Peeta: in the arena with Prim

Chapter 5

I stumble down the hallway to the dining room. Effie is sitting on a leather couch adjusting her makeup in a handheld mirror. I sit at the table. and I'm brought steaming hot food almost instantly. On the table lies ham and cheese omelettes, a basket of fresh fruit, and an assortment of rolls. I reach across the table for a roll as Effie approaches me.

"Manners, Peeta!" She says, sounding annoyed as I start to put the roll in my mouth.

"Sorry," I mumble through a full mouth. She scoffs at me and returns to her makeup.

I chew the roll and immediately know that no food, even from the Capitol, would ever compare to the bread rolls made by my father's delicate hands. I sigh at the memories of home, and continue eating. As I'm finishing my meal, Haymitch walks in the door. More like falls, actually.

"Good morning Haymitch," I greet him. He doesn't even glance in my direction. It's like I hadn't said a word. He goes directly to the cart containing his favorite thing: alcohol. Haymitch reaches for a yellow-looking liquid and plops down in a seat across from me at the table. An Avox brings him a plate of food. He picks up his omelette and attempts to put it in his mouth. It instead misses his mouth and smashes into his cheek. I glare at Haymitch as he takes a sip of his drink. He's always like this; intoxicated by all of the alcohol. I'm suddenly upset at his behavior and I find myself standing up to get his attention.

"I think that's enough of that," I declare to Haymitch as I cross to him and try to take his drink away.

"No!" He yells at me. I feel my hand reaching for his face, trying to punch him, but Haymitch beats me to it. I find myself sprawled on the floor, clasping my jaw in my hands. He hit me hard. I take my hands away from my jaw and find he has caused blood. It's way more pain than I've ever experienced in a beating from mother. But I don't want him to feel superior, so I try to shrug it off.

"That is mahogany!!" Effie sqeauls at us from the couch.

"Haymitch?! What did you do to him?" Prim runs in, sounding panicked.

"I'm okay Prim," I assure her. But my jaw feels as if it's on fire, and the blood isn't slowing.

"Here, come with me. Let me help you with that, Peeta." Prim helps me up and leads me out of the dining room to her room's bathroom. As we're walking down the hallway I can hear Haymitch say "Did I actually get a fighter this year?" I want to say something, but speaking causes my jaw pain. Prim makes me sit on her bed as she gets something from the bathroom. I look around and see her Reaping outfit, laying perfectly on a chair in the corner of her room. I see the pin that I noticed she had on at the Reaping, and I walk towards it to get a better look.

A Mockingjay. The pin has a golden circle with a Mockingjay in the center, holding an arrow in its beak. I think of how Katniss must have gotten this for her. I wish that someone else had been Reaped in place of Prim. I don't want to see either her or Katniss in pain. And this event surely doesn't have many, if any, benefits. I take the pin and twirl it between my fingers. When I turn around, I see Prim with a wet wash cloth and a bottle of some sort. I think it has pills. She must have gotten them from an Avox. She's cautiously staring at me.

"Sorry.. I..was just,uh, looking.." I tell her in a shaky voice as I put down her pin. The last thing I need is for Prim to not trust me.

"Oh, its fine." She confirms, leading me back to her bed to sit down.

"Where did you get you get this from?" I ask, turning my gaze to the pin.