Free Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins Page A

clawed him. I avoid looking at him directly, but I catch a glimpse of his reflection in one of the shiny control consoles along the wal . He looks slightly yel ow and has lost a lot of weight, giving him a shrunken appearance. For a second, I'm afraid he's dying. I have to remind myself that I don't care.
    The first thing Haymitch does is to show the footage we've just shot. I seem to have reached some new low under Plutarch and Fulvia's guidance. Both my voice and body have a jerky, disjointed quality, like a puppet being manipulated by unseen forces.
    "Al right," Haymitch says when it's over. "Would anyone like to argue that this is of use to us in winning the war?" No one does. "That saves time. So, let's al be quiet for a minute. I want everyone to think of one incident where Katniss Everdeen genuinely moved you. Not where you were jealous of her hairstyle, or her dress went up in flames or she made a halfway decent shot with an arrow. Not where Peeta was making you like her. I want to hear one moment where she made you feel something real."
    Quiet stretches out and I'm beginning to think it wil never end, when Leevy speaks up. "When she volunteered to take Prim's place at the reaping. Because I'm sure she thought she was going to die."
    "Good. Excel ent example," says Haymitch. He takes a purple marker and writes on a notepad.
    "Volunteered for sister at reaping." Haymitch looks around the table. "Somebody else."
    I'm surprised that the next speaker is Boggs, who I think of as a muscular robot that does Coin's bidding.
    "When she sang the song. While the little girl died." Somewhere in my head an image surfaces of Boggs with a young boy perched up on his hip. In the dining hal , I think. Maybe he's not a robot after al .
    "Who didn't get choked up at that, right?" says Haymitch, writing it down.
    "I cried when she drugged Peeta so she could go get him medicine and when she kissed him good-bye!"
    blurts out Octavia. Then she covers her mouth, like she's sure this was a bad mistake.
    But Haymitch only nods. "Oh, yeah. Drugs Peeta to save his life. Very nice."
    The moments begin to come thick and fast and in no particular order. When I took Rue on as an al y.
    Extended my hand to Chaff on interview night. Tried to carry Mags. And again and again when I held out those berries that meant different things to different people. Love for Peeta. Refusal to give in under impossible odds.
    Defiance of the Capitol's inhumanity.
    Haymitch holds up the notepad. "So, the question is, what do al of these have in common?"
    "They were Katniss's," says Gale quietly. "No one told her what to do or say."
    "Unscripted, yes!" says Beetee. He reaches over and pats my hand. "So we should just leave you alone, right?"
    People laugh. I even smile a little.
    "Wel , that's al very nice but not very helpful," says Fulvia peevishly. "Unfortunately, her opportunities for being wonderful are rather limited here in Thirteen. So unless you're suggesting we toss her into the middle of combat--"

    "That's exactly what I'm suggesting," says Haymitch. "Put her out in the field and just keep the cameras rol ing."
    "But people think she's pregnant," Gale points out.
    "We'l spread the word that she lost the baby from the electrical shock in the arena," Plutarch replies. "Very sad. Very unfortunate."
    The idea of sending me into combat is controversial. But Haymitch has a pretty tight case. If I perform wel only in real-life circumstances, then into them I should go. "Every time we coach her or give her lines, the best we can hope for is okay. It has to come from her. That's what people are responding to."
    "Even if we're careful, we can't guarantee her safety," says Boggs. "She'l be a target for every--"
    "I want to go," I break in. "I'm no help to the rebels here."
    "And if you're kil ed?" asks Coin.
    "Make sure you get some footage. You can use that, anyway," I answer.
    "Fine," says Coin. "But let's take it one step at a time. Find the least dangerous situation