73rd - victory tour
johanna's pov
Victory Tours are mind-numbing. I fucking hate them.
Most of the time, I try to skip them entirely. Usually, I can get away with it if the victor didn’t have anything to do with District 7, but if they killed one of my tributes, I’m supposed to make an appearance for a few seconds on the screen. To represent the loss or whatever.
Despite being victors, Blight and I are supposed to stand in the crowd with the rest of the District while we listen to a halfass eulogy for kids we barely knew. I’ll tune out, try not to listen, whatever gets me through the shit. He actually pays attention, for god knows what reason. The thought of his stupid blank face nodding along to the speech almost makes me stay home. Almost.
But I don’t skip the 73rd Victory Tour.
Instead, I casually stroll to the town plaza and join the ranks of citizens, nodding at a couple of familiar faces. The man I buy liquor from. The baker. My old neighbors. Everyone looks desolate, but that’s no surprise. I manage to get a decent view of the stage, and I feel a tug on my arm as Blight materializes next me.
“You’re actually here.”
“Don’t make me regret it,” I grumble, looking away from him.
It’s a sunny day, but chilly with the bite of a wintery breeze. Pulling my coat tighter around myself, I glance around the plaza at the empty faces of District 7. At least the lumberjacks look happy enough, seeing as they have the day off from work to attend this shit. The kids, on the other hand, look miserably bored. And of course, the families of the fallen tributes look pitiful as they stand on miniature stages facing the Justice Building, waiting to have their wounds reopened once Katniss Everdeen arrives.
Thankfully, Blight doesn’t try to make small talk with me. Better for him, since I’d much rather waste time by staring into space than talk about random bullshit. I kind of wonder what he’s thinking about when he glances at me, but I don’t care enough to ask.
The anthem blares and I know she’s here before she steps out of the Justice Building, flanked by her escort and Haymitch. Katniss Everdeen grips the cards in her hands as she steps up to the microphone. She’s taller than I thought she was, but she’s trying to make herself smaller; she’s so nervous that I can feel her shivering from here.
“I want to share with you the joy of my victory and my gratitude to the Capitol for bringing Peeta and I together. Though our time together was cut short, the memory of love, true love, forged in the crucible of the games, was my greatest prize. Love gives us strength in the face of hardship, allows us all to find meaning in our lives.”
I’m about to tune out or leave my place entirely. Maybe I should’ve seen the bullshit speech coming, but I was stupid. I thought Katniss Everdeen would be different. Clearly I was wrong.
“I also want to express my sorrow for your losses. The Tributes of this District were brave and noble warriors—”
They were children who died in the Cornucopia. I told them at least a hundred times to run the other way, but they didn’t fucking listen to me. They couldn’t even follow a simple order.
“---who fought valiantly, bringing honor to their families and pride to their people. We are all of us united, both victors and vanquished, in serving a common purpose.”
Someone behind me whistles a four note tune and Katniss Everdeen’s face goes white.
Everyone around me turns to look at the whistler, just in time to see him being carried out of the crowd by Peacekeepers. I don’t know what the hell he was thinking, but then I see that it’s Branch Herrington. He’s always been a bit out there. Leave it to him to find a way to earn himself a whipping in the middle of the Victory Tour.
“The power and glory of the Capitol.”
A gunshot rings out at the end of Katniss’s sentence.
I feel the crowd tense. Some people dare to look over at their loved ones, to double check that it was just one shot, but no one reacts more than that. My stomach sinks as I spot the Peacekeepers returning to their posts without any sign of Branch.
“Panem today,” says Katniss shakily, “Panem tomorrow, Panem forever.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Blight whispers in my ear, grabbing me by the elbow as soon as Katniss turns to leave. He carves a path for us through the crowd, ducking into a side street and swiftly making his way back to the Village.
I’ve never seen a crowd disperse so quickly. By the time I’m standing in the center of the Victor’s Village with Blight, the entire District seems to have gone silent. We don’t do well with boldness here in 7, aside from my occasional moments.
“Why would Herrington do that?” mutters Blight, glancing over his shoulder anxiously.
“No idea. But they clearly didn’t like it.”
“But…I mean, it was just a whistle, wasn’t it?”
I think about it for a moment. The whistle was the same one that the little girl, Rue, used. I don’t know why Branch would use it now, but the reaction from the Peacekeepers makes it almost obvious. “I don’t think so,” I answer, turning away from Blight without saying bye.
Once I’m inside my house, I can still see him standing there, considering the whistle by himself. What a fucking dumbass. Locking the front door behind me, I flop down on the couch and decide to take a nap.
Waste of a day.