I always thought that something was there, so I just wanted to get it down on paper. This'll probably be a one chapter thing unless people want me to continue... R&R!

Effie Trinket's Secret

Ah, what a lovely morning it is! The sun is shining, we're on our way to the Capitol, and my hair is the perfect shade of pink! The smell of sweet fruit and freshly baked muffins fill the dining car and I rush over to the uninhabited table to check if they have my favorite kind of the latter, grapefruit and pecans, which they don't. This, of course, is unacceptable. I must have a talk with the chef today and make sure this is not a regular occurrence. Oh, but where do I fit it in the schedule? I guess I'll manage, I always do after all. Glancing down at the newest Capitol Couture watch that is fastened around my wrist, I notice it is almost 8AM. I do hope everyone else joins me soon; we have a busy day ahead of us.

Hopefully the tributes are in a better mood this morning, the girl was so quiet yesterday and all the boy did was cry. This kind of attitude will not do once we reach the Capitol. I simply will not tolerate another pair of ungrateful District 12s making me look foolish in front of President Snow.

Just as I am about to get up and check on them myself, in stumbles Haymitch Abernathy. He's probably suffering from yet another hangover. His dark, curly hair is matted down from the sleep he probably didn't get and he's dressed, or should I say mostly covered, in a bright blue Capitol robe that is laid out in every bedroom. Haymitch is one of the filthiest human beings I have ever met, and his manners are below par. He reeks of alcohol and sweat and I don't see how anyone can neglect hygiene the way he does. He is the exact opposite of me.

"Good morning Haymitch," I say in my most cheery voice.

"Good morning Effie," he manages to mumble in return.

When he says my name something in me stops (my heart?), I feel a wave of heat run through me, and goose bumps rise all over my body.

"Could you pass me a roll?"

His gray eyes are looking directly into mine and something in them makes my cheeks burn up. The eyes of Haymitch Abernathy, so tired and cold, hold something in them. Pain.

"Effie?"

"What? Oh yes, a roll. Here you are."

He reaches for the roll and I take a closer look at his hands, rough and scarred. What left those scars? What filled those eyes with pain? Suddenly I long to know everything there is to know about the victor from District 12.

I remember watching Haymitch as a teenager, twenty-four years ago, as he took the stage with Caesar Flickerman during the Capitol appearance of his victory tour. He seemed so different from the confident, sarcastic dreamboat that held that same position only months before. Something in him had died; he seemed… broken. Then, as every year passed, he seemed to get worse and worse, as did the scores of his tributes. By the time I was assigned to this District, the Haymitch Abernathy who had won not only the second Quarter Quell but the hearts of all the young girls in the Capitol was gone.

Under the five o'clock shadow and baggy eyes, I can still see that young boy, and for some strange reason I feel anxious to reach him. He still has the same chiseled features, the same scruffy eyebrows that only seem to make him more appealing. I want find him, to know his secrets, to feel his arms around me…

"Effie? What are you staring at?"

"Huh?" Oh no. There are those eyes again, but this time the pain is mixed with curiousness and their owner wears a smirk. "Umm…" What do I say? That I'm just staring at you because maybe… possibly… I could be madly in lo-

"Good morning Effie, Haymitch."

"Well, good morning Peeta!"