Mermaid
Mags leads Garcia out of my room, which I am very thankful for. I've had enough of the Capitol for a day. Slowly, Mags closes the door and goes to my nightstand. She picks up the remote and changes it to the sea again. Then she sits down beside me and simply pulls me into a motherly hug. I cry for hours, well-past dinner.
I cry remembering Cora's responsible nature. She always works her hardest, no matter what. And no one ever thanks her. Ever.
I remember Arnav's little dimples when he smiles and his compassion and kindness. A little boy who does what he's told and doesn't lie.
For some reason Finnick comes to mind. I see him smiling with his natural smile which shows his hidden dimples and his sea green eyes when he told me how he'd like to meet me.
It all feels like it happened a long time ago, but it only just did.
I wake up alone, not realizing how I'd fallen asleep. There is a familiar knock on the door that signals it is time for breakfast and I walk out and push past Garcia. I have forgiven her by now, after all, she's a Capitol citizen and she can't help it.
I walk to the dining room, where plates full of exquisite food are placed. I hear my stomach grumble and I realize how hungry I am. I haven't eaten anything since lunch yesterday.
"So, as you all know, today is the Tribute Parade. Your prep team has already arrived so I recommend you eat fast." Garcia says.
"Where is Finnick?" I ask, confused. Finnick is my mentor; he is supposed to be there with me, always. Mags shakes her head and answers:
"Finnick will meet you in the parade, I'm afraid."
"Yes, he had something to attend to." The way Garcia said the word 'something' chilled me to the bone. Mags winces. I know that this has something to do with his 'clients'.
The door opens and three peculiar people come in. Peculiar in the sense that one of them has hot pink skin with a pattern of red flames that actually glows and orange hair. Another has cat whiskers and claws and their skin is orange with black stripes. The third has green skin and has flowers sprouting from his yellow clothes.
"Who should we do first?" The hot-pink woman asks.
"The girl, I think. She's going to need some work." The cat-woman says. The man with the flowers nods his head and takes my arm, leading me to another room.
"I'm Florio, this is Tigris and Rosalie. Your stylist, Louis, will come by later to get on your outfit for tonight." He smiles and I can see that he had surgery to make him more handsome.
In the room, the members of my prep team open us heavy-looking bags that they had been carrying. Inside, I can see every type of makeup and hair product in existence.
"Sit, dear. What's your name?" Rosalie asks, pulling out a chair, her red flames somehow glowing more brightly.
"I'm Annie Cresta." I answer. Florio frowns.
"My, my, those freckles are going to need a lot of work. Avoid the Sun, dear, if you can help it." I want to tell him that I can't avoid the Sun, but Tigris stops me.
"You need to take a bath, Annie. We're going to have to wash all that horrid salt from your hair. Take off your clothes, please." I blush a deep red. Somehow, I hadn't thought that they'd need to take off my clothes. In District 4, nudity is not a big deal, many people go naked to the beach. It's different here, though. This is the Capitol and these are not my wonderful childhood companions, they're strangers. Nevertheless, I had to. I slowly take off my dress, leaving me exposed to their curious gazes.
Rosalie frowns and says:
"Well, I guess we don't have much to work with."
They prepare a bath for me. I had never taken a bath that wasn't in the sea before, there was no need, but now, I am intrigued by the colorful bubbles and sweet perfumes that come from the bathtub. I slowly go into the hot water and almost immediately jump out. It's hot, not like the warm District 4 water that gets cool in the winter, but hot like the sand when it's been out in the Sun too long.
"Come on, Annie, you act like you've never taken a bath before." I want to tell her I haven't, but Tigris pushes me back into the water.
At first, it burns, then it feels calming, wonderful. I let them rub the soft oils on my skin and cleanse my hair. When I come out of the tub, they put me in this little room, not bigger than a storage closet with glass walls. They press a button and air comes out from all sides of my cage, drying me instantly. I step out and sit back down on the chair. Florio takes out something that looks like paper, but I know its shaving wax because Cora uses it. He puts it on my leg and yanks it, taking with it all of my light-red, almost invisible leg hair. My leg burns and I have to hold back coming tears. Florio keeps doing it all over my legs until they look perfect, then he takes out all of the makeup from the bag.
Rosalie takes over, taking a skin-color bottle and putting a little bit of cream on her finger. She then puts it all on my face and spreads it with a brush. She keeps adding different creams until she's satisfied and then takes out an eyeshadow pallet. She takes out an eyeshadow brush and paints my eyes with bright whites and soft greens that spread out from my eyelid to the side of my head and a bit of my forehead in a pattern similar to that of the waves. She adds the final touch and examines my face. Then she lets go and moves aside.
Tigris takes out the contents from the final bag- all the hair products I'd seen before. She gets to work, curling my hair and putting it up in twists I can't see. They apparently think it is a good idea to let me be surprised when they're finished. Luckily, I don't think she is using any dyes, just curling it with some strange machine that looks like a cylinder.
Finally, she finishes and brings me a mirror.
At first I don't recognize my reflection.
The girl in the mirror has no freckles, her face is perfect, with rosy cheeks and skin that is the same pale, yet shiny tone. Her eyes are bright, the same color as the blue-green color that surrounds her eyes in a pattern of waves. Her rad hair is shiny and is put up in fantastic curls on top of her head then curls down one side, a style I recognize from a recent victor, Cashmere.
I look absolutely stunning and beautiful, something I'm not used to being. I look even prettier than Cora in her best of days.
The door opens and I realize I'm only wearing a robe. A man comes in. He has blue skin and a pattern of waves that look like they move across his skin.
"Well, hello, Annie. I am your stylist, Louis. Now, let's get to work. Take off your robe so I can get on your outfit for today." I do as he asks and he frowns. "Well, I was expecting a little bit more from a seventeen year-old girl, but we can make it work." I am sick of people telling me I'm small for my age as if I don't already now. Louis opens up the bag he'd been carrying and pulls out what I think is some sort of beautiful fish. He unfolds the fabric and I realize that it's a mermaid costume. The scales of the tail are the same sea color as my eyes and makeup and contrasts finely with my red hair.
Louis wraps my shell bra around my breasts and has me fit into the tail. I try to walk to the mirror in the tight tail that squishes my legs together. I look like a real mermaid with the thick but stretchy material covered in shiny scales and the shells the Tigris is stringing into my hair.
"Is she ready?" Garcia enters, then stops, looking at me. "Oh, you look absolutely beautiful. The sponsors are going to love you!" She says. I'm confused about what sponsors are, but Finnick is supposed to tell me about them tomorrow, when mentors meet with their tributes to discuss the Games. Behind her Tyson appears, his face similarly painted except with black instead of white. He's wearing the same tail as I am, and now I can see the muscles in his torso. He's holding a trident. He doesn't look beautiful like the mermaid I embody, but like a strong and intimidating triton. We are taken down to where the parade will start.
I am in a huge room, filled with twelve chariots and twenty-two other children, all wearing slightly silly costumes. Some of them aren't silly at all, they look wonderful. The District 1 tributes are wearing blinding white outfits with jewels embedded in them. The District 2 are wearing silver armor and are holding swords and javelins. Most of the rest are silly, especially the District 12, who are wearing nothing at all except of a layer of black paint.
The double doors we'd been led through re-open and Finnick comes in.
He doesn't look as charismatic as usual, in fact, he looks beaten. He has bruises all over him and his hair is messy. He has shadows under his green eyes, which aren't glowing anymore, but look sad. However, they lit up when they saw me.
"Annie, you look great." I smile at the compliment. Besides Mags, Finnick is the only person whose opinion I value these days, and besides, it's not every day you get called beautiful by the great Finnick Odair. Cora would faint.
Mags gestures to our chariot. I hear a loud: Two minutes! From the speakers. I'm about to get on when I feel a push and fall to the side, hitting the ground painfully. I look up to see the District 2 male smirk as he walks away. Tyson is instantly next to me, helping me up. I see Finnick making his way over to the District 2 chariot, a very angry expression on his face. He starts talking to Brutus, and I can make out him saying things like: 'control your tributes!'
"Tributes, get on your chariots, the parade will begin in five seconds." I get on my chariot along Tyson, careful for any more tributes. Then the doors open and I get a glimpse of the courtyard before we start moving.
I hear the cheer of the crowd and the national anthem before we even leave. As soon as we do, I see the huge crowd of Capitol citizens cheering for us. There are even more of them than the ones that welcomed us into the Capitol.
We ride across the yard, waving to the cheering crowd. I see posters that say things like: 'District 1!' or any other District. I see a dozen of them that say things close to 'Annie, tell Finnick I love him!' or 'Tyson, tell Finnick that Isabella misses him!' My smile falters, how can they say they love him if they haven't ever met him?
We turn back around and I look up. On a balcony, I can easily see President Snow smiling at us. I hate him. I'd always thought that 'hate' was a terrible feeling and that it was wrong to feel. But I hate him.
We go back into the chariot room and get off, exhausted. The parade had probably only lasted for about half an hour, but it'd been draining. I can't wait to lie in bed, even if it isn't my own.
We walk to the tribute dormitories, getting constantly praised by Garcia.
"Tyson, great job out there! You looked very scary, I bet everyone wants to sponsor you now! You were outstanding! I think you can get in with the Careers for sure." She babbles on, ignoring me as if I have no chance of winning, which I don't.
"Annie, you did great, too. I bet you'll get just as many sponsors. They loved you." Finnick says with a wink, making me feel better even though it's probably not true.
"Oh, yes, they'll be talking about how beautiful you looked forever!" Garcia says. Finnick flinches, as if she'd said something bad, but he hides it with a smile and keeps walking. It seems only Mags and I noticed it.
We arrive and I try to go to my room but Garcia stops me.
"Tonight, you'll be allowed to sleep late, you don't have anything to do tomorrow except talk with your mentor." She says and walks off. I'm about to turn back around when something catches my eye.
I see Finnick open the door sadly, saying goodbye to Mags, and heading out.
I turn and get into my room. I change into my sleepwear and switch the window to the sea. I climb in bed without giving a second thought to Finnick or Garcia.