I felt so exposed right now. The prep team, Avan, Petra and Coyne removed any visible hair on my body; excluding my head of course. Avan had bright blue hair with gray eyes. He was very skinny that it seemed his jaw was going to rip through his skin one day. Petra was petite with half blue and half pink colored hair. Just because she's small doesn't mean she should be underestimated. I felt like she was going to rip off my skin while she was doing the waxing. Coyne, with black hair and brown eyes, was the gentle one. While he was brushing out my hair, he began to say how he admired my dark mousey brown colored hair. I just always thought it was a brown color, nothing specific. He also said that for someone who spends a lot of time in the water, I haven't damaged my wavy hair. Once they were all done, they escorted me to a room with a sitting table and a small window. All the walls were painted white and I felt as if I had just entered an insane asylum room. Suddenly the door creaked open and in walked a man, probably a year or two older than Finnick, tall, slender, messy dark hair and bright blue eyes.
"Hello, I'm Sany and I'll be your stylist for the upcoming horrid events," he laughed. His teeth were so white; it could blind someone in an instant. At least he was making jokes to not make me worry so much.
"I'm Kai," I introduced myself. Sany nodded, pulling up a metallic chair I had missed when entering the room. "Are we going to be fishermen this year again?"
"Hell no, it's time for District Four to finally be something different than the usual stupid fishing costumes previous stylists made you wear. They were lazy so they chose the easy way out. I, on the other hand, want people to seem impressed by what you're wearing and help get you sponsors," Sany explained. Was he doing this for his own fame or did he really want me to come back out? I nodded, slightly narrowing my eyes at him. Chuckling, Sany then got up from his chair and sat on the table I was on. "I'm not doing this for my fame, though it would be nice. When I first laid eyes on you at the reaping, I knew there was compassion in you. The way you looked at the girl who held you back when your name was called, it showed me that you make sure others won't worry about you. By making a good impression out there, I'm going to help you come back out," he said softly, taking my hands into his. And for the first time, since the reaping, I cried. I'm pretty sure I cried so hard that even Sany became concerned. I expected him to tell me to suck it up. But instead, Sany just held me until I was finished.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, drying away the last tears I cried. He nodded, soothing my back as he crossed his legs on the table. "So what did you have in mind for our district this year?"
"I'm going to turn you into Amphitrite, and Toby will be Poseidon. So we better get going if we want enough time to transform you," Say smiled, getting off the table and pulling me off. I was worried about what was coming next? From pictures in books, Amphitrite was a mermaid type of Goddess and was nude. Was I going to be topless in front of all of Panem? I really hope not. We walked towards a room with a brown door and opened it to see my prep team laying out a sea blue dress on a table. "Are we ready to begin?"
"Yes, sir! We're just missing the lovely Kai to help us out," Avan grinned, pulling me towards the table, taking my robe off and slipping the dress onto me. It was a strapless dress that stopped at my knees, but continued in the back like a fishtail. Petra laced the back of the dress while Coyne helped me into a pair of sea blue colored pumps that had fishtail sequences on them. I looked towards the mirror and noticed that the corset part of the dress had fishtail sequences too. I was taken aback when it dawned on me that Petra had made my chest two times its normal size. I heard her cackle behind me and pulled a chair for me to sit.
"Don't worry, the heart shape corset is what makes them look bigger," she smiled, slowly pushing me onto the chair. I nodded, not really knowing what else to do. "For her hair, I think we should bring out her waves more and add some blue. Not too much or she'll look like a walking Popsicle,"
"Agreed, plus for the makeup, just some blue lipstick, gold eye shadows, fake lashes, black eyeliner and white gems around her eyes. It'll bring out her hazel eyes a lot more," Sany said, tilting my chin up and moving my head side to side. The team got to work, discussing on upcoming events they were planning on attending. Petra mentioned one about a fashion show dedicated to the tributes this year. Avan said he wanted to go to a banquet for upcoming artists and stylists. Coyne was excited for both the events Avan and Petra mentioned so they all agreed to go together. Once make up was done, they painted my nails a pearl white color and added two to three white gems on each finger.
"Nails are all done! Bring out the final piece, Coyne!" Avan called out to him. Coyne walked to a small table and opened its drawer. He walked back with a gold tiara that had a light blue veil attached to it each side of it. He gently placed it on my head and secured it from falling. "Just slip these rings on your fingers and you're all done," I did as I was told. The rings were connected to the veils from the tiara. I walked to the mirror, only to gasp at my appearance. I never once thought I would look like this in my entire life. Not even on my wedding day, if I was ever going to have one. I could hear my prep team sniffing behind me and nudging each other.
"Thank you," I turned towards them and smiled. They hugged me, careful not to ruin their hard work. Sany walked back into the room; I hadn't noticed he left. He nodded in approval to the team and they made their merry way out.
"Gorgeous and flawless like the sea," Sany smiled and twirled me around. "Now, let's go meet with your fellow partner and his stylist for the parade," Sany stuck out his arm to me and I wrapped mine around it. After what seemed like an eternity of walking towards the Avenue of Tributes, we reached our chariot. When I saw Toby, I wanted to roll on the floor laughing. He was wearing very skin tight shorts to a point where it seemed like if he did one wrong move, the entire country would see his business.
"Well, you at least look comfortable in that dress," Toby laughed, looking down at the one piece of clothing he was wearing.
"It wasn't easy preparing for this look anyway. Though, I obviously can't say the same for you," I laughed back, covering my mouth to try to stop myself from laughing more.
"Alright little ones, get on and we'll be waiting for you when it's done," Toby's stylist said. She was about the same age as Sany, with blonde hair and purple contacts. She was slender and tall like him too. But maybe her heels added the extra height. Toby and I nodded, carefully getting into our chariots and waiting for them to be automatically pulled. Bright lights went on; signaling the parade was about to start. That's when I noticed Toby had fish scales drawn on his chest and partially on his face.
"At least you don't have a bad body," I joked. Toby laughed, bending down to pick up something on the chariot's floor. He brought back up a small crown and a trident. "You kept those in here?"
"Yeah, just in case we would forget them back in the dressing room and whatnot. Would you help me with the crown? I obviously can't properly see," I nodded, laughing a bit and trying to secure the crown on his head. When I was done, Toby moved his head around; making sure the crown would stay in place. "Everything looks good," he smiled, sighing and looking straight ahead for when our chariot will be pulled out. The chariot started moving a bit faster and the nerves hit me.
"Do we smile or just stand like statues like one and two?" I asked quickly as I because overwhelmed by all the camera flashes that were going off. But I didn't let it show on my face.
"Smile and wave," Toby said through his teeth, so I obliged. I waved and smiled to all the passing Capitol citizens and occasionally catching white and red roses being thrown towards me. I figured out that by doing this, it might get us some decent sponsors to survive long enough in the arena. Plus the training will be of good use in that too. We stopped in front of the podium where President Snow would address us and waited for the other seven chariots to join. I began to become fidgety, wanting to get away from this place. Looking around, I noticed a boy staring at me from my right. His dark brown hair was combed back for today and his green eyes were more of an olive color. He gave a smile and a nod before turning his head away. Maybe he was just being friendly since we'll probably be dead in two weeks. I turned my head towards Snow, who I hadn't noticed was making a speech about the games. Again and like always, I ignored them since I found it wasteful to listen to such words at a time like this. When he finished, our chariots moved again towards the left and I could see Sany and Toby's stylist waiting for us. I also managed to make out Finnick and Mags waiting with them as well.
"You did great, kid," Finnick smiled, giving me a hug and wrapping his arm around my shoulder.
"You'll definitely get some sponsors now," Sany grinned, having Mags and Toby's stylist nod in agreement. We stood there chatting a bit more before the boy from the parade came up to me.
"You looked lovely out there," he smiled.
"Thank you?" I said as a question. I hadn't meant for it to come out like that. But in a situation like this, how could I possibly know if he meant it or not.
"I really do mean it," he nodded his head. A woman, who I was guessing was his mentor, called out to him. From that, I learned his name was Jason. Excusing himself, Jason followed behind his mentor and entered the building where all the tributes, mentors, stylists and prep teams would be staying.
"Oooh, someone has the hots for you," Toby joked, nudging my side.
"Well, he sure has bad timing," I said. Finnick motioned us towards the building where Wes was already waiting for us. His light brown hair was combed back too and his dark suit somehow made him seem younger than what he already was.
"Each district stays on a floor according to their number. So you will obviously be staying on the fourth floor," Wes explained, letting us enter before him and then pressing the button to the fourth floor. I've never really been in an elevator. I always used the stairs and thought elevators were for the disabled, those carrying heavy packages and lazy people. Four dings later, we arrived at our floor and stepped out behind Wes. As I went to take another step, someone had stepped on the tail of my dress; making me lean backward and almost fall.
"Oh shit, I'm sorry," Finnick laughed and pushed me forward for some balance.
"Don't step on such a priceless dress, Odair! It took me months to design it!" Sany retorted, collecting the dress' tail and putting it into my arms. I chuckled, watching Sany walk away and hearing Finnick snort behind me. Wes signaled us to keep up and when we reach the living room, according to him, Toby and I stared in awe. The room was bigger than both our houses combined back in four. The walls were white, but had a gray metallic finish to them. In the center, was a glass table where we would eat our meals. The chairs were made of metal and matched the walls. If you kept walking, towards the right was a long, blue circular type couch sitting in front of a large flat screen television. Wes moved us towards a small hallway which had about three doors on each side. He said to pick any room and to open the door; all you have to do is press a button. At least it wasn't motion censored or else that would be ever weird.
"Alright my little fish get some rest. Tomorrow we have the day off and the day after is when training begins. It's okay to sleep in tomorrow but at least try to make it to one meal. Good night," Finnick said, waving at us as he entered a bedroom. Mags smiled and waved as well before disappearing. Then followed Toby, Wes, and our stylists. I pressed the button the door farthest back and entered the room. The wallpaper was red colored velvet and the carpet was black. I quickly took off my shoes and flung myself onto the bed. The cool yellow blankets were made of silk but the pillowcases were cotton. I didn't really mind at all since I didn't have this back home. I might as well enjoy it while it lasts. I grabbed some pajamas from the mahogany dress and went into the shower.
Once I freed myself from the dress, I felt as if I could fly. All I could see going down the drain was blues and yellows from the makeup and hair dye Petra put. Getting out, I felt like a new person and quickly got dressed. I still wanted to explore the room I was staying in, so I dug through all the drawers. It was just basically all clothes there, no little trinkets I could mess with. It wasn't until I crawled into bed that I noticed there was a remote on a nightstand. Being curious, I picked it up and pressed a button. The window in front of me somehow transformed into a screen and I watched as Capitol citizens walked among the streets. I pressed another button and the screen changed to some animals chasing each other. Bored, I tried one more button before actually falling asleep. Scenery of a beach and waves came on. I could suddenly hear the waves crashing and small the salty air the always made its way into my room. I felt completely relax and decided that with this, I would fall asleep in no time. And I did.
[Training]
"So we should show just one of our strengths? I think we should pretend we're good at something just to throw them off," Toby said the on the morning of training. Finnick was right, sleeping in was the best thing that could've happened to us. Wes mentioned that yesterday morning, he tried to wake us up but we stood in bed like the dead. He added the he found it rather amusing but let us have some good sleep before attending matters.
"If it's possible, yes," Finnick answered. I thought about it and it would actually work. But something else came to mind.
"What about for when they give us a score? Do we show our real strengths then?" I asked. Finnick shrugged, but then nodded in agreement.
"Let's hurry it up, please! We have half an hour to get ready to head down to the training center," Wes said, getting up from his seat and hauling two bags. "In here are your training uniforms. They have your district number on each arm. I'll leave your bag in your rooms," with that, Wes walked to the rooms and hurried back into the living room. Wes was making me even more nervous so I set my plate aside and went to get ready or training. Inside the bag was a black shirt and pants made of black spandex. On the sides of the pants and shirts, was a light blue thick colored stripe, also something that represented our district. They obviously wanted to make everyone an easy target in the arena. I got dressed, just in time to have Sany walk in.
"I'll just tie your hair up," he said and sat me down on the chair in front of the dresser. His words reminded me of when Safire tied my hair up for the reaping. "Alright, let's get you to the training center," he said when he finished. We walked to the elevator together and rode down with everyone else. My nerves were slowly starting to get the best of me as I felt myself shake. A hand squeezed my shoulder and I slightly turn my head to see Finnick giving me a reassuring smile. We finally reached lobby, we coherently walked towards the training center; which was conveniently just two buildings away from the building we were staying in. From the corner of my eye, I could see the colorful Capitol citizens waving at us. I ignored them and decided it was better not to really interact with them. Then again, they can be the reason I come out alive. It felt like an eternity walking towards the building and into it. But once was passing the second set of sliding doors, time seemed to be going slower than ever.
"Remember what we talked about," Finnick said, as Toby and I walked into the training room. Inside, the different stations were a couple of feet away from where the tributes would stand to hear rules, regulations and tips on surviving the arena. Toby and I took our place and waited for the head trainer to come out. My eyes darted around to look for Jason. I didn't know why, but I felt that making him an ally would be a good thing. At last, the trainer walked into the room, dressed in a nylon sweat suit.
"Good morning, tributes! My name is Kurt and welcome to your first of many training session for the next couple of days. We will teach you hand to hand combat, recognition of edible plants, insects and those that will kill you instantly. There will be different weapons for you to learn. Camouflage, tying and making traps, rope climbing, making fires and stealth are also being taught. Without further ado, you may go on ahead to your desired stations," he said, stepping off the small podium. I stayed close to Toby while the other tributes scattered off to different stations.
"Remember, show the weakest skill you have," I whispered to him. Toby nodded, heading over to the archery station while I headed to the camouflage station. For the rest of the training, the Jason boy didn't come up to me and I kept losing hope in wanting to make him an ally. We stayed to Finnick's advice about not showing our strengths for the remainder of the training. On the day before the interviews, we all had the private sessions in front of the game makers.
"Strength," was the only word Toby said to me as I got up to enter the private session. I nodded, with a small smile and walked down the long hall. A high score meant more and better sponsors. That too meant a higher chance at surviving longer in the arena. I wasn't sure on what to show them, but I was going more towards using knives and swords, if they had any in there. I entered a large room with different weapons and stations set up everywhere. The game makers were right ahead of me, sitting up on a balcony while drinking and eating away.
"Kai Rankin, District four," I said aloud as my eyes wandered to find my desired station; and there it was. Towards the far back of the room, was a station with swords and a couple of dummies.
"Alright Miss Rankin, what will you show us today?" Seneca Crane, head game maker asked and nodded. I walked towards the stations, hoping the small inch of fear didn't show on my face. The sword was laid in the center of the dummies that were surrounding it. As I walked over and took the sword in my hand, the dummies around me started moving and throwing knives. I used my hearing to quickly dodge one that passed right by my left ear. I began spinning the sword around, taking down incoming knives from wherever I could. When I had the opportunity, I cut off two of the dummies heads and went to the next.
This time they started moving faster and throwing the knives twice as much. I kept to spinning the sword around and using my hearing to dodge knives. I then realized that it was be better to cut off the arms or hands to end this session quicker. So that's what I did. After one dummy released the knives, I swung the sword towards them to cut the arms off. Finally, I had two dummies left but these now had swords too. Seriously, these game makers never made anything too easy once you figured out how to get around it. The first I managed to take down quick, but the last was built stronger and durable than the rest. It was too quick for my attacks and too strong for me to cut off the arms or head. I figured I had to attack below, so I swung the sword one last time and cut its legs off.
The machine stopped and everything went quiet. I looked over to the game makers nodding their heads to each other. "Thank you, Miss Rankin, you may go now," Crane said, gesturing his hand towards the door I came in through. I nodded, giving them a small bow and walking out and going back to my room. I hadn't noticed how fast I had fallen asleep because I woke up to my lovely mentor hitting me with a pillow.
"Wake up, Kai! It's time to view what score you got today!" Finnick yelled out. I moaned in annoyance and turned away from him. I heard him chuckle and he then somehow managed to lift me up and throw me on his back. He began heading towards the living room with everyone else. "I've got her!" he said, gently placing me on the couch next to Sany; whose lap I then laid my head on.
"Welcome to another year at the Hunger Games!" Caesar Flickerman's voice and face popped up on the television. This year, he had a violet lipstick on and his hair was dyed the same color. He went on about how tributes were scored and explained the ranging of the scores. I paid attention, but I mostly looked forward to our district and seven. "Kai Rankin," I sat up quickly to hearing my name. "A score of a ten," he said.
"Way to go, short stuff!" Finnick teased.
"I am not that short!" I laughed. Sany gave me a tight hug and Toby and I bumped fists to my score.
"Toby Roxon. A score of ten," Flickerman's voice said and moved on to the next district.
"I propose a toast to our lovely and strong tributes. May the rank high in the arena!" Toby's stylist, whose name was Sera, raised a glass and we followed along. "To Toby and Kai,"
"To Toby and Kai," everyone else chanted and drank.
"Jason Braun, a score of nine," I heard Flickerman's voice but I didn't look at the television. All I know is that he was skilled at something and I should find out what it is.
[Interview]
"Remember, just act like yourself and you'll be fine. Maybe throw in a few jokes here and there," Finnick said, dressed in a black suit, white collared shirt and with a small red handkerchief in his suit's upper pocket. "Good luck, short stuff,"
"Please welcome Kai Rankin from District four!" Flickerman called out and I hesitantly took my time to show. If Finnick hadn't given me a small push, I'd still be behind the curtain. Caesar extended his arm to me as I finally walked out onto the stage. The bright lights blinded me until I gained focus in my eyes to see where exactly I was going. Caesar began twirling me around and I could hear the crowd's deafening screams. "It's like her dress is made of waves!" He was right. Sany put me in a dress with ruffles of different shades of blue to make an illusion of waves. The top of the dress was corset like, just like the one I wore for the parade. It was a light blue with clear colored jewels places here and there. My blue heels were kept simple this time. Only special thing was that it was a blue velvet material.
Caesar sat me down on the chair next to him and began asking his questions. "So tell me Kai, what was it like when you heard your name being called out at the reaping?"
"It really surprised me. You know, I'm eighteen, I obviously hadn't been reaped before so I'm thinking 'Pfft, this is my last year to be eligible so what are the odds of getting picked?'" I laughed. "Of course the damn odds weren't in my favor and here I am now,"
"Isn't she the sweetest little thing you've ever seen?" Caesar grinned for the crowd who cheered.
"Why do people say I'm little?" I grinned, adding a laugh. "Just because I'm like 5'4" at eighteen, doesn't make me completely little! Just short!" I pouted and crossed my arms. The crowd awed as I smiled.
"You may be small, but not many small people score a ten on their training. Tell us, what exactly did you do there?" Caesar moved closer.
I smirked, knowing that I shouldn't give this one away. "I used one of my strongest skills and just did what I knew was going to keep me alive in the arena," I answered.
"And alive we all hope you stay and join us again when you get back," he took my hand and kissed it.
"I'll try my best to come back," I smiled with a nod before Caesar brought me to my feet.
"Kai Rankin everyone!" he said and twirled me around one last time before I headed backstage with Finnick, Mags and Sany.
"You were wonderful, dear," Mags said quietly, cupping my face with her hands. I thanked her and smiled. Even though Mags hadn't talked much to me, I knew she too wanted either Toby or I to come back.
"Gorgeous and flawless as usual," Sany grinned.
"It's all thanks to you," I said.
Alright, kiddies, time to watch Toby's interview," Finnick said and turned us towards the small TV that was hanging on the wall. So far, Toby was going great, answering questions here and there as if it came natural to him. But there was one question that made him hesitate.
"Do you have a girlfriend back home?" Caesar asked.
"Yes, I do. We've been together for two years now and hopefully it'll be longer," Toby answered.
"That's quite some time! Did you ever plan out your future far enough if you hadn't volunteered?" The crowd seemed anxious as to what Toby would answer. As for me, I was most likely feeling the same thing.
"Actually, yes, we were planning a future together but we got a head start at it," he said.
"What do you mean you got a head start at it?" Everyone, including us backstage, our families back home and basically all citizens of Panem were waiting for his answer.
Toby sighed and took a deep breath before answering. "My girlfriend is four months pregnant," Those six words made everything a thousand time more difficult for both of us.