I don't have to fake a smile. I know that these people will be cheering on my death soon, but right now, I don't care. My partner and I look amazing, and I'm sure sponsors are lining up now. I'm waving to the crowd, and so is Marcus.
"Hug! Hug!" I hear someone shout. Then the entire crowd joins in, chanting. At first, I'm confused at what they're saying, and then I realize what they want. They want me to hug Marcus? I think. I don't quite understand why they want me to, but I obey and wrap my arms around Marcus. He wraps his arms around me and the crowd goes wild. We finally break apart and wave to the crowd again.
"I wonder why they wanted us to hug." I say to Marcus. I have to yell so he can hear me over the crowd.
He shrugs. "I guess they just wanted to see more than smiles and waving."
I nod and throw a kiss into the crowd. I look ahead and see some of the others glaring at me. Most of the other tributes are in plain costumes. Simple dresses, one color with no embellishments. Their stylists didn't get as creative as mine and Marcus's.
As we round the final corner, the White House comes into view again. The tributes are dropped off at the main gate and will march to the main doors. We are dropped off and Marcus and I link arms. We give the crowd a good-bye wave with our free hands.
We enter through the massive doors. After all the tributes have entered, the doors close and we are taken to elevators to our rooms. Our floor is for states K-M, and we enter the elevator with the other 20 tributes staying on our floor. My cousin, Evan, is in the elevator with me and I make my way over to him.
"Hey, Evan. Do you remember me?" I ask. He studies my face for a minute and replies.
"Yea, you're my cousin, right?"
"Yes. I didn't know if you remembered me. We haven't seen each other in five years."
Just then, his partner comes up beside him. She pushes him behind her slightly, unsure about me.
"Hi. Is there a problem here?" She asks. Her voice isn't rude, so I try not to be back.
"Hi. I'm Annelise. I was just asking Evan if he remembered me. I'm his cousin." She looks back at him for conformation, and he nods. She lets her guard down some and reaches her hand out to shake mine. I connect hands with her and we shake. The rest of the tributes are watching to see if anything is going to happen.
"See you around." I say.
"You too." She replies. The elevator door opens and we all spill out. Tomorrow training will begin. I invite Marcus to eat dinner in my room, and invite my father too, so we can talk about our strategy. We order our food, which is brought up by a chef and eat until we are full.
"So, here is the one thing I have to say about tomorrow. Save your best skills for your private training, so the others don't know what you're capable of. Go to stations you could use more practice on. And find some allies." Father says.
"So no swords, guns, or knives?" I ask
"And since you both are good at edible plants, avoid that too." Father adds.
"Ok, sounds like a plan." Marcus says. Father gets up to leave. He starts to head for the door and stops.
"Marcus, don't get any ideas. Let's go." Father says sarcastically.
Marcus laughs and gets up from his seat and walks out the door.
"Goodnight, darling." Father says.
"See you tomorrow, Sapphire." Marcus adds. Looks like I got a new nickname. Sapphire. I like it. I bet Kaitlynn will get a kick out of it, since I was so reluctant to take the sapphire necklace in the first place. I change into a tank top and pants and plop onto the bed. I fall asleep almost instantly.