4
We soon found ourselves on the second floor of the Training Center where we would be staying while we were in the Capitol. Tolli beamed as she opened the door to let us into our luxurious loft-style apartment.
"The finest stylists in Panem have come together to decorate and furnish each floor of the building." She said, "They tried their best to make each floor unique to its district." I looked around the room once we stepped inside and saw what she meant. The room was covered in beautifully crafted statues and ornate decorations.
In District 2, everyone has a job. Some people lay bricks, some people plaster things, others made statues from fine stones, and others made mosaics. Not many people know this though; they just regard us with laying brick. However, the statues around the room reminded me of the people at home that made statues for the Capitol and anyone else that could afford them.
"They did a great job." I say with a small smile. Tolli was pleased with this answer and waved Aimee and Simon to join us in the room. "Come on, I'll give you a tour." Aimee groaned and said she would be waiting at the table for dinner, dismissing Simon to follow Tolli as she led us around the loft.
It consisted of five bedrooms that all had their own bathrooms—one room each for Simon, Tolli, Aimee, and one room for me. The last room was for the avoxes that served us. There were two living rooms, one with a projection television and one that led out to the balcony and a small kitchen connected to a dining room that was home to a beautiful mahogany table.
"You'll be sleeping in here." Tolli said as we passed by the two bedrooms at the end of the hall, "Why don't you two both get washed up before dinner, hm?" She worded this as a question but we both knew it was a demand. I nodded in compliance and stepped into the room to the left of us leaving Simon to go into his room across the hall.
The decorations in this room were a lot better than those of the train since the color scheme actually matched. The carpet was a light off-white color and the walls were a faint blue, at least they went together. The lighting was a crystal chandelier and the comforter on the bed was a deep plum purple, the pillows matched the walls. On the far wall there was a beautiful, plate glass window that had a great view of the Cap I honestly enjoyed the décor and smiled at the thought of staying here for the next week.
I walked over to what appeared to be a sliding metal door in the wall and tilted my head. What is this? I push my hand on the door and look over to my right where I spotted a small electronic panel. I touch it with my hand and the keys light up. I step back as the door slides open, revealing a walk-in closet. Wow. There are already clothes inside so I assumed I was allowed to take my pick of the clothing inside. After pondering over the clothing I found a nice blue dress, similar to the yellow one I wore at the Reaping, and took it from its hanger. After changing into the dress and fixing my messy, red hair, I went out to join everyone for dinner.
Tolli and Aimee were already seated at either end of the table and Arill sat in the middle with her orange haired cat woman to the left of her and the purple haired man to her right. The only available spots left for my choosing were on the other side of the table across from the stylists. I took the seat closest to the end of the table next to Aimee and left the other seat open for Simon when he came out from his room. We were well into dinner before this happened and upon his entry I looked at him curiously. "What took you so long?" I asked with a smile. He shrugged and rubbed his wrists, " It took me awhile to figure out the showers." Everyone at the table erupted in laughter as he sat down next to me.
"It's not funny." He says, running his hand through his black hair which was now neatly trimmed from our earlier preparations. I looked at him and shook my head. "Okay, maybe it's a little funny." He says.
"No, you're right, it's not funny." I say sipping on the pink beverage that was given to me, "It's hilarious, there's a difference." Simon scoffed and began to reach for the variety of foods on the table.
"You both have such great table manners." Tolli says in a delighted tone, "I've heard the other escorts talking about how the tributes from lower districts act like they have never eaten with silverware before." She laughs and Arill pipes in, "Most of them probably haven't!" They both continue to giggle as the purple haired stylist reaches for the pitcher.
"Oh, Starr, let me get that." Arill says reaching beside her for the pitcher. He smiled in thanks and waved over an avox to pour his drink. Because pouring anything for yourself would be ridiculous. I narrow my eyes on him and take a good moment to examine his face. He had certain... essence about him that I couldn't quite place. There was something in the way he looked. His short purple hair grazed his face neatly and his groomed outfit was far classier than the rest of the Capitol as it consisted of mostly dark, metallic colors. He looked more reserved and frankly a bit out of place—aside from his hair of course. "Starr…" I whisper to myself. He looks over at me and smiles widely, "What was that sweetheart?" How did he hear me? "Oh, nothing, sorry." I say quickly as I feel my face flush red. He smiles again and looks over at the approaching avox.
"Ooh, dessert!" Tolli squeals as the servant lowers the tray onto the table. I look at the new foods closely and notice how delicate every chocolate covered strawberry looks and how pretty the cookies are laid out. I notice Aimee also looking over at the foods before reaching for a strawberry. "Eat up, kids." She says coolly.
Later that evening, I found myself sitting in the living room with Simon, Aimee and Starr as we watch recaps of the parade on the TV. We figured it'd be easier to get a good glimpse of our competitors than it would be once we are in the arena.
"Good God, look at him." I say as the District 4 female waves to the crowd, "He is built like a bulldozer." I say. He had dark brown hair and deep, unforgiving eyes and a pug nose. "Forget his build; look at what he's wearing." Starr says in a disgusted tone, "Fishnet? Puh-lease. That was out weeks ago." I see Aimee suppressing a laugh in my peripheral vision and stifle a laugh as well.
"Well, despite their hideous outfits we're going to want to work with them." Simon says. Aimee shifts in her seat and bites her lip. "Who else did you plan on working with?" I look over at her and roll my shoulders, "Just the District 1 and District 4 tributes." She relaxes her jaw and looks up at the screen, "Alright." She says, "I think you'd have a good chance with them." When we look back on the screen the District 8 tributes are on. "Those are the kids that fell out of their chariot." Simon says. I nod and laugh at the memory. There was a significant age difference in the tributes. The boy was only twelve and the girl looked about seventeen.
"I bet they'll get taken out the first night." I say quietly. Simon nods in agreement and Aimee laughs, "Maybe the younger one but the girl looks like she's hiding something." I look closer at her face and see her caramel colored eyes staring back at me. "Like what?" I ask. She didn't look to be much of a threat to me. "Skill." With that Aimee stood from the couch and stretched her arms, "It's getting late, you best get off to bed—you have to get up early tomorrow for training. Make sure you wear comfortable clothes." Simon and I both stood in compliance and said goodnight to Starr before walking down to our bedrooms.
It didn't take long for me to fall asleep in my lovely plush bed and the night proved to be extremely long. My rest was dreamless and at several parts of the night I found myself waking up. After the third time I decided to just stay up. It wasn't long before I needed to get up anyways.
I walked over to the closet and looked for something to wear to training today. In the back of the closet I found a black, loose spandex track suit and pulled it out. "This should work." I think aloud. I go to my bathroom and start brushing out my hair before changing into my snug track suit. There was a knock at the bedroom door and Tolli popped her head in, "Good morning, good morning!" she says as she comes in.
"Good morning, Tolli." I say as I pull my hair up in a ponytail. I clip my yellow butterfly pin in my hair and stretch my arms. She smiles at me, "Glad to see you're up, breakfast is on the table." She turned on her heel, which is still unquestionably amazing, and leaves the room.
At the table I find myself picking at a bowl of fruit, unable to actually eat much. "You need to eat." Aimee says, "If you don't have enough stored energy you're going to crash at training." I sighed deeply and looked at my mentor in her white sporting wear. All white clothing? Alright then. I guess when you're a Peacekeeper you are used to wearing all white. Reluctantly I eat the bowl of fruit and a piece of toast as Simon joined us at the table.
"Good morning, handsome." Tolli said as she put jam on her toast. Simon waved good morning, adorning the black track suit that was in his closet as well, and he shoved bacon in his mouth and Aimee shook her head. "Hurry up and eat, we have to leave in a few minutes."
Once everyone was done consuming their breakfast and ready to go, Simon and I followed Aimee to the elevator door that would take us down to the training center. I was a bit nervous, I must admit. I haven't demonstrated my skills with any need of them before so I wasn't sure how this was going to work. We stepped into the elevator and waited for it to go down. It stopped at the first floor and to my surprise the District 1 tributes joined us in the elevator. Well, this is awkward. Their mentor wasn't with them. Peculiar. The awkward elevator trip was silent and Simon and I exchanged a few questioning glances at each other as the doors opened on the final floor and the other kids stepped out.
"What was that about?" Simon asked, I shrugged in response. Aimee looked over at the kids and cracker her knuckles, "Don't worry about it—let's get training."