Cato Kneels Beside Clove, Spear In Hand,

And Some Small Gnarled Place Inside Me Hated Her For Her Weakness, For Her Neglect, For The Months She Had Put Us Through. I Had Taken A Step Back From My Mother, Put Up A Wall To Protect Myself From Needing Her, And Nothing Was Ever The Same Between Us Again.

I Realize, For The First Time, How Very Lonely I've Been In The Arena. How Comforting The Presence Of Another Human Being Can Be.

I Can’t Fight The Sun. I Can Only Watch Helplessly As It Drags Me Into A Day That I’ve Been Dreading For Months. Katniss Everdeen

Something Inside Me Twists As I Remember Another Voice. Rue. In The Arena. When I Gave Her The Leg Of Groosling. “oh, I've Never Had A Whole Leg To Myself Before.” The Disbelief Of The Chronically Hungry.

If I Feel Ragged, My Prep Team Seems In Worse Condition, Knocking Back Coffee And Sharing Brightly Colored Little Pills. As Far As I Can Tell, They Never Get Up Before Noon Unless There's Some Sort Of National Emergency, Like My Leg Hair.