Chapter Text
I sit down in front of them,”Hello.” I say. “I’m Maysilee,your mentor.” I add. I notice Katniss stare at me for a second,then she speaks up. “I know you.” She says. “Of course you do! She’s Panem’s princess after all!” Effie says. Katniss turns to Effie,”That’s not how I know her.” She says. “You know my mom,don’t you?” She says. I’m in a state of shock. Asterid told her about me,why? I’m a selfish victor who bought into Capitol propaganda by becoming their princess. I drove her away,why does she still talk about me? “Yes I did know her. What did she tell you about me?” I ask her. “She said in the arena you were strong,you didn’t let them change you. She said you were her best friend.” She says. “Oh.” I respond. I think of Asterid’s last words to me “You’ll always be my best friend,Maysilee donner.” She had said. I then notice a detail on katniss’s dress,it’s the mockingjay pin. My mockingjay pin. I always hated that pin,I didn’t want to wear a piece of jewelry that had something to do with the cruel and unjust Capitol. The last time I saw it was when I moved into the victors village. I walked by my old house and took a good look at the wreckage,my pin was the only thing that survived. Not Merrilee,not mama or papa,just that damn pin. I picked it up and ran my fingers over the gold design of it. I took it with me to the village and before I walked into my new home,I threw it in the woods of district 12. “Where did you get that pin?” I ask her. “I found it while hunting.” Katniss responds. “Nice. It’s very pretty.” I say. I don’t let on that it’s mine. Katniss goes silent. I take in the environment of the train and it fully hits me. In a few days,these kids would either be dead or victors. If I didn’t act fast,these kids would die in the bloodbath. Before I even said anything,Katniss reads my mind. “So,how are you gonna help us survive?” She asks. I sigh and cross my arms. “Look,I can’t always guarantee your guy’s safety in the arena.” I say. “You can never guarantee our safety.” Katniss responds. “You think I don’t know that? When I was in the games,no one could control me. I showed the Capitol what I was made of.” I say. I lean forward,”You wanna know the truth about how you survive the games? You don’t fight your way up,you get people to like you.” I explain. “What if I want to fight?” Katniss asks. “Do you?” I ask back. She looks down,”No.I’d rather not be here at all.” She says. “Me too,kid. Me too.” I respond.
We’re silent for a few hours,I only break the silence to make small talk with Effie. I can tell this isn’t working,peeta won’t speak and Katniss doesn’t want too.I get up from my train sit and walk into my part of the train cart. I sit down and look around the room. Just then,Effie walks in. “Everything all right,May?” She asks. “Yep. It’s just that I feel like the tributes aren’t listening to me.” I say. “Well of course they are! They’re always like this the first day.” Effie says. “Wonder why.” I sarcastically mutter. “Just sleep on it. I promise everything will be better tomorrow!” Says Effie. I smile at her,”I will.” I respond. “Alright then! Sweet dreams!” Effie says as she closes the door to my cart. Once I fall asleep,I begin to dream. Not the sweet ones that Effie thought I would have,nightmares. In this one,Haymitch appears to me. “Hey sis.” He says. I grin at him,”Hey.” I say. “So you’re coaching burdocks kid,huh?” He asks. “Sure am.” I respond. “How’s that?” Asks Haymitch. I sigh,”She’s definitely burdocks kid. She can’t be told what to do.” I explain. He laughs,”Well neither could we.” He says. “Fair point.” I respond. We are both silent for a minute,then Haymitch speaks up. “Remember our promise,Maysilee.Paint your poster.” He says. I feel myself began to cry,”I will.” I say. Haymitch and I interlock our pinkies,This time it won’t be broken. “I have to return soon. You do too.” Haymitch says. “Where are you going?” I ask him. “Back to the old therebefore. I’m dead,remember?” He says. “You didn’t have to remind me!” I say,laughing and crying at the same time. He smiles at me,”Goodbye,sis.” He says. “Goodbye,itchy Haymitchy.” I respond. He begins to walk away from me but then he suddenly turns around,”Oh! Before I forget,say hi to my girl for me. If you ever find her.” He says. “I will.” I respond. And just like that,dreams over. I wake up to the sun peaking through the windows of the train,the memory of my late ally still lingering in my brain. I clutch onto the only thing I have left of him,the flint striker. When Haymitch died,I took the flint striker off of him so I could have something to remember him by. Once I left the games,I had intended to give it to Lenore dove. But when I went to her house to give it,both her and her uncles were gone. So I kept the flint striker,in my fallen friend’s memory. Effie then knocks on my door,”Ready to see the tributes?” She asks through the door. “Yep! Just give me a second!” I say. I brush myself off and get ready to face the day.
I come out into the main cart of the train where the tributes are. I sit down and take notice of the toast in front of me. “Could you pass the butter?-“ I ask Katniss. But before I could reach it,She takes a knife and Jabs it between my middle and pointer finger. I look up to see her staring at me with a death glare in her eyes. Effie gasps,”That is MAHOGANY.” She yells. I just smile at her,”Quick reflexes.” I say,as I put butter on my toast. After a minute of straight silence,Katniss speaks up. “Yesterday,you talked about painting posters. What does that mean?” She asks. “Well as you know,the citizens of the Capitol can send you sponsors when you are in the games. Painting your poster is just how you perceive yourself out to the Capitol to gain sponsors.” I explain. “Got it?” I ask. Katniss nods. I turn to Peeta,”You get it?” I ask him. “Yep.” He says. As our drive continues,I keep answering the kids questions about how to paint their posters. I tell them all about how me and Haymitch’s promise. “So your poster was to be the worst victor ever?” Katniss asks. “Yep. Let’s just say,it didn’t turn out.” I say. I then hear commotion from outside of the train. Effie gasps,”We are here!” She says. We are at the Capitol. As we drive along,citizen’s of the Capitol marvel at the tributes. Peeta turns and waves to them,he ushers Katniss to do the same but she just stares. I can tell already that they are painting two very different posters. After a few more minutes of driving and watching the citizens watch us,the train comes to a stop. “Why did we stop?” Katniss asks. “Because we have arrived!” Effie exclaims. I see a look of horror wash across Katniss’s face. I can’t tell her that I’m feeling the exact same way she is. Next,her and peeta will go to the tribute parade,the worst part for me every year.I hate to admit it but everytime I watch the parade from the sidelines,I think of Louella. The tribute who escaped the arena. I always wondered if what happened to her would happen to any of the other tributes,thankfully it’s all been smooth sailing. As Katniss and Peeta are escorted from the train,I look down at the flint striker around my neck. Don’t worry Louella,Lou Lou,Wyatt and Haymitch. I think these kids are gonna be alright.