第39部分

請關閉瀏覽器的閱讀/暢讀/小說模式並且關閉廣告遮蔽過濾功能，避免出現內容無法顯示或者段落錯亂。

just　looking　for　physical　affection；　he　wants　something　more　personal。　The　sort　of　stuff　he　was　trying　to　get　me　to　tell　about　myself　when　we　were　practicing　for　the　interview。　Iˇm　rotten　at　it；　but　Peetaˇs　not。　Maybe　the　best　approach　is　to　get　him　talking。

¨Peeta；〃　I　say　lightly。　¨You　said　at　the　interview　youˇd　had　a　crush　on　me　forever。　When　did　forever　start？〃

¨Oh；　letˇs　see。　I　guess　the　first　day　of　school。　We　were　five。　You　had　on　a　red　plaid　dress　and　your　hair　。　。　。　it　was　in　two　braids　instead　of　one。　My　father　pointed　you　out　when　we　were　waiting　to　line　up；〃　Peeta　says。

¨Your　father？　Why？〃　I　ask。

¨He　said；　ˉSee　that　little　girl？　I　wanted　to　marry　her　mother；　but　she　ran　off　with　a　coal　miner；ˇ〃　Peeta　says。

¨What？　Youˇre　making　that　up！〃　I　exclaim。

¨No；　true　story；〃　Peeta　says。　¨And　I　said；　ˉA　coal　miner？　Why　did　she　want　a　coal　miner　if　she　couldˇve　had　you？ˇ　And　he　said；　ˉBecause　when　he　sings　。　。　。　even　the　birds　stop　to　listen。ˇ〃

¨Thatˇs　true。　They　do。　I　mean；　they　did；〃　I　say。　Iˇm　stunned　and　surprisingly　moved；　thinking　of　the　baker　telling　this　to　Peeta。　It　strikes　me　that　my　own　reluctance　to　sing；　my　own　dismissal　of　music　might　not　really　be　that　I　think　itˇs　a　waste　of　time。　It　might　be　because　it　reminds　me　too　much　of　my　father。

¨So　that　day；　in　music　assembly；　the　teacher　asked　who　knew　the　valley　song。　Your　hand　shot　right　up　in　the　air。　She　stood　you　up　on　a　stool　and　had　you　sing　it　for　us。　And　I　swear；　every　bird　outside　the　windows　fell　silent；〃　Peeta　says。

¨Oh；　please；〃　I　say；　laughing。

¨No；　it　happened。　And　right　when　your　song　ended；　I　knew　�　just　like　your　mother　�　I　was　a　goner；〃　Peeta　says。　¨Then　for　the　next　eleven　years；　I　tried　to　work　up　the　nerve　to　talk　to　you