Chapter 11

The Beginning

"Amanda get up it's your time to shine."

I hear a familiar voice but I can't place it to a name I open my eyes to see my prep team. Mercedes is in my face.

"Oh my goodness. What have you done to your nails?" Undine exlaims.

I look at my nails and realise I've made them ragged from all the climbing and jumping about on the ceiling. I must have bitten them too because they're a few millimeters shorter.

"I did alot of climbing," I say sourly.

They sigh as one. Undine shapes my nails again. She uses a hot glue to stick longer nails on top of my own. She paints the tips gold and slowly blended it into white. Jarosalv curles my hair and pins it up into a beehive and Mercedes puts on light yellow and gold makeup which makes it look like I'm glowing.

"You look beutiful. Your going to be amazing," Jarosalv says.

I smile at them apreciatively. "Thank-you for your help," I say.

Conan comes in and smiles. I run over to him and give him a hug. Tears run down my face.

"Conan. I can't do this. I don't want to tell them anything," I whisper

"You can just look to someone you trust or a friend,"Conan says, "Why not me? You do consider me a friend."

"Yes. You're my best friend in this place,"I say smiling slightly.

He smiles back and goes out the door for a second. He comes back with a dress bag smiling from ear to ear. He hangs it in front of the wardrobe and slowly unzips it to reveal a golden dress like the one I wore yesterday only the skirt is covered in small yellow gems.

"Oh Conan it's beautiful,"I exclaim.

I remove my clothes and slide it over my head. I look amazing. The light flashes off the skirt as if it's a lanturn. I've found two deeper meanings to the light thing.

One I'm the light in the darkness. I'm the goodness that has come from the bad. I'm the twin that dies to end of the war.

Two I'm the light that you shouldn't walk towards. The last thing you ever see. The beginning of the end.

I start to cry.

"Whats wrong Amanda?" Conan is concerned.

"The dress is beautiful but it can represent one of two things. One I'll die for the end of the war or two I'll be the last thing they see. I'm going with two. My sister didn't die for nothing," I say.

"How did you figure that out?"

"It's complicated," was my simple answer.

"Your exactly right. The last thing you see. I got the idea from the old saying 'don't go towards the light'," Conan says.

"Can we go before I ruin my make up," I say. I don't actually care about the makeup I just want to get out of there.

We meet Cody and his stylist. He's wearing a black suit with a gold tie and black shiny shoes. I realize I'm not wearing shoes and turn to Conan. He's holding a shoe box and smiling. He lifts the lid to reveal a pair of golden stilettos. I sigh a breath of releaf. They are about 2 inches shorter than Briancas. I slide them on. I'm the same height as Cody now.

"Ready to go?" I ask.

"As I'll ever be," he replies feebly.

I take his hand and we go to the elavator. Conan and Cody's stylist have to leave us at the elavator because they sit in the audience. When the doors open the other tributes turn to look at us. I purposefully stand next to three.

"Remember don't tell them," I whisper to them.

They nod. Cody looks like he's about to pass out. I stroke his face.

"Relax Cody. They won't be the ones trying to kill you," I say.

He gives me a feeble laugh but significantly calms down. The anthem plays. Thats our que. We line up in order of district. This time the girls go first. We file onto the stage and sit on a line of 24 chairs.

Everyone gasps as I walk out and the light is reflected. I look at the big screen. I look like a floating lanturn. My face is hilighted and looks deadly.

The Districts fly by. Amitai was going to say who he likes when the buzzer sound. The girls form 1,2,4,5 and 7 sigh. They like him. Filbert just says a lot of things about electrons and electricity. Severalt people drop off. But Athena says how she got a 7. She did the swinging thing I did and set some snares.

Suddenly it's my turn. Nero Schmit gives me an encouraging look. I stand up and walk over to him steadly. Heel. Toe. Heel. Toe. I sit on the chair opposit Nero releived I didn't fall.

"Amanda, you look familier have we met," Nero asked.

"No. You must have seen the footage of my sister which was released during the war," I say calmly.

"How old is your sister?," Nero is nodding at me encouragingly.

"She should be fourteen the same as me." I'm beginning to feel like I'm about to cry. I hold myself together.

"Should be?" He's prying now I hate it when people pry.

"Dead."

He sees I don't want to talk about it and asks me the same question Mercy did yesterday and I give the same answer. Nero tries without any success to get more information out of me but my approach works. It will gain me more screen time meaning they will see more of what I can do. Cody's up next and he is still anxious. Near the end of his slot Nero asks about his girlfriend aka me. He starts crying some crap about losing me I don't buy it but let loose a tear for his benefit.

The crowd goes wild with awws. The buzzer goes off and Cody practically runs back to his chair I hear him sigh with releif. I only become more tense. This time tomorrow we'll be in the arena. Fighting for survival. We all stand up and leave. The crowd is a gain drown out by the doors.

We go back to our floors. All but one of us will never be in this builing again once we leave. Twenty three of us wil never see our families again. The beginning of the end starts now. Tomorrow we are in the arena. What will be install for us there?

The Arena next.