"Woah." My mouth drops open as the Capitol rolls into sight. Splendid, grand, imposing. There isn't a word that can describe the way your stomach flips and your eyes bug and your knees buckle and you're paralysed with awe. And then we pull into the train station and the people approach. Is people even the right word for them? They may as well be a different species, with their jewels and makeup and colours. Oh the colours. It's like nothing I've ever seen before. They bore into your mind and stick there, so even when I close my eyes, I can still see them. Our train is swarmed by cheering – could they possibly be fans? This is awesome. Jinx grips my shoulder and I realise he disagrees. He's gone white. Jinx, the most insanely tanned, golden-skinned, looks-like-he-was-raised-on-a-beach guy that I know. White. I shriek at an avox who runs over with a stool and a fan and I push him down as the avox starts frantically trying to wave some colour back into him.

"Jinx. What's your problem?" Idiot has been preparing his whole life to come here and now we're both missing it because he's got a case of the butterflies.

"I'm not ready for this Silk."

"What? Of course you are. You're being stupid. You were ready yesterday."

"That was before I knew the stakes." I see it in his eyes; before I knew that you would be my partner. I feel cheated. By the people who were supposed to care. About me, about him. About us, as students. We've been betrayed.

I pull Jinx to his feet by his shirt collar and bring his face to mine. I can see the shock in his face – he had no idea I was strong enough for this – but I hold him there and wait for him to meet my eyes.

"Pull yourself together Jinx. We're here. Both of us. And no amount to whining is going to change that. So you're just going to have to deal with it."

I've taken him by surprise, and that seems to be enough to get through to him. He stands up properly, brushes his shirt back into place and turns to wave out the window as we grind to a halt at the platform.

They have to sneak us out through trapdoors beneath the train – it seems a little unfair to me, to deprive our fans like that, but they'll see plenty of us at the Opening Ceremony tonight. I expect us to drop into a cold sewer where our footsteps echo and our minds darken, but we descend tranquilly into a well-lit, heated corridor. I suppose this isn't the first time the District One Tributes have been popular. It doesn't take long for us to reach the end of the corridor and emerge into the Remake Centre.

If I thought the Justice Building was flash, I realised I was mistaken when we got onto the train. But in comparison to the Remake Centre, the Justice Building may as well have been lying in ruins. And no doubt things are only going to get better when we make it to the Training Centre. We don't really get a chance to look around as we're each shepherded into separate rooms. I don't know what Jinx is looking at right now, but my room oozes a sort of dignity in its pale tones and minimalistic furnishings. I sink into a plush cream-coloured couch and relax – whatever I'm meant to be doing here, I'm not expected to do it for myself. I feel a current of air brush past me as the door silently swings open and my brief moment of peace is stolen as a squealing, gasping, chattering prep team surges in. They do introduce themselves, but I couldn't care less about what their real names are – I've already named them for myself. The tall one with purple patches all over his skin – some sort of fashionable tattooing? – is now named Patch. The, uh, plump one with the green hair is now named Pudge and the short one with little black vines crawling from the tips of her fingers up her arms – more tattoos? – is now named Creeper. Patch, Pudge and Creeper. I'm satisfied with that. The only thing about them that I take any notice of is the sparkles. They drag methrough into another room before starting my makeover, but all I register is that all three of them are glittering and shining and shimmering as they move about plucking hairs and scrubbing limbs. I'm mesmerized by it, and it doesn't take long before Patch notices.

"You like sparkles?" he smiles at me. Ok, he's pretty odd looking, but I decide that he's cool.

"Yeah. I like sparkles." Fascinating reply, I know. I'm distracted ok? Patch suddenly looks all excited and rushes off.

When Patch finally shows up again, the other two are all but finished with my prep. His eyes are puffy and red – has he been crying? – but he wears a triumphant looking smile. I wonder what exactly he has triumphed over. He pulls Pudge and Creeper off to the side and whispers something into their ears, and next thing I know, they're buzzing around me like a disturbed bee swarm. Frankly, it's terrifying.

"He said yes!" Patch manages to force out three words before falling into an incoherent rambling. I think I hear the words 'sparkly' and 'eyebrows' somewhere in there before they push me back into the makeup chair and make me close my eyes. The next thing I am aware of is the pain as my seemingly innocent prep team sets my forehead on fire.

I struggle against them, try to get up and open my eyes, but they were prepared, and have weighted me down. With weights that even Jinx couldn't lift. I lie in agony for probably half an hour before it begins to subside. When I can finally think through the dwindling ache, all I hear is "Now she looks perfect" and "Oh, she's beautiful" so apparently, the pain was worth it. Eventually, they lift the weights off me and let me up. I open my eyes and Patch drags a mirror in front of me.

Wow.