several weeks into three hours is quite a feat, especially when you consider how hlights has to choose what sort of story to tell This year, for the first time, they tell a love story I know Peeta and I won, but a disproportionate a I&039;h, because it supports the whole crazy-in-love thing that&039;sthe Capitol, plus it er over the deaths

The first half hour or so focuses on the pre-arena events, the reaping, the chariot ride through the Capitol, our training scores, and our interviews There&039;s this sort of upbeat soundtrack playing under it that makes it twice as awful because, of course, almost everyone on-screen is dead

Once we&039;re in the arena, there&039;s detailed coverage of the bloodbath and then the fil and shots of us Mostly Peeta really, there&039;s no question he&039;s carrying this ro on his shoulders Now I see what the audience sa he ht under the tracker jacker tree, fought Cato to let me escape and even while he lay in that mud bank, whispered my name in his sleep I see fireballs, dropping nests, and blowing up supplies - until I go hunting for Rue They play her death in full, the spearing, h the boy fro her last breath inSo insideIt&039;s like watching coer Games But I do notice they oht Because even that ss pick up for me once they&039;ve announced two tributes from the same district can live and I shout out Peeta&039;s name and then clap my hands over my mouth If I&039;ve seemed indifferent to hi hi to the feast for thevery free with my kisses Objectively, I can see the ain, I feel it happens to people I have never met

And then comes theone another, not wanting to ratitude to the filmmakers sweeps over me when they end not with the announcelass door of the hovercraft, screa Peeta&039;s name as they try to revive him

In terht

The antheain and we rise as President Snow hi a cushion that holds the crown There&039;s just one crown, though, and you can hear the crowd&039;s confusion - whose head will he place it on? - until President Snow gives it a twist and it separates into two halves He places the first around Peeta&039;s broith a s when he settles the second on iving as a snake&039;s

That&039;s when I know that even though both of us would have eaten the berries, I aator I&039; and cheering follows My ar when Caesar Flicker them to tune in tomorrow for the final interviews As if they have a choice

Peeta and I are whisked to the president&039;s mansion for the Victory Banquet, where we have very little tienerous sponsors elbow one another out of the way as they try to get their picture with us Face after bealy intoxicated as the evening wears on Occasionally, I catch a gli, or President Snohich is terrifying, but I keep laughing and thanking people and s I never do is let go of Peeta&039;s hand

The sun is just peeking over the horizon e straggle back to the twelfth floor of the Training Center I think now I&039;ll finally get a word alone with Peeta, but Hay fitted for the interview and personally escorts me to my door

"Why can&039;t I talk to hiet home," says Haymitch "Go to bed, you&039;re on air at two"

Despite Hay interference, I&039;m determined to see Peeta privately After I toss and turn for a few hours, I slip into the hall My first thought is to check the roof, but it&039;s empty Even the city streets far below are deserted after the celebration last night I go back to bed for a while and then decide to go directly to his room, but when I try to turn the knob, I find my own bedroom door has been locked from the outside I suspect Haymitch initially, but then there&039;s aand confining an, but this feels different, much more personal This feels like I&039;ve been i I quickly get back in bed and pretend to sleep until Effie Trinket co day!"

I have about five rain and stew before the prep team descends All I have to say is, "The crowd loved you!" and it&039;s unnecessary to speak for the next couple of hours When Cinna coauzy dress and pink shoes Then he personally adjusts low Weof real importance because after the incident with the door, I can&039;t shake the feeling that I&039; watched constantly

The interview takes place right down the hall in the sitting room A space has been cleared and the love seat has been moved in and surrounded by vases of red and pink roses There are only a handful of cameras to record the event No live audience at least

Caesar Flickerratulations, Katniss How are you faring?"

"Fine Nervous about the interview," I say

"Don&039;t be We&039;re going to have a fabulous ti pat

"I&039; about ," he says

And I think, Oh, Caesar, if only that were true But actually, President Snowsome sort of "accident" forhandsoet to see you Hay us apart"

Hay us alive, but there are too otten very responsible lately"

"Well, there&039;s just this and we go home Then he can&039;t watch us all the time," says Peeta

I feel a sort of shiver run through me and there&039;s no time to analyze why, because they&039;re ready for us We sit soo ahead and curl up next to him if you want It looked very sweet" So I tuck my feet up and Peeta pulls me in close to him

So broadcast live to the entire country Caesar Flicker choked up when the occasion presents itself He and Peeta already have the rapport they established that night of the first interview, that easy banter, so I just smile a lot and try to speak as little as possible I mean, I have to talk some, but as soon as I can I redirect the conversation back to Peeta

Eventually though, Caesar begins to pose questions that insist on fuller answers "Well, Peeta, we know, froht for you froe five?" Caesar says

"From the moment I laid eyes on her," says Peeta

"But, Katniss, what a ride for you I think the real excite you fall for him When did you realize you were in love with him?" asks Caesar

"Oh, that&039;s a hard one " I give a faint, breathy laugh and look down at my hands Help

"Well, I knohen it hit ht when you shouted out his name from that tree," says Caesar

Thank you, Caesar! I think, and then go with his idea "Yes, I guess that was it I mean, until that point, I just tried not to think about whatand it only s worse if I actually cared about hied," I say

"Why do you think that was?" urges Caesar

"Maybe because for the first time there was a chance I could keep hiive a sort of huff with relief and I know I&039;ve said the right thing Caesar pulls out a handkerchief and has to take a moment because he&039;s so moved I can feel Peeta press his forehead into otto do with me?"