We were allowed to say goodbye to our friends and family, and while Julius talked to his parents Cassius and I leaned against the wall. I desperately hoped we wouldn't have to be interviewed. I doubted Cassius could take it.
Then I spotted Josephus. Our eyes met, and we both blushed. Josephus had asked me out once, and of course I accepted. Our date went drastically wrong, but we had a lot of fun. Then with the rebellion, we didn't really have time to talk.
I was worried, though, not only because of the obvious, but for Josephus. He made his way over, and we shared a grim look. Josephus was a hemophiliac. As the gray-clad soldiers escorted the families out, I looked around at the ridiculously dressed kids. Were Cassius, Josephus, Julius, and I the only ones who didn't think looking like a freak – I mean normal – was fashionable? Well, soon our appearances were going to be the least of our worries.
We took the train to the designated place, as the Capitol was mostly destroyed. We met with our prep teams, who did our hair and prepared our make-up for our stylists. I was fine with the chariot rides, I could duck heavy projectiles well enough, but when my stylist laid out my dress, I had threw a fit.
"There is no way I am wearing this!" I yelled, holding the white dress in one hand and the rose in the other. "Give me something else or I shred it!"
The stylist looked mollified, but after a lot of arguing and calling in the prep team for reinforcements, I ended up wearing the sparkling white dress and over-scented rose.
Walking out to go talk to my friends, I pass a box of something. I pick it up and hurl it toward my stylist's general direction, and hear the satisfying smash that I assume must be the mirror. I'm gone before he can call security.
I found Cassius first. He was wearing a twinkling, midnight-blue suit that was just a smaller version of what his father had worn on stage. He was staring at the mirror, tears making rivers in his make-up. His stylist looked frustrated and concerned, so I handed her a towel and she gently just wiped it all off. Cassius was a mini version of his father, and I was about to ask why people were torturing him this way, when the stylist answered my unspoken question.
"I can't believe some people! How can they make me do this to him? Oh, if it was up to me I'd shred every one of these awful, mocking costumes and design something worth wearing!"
"Well I'm glad you agree," I say.
Finally Cassius calmed down and we wandered off to find Josephus and Julius. I think the four of us had silently agreed to an alliance. When we found them, Josephus had a bandage on his finger and Julius was giving him a shot. A boy was staring – I didn't like the looks of him – and I stepped in front of Josephus to shield the medicine's label.
"Are your allergies bothering you again?" I asked just a tad too loudly.
"Wh-"
"Yeah," Julius said for him, stepping on his foot. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the boy look away. It was a good thing Josephus carried his medicine everywhere. I wondered if they'd let him take it into the arena. Probably not.
Cassius had wandered over to the horses and was feeding them sugar. One snickered and pushed his nose into his chest. Laughing, he took a step back. I grinned at Julius and made a mental note that if we got out of this, I'd get him a pet.
Then we were ordered to get in the chariots. We went in the order we had been reaped in, saving me for last. I prepared to dodge tomatoes.
The kid who had been watching us made a rude gesture at the audience just before his chariot rolled off stage. The booing turned to angry shouting.
Fauna was next. Someone in her family must have been a military official, because she was wearing a general's outfit with phony medals and everything. The shouting turned back to booing.
Julius rolled on stage and the booing transformed into uncertain hubbub. He met the eyes of the people nearest him so innocently they had to turn away. Cassius was just a replay of that. He was gone too fast, and I braced myself.
I expected the worst and I got it, all right. I dodged tomatoes, stones, shoes, and even a seat cushion. Almost to the other side, I took the rose out of my hair and tore it apart, leaving the crumpled shreds on the path.
"Where's the rose?" Josephus asked when we regrouped again on our way back to the stylists.
"I killed it," I announced. All three laughed. By chance, I glanced behind us and saw the same boy watching us.
I nudged Julius. "Don't look, but the boy is watching us again."
When I was finally allowed to change into something worth wearing, I wandered back toward my apartments. As I rounded a corner I could see the boy was following me. Finally, I was so annoyed I turned and confronted him.
"Who are you and what do you want? If it's a fight, save it for the arena!"
"Pretty tough words for someone a head shorter," he said menacingly. I was about to make a smart comeback but he continued. "You're Snow's granddaughter, right? I was going to propose an alliance."
I narrowed my eyes. I must admit, this was one of the last things I expected. Too many things could go wrong if I accepted. Plus, I already had my friends from home. No, no way. I was a small, skinny girl that most of Panem hated. I was the last person a total stranger would ask for an alliance. There had to be a deeper meaning to this, but it was suicide to say no.
"I'll think about it," I said finally, but I wondered if he could see the decision I had already made as I walked away.
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Lucius stomped his foot in frustration after the Snow girl had gone. If she was anything like her grandfather, she would be a valuable alliance, and not just in the Games. So far, things weren't going too well. She preferred the company of those losers, Cassius Flickerman and Julius Templesmith, and the kid with the medical condition – allergies or something else, he didn't know.
She did demonstrate a good ability to dodge things at the opening chariot rides, but tomorrow's training was the only thing that could prove whether or not she was good at something else.
Lucius spun on his heel and began to walk toward his suite. It was going to be a long week.
