I don't like self-righteous people," I say."What's to like?" says Haymitch, who begins sucking the dregs out of the empty bottles.

Hey, look at this!" He holds up a glistening, perfect pearl about the size of a pea. "You know, if you put enough pressure on coal it turns to pearls," he says earnestly to Finnick."No, it doesn't," says Finnick dismissively. But I crack up, remembering that's how a clueless Effie Trinket presented us to the people of the Capitol last year, before anyone knew us. As coal pressured into pearls by our weighty existence. Beauty that arose out of pain.

I drink in his wholeness, the soudness of his body and mind. It runs through me like the morphling they give me in the hospital, dulling the pain of the last weeks.

Vorrei poter fermare il tempo e vivere così per sempre"Di solito questi riferimenti al suo imperituro amore nei miei confronti mi fanno sentire in colpa e a disagio. Ma mi sento così tranquilla e rilassata e al di là di qualsiasi preoccupazione per un futuro che comunque non avrò che mi lascio sfuggire due semplici parole: "Va bene"Sento il sorriso nella sua voce. "Allora sei d'accordo?""Sono d'accordo" dico io.

It's hard to hate my prep team. They're such total idiots." - Katniss.

Siamo creature stupide e incostanti, con la memoria corta e un grandissimo talento per l'autodistruzione.

I look down from the branch I'm perched on. The Careers look murderous. Now I smile.'How have things been with you?' I ask sweetly.

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.

Listen up. You're in trouble. Word is the Capitol's furious about you showing them up in the arena. The one thing they can't stand is being laughed at and they're the joke of Panem