第6部分(第2/7 页)

tty　clever；　the　way　she　played　it。　But　this　seems　an　odd　strategy　for　Peeta　Mellark　because　heˇs　a　bakerˇs　son。　All　those　years　of　having　enough　to　eat　and　hauling　bread　trays　around　have　made　him　broad…shouldered　and　strong。　It　will　take　an　awful　lot　of　weeping　to　convince　anyone　to　overlook　him。

We　have　to　stand　for　a　few　minutes　in　the　doorway　of　the　train　while　the　cameras　gobble　up　our　images；　then　weˇre　allowed　inside　and　the　doors　close　mercifully　behind　us。　The　train　begins　to　move　at　once。

The　speed　initially　takes　my　breath　away。　Of　course；　Iˇve　never　been　on　a　train；　as　travel　between　the　districts　is　forbidden　except　for　officially　sanctioned　duties。　For　us；　thatˇs　mainly　transporting　coal。　But　this　is　no　ordinary　coal　train。　Itˇs　one　of　the　high…speed　Capitol　models　that　average　250　miles

per　hour。　Our　journey　to　the　Capitol　will　take　less　than　a　day。

In　school；　they　tell　us　the　Capitol　was　built　in　a　place　once　called　the　Rockies。　District　12　was　in　a　region　known　is　Appalachia。　Even　hundreds　of　years　ago；　they　mined　coal　here。　Which　is　why　our　miners　have　to　dig　so　deep。

Somehow　it　all　es　back　to　coal　at　school。　Besides　basic　reading　and　math　most　of　our　instruction　is　coal…related。　Except　for　the　weekly　lecture　on　the　history　of　Panem。　Itˇs　mostly　a　lot　of　blather　about　what　we　owe　the　Capitol。　I　know　there　must　be　more　than　theyˇre　telling　us；　an　actual　account　of　what　happened　during　the　rebellion。　But　I　donˇt　spend　much　time　thinking　about　it。　Whatever　the　truth　is；　I　donˇt　see　how　it　will　help　me　get　food　on　the　table。

The　tribute　train　is　fancier　than　even　the　room　in　the　Justice　Building。　We　are　each　given　our　own　chambers　that　have　a　bedroom；　a　dressing　area；　and　a　private　bathroom　with　hot　and　cold　runnin