Fourth Floor Common Room, Monday Night

[onapalebicycle.livejournal.com]

George was bored. And so George went to one of those common rooms, picked up the remote, and began channel-surfing.

One station was re-running the movie Hint, and nothing else seemed to be on, so she was going to go with it.

She rummaged in the kitchen to find microwaveable popcorn and settled in for the movie. People could join her, if they felt like it. It was a common room and all.

(Very open!)

Comments

[onapalebicycle.livejournal.com]

"Pretty much," George said, turning her attention back to the screen. "I wouldn't try too hard. The answer ends up being elaborate and weird, and then they have multiple endings anyway."

Which was a fun way of doing it, but made the play-at-home aspect pretty much a crapshoot.

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

"I've never been good at that kind of thing anyway," Katniss admitted, just sitting back to watch it unfold. "Are you new? Or am I worse than usual at noticing my classmates?"

[onapalebicycle.livejournal.com]

"New," George confirmed. "So now I don't have to wonder if I missed you on the shuttle. How long have you been here?"

And had she noticed how unfathomably weird it was? Because it seemed kind of weird, to her. Just saying.

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

"Two months," she answered with a little nod. "It doesn't quite feel that long, in a way. I'm still learning about this place. It's different."

And she didn't just mean 'different from District 12,' no.

[onapalebicycle.livejournal.com]

"I'm starting to get that impression," George said. "So are the people. They seem ... nice, though."

There was hesitation there. They were nice in a really unnerving sort of way. She didn't trust it yet. She didn't like it when it extended to her, for that reason.

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

"For the most part, they are," Katniss assured her. "It's not an act, with most of them. As far as I'm able to tell."

[onapalebicycle.livejournal.com]

"That's ... even weirder," George admitted. "You're sure there's not some brainwashing going on, here?"

She considered the range of people she'd met, and shrugged. "Maybe it's just because we're all ... unusual here."

Hard to have cliques when you were all weirdos and outsiders.

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

She smiled, though it was tiny. "No one is strange, because we all are. No one is considered damaged, because we're all in pieces," she suggested softly. "I think it's that, yes. I'd recognize brainwashing, and everyone's still their own entity, as far as I can tell."

[onapalebicycle.livejournal.com]

"You, too?" George asked, offering a hint of a smile herself. "Maybe this island specializes in it. How do you ... know about brainwashing?"

Past history? Psychic energy? She was actually the half-spawn of the god of Brainwashing? You really couldn't rule much out, around here.

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

"It happens at home," she said, biting the inside of her cheek and thinking of the dead-eyed stare of some of the Capitol residents. "Not to me, though."

[onapalebicycle.livejournal.com]

George shuddered. "Freaky," she said.

Very tactful, George.

"I don't ... know anything about brainwashing," she managed, awkwardly. "I didn't mean that to sound ... whatever."

Blase?

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

"No, it is...freaky," Katniss said, smiling faintly again. "I'd have worried if you thought it was fascinating or sounded like a fun time."

[onapalebicycle.livejournal.com]

"I'd have to be some kind of sicko for that," George said. "It's ... wrong to just ... make people into puppets. Like a fucked-up little echo of who they are, but now they do whatever you want."

Creeeeeeepy.