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The train finally rolled to a stop.
Haymitch smiled "Remember you have to not care about the other."
The doors were flung open to a large crowd of cameras and brightly colored people. And when I say brightly colored I mean a mixture of staring at the sun and bright daises. The people just looked weird in general. Like one woman in the front had bright orange hair with flowers growing out! Everyone once in a while when she moved little brown flecks would fall off her head. Also one man looked suspiciously like his hair was made out of small green snakes.
Stepping of the train was something I wouldn't have done in another circumstance. If there had been one I thought. District Twelve was not a district known for its large swarms of cameras.
It took about twenty minutes to get from the train station platform to the door which was only about thirty feet away. I made sure not to look at Jacob like Haymitch said. Still seeing bright white spots I opened the door to go into the hands of the stylists.
Two woman and one man pulled me away from the group, opening a large metal door with the sign Remake Center.
The man who was the person I saw outside with snake hair introduced himself as Kenas pushed me to a chair and started rummaging in a drawer while the women pulled my clothes off and gave me a robe I could ware.
After pulling out a roll of sticky paper, Kenas ripped off a strip and stuck it to my lower leg, ripping off my hair.
After a few hours of being ripped and scrubbed I looked in the mirror that was on one wall of the room. My hair had a smooth glossy look and my long nails were now rounded. My body was now devoid of all hair except on the top of my head and my eyebrows were now thinner.
The taller woman named Augusta, who had spiky blue hair and a black tattoo on her eye, started rubbing some sort of lotion on me almost instantly cooling my raw skin. They started circling around me like a trio of hunters searching for the prey of the few stray hairs I had left.
"Now you almost don't look like a cretin anymore!" The other woman, Kisie said in the Capitol's high pitched accent.
"Umm.. Thank you?" I knew I couldn't say anything bad about the reason District Twelve doesn't stand up to the Capitols superior exceptions.
A few more minutes standing in the room that was about the size of my house sent my thoughts racing to home. Hiro would still be at the mines and mom and dad would be doing what they always did at this time. Working. Either at the bakery or hunting for our food. I knew that the shutters would be closed to signify that someone from that families puzzle was gone. And they would be watching the small television that was in our family room ,right next to my mattress, when they got home later.
"Cinna time!" Kenas said excitedly.
A moment later the man who must be Cinna walked in. I was suprised how ...normal he looked. No oddly colored hair or unnatural alterations. Just normal short brown hair and eyes.
"Hello Gianna." He smiled. "I'm Cinna your stylist."
"Hi." I whispered quietly.
He started walking around my naked, plucked body. He saw I was still clutching my ribbon Hiro gave me.
"May I?" He said reaching for the beautiful purple ribbon. I handed it to him. He started twisting and pulling my hair in complex arrangements, finally fastening it all together with my ribbon.
"Beautiful. I perfect mix of simplicity and modernness." He looked at the mirror which I was looking at to see my hair. "And it complements your young age too." He said smiling. You couldn't help noticing that he was quite handsome.
I smiled."Thanks"
He gave me my robe and led me to an even larger room which had one long wall that was all glass. He sat in a red couch on the farther side of the table. As I sat on the other side he pressed a button and the table split revealing our lunch. Each time I've eaten I'm always surprised when the food is so different. In the middle of the table was a platter full chicken and vegetables slathered with a orange sauce. On the right was an assortment of fruit. And on the other side was what was obviously the dessert, a large chocolate cake decked with strawberries.
As we started eating I wondered how long it would take to get the kind of money to make this food. First you had ot know where to get it like the friut. And you ahd to know what it actually is. I had no idea how to make the orange sauce. The chicken and chocolate cake would cost a fortune. I sighed knowing I was never going to have this again.
Slowly I began to eat the amazingly prepared lunch, wondering what Jacob was doing.
A few more minutes of silence, then Cinna spoke.
" This is differnet for you isn't it? The food and the differnet ways people look.." He smiled. "And your only twelve to boot."
I sighed. "There is no reason for everyone to look differnet but they do it just because they have the money and the power."
Cinna's smile left him. " It makes them fell like their getting attention but since everyone has changed their looks and had altercations done the only people differnet are the people who haven't changed"
"Like you." I added.
"Yup." he smiled
We finished the last of the large meal when he started talking again.
"For the opening ceremonies my partner and I decided to do a few different things. First off we already talked ot your mentors and they thoguht it was in your guys best intrest that you started acting like friends. First we thought matching costumes again but most of the other Districts will probably do the same and it has been used so many time before, we thought something differnet."
Hopefully I won't be naked. Around when I was four the tributes were covered in black dust but they didn't exactly have a costume.
Cinna continued, " So we went back to when Katniss and Peeta were in the games. When they were on fire." He stopped remembering what was probably his best design. "We couldn't do the same thing so we decided to add an element, the coal."
Where gogin to be naked and on fire I thought.
"We need Jacob to see the designs full effects so they'll come other when you both get your designs fitted."
Hallelujah at least I'm going to have a costume!
After a few hours of being fitted the costume was complete. It was a ankle to neck unitard with a black cape. Whatever the full effcect was I wasn't seeing it. Even if that complex hairstyle Cinna made with my ribbon was pretty cool.
Suddenly Cinna pressed a button and....I was on fire! There wasn't any heat but it was still kind of freaky.
"Jacob is going to carry you on his shoulders. Other than that it's going to be a surprise! All you ahve to know now is to remember to have really big smiles and wave to the crowd."
After that I was shuffled into the basement of the building where the entrance to the opening ceremony would start.
Jacob was already in the wooden chariot. He smiled.
"We look like we could blend into the night." He said wistfully. "We could get away from this." He gestured around where the other tributes were getting ready.
"Where would we go?" I said softly.
His smile came back. "I've always wanted to just live in the forest. No stresses about life except when to get food."
I smirked "Fun" I said sarcastically.
I jumped on the chariot and the line started. The loud cheers meant the procession had started.
"You better get on" he said, kneeling down so I could climb up.
Feeling almost like a giant I touched the ceiling. The smile was already there when we were close to the entrance.
Finally, it was our turn. Hands spread out wide, the largest smile on my face the crowd went wild. Suddenly, an explosion of red and orange engulfed my body! Jacob was on fire too except for his lower leg which was glowing faintly like coal when it was on fire. The crowd went even crazier then before!
In that moment I forgot all about the reason I was here, my family or even Jacob who was right under me. I just basked in the moment, happy to have the crowds love even if they couldn't wait for me to die in a few days.