Suzanne Collins

“That's right. Who am I thinking of? Oh, I know. It's Cinna who likes you. But that's mainly because you didn't try to run when he set you on fire," says Peeta. "On the other hand, Haymitch... well, if I were you, I'd avoid Haymitch completely. He hates you.”

“What was that you were saying just before the food arrived? Something about me... no competition... best thing that ever happened to you...”

“So, in a way, my name being drawn in the reaping was a real piece of luck," says Peeta.”

“This is the first kiss that we're both fully aware of. Neither of us hobbled by sickness or pain or simply unconscious. Our lips neither burning with fever or icy cold. This is the first kiss where I actually feel stirring inside my chest. Warm and curious. This is the first kiss that makes me want another.”

“Yes. I killed him. And buried her in flowers," I say. "And I sang her to sleep.”

“Peeta, you were supposed to wake me after a couple of hours," I say."For what? Nothing's going on here," he says. "Besides, I like watching you sleep. You don't scowl. Improves your looks a lot."This, of course, brings on a scowl that makes him grin.”

“Go to sleep," he says softly. His hand brushes the lose strands of my hair off my forehead. Unlike the staged kisses and caresses so far, this gesture seems natural and comforting. I don't want him to stop and he doesn't. He's still stroking my hair when I fall asleep.”

“Never having been in love, this is going to be a real trick. I think of my parents. The way my father never failed to bring her gifts from the woods. The way my mother's face would light up at the sound of his boots at the door. The way she almost stopped living when he died.”

“You're not going to die. I forbid it. All right?""All right," he whispers.”

“You know, you're kind of squeamish for such a lethal person”

“Here, cover yourself with this and I'll wash your shorts.""Oh, I don't care if you see me," says Peeta.”

“Katniss?" Peeta says. I meet his eyes, knowing my face must be some shade of green. He mouths the words. "How about that kiss?”

“Peeta?" I creep along the bank."Well, don't step on me.”

“But the words are easy and soothing, promising tomorrow will be more hopeful than this awful piece o time we call today.”

“There's no point in comforting words, in telling her she'll be all right. She's no fool. Her hand reaches out and I clutch it like a lifeline. As if it's me who's dying instead of Rue.”

“I can almost hear Haymitch groaning as I team up with this wispy child. But I want her. Because she's a survivor, and I trust her, and why not admit it? She reminds me of Prim.”

“I'm not allowed to bet, but if I could, my money would be on you.”

“Peeta smiles at me, sad and mocking. "Okay. Thanks for the tip, sweetheart.”

“Her name's Prim. She's just twelve. And I love her more than anything.”

“In District 12, looking old is something of an achievement since so many people die early. Yous see an elderly person you want to congratulate them on their longevity, ask the secret of survival.”

“By the end of the session, I am no one at all. Haymitch started drinking somewhere around witty, and a nasty edge has crept into his voice. "I give up, sweetheart. Just answer the questions and try not to let the audience see how openly you despise them.”

“I've asked you fifty questions and still have no sense of your life, your family, what you care about. They want to know about you, Katniss.""But I don't want them to! They're already taking my future! They can't have the things that mattered to time in the past!" I say.”

“They're betting on how long I'll live!" I burst out. "They're not my friends!""Well, try and pretend!" snaps Effie. Then she composes herself and beams at me. "See, like this. I'm smiling at you even though you're aggravating me.”

“Someone ought to get Haymitch a drink.”

“It's not easy to find a topic. Talking of home is painful. Talking of the present unbearable.”

“You know what my mother said to me when she came to say good-bye, as if to cheer me up, she says maybe District Twelve will finally have a winner. Then I realized she didn't mean me, she meant you!" bursts out Peeta."Oh, she meant you," I say with a wave of dismissal."She said, 'She's a survivor, that one.' She is," says Peeta.That pulls me up short. Did his mother really say that about me? Did she rate me over her son? I see the pain in Peeta's eyes and know he isn't lying.Suddenly I'm behind the bakery and I can feel the chill of the rain running down my back, the hollowness in my belly. I sound eleven years old when I speak. "But only because someone helped me.”

“Unfortunately, I can't seal the sponsor deals for you. Only Haymitch can do that," says Effie grimly. "But don't worry, I'll get him to the table at gunpoint if necessary."Although lacking in many departments, Effie Trinket has a certain determination I have to admire.”

“Barbarism? That's ironic coming from a woman helping to prepare us for slaughter. And what's she basing our success on? Our table manners?”

“The walls of this elevator are made of crystal so that you can watch the people on the ground floor shrink to ants as you shoot up into the air. It's exhilarating and I'm tempted to ask Effie Trinket if we can ride it again, but somehow that seems childish.”

“I'm sure they didn't notice anything but you. You should wear flames more often," he says. "They suit you.”

“One time, my mother told me that I always eat like I'll never see food again. And I said, "I won't unless I bring it home." That shut her up.”

“And once we reach the city, my stylist will dictate my look for the opening ceremonies tonight anyway. I just hope I get one who doesn't think nudity is the last word in fashion.”

“She zips back to the podium, and I don't even have time to wish for Gale's safety when she's reading the name. "Peeta Mellark."Peeta Mellark!Oh, no, I think. Not him. Because I recognize this name, although I have never spoken directly to its owner. Peeta Mellark.No, the odds are not in my favor today.”

“Then something unexpected happens. At least, I don't expect it because I don't think of District 12 as a place that cares about me. But a shift has occurred since I stepped up to take Prim's place, and now it seems I have become someone precious. At first one, then another, then almost every member of the crowd touches the three middle fingers of their left hand to their lips and holds it out to me. It is an old and rarely used gesture of our district, occasionally seen at funerals. It means thanks, it means admiration, it means good-bye to someone you love.”

“So instead of acknowledging applause, I stand there unmoving while they take part in the boldest form of dissent they can manage. Silence. Which says we do not agree. We do not condone. All of this is wrong.”

“One slip. One slip in thousands. The odds had been entirely in her favor. But it hadn't mattered.”

“I notice her blouse has pulled out of her skirt in the back again and force myself to stay calm. "Tuck your tail in, little duck," I say, smoothing the blouse back in place.Prim giggles and give me a small "Quack.""Quack yourself," I say with a light laugh. The kind only Prim can draw out of me.”

“Tonight. After the reaping, everyone is supposed to celebrate. And a a lot of people do, out of relief that their children have been spared for another year. But at least two families will pull their shutters, lock their doors, and try to figure out how they will survive the painful weeks to come.”

“You can tell by the way the girls whisper about him when he walks by in school that they want him. It makes me jealous but not for the reason people would think. Good hunting partners are hard to find.”

“She must have really loved him to leave her home for the Seam. I try to remember that when all I can see is the woman who sat by, blank and unreachable, while her children turned to skin and bones. I try to forgive her for my father's sake. But to be honest, I'm not the forgiving type.”

“And may the odds -" He tosses a berry in a high arc toward me. I catch it in my mouth and break the delicate skin with my teeth. The sweet tartness explodes across my tongue. "- be ever in your favor!" I finish with equal verve.”

“But there's food if you know how to find it. My father knew and he taught me some before he was blown to bits in a mine explosion. There was nothing even to bury. I was eleven then. Five years later, I still wake up screaming for him to run.”

“Gale and I were thrown together by a mutual need to survive. Peeta and I know the other's survival means our own death. How do you side step that?”

“The star-crossed lovers”

“The girl on fire.”

“If it's true, why do they leave us to live like this? With the hunger and the killings and the Games?" And suddenly I hate this imaginary underground city of District 13 and those who sit by, watching us die. They're no better than the Capitol.”

“So I learned to hold my tongue and to turn my features into an indifferent mask so that no one could ever read my thoughts.”

“That if desperate times call for desperate measures, then I'm free to act as desperately as I wish.”

“You could do a lot worse.”

“Aim higher in case you fall short.”