Hello people.
BOOK RECCOMENDATION TIME… If you like the Hunger Games (which you probably do, if you are reading this) then you should read Divergent by Veronica Roth. I'm finishing reading it for the second time and it is FREAKING AMAZING. READ IT OR ELSE.
Sorry if this chapter ends abruptly, but I couldn't think about any way to end it.
Please review, tell me what you think? Like? Dislike? Suggestions? Arena ideas? (I know how it will basically go in the Arena, of course, but I need time fillers!) Review, tell me what you think, and I also love book recommendations. If you've read a good book lately, review or PM me it. I need something to read over break.
Annnnyway… here we go
Right after he hopped off the train, Haymitch was herded toward the Training Building. It was the largest building he's ever seen- made of glass, so impeccable it was like looking in a mirror. On one side of it, he saw the surrounding buildings being bathed in golden sunlight, and he assumed that if someone looked at the reflective sides in direct sunlight for long enough, they could probably be blinded. The inside of the building was just as beautiful- all the walls were made of glass, so clean Haymitch felt like if he could walk straight through and back onto the street. He suddenly felt Marcus's small hands on his shoulders, herding him toward a large, ornate door decorated with metallic silver ribbon.
"This way, this way," Marcus said, urging him through the doors. He was greeted by a large group of about 12 people. Counting quickly, Haymitch saw that there were three people for each tribute. Oh, god… he thought, this must be where we meet the prep team. This proved to be true as soon as Marcus opened his annoying mouth again. "Okay, tributes! Here we will assign you to your individual prep teams, and they will get you ready for the parade tonight!"
The teams squealed in excitement, and at that moment Haymitch realized how much he didn't want any of them to come anywhere near him. Most of them were so surgically altered they were grotesque; with hair and eyes and skin in all different shades, like oil on water, they looked like they were from some alien planet. Haymitch wished that was where they were, instead of standing in front of them, waiting to do all sorts of things to make him appealing.
"Say 'hi', prep teams!" Marcus said enthusiastically. The teams all said hello in their accents, making them sound like small dogs. "Now, I will assign teams for each of you! Ladies first!"
Out of the corner of his eye, Haymitch saw the girls squirm uncomfortably. Clearly they were as freaked out by these ridiculous people as he was.
"Mika, you will get Shafara, Mikkael, and Siri!" Mika's prep team squealed once again and surrounded her, jumping up and down and herding her through a doorway concealed by a red velvet curtain. "Maysilee, you have Humsworth, Candice, and Aquaria!"
Maysilee managed to shoot Haymitch a kill-me-now look right before her team ambushed her. Haymitch chuckled, but then remembered that he was in the Games- he could end up killing her. It was such a simple look, but all of a sudden, Haymitch felt grumpy and irritable.
"Now for the manly men!" Marcus announced. Charman looked like he was trying not to gag. "For Charman, Nikita, Beanean, and Volotro, and for Haymitch, Shaniqua, Lefonda, and Zimbabwe!"
Before he could blink, Haymitch was grabbed by the three most unbelievable looking humans he had ever laid eyes on and dragged through a velvet curtain into a room that he recognized from the Hunger Games: Behind the Scenes, a show that was usually on before the interviews. It looked like a spa, with a large bathtub, mirrors all around, and all sorts of equipment used for embellishing the tributes.
Lefonda, a young woman with a small black afro, gold eyes, and skin that was pigmented a light periwinkle, clapped her hands. Haymitch couldn't help thinking of the children he'd seen, the homeless ones who got stuck outside during the long cold months of District 12. Her skin color absolutely matched their faces as they froze to death. "Let's get started! Remove your clothes please!"
Haymitch was silent for one bewildered moment. "What?"
"Are you shy?" Shaniqua giggled. Her flame-red hair bounced up and down as her stick- thin body shook. Haymitch stared at her prominent hips in amazement. She clearly didn't have to starve to death in the Capitol- why was she so thin?
"Yeah, we don't have to use these!" The man, Zimbabwe, said. His skin was covered with inky black tattoos, causing his bright yellow hair to stick out. His violet eyes twinkled as he held up a pair of very large, very sharp scissors. Haymitch eyed the blades apprehensively. They were undoubtedly razor-sharp; if he struggled while they were trying to cut his clothes off, his skin would most likely be sliced. Reluctantly, he peeled the all-black outfit off.
"Ugh, what a foul taste in fashion you have," Shaniqua said, picking up the clothes and tossing them into a nearby garbage can. Haymitch couldn't help but notice she was wearing a floor-length red skirt and a light green strapless top embellished with yellow sequins.
The three of them circled him; taking in every single bit of is body. He could help but feel… violated. No one had ever seen him naked, not even Liona. It felt so wrong; Haymitch decided then he would give his left arm for something to cover up with.
Thankfully, at that moment, Lefonda tossed a white, fluffy robe at him.
"I guess we'll start with the eyebrows," she said.
Three hours later, Haymitch felt like a child's doll. He had been plucked, his hair had been cut, and his body had been rubbed with so many different kinds of lotions he felt greasy. The team gave them their cheery goodbyes, so he could meet with the stylist on his costume. Haymitch was almost excited to see them go; until he met Rina.
Rina was a horrifying-looking woman. She was much older than Lefonda, Shaniqua, and Zimbabwe, and her gold facial tattoos had been stretched like plastic over her face; Haymitch recognized it as some of the absurd things Capitol citizens did to themselves to look younger. She was cloaked in all black, wearing a dress that looked like it was made of decaying spider webs. Her hair was poufed in crazy ringlets all over her head, dyed hot pink, though the gray roots were clearly prominent. She had an artificially enormous chest, and her shape was almost like a child's ball, with little spindly legs. Haymitch gagged the moment he saw her, but she was delighted by his reaction.
"Don't get all choked up now that you've seen me!" she said, waving her hand airily. Why do they all think I'm complimenting them? "Wait until you see your chariot costume- then it will be okay to cry! As long as you don't ruin your makeup, of course!"
Not much later, Haymitch found himself in a coal miner's outfit- or at least the Capitol's idea of a coal miner's outfit. He wore skintight black leather pants, black lace up boots, and a heavy helmet with a flashlight. He was shirtless, but coated in a black metallic dust that did not resemble the powder that was held in his token at all. His eyes were ringed in smoky eyeliner, and his lashed were so coated in mascara that they looked like spider's legs.
"I look awful," he said, grimacing as he looked in the mirror.
Rina gasped. "Nonsense!" She was clearly extremely offended. She hurried about him, adjusting his helmet and powdering more dust onto his already-black shoulders. "You look stunning! You will stand out against all the other tributes!"
"Will I." It was not really a question, but a statement. "Well, I would rather go naked and covered in coal dust."
Rina's eyes lit up. "Now there's an idea…"
Haymitch hopped off the platform before she could remove his pants. She'd have to cut them off, they're so tight. "Let's go to the chariots, shall we?"
Rina clapped in delight and followed him out of the salon.
The other tributes were standing around the chariot they would ride on. The Capitol had to make new ones for the Quarter Quell, seeing as they would have to hold twice the amount of tributes. Haymitch was glad to see they all looked as ridiculous as him. Charman was much skinnier, and he looked absolutely scrawny- Haymitch could only think that he would lose sponsors because he looked so weak. Mika was even worse- instead of being shirtless, the girls had a black band circling their chests, and it clearly showed that she hadn't had a decent meal in her life. Maysilee was probably the only one that didn't look horrible- she had more food to eat, since she wasn't from the Seam, and she didn't look as skinny as the rest of them. Instead, she looked positively fierce when she stared at Haymitch with her deep blue eyes.
"You don't look bad," she said, observing him up and down. "The sponsors will all be rushing for you."
Haymitch laughed. "Only if there are tributes dressed as trees or cows, like every year."
She cracked a smile. "Of course there will be."
Marcus hopped up between them, forcing their heads down so he could turn on the lights on their helmets. "Sorry to interrupt your conversations, but it's time to go!"
Haymitch hopped up onto the chariot with ease, helping the other tributes up. They stood shoulder to shoulder, with Charman and Mika on the ends and Haymitch and Maysilee in the middle. The Capitol anthem began to play, and the horses pulling the chariot began their slow trot. Maysilee had to grab Mika's arm before she fell off with the sudden movement.
Then, all of a sudden, the air was filled with cheers. Capitol citizens were packed on both sides of the chariot, the crowd pulsing as each person tried to inch their way closer to the tributes. Haymitch had to resist the urge to clap his hands over his ears to get rid of the noise. Instead, he scowled, wishing the parade would be over with soon. Maysilee clearly felt different- she was smiling and waving at the crowd, blowing them kisses as hands reached up to catch them. People screamed her name, begging her to turn her head their way.
"Enjoy yourself," she said to Haymitch, her arm in the air.
"Screw that," he mumbled. "When can we eat? I'm starving." Maysilee raised her eyebrows and the corners of her mouth curled. "Not literally starving, of course, but I have been there."
"Well, you'll be starving later if you don't get any sponsors for looking so sullen," she answered. "At least wave!" With that, she grabbed his arm and raised it into the air. Immediately the noise grew to nearly deafening.
"Haymitch! Haymitch!" The crowd roared. Maysilee's arm dropped but he kept waving- if this meant he would stay alive longer in the arena, and then he would have to bear it.
