CHAPTER TEN
MAYSILEE
"There's more of you than we're accustomed to this year," Eustacia trills at breakfast. "So, we've decided to divide and conquer! Poppy and Maysilee you can start with me – we'll work on presentation and etiquette," she says the last part pointedly at Poppy who's stuffing a croissant into her mouth. "Haymitch and Fir, you can start with Grandis. He'll be helping you with content." Grandis gives a grunt for a response. I can't imagine he'll be any help.
The morning was an absolute terror.
"Oh for Heaven's sake Poppy stand up straight!"
"Poppy stop biting your nails!"
"Chin up Poppy, UP!"
The more aggravated Eustacia got, the higher her voice rose. At this point her voice was so squeaky any dogs in the vicinity were probably cowering. For the past hour Poppy and I had practiced walking with books balanced on our heads in impossibly high shoes. I was lucky enough to have a little training but Poppy would be black and blue tomorrow from falling so often. When she toppled over for the sixth time that morning Eustacia gave an exasperated shriek.
"Argh! Whose idea was it to name you Poppy anyways? You're a dandelion at BEST," scoffs Eustacia, pressing her fingers to her temple.
"We'll take a five minute break," she says before stalking off, her vibrant orange hair flouncing behind her.
"I'm sorry Maysilee, I'm really trying," whimpers Poppy near tears. She yanks off her heels and lets them fall to the floor with a thud.
"I know you are," I say sympathetically wrapping my arms around her thin shoulders. For people about to be shipped off to their deaths, learning to walk with books on our heads wasn't really a practical skill anyways. Even so, Poppy looks positively miserable. "She's right, I am a dandelion!" she wails.
"You are not," I say sternly. "Have you ever seen a poppy?"
She shakes her head, her dark hair swishing.
"I saw a patch of them once on a walk with my friend Lillian. She used to work at the apothecary so she knows all about plants. She pointed them about to me. 'Aren't they beautiful?' she asked. And they were, with dark crimson petals stretching to the sky. She told me they were especially resilient, and could even grow in our awful soil. Poppies are a sign of health and strength, she told me, and their seeds have pain-relieving properties. They're special." Poppy stops sniffling and stares at me with huge gray eyes.
"The point is you're far from a dandelion. You're strong and resilient, just like the flower for which you are named. You can do this, Poppy."
I hear the telltale clip of Eustacia's heels as she enters the room.
"Are we ready to resume?"
"Yes," answers Poppy, and I smile at the determination in her voice.
The second half of the lesson went much more smoothly. Poppy managed to balance in her heels, and didn't complain once even after her toes began to turn an alarming shade of purple. After lunch we follow Grandis for our mentoring session. He sits quietly offering a little advice here and there but mostly keeping to himself. Poppy and I work together to come up with a strategy.
"How about cheerful?"
No.
"Nice?"
No.
"Energetic?"
As much as I liked Poppy her suggestions weren't very helpful. Not one of those things would help me win the Games let alone inspire anyone to sponsor me. By the end of the session we decided Poppy would be the sweet little sister everyone wished they had. Unfortunately for me we still hadn't decided on who I'd be.
I drag myself to my room, exhausted from the day. When I open the door I'm startled to see an extremely short woman in head to toe blue standing in my room. I imagine she'd actually be a lot shorter if not for the few inches provided by a high bun of inky blue hair on top of her head.
"Hello?"
"Oh hi! I was waiting for you!"
"Okay…" I say. She looks at me expectantly. "Um, who are you?"
"Oh right, duh," she says smacking her forehead. "I'm Laelia, your new stylist. I wanted to introduce myself before tomorrow's interviews." As she speaks her lips glitter, and I realize they're incrusted with sapphires.
My new stylist? Uh-oh. If her style was an indicator of what I'd be wearing I was screwed. Laelia glowed like the night sky. Her skin was a pale blue dusted with flakes of silver glitter. She had high cheekbones with dark almond shaped eyes flecked with silver. A small beauty mark in the shape of a star glimmered on her cheek.
"What happened to Fuschia?" I ask.
"A spot opened up in District 7 and she volunteered. Apparently someone had quite the attitude," she says, wagging her finger at me.
I'm about to apologize and give an explanation when I catch her grin. "Frankly I don't blame you - Fuschia is as irritating as they come. It was her mistake treating District Twelve like a chore instead of a job, one I don't think she'll make again thanks to you," she smiles again, her teeth impossibly white in contrast with her navy lips. "I personally don't mind a little bit of feist,"
"Thanks," I say uncertainly. "So how did you get stuck with us?"
Laelia laughs. It's not an attractive sound, a snort that sounds like cross between a dolphin and a pig, but it's endearing. "I didn't get stuck with you, I volunteered to take her place."
"Really?" I say incredulously. "Why?"
"Have you met the District One tributes," she says. "They're insufferable."
I already like her more than Fuschia.
"Now it's my job to make you memorable tomorrow. As you can see I'm somewhat of an expert on the subject." That's for sure – I bet even in the Capitol Laelia stood out. "So tell me, what's your angle?"
I sighed. I was still flip-flopping. "I don't know. Maybe… girl next-door? Relatable?"
Laelia makes a face, "That is hardly memorable."
I couldn't argue with that. People like Couture and Haymitch had it easy, but who was I?
"How about we play up some of that attitude. From the sounds of it you can be pretty fierce when you want to be." she says. Her eyes light up. "And I think I have just the thing!"
After giving me a quick goodbye and promising to make me look fabulous, Laelia scurries off to work on my interview dress. The second she's gone I wrap myself in downy covers and drift off to sleep.