Status Updates From The Hunger Games Complete T...

‘Betrayal. That’s the first thing I feel, which is ludicrous. For there to be betrayal, there would have to have been trust first.’

‘The stew’s made with tender chunks of lamb and dried plums today. Perfect on the bed of wild rice.’

‘I can’t help comparing what I have with Gale to what I’m pretending to have with Peeta. How I never question Gale’s motives while I do nothing but doubt the latter’s. It’s not a fair comparison really. Gale and I were thrown together by a mutual need to survive. Peeta and I know the other’s survival means our own death. How do you side step that?’

“Well, that’s that,” says Haymitch. Then he butters a roll.
“Do you think they’ll arrest me?” I ask.
“Doubt it. Be a pain to replace you at this stage,” says Haymitch.

#SOTR

‘It’s weird, how much he’s noticed me. Like the attention he’s paid to my hunting. And apparently, I have not been as oblivious to him as I imagined, either. The flour. The wrestling. I have kept track of the boy with the bread.’

‘I load a plate with eggs, sausages, batter cakes covered in thick orange preserves, slices of pale purple melon. As I gorge myself, I watch the sun rise over the Capitol. I have a second plate of hot grain smothered in beef stew. Finally, I fill a plate with rolls and sit at the table, breaking off bits and dipping them in hot chocolate, the way Peeta did on the train.’

‘Perhaps the girl doesn’t even remember me. But I know she does. You don’t forget the face of the person who was your last hope.’

‘I’d set out to tell her that I was sorry about dinner. But I know that my apology runs much deeper. That I’m ashamed I never tried to help her in the woods. That I let the Capitol kill the boy and mutilate her without lifting a finger.
Just like I was watching the Games.’

“I asked Cinna why they let us up here. Weren’t they worried that some of the tributes might decide to jump right over the side?” says Peeta.
“What’d he say?” I ask.
“You can’t,” says Peeta. He holds out his hand into seemingly empty space. There’s a sharp zap and he jerks it back. “Some kind of electric field throw you back on the roof.”

“Who’s idea was the hand holding?” asks Haymitch.
“Cinna’s,” says Portia.
“Just the perfect touch of rebellion,” says Haymitch. “Very nice.”
Rebellion? I have to think about that one a moment.’

‘While they make small talk, I concentrate on the meal. Mushroom soup, bitter greens with tomatoes the size of peas, rare roast beef sliced as thin as paper, noodles in a green sauce, cheese that melts on your tongue served with sweet blue grapes.’

‘Portia extinguishes them* with some kind of spray from a can.’

*flaming parade costumes

They were dressed as burning coal but Katniss doesn’t recognize a fire extinguisher?!?!

“I want the audience to recognize you when you’re in the arena,” says Cinna dreamily. “Katniss, the girl who was on fire.”

‘Chicken and chunks of oranges cooked in a creamy sauce laid in a bed of pearly white grain, tiny green peas and onions, rolls shaped like flowers, and for dessert, a pudding the color of honey.
I try to imagine assembling this meal myself back home. . . Days of hunting and gathering for this one meal and even then it would be a poor substitution for the Capitol version.’

‘A rich brown cup of something I’ve never seen.
“They call it hot chocolate,” says Peeta. “It’s good.”
I take a sip of the hot, sweet, creamy liquid and a shudder runs through me. Even though the rest of the meal beckons, I ignore it until I’ve drained my cup.’

‘A cup of coffee. My mother adores coffee, which we could almost never afford, but it only tastes bitter and thin to me.’

‘There’s an elegant glass of orange juice. At least I think it’s orange juice. I’ve only tasted an orange once, at a New Year’s when my father bought one as a special treat.’

‘The moment I slide into my chair I’m served an enormous platter of food. Eggs, ham, piles of fried potatoes. A tureen of fruit sits in ice to keep it chilled. A basket of rolls they set before me would keep my family going for a week.’

“As long as you can find yourself, you’ll never starve” –Burdock Everdeen

‘The supper comes in courses. A thick carrot soup, green salad, lamb chops and mashed potatoes, cheese and fruit, a chocolate cake. Throughout the meal, Effie Trinket keeps reminding us to save space because there’s more to come.’

‘…I don’t even have time to wish for Gale’s safety when she’s reading the name. “Peeta Mellark.”
Peeta Mellark!
Oh no, I think. Not him. Because I recognize this name, although I have never spoken directly to its owner. Peeta Mellark.
No, the odds are not in my favor today.’