II.
It surprises me when I am told that Mags is supposed to be my mentor. She's a withered, old seventy year old lady, with greying hair and a wrinkled smile. Her eyes are kind and understanding but her speech is slightly garbled. I have to listen carefully to whatever she says. The other mentor is our latest victor, Shelly. At the age of seventeen, she won four years ago through her astonishing skills of manipulation. No one knows how exactly she was able to do what she did, but it has always been questioned. Being a reaped tribute, she was no ordinary Career. Her mind was her weapon.
Maya and I pick at our lunch. Despite the extravagance of the meals that we are offered, we simply do not have the appetite. Instead of the usual fish and seaweed we are served at home, we have chicken, asparagus and something which Shelly says is mashed potato.
Venala breathes out an exasperated sigh and gives an overdramatic eye roll. "Honestly, tributes these days are so rude. You have such luxury here. Look at this food! Eat it! What poor manners. "
Nobody reacts except for Shelly, who shoots her a glare. "What are you guys good at?" she questions.
"Uh… Fishing?" Maya replies, in a questioned form.
"Weapons wise," Mags mumbles. She grabs a few cubes of sugar from a small plate right by her and pops one in her mouth.
"I can net and use tridents and knives," I say, not in hopes of showing off, but in hopes of life-saving advice.
Maya glances at me and bites her bottom lip, softly. She has never trained; not as a Career and not how I have ever trained unprofessionally. "I… I don't know. I've never trained. I only volunteered because of Rhea."
Shelly raises a thin eyebrow at us and leans back as far as possible in her seat. "Ah, I see. We have a couple here."
Lemonade is suddenly sprayed all over my face as Venala spits her drink out. "A couple?!" she exclaims.
I merely ignore her and wipe the combination of saliva and lemonade off my face. "We're not a couple," I deny. "We're best friends."
"No difference," she waves off. "Since you guys both look untrained here, I'll give you a bit of advice as a non-Career, myself."
For the rest of the day, we either play games or she lectures us, with Mags on the side. I feel irritated that my mentor isn't doing anything for me, considering she has barely uttered a complete sentence for the duration of the day, but I know I can't blame her due to her age.
Maya and I learn about the different aspects of training the other Career districts go through from Shelly. With fourteen victors in total, both alive and dead, District One is yet another one of the favoured district of Panem. They are known for their astounding beauty and because of this aspect, the sexiest and the most handsome ones are trained to flirt well. Several of their victors have won by seducing their fellow tributes, usually from District Two. Despite their brashness and known brutality, they, apparently, are able to feel more than those from District Two.
District Two, on the other hand, are ruthless and harsh, no matter what happens. I'm not surprised though; most of those who don't participate in the Hunger Games, move on with their lives either training or being Peacekeepers. Shelly says that it is exceptionally rare for a Career tribute from the masonry district to feel. Their anger and desire for leadership overpowers any emotion that might be within them, and that is usually what blinds them with rage. When this emotion takes over, their movements are usually sloppy and their brains don't think to do anything other than to slaughter their enemy. They rely on brute strength. I cringe when Shelly gives us examples of the actions of their twelve victors, and most significantly, Lyme and Brutus.
Our own district, however, has a whopping number of thirteen victors, with four of them dead. I don't know whether I should be proud or shocked that we have more victors than District Two does. Shelly tells Maya and I that the Careers in District Four are taught to be smart - at least smarter than District One and Two. Some grow to be deceptive and manipulative like herself, whilst others learn tactics in battle strategies and finding ways to defeat the opponent, in a way that is unknown to the enemy. District Four trainees rely on neither brute strength and beauty wholly. They are all-rounders.
After dinner, we watch the reapings of all twelve districts. The seventeen year old girl from One, Indiana, is undoubtedly going to use her beauty to her advantage and I mentally note that I need to look out for her. Standing at a considerably short height of five foot eight, she has a rather curved figure with hazel eyes and platinum blonde hair. The boy is surprisingly, not a volunteer. He's only sixteen, a young age for a Career tribute, with dirty blonde hair and a smirk. District Two is just as intimidating as usual, with their bulging muscles. By judging their height, I can predict that they will tower over me with a good six inches to their advantage. The District Three tributes are forgettable.
When my face comes up onto the screen, I'm shocked that I have such a blank expression on my face with the exception of my smirk. Maya's expression is almost identical to mine and I have to admit, we do in fact, look fairly intimidating.
Shelly nods in approval, "Good, good. I'm sure you'll scare off the tributes from lesser tributes."
As expected, everyone else is pretty forgettable but I know not to underestimate anyone. When Maya and I are finally let out of Shelly's grasp, we retreat to our rooms without another word. I am welcomed by the warm water that cascades down my body from the shower cap, and I stand there for a long time with my eyes closed. I almost doze off in the shower until I hear a knock.
Hastily, I dry myself and pull on a pair of slacks that had already been laid out on my bed. "What?" I bark, opening the door.
When I see that it's Mags, I regret my actions immediately and apologise. She merely waves me off and invites herself into my room, as I tug on a shirt. We both sit on my bed in a comfortable silence, waiting for the other to speak.
Eventually, she opens up her fist and offers a few sugar cubes. I gladly take one, popping it into my mouth and savour the sugary sweetness that invades my taste buds.
"Never trust anyone in the arena," she says and I'm almost shocked that she can speak an entire sentence. "Except Maya. Listen to everything Shelly and I tell you. It will save your life."
I nod. "Do you… do you think I have a chance, Mags? I mean, look at District One and Two. They're so much stronger than Maya and I."
She gives me a gummy smile. "Of course. They might be stronger but you're smarter. I know it and you have family to go back to."
Rhea.
The next morning when we wake in the Capitol, it is chaotic. Apparently, I have slept in for the second consecutive day and before I can even get my hands on any food, I'm shoved into my room on Level Four by my prep team.
"My, my. Our work is definitely cut out for us this year, don't you think?" a petite lady chirps, once they have stripped me of my clothes.
Being only fourteen, nudity wasn't something I had grown familiar with. I squirmed underneath their gazes. To think that only my family had seen me naked before, I felt uncomfortable in front of these three strangers - all female, might I add.
I raise an eyebrow and ask, "Who are you?"
"I'm Ellina," the same lady introduces herself. Her fluoro yellow hair spikes in any possible direction and her blood red eyes make her look like a demon. "And they are Cartia and Aurora."
Cartia looks somewhat decent, but with her Capitol accent, I can take anything she says seriously. She has natural blonde hair that has been elegantly twisted into a bun and her blue eyes make her seem more like a genuine human. The one physical feature that I find unnatural is her sharp hourglass figure. Her hips jut out to the side and her waist is tiny, despite having such a voluptuous chest. But I guess, the perks of living in the Capitol is that they can make just about anything possible.
Aurora is a sharp contrast to Cartia. She is tall - at least six feet - and has a sickly thin figure. Her elbows and collarbone protrudes out, making it seem like she has lived in District Twelve. Her pin straight hair is an electric blue and her eyes match. Whenever she looks at me, I feel the need to crawl into a shell and never come back out. Her eyes seem to look through my soul and I can't help but think how peculiar the Capitolians really are.
For the next few hours, I endure a torture I have never experienced before. I am prodded with metal objects - tweezers, I think they're called - and all my body hair has been ripped off. Despite having their work cut out for them, Cartia says that I still need some polishing.
"Trust me, Finnick. You only need about three hours. We usually take ten or so when we take care of the outside Districts. No sanitary products there, I tell you," Ellina chirps, while she scrubs my body clean of what is supposedly the famous fish odour from District Four.
My head is then dunked underneath the surface of the water and this time, my hair is being lathered with shampoo and conditioner not just once, but several times. Their nails dig into my scalp and skin, and I want to scream and them to stop but Mags had told me to do everything they order me to do, and to never refuse or protest. I simply decide to not speak as much as possible.
When they are finally done with me, my skin is raw and red from the hot water. My hair is a shining bronze colour. I'm guided to body-length mirror and the girls, even Aurora, gasp. Ellina fans her face with her manicured hand and stares at me head to toe with wide eyes.
"Oh my…" she says, "We've created the most beautiful creature ever."
Ellina faints into the arms of Aurora, who simply rolls her eyes and places the woman on a nearby couch. The room is silent for a while before Cartia speaks up, "It's true… You are a handsome, young man, undoubtedly for someone your age. Very desirable."
I feel blood rushing up to my cheeks when she continues to elaborate and I awkwardly stand there. I notice that it's something I seem to do a lot of now.
I'm saved when the stylist, Tatiana saunters in, carrying a bag. She snaps her fingers and my prep team are out the door within seconds. Bright lime green hair and yellow eyes. Great.
"You're not going to dress me anything ridiculous, are you?" I question. I think of the previous District Four outfits which have been worn in the Opening Ceremonies. Some were dressed as mermaids, others dressed as scallops and clams. Their stylists had obviously went overboard with the whole District Four theme.
Tatiana doesn't respond. She only looks over my body a few times, scrutinising me as if every part of me is to be imprinted into her memory. When she opens up the bag in hand, I can only brace myself for the awful costume that is to come.
I was wrong. The costume wasn't as awful as I had predicted it to be.
Maya and I are standing next to our designated horses talking to Mags and Shelly, waiting for the Opening Ceremonies to begin. Tatiana has dress me in loose pants which reach down halfway between my ankles and knees, but they're tight around my waist and where they end. They are shiny - something I would expect District One to wear. They're an aqua and silver colour. Apart from the pants, I only have a net draped across upper back, leaving barely anything to imagination at the front. I hold a trident in my left hand, and the familiar feel of it brings me back into a state of homesickness but I try and push the thought of home aside.
Maya is beautiful, not that she wasn't before all her transformation today. Her dress glimmers as well, starting off white at the top and gradually becomes the same aqua and silver shade as my own outfit. At the front, the dress ends mid-thigh, and at the rear, it reaches the floor. Her blonde hair is even wavier than it was before and she looks like a model.
"Smile and wave!" Shelly tells us, breaking me out of my trance and I'm forced to hop onto the carriage.
Districts One are nude, I think, with jewels that have been stuck onto them, covering their most prized assets. District Two are dressed in blood red outfits and I can't help but think how well it suits them, especially with their unstoppable bloodlust. District Three's tributes cower in their carriages, with silver panels as headpieces. Unusual.
"Come on out, District Four!" Caesar announces.
Maya and I are met with the deafening applause and cheers of the audience. For a moment, we are gaping in awe at our surroundings but when we take note of our expressions on the big screen, we instantly smile and wave at the screaming men and women. I wrap an arm around Maya's waist, bringing her closer to me and allow a genuine grin to take place on my face. My other hand grips onto the trident tightly.
"They love us!" Maya shouts at me.
"I know!"
We blow kisses and wink at the roaring crowd and it is now, that we notice that we outfits make us look like waves, or we're riding waves. It is astounding, really.
District Four, this year, is the most attention-grabbing District. Maya grabs the attention of both genders, and I notice that women fawn all over me, despite being yards away from me. It is just this once that I finally realise that maybe, the odds may be indeed in our favour, even if it's for a little while.