The Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins
Table of Contents
Chapter 26 to 27
Chapter Twenty-Six
Both of them spit out the berries, careful to rinse their mouths with lake water. The audience in the Capitol is cheering for both of them, and a hovercraft comes to rescue them. They are almost immediately separated, as Peeta is taken into surgery. Once they get back to the Training Center, Katniss is sedated, and wakes to find herself restrained in bed. The Avox girl is waiting on her and nods when Katniss asks if Peeta has survived. She is eager to return home, but remains confined and restrained in recovery for an undetermined number of days. She hears Haymitch shouting outside of her room one day and feels as if he is continuing to watch out for her and Peeta. Finally, she wakes one day to discover that she is no longer restrained. She is reunited with her team, but still kept from Peeta. Her team tells her that they are saving her reunion with Peeta for their first post-Games television appearance.
In recovery, Katniss has been completely healed of any injuries she received in the arena and prior to that time, so that she is scar-free and new-looking. However, she is very skinny from her time in the arena. Cinna gives her a dress that is padded to give her the illusion of curves. He tells her that the Gamemakers wanted to augment her breasts, but Haymitch refused to let them. Cinna has dressed her in a yellow dress that accentuates her innocence. Like his other clothing choices, Katniss understands that this choice is intentional and strategic on his part.
Until this point, Katniss has thought that she has survived the games. However, just before the banquet, Haymitch hugs her, taking that chance to whisper to her that...
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