I have just gotten dressed when Camille rudely barges into my room. She grabs me and pulls me to the back of the train. there's an open area in the back that holds you in with rails. Jackson comes out ofter us. "I didn't want you to miss your first glimpse of the Capitol!" she chimes.
We go through a dark tunnel and then I see it. It's a little too artificial. The yellows are a little too bright. The reds are too deep. The people, oh the people. Men and women who have had too many beauty-enhancing surgeries cover the streets. I see women with cat whiskers longer than my arms, purple hair, and even artificially colored skin. It looks like someone took a giant paint brush and splatter painted the whole city.
Thousands of people line the train tracks just to get a glimpse of their tributes. I look at them disgustedly. Show them your hate. A woman with giant puffy liips throws a flower at me. I dodge it and storm angrily back into the train. Peacekeepers surround us and carry us into what Camille calls the Training Center. "You will spend the days leading up to the games living and training here," she says. Camille takes us to what looks like a hospital room with curtains blocking us from the other tributes. This is the first time I've seen the other kids. "Now I'm leaving you in the hands of your lovely prep teams!" Camille trills, clapping her hands together. "They're here to make you look... presentable... for when you meet your stylists." I'm a little offended. "Don't resist what they do to you. They only want to make you look pretty." Camille walks away and I'm left with the preps.
A woman with black hair and red skin introduces herself as ember and a short man with orange spikes in his hair and giant finger nails introduces himself as Caspian. They get to work immediately. "I'm going to wax your legs," says Ember. "Just a warning."
"What?" I ask. She doesn't answer.
She smothers a hot, tanish goo on my legs and then places some kind of fabric on it. She waits a few seconds and then rips it off. The pain is instant. I bite down on the inside of my cheek to keep from screaming. "Sorry," she shrugs. "If you weren't so hairy it wouldn't be as bad." She finishes my legs and by the time she's done I feel raw. I never want that done to me again. She dabs this oil on my legs. Apparently it's supposed to keep my hair from growing back while I'm in the arena. It also soothes the burning. Caspian makes me stand up in a shower where he practically power washes me. It hurts, but I listen to Camille and stay still. They shape up my nails. I am praised for not having the habit of biting them. After Caspian finishes my nails, I'm sent to my stylist.
I wish they would hand me a robe. I have to walk in front of all of the other tributes, naked, to get to my room. I really shouldn't care what they think because most of them will be dead in a few weeks, but it really bothers me. I sit freezing and alone in my room while I wait for my stylist. When he finally walks in, I cover my chest. I was hoping it would be a girl. "Stand up," he orders, and I listen. He walks around me, examining every inch of my body. "You look healthy," he notes, lifting my arms and moving my head around. "How old are you?"
"Sixteen," I mutter.
He just shakes his head. "My name is Judan." He grabs a robe and tosses it to me. "Put this on and we'll talk. I can tell you're really uncomfortable."
I put it on swiftly and hoist myself back onto the cold hospital bed provided and he pulls up a chair. "You're very young," he whispers as if he is afraid someone will hear. "Too young for this."
"If only the rest of the Capitol thought so," I whisper back.
"If only. Tonight is the opening ceremonies. We will present you to the Capitol and they will get their first impression of you."
"What will I have to do?"
"Nothing. You leave everything to me."
I decide I like Judan. Other than his clothing choice, he doesn't seem like he belongs to the Capitol. He almost seems to dislike it.
"So what will I be wearing tonight."
He gives me a small smile. "It's a surprise."
Ember dabs a small amount of base on my face. Judan insisted that I not look too overdone. He wants me to be recognizable in the arena. Caspian paints my nails an ocean blue and weaves blue fish nets in with a fish tail braid. They stick small blue jewels up my right arm and put earrings with tridents in my ears.
Judan comes in carrying a bag that has my outfit in it. He makes me close my eyes while he puts it on me. It feels light. He pulls me over to a mirror and tells me to open my eyes. My eyes widen at the beauty. I'm in a light blue dress that is lined with small, sparkling fish at the bottom. The top of the dress has a dark blue fishnet sewed over the fabric, which ruffles and ends at my hips. I twist to get a better view in the mirror and notice that every time I move my dress appears to ripple like water. "How did you do this?" I ask.
"District 12's designer, Cinna, does something similar with this technology every year with fire. I thought, why not do the same thing with water?"
"Thank you, Judan," I whisper. "It's beautiful."
It's not finished yet," he says, pulling something out of his pocket; my trident necklace. He places it on my neck and smiles. I don't feel beautiful. I feel flawless. I feel perfect even though I'm far from it. Judan takes me to my chariot that will present me to the Capitol. Jackson and I look similar. He wears a light blue suit that ripples when he moves too. He looks very charming. It makes me sad that he could be dead in only a few weeks.
I look to my left and see Finnick Odair and Mags, an older victor from District Four coming our way. He has Mags arm in his and he walks slowly to accomidate her. "Well, don't you look stunning," Finnick says to me. He lets Mags go to Jackson and takes me by myself. "Are you enjoying the Capitol so far, Artemis?"
"Yes. I've enjoyed getting my leg hair yanked out and power washed until I am raw. How about you?"
He notices my sarcasm and smiles. "I've enjoyed it well enough."
I wish Mags was my mentor. I don't know if I'll be able to deal with Finnick. He has a girlfriend back in Four; another victor. Her name is Annie. I don't know why she stays with him. Once every few months he gets on a train and goes to the Capitol to sleep with women and party. It's all over the television. Headlines talk about Finnick Odair and his new Lover and the woman he's with gets plastered all over the news. Then he comes back home to Annie. She's always sad when he's gone. Sometimes I see her sitting on her front porch with a blank expression on her face and she doesn't move for days. Mags tries to take care of her while he's gone, I think, but Finnick's really the only person she wakes up for.
"How's Annie?" I ask him. "Do you miss her?"
He moves close to my ear. "We don't talk about her here. Got that? Annie doesn't exist in the Capitol." His voice sounds cold, almost like he's scolding me.
I scoot back away from him and give him a puzzling look. "What do you-"
"Time to go!" His cheerful voice his back. He leads me to my chariot and helps me step up. "Wave and don't forget to smile! They'll love you!"
Our chariot begins to move forward and I brace myself for what's coming. District one is up first. They exit the chariot room and enter the parade. Immediately I hear screams from the overly excited Capitol citizens. "District One!" is chanted over and over again as the kids, dressed as gigantic diamonds, pass them. Next is district two and then three, and then we're up. "Don't forget to smile," I joke to Jackson, mimicking Finnick. "They're going to love you!" He gives me no more than a twitch of his mouth.
We roll out into the parade and I'm astounded at how many Capitol citizens are here. Thousands, millions of people are screaming for my district. It sounds like a war cry. "District four! District four!" I begin to smile and wave to my adoring fans. I even move a little to show the ripples of my dress. Jackson and I are displayed on a huge screen and the crowd cheers louder as they witness the moving water illusion of our attire.
When we complete our course, we stop infront of a balcony on which stands President Snow. He begins a speech that I've heard every year on television. "Tributes we welcome you..bla bla... we salute your courage..." I turn my attention to the other tributes.
Just as they have for the past three years, District twelve steals the show. This year, the girl wears a dress which looks like it's made completely of fire. The same goes for the boys suit. Their costumes are amazing, but the sad thing is, that's all I can say for District twelve. Almost every year, the poor tributes don't even make it past the bloodbath. If they do, they're picked off within the next two days.
President Snow finishes his speech and the anthem is played. Then our horses turn around and we're taken back to the chariot room. We are praised by Camille and my prep team while Finnick and Judan talk quietly behind them. After we;re finished being congratulated, Camille wishes us a goodnight and they all leave except Finnick.
He puts a hand on my shoulder and looks at me with such a seriousness it almost scares me. "Look," he whispers so low I almost can't hear him. "I know you don't like me, but I ask that you forget that. I'm here to help you as much as I can while you're in that hell-hole. I know you think I'm a terrible person. I do too. This Finnick you're seeing right now, he's an act. He's a survival tactic." For the first time, I notice dark blue circles and bags under his eyes. Did he sleep last night? "I hope that you and I can be friends for the time being?" He sticks out his hand to shake mine.
I grab his hand and give him a small smile. "For the time being."