74th - part 3
johanna’s pov
I don’t know why Katniss Everdeen chose to sit with us, but…I guess I’m glad she did. It certainly made the day more interesting than sitting alone with Blight for several hours. She’s funny, actually, which I wasn’t really expecting given how much of an idiot she can be. Like, she made me laugh, and not the fake laugh I use sometimes when I’m trying to get sponsors. I really laughed. I doubt I would’ve laughed at all if it was just me and Blight.
At dinner, the kids recap their day with me and Blight, and I try not to appear too frustrated with their lack of any serious advantages. Sure, Lance isn’t bad with an ax and has a bit of physical strength. He could probably get decently far if he’s smart about it. But Holly…she’s fucked. There’s no easy way around it. She can run, but she’ll need to be able to fight and so far she’s been hopeless with that. Even if she somehow makes it to the top 2, she’s basically dead the moment she has to defend herself.
I tell the kids to get to bed as soon as we finish dessert. As usual, I think they’re scared of me, because they hastily leave the dining room without another word. Good, because they need to be ready for tomorrow. I walk into the living room with Blight to relax for a bit. Honestly, I’m not looking forward to sleeping. The nightmares get worse in the Capitol. It’s like they pump something in the air to mess with my head, and I wouldn’t even be surprised if they did.
“What do you think of Katniss?” asks Blight casually.
I shrug. “She’s alright.”
“I think she’s nice.” Nice really isn’t the word at all, but I guess I shouldn’t expect much more detail from him. He squints his eyes slightly and mutters, “I do wonder about her intentions, though.”
“I was thinking the same thing. My guess is she just didn’t want to get stuck talking to the Gamemakers, but I don’t know,” I say with a shrug. If that’s the case, who could blame her? “Either way, I mean, it’s not like we shared anything we shouldn’t have.”
“Right,” he replies. “You’re exactly right.”
No shit I’m right. I purposely tried to avoid talking about the tributes all day, both because it makes me feel like shit and because I didn’t want Katniss to know anything more than she already does. There were a couple moments where I couldn’t do anything, like when Holly fucked up at the knife station, but that would’ve been on display whether Katniss sat with us or not.
“I hope she sits with us tomorrow,” says Blight cheerfully.
“I don’t see why she wouldn’t. Unless you scared her off.”
“Oh, if anyone scared her off, it was you.”
“ Me? But I’m so sweet and friendly…everyone loves me .” I make a show of looking offended, then smirk to myself and look away from Blight.
“Actually,” he says softly, “it was sweet of you to bring her a coffee. You surprised me with that.”
“It was nothing. I was already over there, so…” Waving my hand dismissively, I glance at the floor and start to overthink the whole thing. It really wasn’t a big deal. So why the hell do I feel self conscious about it?
I can see Blight’s smile out of the corner of my eye. “No, you did something nice for her.”
“Whatever.” I don’t wanna talk anymore, so I stand up to signal it. “Night, Blight.”
“Night.”
I wander into my room, take a quick shower, and crawl into bed naked. So what if I brought her coffee? It doesn’t mean I like her. It just made sense: I was getting a coffee, I got one for Blight, and so I got one for her too. It saved her and Blight from having to go over themselves. Nothing to do with her specifically or being sweet to her.
Although, I kind of hope she sits with us tomorrow too.