Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins [86]
“Don't worry. I always channel my emotions into my work. That way I don't hurt anyone but myself.”
... and I'm afraid he has hurt himself beyond repair. The significance of my fiery transformation will not be lost on President Snow.
The audience, who's been stunned into silence, breaks into wild applause. I can barely hear the buzzer that indicates that my three minutes are up. Caesar thanks me and I go back to my seat, my dress now feeling lighter than air.
As I pass Peeta, who's headed for his interview, he doesn't meet my eyes. I take my seat carefully, but aside from the puffs of smoke here and there, I seem unharmed, so I turn my attention to him.
Caesar and Peeta have been a natural team since they first appeared together a year ago. Their easy give-and-take, comic timing, and ability to segue into heart-wrenching moments, like Peeta's confession of love for me, have made them a huge success with the audience. They effortlessly open with a few jokes about fires and feathers and overcooking poultry. But anyone can see that Peeta is preoccupied, so Caesar directs the conversation right into the subject that's on everyone's minds.
“So, Peeta, what was it like when, after all you've been through, you found out about the Quell?” asks Caesar.
“I was in shock. I mean, one minute I'm seeing Katniss looking so beautiful in all these wedding gowns, and the next ...” Peeta trails off.
“You realized there was never going to be a wedding?” asks Caesar gently.
Peeta pauses for a long moment, as if deciding something. He looks out at the spellbound audience, then at tin floor, then finally up at Caesar. “Caesar, do you think all our friends here can keep a secret?”
An uncomfortable laugh emanates from the audience. What can he mean? Keep a secret from who? Our whole world is watching.
“I feel quite certain of it,” says Caesar.
“We're already married,” says Peeta quietly. The crowd reacts in astonishment, and I have to bury my face in the folds of my skirt so they can't see my confusion. Where on earth is he going with this?
“But ... how can that be?” asks Caesar.
“Oh, it's not an official marriage. We didn't go to the Justice Building or anything. But we have this marriage ritual in District Twelve. I don't know what it's like in the other districts. But there's this thing we do,” says Peeta, and he briefly describes the toasting.
“Were your families there?” asks Caesar.
“No, we didn't tell anyone. Not even Haymitch. And Katniss's mother would never have approved. But you see, we knew if we were married in the Capitol, there wouldn't be a toasting. And neither of us really wanted to wait any longer. So one day, we just did it,” Peeta says. “And to us, we're more married than any piece of paper or big party could make us.”
“So this was before the Quell?” says Caesar.
“Of course before the Quell. I'm sure we'd never have done it after we knew,” says Peeta, starting to get upset. “But who could've seen it coming? No one. We went through the Games, we were victors, everyone seemed so thrilled to see us together, and then out of nowhere—I mean, how could we anticipate a thing like that?”
“You couldn't, Peeta.” Caesar puts an arm around his shoulders. “As you say, no one could've. But I have to confess, I'm glad you two had at least a few months of happiness together.”
Enormous applause. As if encouraged, I look up from my feathers and let the audience see my tragic smile of thanks. The residual smoke from the feathers has made my eyes teary, which adds a very nice touch.
“I'm not glad,” says Peeta. “I wish we had waited until the whole thing was done officially.”
This takes even Caesar aback. “Surely even a brief time is better than no time?”
“Maybe I'd think that, too, Caesar,” says Peeta bitterly, “if it weren't for the baby.”
There. He's done it again. Dropped a bomb that