Chapter 3
"Wake up Rowan, it's going to be a big, big, big day!"
The voice of Effie Trinket startles me from sleep and I'm momentarily confused by my surroundings. Then I remember that I'm on the train to the Capitol for the Hunger Games and suddenly wish that Katniss or Prim were here for me to talk to. I struggle out of bed and put on a fresh shirt and trousers, I don't bother with a shower.
Haymitch and Jessica are already in the dining carriage, although Effie is nowhere to be found. I take my seat next to Jessica again and start on breakfast.
"So Haymitch, you're supposed to give us advice" I suddenly say. He lets out a loud chuckle.
"So keen, here's some advice, stay alive!" replies Haymitch. I'm furious, he's making a joke out of our impending death. Before I can do anything though, Jessica speaks up.
"That's very funny, only not to us" she says, before lunging forward and knocking the drink out of his hand. Haymitch looks momentarily stunned. He quickly recovers and moves to pour another drink, but I get there first and throw the bottle against the wall of the carriage. Haymitch goes to punch me but I easily dodge his blow and pin his arm against his back.
"Well, well, well, do I actually have a pair of fighters this year? Release me boy and let me have a good look at you two" says Haymitch.
I release him and he tells us to stand up. He walks around us, taking us in.
"Well you certainly both seem fit and healthy, and obviously both have balls. Do either of you have any skills other than fast reflexes ?" he says, looking at me.
"I can hunt" I say "with a bow and arrow".
"You any good?" asks Haymitch.
"I'm alright, not as good as my sister though" I respond.
"Well that would certainly be helpful in the arena. I want you to stay clear of archery throughout training alright? Save it for the private session. What about you girl? You got any skills?" says Haymitch.
"Not really" replies Jessica, looking down at the ground. I decide to speak up.
"She works in the butchers so she's pretty good with a knife" I say. Jessica looks up at me and raises her eyebrow as if to ask me what I'm doing. "What? He needs to know what you can do, it could help" I explain.
"Show me" Haymitch says to Jessica. She walks to the table and picks up a knife. She positions herself and launches the knife towards the wall. It sticks perfectly in the grain between two panels. It's impressive.
"Okay, same for you sweetheart, stay away from knives until the private sessions. You both have something going for you so I'll make you a deal. You stay away from my alcohol and I'll stay sober enough to help you. Got it?" says Haymitch. I have a feeling that this is the best we'll get, so Jessica and I both nod in agreement. Just as we're about to sit back down to continue breakfast, I notice that we're pulling up to the Capitol. I rush over to the window to get a good look.
It's magnificent. There are so many colours that I didn't even know existed, some of the buildings are so big that I'm sure you could fit the whole of district 12 in them, and the people… well the people look odd. Some have their skin dyed in bright colours, others have tattoos and piercings over their entire bodies, and others have had their faces completely altered, with raised cheek bones, puffed lips and stretched skin.
The residents start to wave at us and I suddenly feel disgusted. They're applauding us and celebrating the fact that twenty four children are being put against each other in a death match. I walk away from the window, but Jessica stays there waving and smiling. I raise an eyebrow at her.
"What, one of them may be rich" she says. She has a good point, but I still can't bring myself to go back to the window. Maybe my talk with Jessica last night helped her out, she seems to have some sort of plan. The train comes to a stop and Effie finally makes her reappearance.
"Rowan, Jessica, come with me. It's time for you to meet your prep teams and stylists. It's their job to get you ready and make you look your best throughout the games" she tells us. Great, I hope they don't put makeup on me.
Jessica and I follow Effie out of the train and suddenly there are flashes everywhere. I notice that people in the crowd are taking pictures of us. I hear a few questions being shouted as well but I don't answer. Instead I just follow Effie until we get to what she calls the "remake centre." I'm ushered into a room where I'm told to wait for my prep team. I start wandering around, thinking about what they might do to me. The door suddenly opens and three women walk in who are obviously my prep team.
"Rowan, how nice to meet you, my name is Tetiana and I'll be leading your prep team" says a women with bright red hear styled into a bob. "These two women are Lana and Rosa."
I greet my prep team with as warm a smile as I can muster. All of their styles are as extravagant as the capitol residents that I saw from the train. Tetiana is rather plump for a capitol resident, Lana has so many tattoos that I'm not sure what her natural skin tone is and Rosa has had her entire skin dyed a pale red.
"Could you lie down on the table over there please Rowan" indicates Tetiana. "We've got to prepare you before we send in your stylist Portia. Oh you're going to look absolutely gorgeous!"
I roll my eyes and move over to the table as instructed. I end up having to strip down to my underwear before my prep team gets to work. They spend hours plucking body hair, rubbing ointment on my skin, giving me a haircut and numerous other things that I can't even describe. By the time they've finished I'm so relieved that I can't even muster the energy to complain.
My prep team have been gone for about 10minutes before I start to get concerned. Weren't they supposed to send in my stylist? I'm about to get up and look around for someone to ask when the door opens and a tall woman walks in that I presume is Portia.
"Hello Rowan, my name's Portia and I'll be your stylist for the duration of your stay at the capitol." She says.
She offers her hand out in greeting which I accept. There's something about Portia that I find rather soothing, maybe it's her voice or her soft smile.
"Hello, so it's your job to decide what I'll be wearing for the events leading up to the games then? Can you tell me what I'll be wearing for the tribute parade?" I ask.
This had been a concern of mine. Tributes are normally dressed in something that reflects the primary industry of their district, so for me and Jessica that is coal mining. It's never particularly impressive, one year they even sent the tributes out stark naked covered in black "coal dust".
"Cinna and I – Cinna is Jessica's stylist – have decided to change it up a bit this year. The usual coal miner outfits never seem to make an impact, so we've decided to focus more on the coal rather than the miner." States Portia.
That's interesting, I wonder where she's is going with this? How can they use coal as a theme that will make an impact at the parade?
"So tell me Rowan, you're not afraid of fire are you?" whispers Portia with a mischievous smile.
