Bridget:
The ride on the train to the Capitol was fairly pleasant despite the reason for the journey. It was my first time riding in a train and I was surprised that you can't really feel the ride at all.
As we pull into the station at the Capitol I notice, thankfully, that we aren't the first here but we aren't last either. There are five other districts here and they are 1,2,4,7 and 11 and I can see Haymitch smile out of the corner of my eye. He told me that his good friend Chaff is from 11 and he has a son and daughter my age. I'm no good at introducing myself so I hope I can slip away and sit somewhere and read my book, To Kill A Mockingbird.
Of course I'm dead wrong because the Capitol cameras are everywhere and as soon as Haymitch and I step off the train we have so many cameras flashing in our faces we have to push people just to get in a car to get to the training center. There are even twenty camera people waiting at the training center when we get out of the car.
"Do they all really have to stick there cameras in our faces?!" I ask Haymitch as we get into the reporter free lobby, a little peeved.
"Not used to all the attention, mini Haymitch?" Asked a male voice from behind me.
"No and it's really starting to piss me off!" I say as I turn and see Panem's sex symbol. Bronze haired, green eyed, Finnick Odair.
"Ha! Well try being me for a change and see which amount of attention you like better." He tells me with an adorable half smile.
"I'm good thanks." I snap at him with some sarcasm.
"Bridget Annabelle don't be so rude!" Haymitch try's to correct me in his drunken state.
"Nah it's cool Haymitch. I prefer her being sarcastic than how most girls are when they see me." He says with an arrogant look on his face.
"Can I please go somewhere to read my book?" I ask Haymitch trying to act bitchy while suppressing a smile.
Finnick can tell that I'm only acting so he says "What? And skip a day to hang out with me?" He says sarcastically with a fake look of hurt.
"Not every girl is brought to there knees at the sight of you Odair." Says a male voice from next to Haymitch.
I scream because I wasn't expecting it and everyone laughs at me.
"Chaff! You shouldn't give my daughter a heart attack!" Haymitch says in between fits of laughter.
"Please can someone be kind enough to tell me where I can go to read my book!" I almost shout now that I'm really mad.
"Yeah, umm Peyton will show you around." Chaff tells me still laughing before he calls over a girl that must be his daughter. He introduces us and asks her to show me around.
She leads me to an elevator before we say anything that isn't hi.
"Sorry about my dad." She apologizes.
"No, it's fine. I'm easily scared anyway."
"Oh okay. Well as you may know our dads are good friends."
"Yeah Haymitch told me. Don't you have a twin or something?" I ask.
"Mm hm, his name is Preston." She tells me.
"Cool." When the elevator stops on the last floor, floor 12, we step out and she tells me to pick a room. I pick the one at the end of the hall nearest the exit door. Peyton then goes back down the hall and picks up a key card from the table next to the elevator.
"Okay so here's your key. Do you want to stay here and read your book or do you want me to show you where the victors lounge is?"
"Are we allowed in the victors lounge?" I ask her. I thought only victors went there.
"Yeah! All victor kids are allowed!" She says with a little giggle.
"Oh! Okay then can you show me where it is?"
"Absolutely!"
I follow her down the hall back to the elevator. We get in and she presses the button that has 'VL' on it. I assume it means Victors Lounge. Wow, I actually had to think about that, I'm supposed to be smart. When the silver doors open Peyton and I step into a large rectangular room that has several large TVs across one wall, velvet and plush and leather sofas and chairs and wooden benches in front of the TVs, a long table to the side with 4 blue telephones on it surrounded by sheets of papers with lists on them, and on the back wall there are refrigerators and cabinets with drinks and snacks in them.
"There is a very basic tour but is that okay?" Peyton finally asks me.
"Yeah thanks it helped a lot but I think I might stay here now." I tell her before she leaves.
My father and Finnick are sitting on one of the leather sofas talking to Chaff who is sitting on one of the reclining chairs. I walk over and decide to be awkward and sit in between Haymitch and Finnick on the sofa.
"Hey! What's up guys?" I ask in a cheery voice.
"Well someone is in a better mood!" Chaff laughs.
"Yes because I needed space to breathe without being surrounded by annoying males." I tell him with a cocky smile.
"Haymitch! You've corrupted this child with your cocky sarcasm!" Finnick laughs.
"Don't blame that on me she was like that when she found me!" Haymitch defends.
"Wow." I roll my eyes. They act like children.
"Hey Bridget do you want to come with me into town for the day?" Finnick asks me.
"Uhh... Sure why not? I'm not doing anything useful here." I tell him.
"Good because I'm bored!" He tells me.
"Hey Finnick would you mind taking Peyton or Preston? They need to get some fresh air." Chaff asks.
"Sure. The more the merrier!"
Finnick and I then go upstairs and ask Peyton if she wants to come, Preston wasn't there so we couldn't ask him, and head downstairs and get a taxi to one of the thousands of malls in the Capitol. We get dropped off at the entrance by the taxi and I suddenly remember I don't have my wallet.
"Sh...oot" I correct myself.
"What?" Peyton asks me.
"I forgot my wallet!"
"Don't worry! Haymitch thought you might so he gave me this!" Finnick says while taking out a plastic rectangle. It was Haymitch's debit card. Not credit, but debit. "He said that you could spend as much as you want because he wouldn't use even three quarters of what's on it." Finnick says with a devious grin.
"Well this should be fun then." I say with an equally devious grin.
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Haymitch:
I'm glad Finnick is taking Bridget and the twins out. She needs to see the good part of the Capitol before she meets Snow. I'm glad she is also going with a girl her age, she should get along well with Peyton and maybe became good friends because I have a feeling she might be coming to the Capitol frequently.
I wonder if it was really a good idea to give them my debit card though. Don't teenage girls jump at any chance to blow money? Oh well, Finnick is 20 and will hopefully rein them in if needed. Oh God did I actually think this through enough! Nope I didn't.
Prepare to be broke Haymitch!
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Bridget:
We have already been in half of the high end fashion stores and both Peyton and I have 10 bags each filled with cute dresses, that are in styles from the time when Panem was called North America, and shoes and HAND BAGS! I love hand bags! I've had so much fun even though Finnick seems to be a magnet for Capitol reporters. Ugh.
Finnick mentions something about food and both my and Peyton's stomachs rumble so we all decide on a restaurant and walk towards it. As we are walking I look down at my shoe and just as I'm looking up I bump straight into the back of some guy waiting in line at the Purple Palm restaurant.
He turns around to look at me and I'm blown away. He's even more gorgeous than Finnick in my opinion, he has beautiful blue eyes and light brown hair that was swept slightly to the side. He had just the right amount of muscle, without looking like he goes to the gym everyday and all day, underneath his tight-ish grey shirt. What made me smile the most was that he turned around and apologized to me when I should be apologizing to him. He seems sweet too!
"I'm so sorry!" He tells me flashing that adorable half smile that guys do.
"N-no! I'm sorry! I wasn't looking were I was going!" I tell him.
He smiles and looks at Peyton who is trying not to laugh at me with Finnick. "Hey little sis. What are you doing with Finnick and..." He trails off not knowing what my name is.
"Your older by 4 minutes! It doesn't count! And this is Bridget Abernathy, don't you remember dad telling us about her? Also for your information, we are here because we are hungry after shopping." Peyton glares at her twin.
"Chill Peyton just making conversation! Besides the line is 20 minutes long so good luck because I'm giving up and going to the training center for food." He tells her.
"Are you on you own?" Finnick asks.
"Yeah why?"
"I've got sources that can get us a table quicker."
Finnick brings us to the front of the line right up to the hostess' desk. He flatters his way into getting the blonde bimbo to find us a table. Finally she finds one at the far end of the room in a private area so we won't have that much disturbance.
"So Preston what were you doing here alone? Meeting up with a lady that stood you up instead?" Finnick asks teasingly.
"Actually I was giving back an expensive bracelet I bought my ex-girlfriend."
"Oh I'm sorry man."
"Why should you be sorry? She was a gold digger anyway." Peyton says.
I notice that Preston is about to explode so I change the subject "So... I'm new here and don't know you guys all that well so what do you enjoy doing in your free time? I already know Finnick likes to flirt his way into a full restaurant, but what about you two?" I ask and get a chuckle in response.
"I like to play my guitar and read and hang out with friends." Preston says with a shrug.
"You play guitar?! I've always wanted to learn!"
"I could teach you sometime if you like?"
"Yeah that would be cool but what do you like doing Peyton?" I say casually.
"I like to listen to music not play it, go shopping, or write stories."
"That's awesome!"
"For your information Mini Haymitch, I like to swim in the ocean, fish with a trident, and make things with string and stuff." Finnick tells me.
"Cool." I tell Finnick.
"So Bridget... What do you like to do?" Preston asks me.
"Uhh... I like to hang it with my best friend Willow, I'm an avid reader, and I love listening to music." I tell him. We both smile at each other before our waitress comes with drinks.
The rest of the meal goes by quickly with a few comments exchanged. After that we decide we've had enough shopping for one day and head back to the training center with one more person than we left with. Once we get inside the elevator and stop at the victors lounge to give my father back his debit card, Preston and I go back to go to our rooms.
"Would you like to come back to my floor so I can teach you a little bit of guitar?" Preston asks smiling at me.
"Sure." I tell him trying to remember how to breathe.
Once we stop at the eleventh floor Preston leads me to his room and holds the door open for me like a gentleman. He tells me to sit anywhere so I sit on his bed and he sits opposite me, on the other end of the bed. I stare into his liquid blue eyes until I feel awkward and brake the contact. He then shows me how to play a few notes on the guitar before a piece of my hair falls in my face. Preston brings his hand close to my forehead and lightly pushes the loose price behind my ear. His fingertips touched my forehead so softly that it felt like a feather except that it shot an electric buzz through my body. I look up at him and notice he has an apologetic look on his face.
"I'm sorry I shouldn't have done that." He says.
"No it's fine, it was sweet." I tell him.
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Preston:
"No it's fine, it was sweet." She tells me with a beautifully sweet smile.
Wow. Preston you have got to be the most idiotic person ever. Stupid! I don't know what I was thinking moving her hair! That's like, something you do if you like a girl! Wait... Oh my god... I've fallen for a girl I just met. Great.
"Well I've got to go, my dad will be wondering where I am." She tells me.
"Oh okay. Do you want to come by tomorrow? For the guitar I mean."
"Sure. See ya later." She smiles and waves good bye before leaving.
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Haymitch:
I'm surprised that my whole debit card wasn't cleared. I guess that's what happens when you save all your victor money. Not even two teenage girls can clear your bank.
Finnick better be wrong about Bridget and Preston. They better not 'click' just yet. But of course as soon as I think this, the elevator stops at 11 and whom walks in... None other than my daughter. She better not have... She's only... No she wouldn't... She's too smart... Right?
"What were you doing on Chaff's floor?" I ask casually.
"Preston was teaching me some notes on his guitar." She replies simply. Yeah I'm sure that's all he wanted to do but I don't pry.
"Be ready for dinner in 20 minutes." She starts to walk off to her room "oh and Bridget? Talk to Summer. She needs a friend right now." I tell her.
"Okay Haymitch." She tells me before walking in her room and closing the door behind her.
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Bridget:
At dinner that night I sit in between Summer and Haymitch. We talk a little but it's kind of awkward. Once we finish our dinner I walk with Summer down the hall. Haymitch told me that the exit door next to my room leads up to the roof so I ask Summer if she wants to go up. She follows me up the stairs and towards the far wall of the roof with a garden that has trees with wind chimes hanging on their branches so no one can hear us talk.
"How you holding up?" I ask Summer.
She looks around as though making sure no one will hear us. "It's just... I... I can't do this Bridge! I can't just sit around and wait for some other tribute to kill me! I could see it in their faces during the tribute parade tonight that they tag me as an easy kill!" Oh yeah. I forgot that they had the tribute parade. "I mean, no offense but Haymitch isn't much help!" She turns to me on the verge of braking down.
"I know. I'm sorry... You know Willow was going to volunteer?"
"No. What changed her mind? I'm glad she did though. I'd rather me be in the Games than her." She tells me. I successfully distracted her.
"I did. I told her that you'd want her to stay home and help your mom." She smiles a genuine smile at me in thanks.
"I'm so sorry you had to be reaped but I think you should go to bed considering you might need it in the arena." I tell her.
"Okay." She says walking towards the door. "Aren't you coming?"
"I'll go to bed in a minute but right now I just need some air. Good night." I tell her.
I stare down at the bright twinkling stars of light in the Capitol. I don't want to be here. I should be back home comforting Willow, my best friend, not here in the Capitol hanging out with some guy I just met.
I hadn't realized how long I'd been up here until I heard the light patter of feet coming up behind me.
"Miss Bridget Abernathy?" A small voice asks.
"Yes?"
"The President has sent you a letter ma'am."
"Oh thanks." I say taking the letter. "But please don't call me ma'am, I'm not 30." I say smiling at her.
"I'm sorry Miss Bridget. I should be going now anyway, good bye." She says before turning away.
"Oh, uhh, thanks..." I don't know what to call her.
"Kara, Miss Bridget." She tells me humbly.
"Thanks Kara."
Once she leaves I read the letter from President Snow.
Dear Miss Abernathy,
I am upset that I missed you at the tributes parade tonight. I was hoping to meet you. However I am hoping to arrange for your father to introduce us.
On the evening of the interviews I'd love to meet you. I have been told that you are very much like Lily. I am giving you a few days so that you can cope with the reaping of Miss Cob.
Hope to see you soon,
President Coriolanus Snow
Oh goody! I get to meet Snow!
Someone please shoot me.