The Walmart Games

15. Ceremony

«Catnip's POV»
As I sit there with Roo's unconscious body in arms, I begin to sob.
I felt responsible for this. That I didn't get there in time to save her.

Register 11 must be staring at me and shaking their heads with disappointment. The image only made my heart ache more.

It got me thinking that I should do something to honor Roo. But I needed to act quick, before the remote-control airplanes got here to take Roo out of the arena.

So I gently set her head down and got to work. I searched for any decorations, ornaments and pretty things.

I found a bunch of glitter, some Christmas ornaments, shiny stickers, and a few of those little fake candles.

I decoratively arranged all of those things around Roo's body. She looked absolutely beautiful. After that, I showed my respect by doing the two-finger peace salute. I held it there until she flew away and was entirely gone.

Promising myself I'd shed only one more tear, wiped it away, and got up. Roo and Prim wanted me to win, and I'm not planning on letting them down anytime soon. So I put my head up high and set out, without looking back.

After a few long minutes, something appeared in front of my eyes, floating down to the floor. It was one of those parachute-dude toys, but there was something attached to it.

A small brown paper bag was stapled to the toy, and inside of it was a little blueberry muffin.

This means they saw it.

It seemed like nothing, but it meant a lot. These sponsors from Register 11 must have used every little bit of change to get this for me. So I placed it back into the bag and put into my backpack to eat later.

I guess they weren't disappointed in me, after all. Because they knew I'd cherish all she did for me in my heart, and I'd never forget her.