Eight – The Remake Center
The Parade – Division Two (3.2)
"That was really well done!" says Jovan.
"You darlings did really well!" trills Martinus. "It's refreshing to see a pair finally liking the Capitol! If you can keep it up-"
"Wait, Henry, is there something wrong?" asks Beetee.
He must have seen my face, a stark contrast from my face at the window. My mouth droops, and tears begin to well up in my eyes. For the third time in one day, I break down and cry.
Radia immediately embraces me, while Jovan says a soft, "Oh, no" and gives me a comforting hug as well.
"What happened?" Jovan is quiet enough to not let Martinus hear. "Is this because you hate the Capitol so much but you had to show love to them here? Oh, I should have foreseen this and tried to mitigate it-."
"Why was I so happy when children are going to die?" I sob. "Why was I happy when the Capitol is so unfair?"
"It's very easy to fool the people." Jovan says, rubbing my back. "You don't have to be real with them. You only need to look real."
But what I did was real, unlike Radia who was just probably superb at acting. That's why I feel so much guilt. I feel I have betrayed my family and everyone who despises the Capitol by having those thoughts.
The train stops moving, and luckily the doors to exit aren't at the lounge car, so the cameras aren't on us. I don't think there are any cameras at all, but Beetee closes the curtains just in case.
I cry for a few more minutes while the train is stationary, but the comforting warmth of Jovan and Radia make me feel better. Martinus is impatient, though.
"You need to stop crying soon, young boy." Martinus orders, in calmer tone than usual. "The cameras will be on us soon, and we don't want to be too late."
I could tell Martinus tried to be considerate, by sounding understanding and having waited a while before he could hurry us up, but he could be a bit more considerate. At the same time, I do think I'm wasting time and I do feel a bit bad. In Martinus' defence, I would feel a little irritated if a weak boy like me delays and messes up my schedule. I also hate placing attention on myself like I currently am. I think I'm just making something out of nothing when all tributes probably feel as I do, and I'm just more emotional.
"It's fine." Beetee says. "We're one of the first few districts to arrive, so Henry has plenty of time to recover before he meets his prep team."
"I'm okay now." I announce. Thinking about Martinus honestly distracted me. "Sorry, I just overreacted. Thank you."
"No problem." Says Jovan, handing me a box of tissues. "We're here for you, any day. Now, are you ready to meet your stylists?"
A few walks and a short car ride between media press and craning necks later, the five of us arrive at the Remake Center for preparation. It's one of the taller buildings in the city, and its architecture and design makes it one of the more striking towers. The place will also host the start of the tribute parade all the way to the City Circle.
Inside, stylists that look even more jazzed up than the general Capitol public walk around and travel the elevators, tending to their business. I don't know how anyone inside can last staying in the bright, white-walled rooms and corridors and light shaded carpeted floors for long. Everything feels too clean and it smells like it had recently been renovated. They must update the buildings every year to keep up with the Games.
Martinus leads the four of us up a few flights of stairs before Radia and I have to split up to head to our respective rooms. I don't think we'll be seeing each other until the actual parade. Jovan stays with me until we reach my room, opening the door to reveal the weirdest trio I have ever seen. I resist the urge to flee when they sprint to the door within the second they spot us, excitedly gabbling like a bunch of birds.
"H, here is your prep team." Jovan introduces.
"Hi! I'm Laurentia." says the woman with extremely long and curly emerald green hair and eyebrows of the same hue. The absurd amount of jewellery on her ears and around her body jingles as she speaks. "It's so nice to meet you!"
I thought Martinus and the hosts just put on an act with their voice, but they really all speak octaves higher than the people in the districts. The intonation at the end of their sentences always makes me think they're asking me a question. The hiss on their soft c's and s's are impossible to ignore. It's also so odd that they can speak so loud with jaws that barely open. Their vowels also seem completely different to ours. I wonder what happened to make them have totally strange accents.
"Nice to meet you too." I say awkwardly after a forceful hug. I notice that I increasingly find myself glancing at Jovan repeatedly for guidance.
"My name's Cassius!" says the man with gold, wavy hair, gold tattoos on the skin, gold eyebrows, gold lipstick, and gold everything. Even his skin looked unnaturally yellow, almost like some jaundiced elderly men and women at the Revolt. Before he speaks, his facial expression flashes from disgusted to happy when talking to me. His face drops back to disgusted immediately after we get introduced. That must be his resting impression, and he's not constantly repulsed by everything. It's almost comical. He kisses my hand to greet me.
"And I'm Antonia!" The darker-skinned person with the blue and magenta hair in a bob hugs me. They have gems implanted on their eyebrows, lips, and ears. I can't really decipher whether Antonia is a man or a woman. They have a pitch that's not as low as Cassius' or as high as Laurentia's. I don't even really know if the name Antonia is normally assigned to a boy or a girl. Maybe they're neither? Or a boy who incompletely transitions into a girl or vice versa? I don't know whether they have got the technology and the ability to do that in the Capitol.
"And where's Tiberius?" Jovan asks my prep team. I figure he'll be my head stylist.
"He will be with him soon." Cassius says, before addressing me. "After we take care of you!"
Jovan leaves me alone with my prep team after wishing me luck and reminding me one last time to endure what they do to me. I wish he stayed with me the whole time so I feel relaxed, because I feel totally uneasy right now. At least I have some idea of what they'll do to me. A shave, an injection, but it doesn't leave me any less uncertain of other invasive procedures they might do.
Inside, the trio cheerfully instruct me to take a quick shower before I meet them in the adjacent room without putting my clothes back on. I place the red shirt, my pants, my underwear, and even my father's watch into a locker. During my shower, I think of how weirdly jolly my prep team are that it becomes really hard to hate them. I have no clue that a whole populace could behave so unlike the humans I've always perceived as normal.
Stepping out of the shower and drying myself without being allowed to put my clothes back on makes me feel really exposed. I have never been naked in front of everyone outside of my family, and even then, the last time they've seen me without anything on was when I was ten. Now I have to bare myself in front of three colourful people.
However, they don't seem to mind. They're so casual in a way that it's a little hard to be very embarrassed. They ask me to sit on a table in the centre of the room and Cassius stands in front of me with an electric razor.
"I have never cut anyone." Cassius assures me, before switching on the razor. "I'm going to shave everything, Henry. This will take a while."
They really do shave everything, from arms to legs and everything in between. All the hair on my body is gone except for the hair on my head, my eyebrows, my eyelashes, and other areas that were wisely not explored. It is a little sad to see my fuzzy facial hair and all the hair on my legs shaved off prematurely. I was very proud to be growing hair there as it almost made me feel like a grown man. I was waiting to see how hairy I would become, but now that's over.
I then wonder why all our skin had to be free from hair. It's natural, it's not unattractive to see, and unless someone bares themselves naked in the arena, it's unnecessary to shave at certain regions.
Cassius sweeps away my hair on the floor and offers me a thin robe that I'm able to wear. Antonia then presses down a sticky piece of fabric on my left arm, and another on my right.
"Hey, what's going on?" I ask, confused. "What's this material for- OW!"
Laurentia pulls off the fabric from my left arm, making a dramatic ripping noise. I even think some of my skin was torn off.
"Sorry!" wails Laurentia.
I remember what Jovan had told me about not fighting against them, and that probably means don't whinge.
"No, I'm sorry." I apologise. "It just caught me off guard."
"I forgot to say!" says Antonia. "It's wax. Stops the hair from growing faster!"
I know what waxing does, I just didn't expect to be waxed. Laurentia pulls the one on my right arm now, and I stifle a scream this time. They seem to have a system. As Antonia places a wax strip on a new region, Laurentia rips one off, and I wince every time. The skin where fabric has already been feel like they've been burned.
"You're doing much better, sweetheart." compliments Laurentia. "You're a fighter."
"Thank y-OOF." I say as Laurentia pulls one off my thigh.
I thought Jovan said only the girls would be waxed. Maybe the stylists only started to wax the boys since then, or maybe they think I'm too young to have any sort of body hair.
I remember that Radia must be going through the same pain as well and so I shouldn't be complaining. It's only fair.
"All done!" trills Laurentia. "You did really well."
I can't really tell the time without my watch, but it feels like an hour had passed once the last of the strips come off. Still no sign of my stylist, though.
"Let's get to scrubbing!" Cassius yells a little too loudly, holding a tub of something.
"Good. I'm in need of a good scrub." I say.
I only expected a smile out of them for that, but they absolutely guffaw. My prep team only get stranger and stranger to me.
They apply a gritty loam on my skin and scrub all over, and it increasingly gets more painful the longer they stay on a spot. The way my skin is tender from the waxing does not help. I feel that layer by layer, my skin is removed. By the next step, they'll probably strip me down to my flesh. My skin could only go through so much. They tell me it would hurt more if I was scrubbed first then waxed, but I don't see any difference that would make. The good news is that so much dirt is removed from my skin. A lot of dirt. I must not have showered that thoroughly.
I don't know why they don't take turns, but in the middle of my scrubbing, they all temporarily stop to reapply some of their makeup. Magenta lipstick for Antonia, gold flakes to glue on the ear for Cassius, and fake freckles for Laurentia. Then they all rapidly return to my confused body to continue the scrub. Astonishing.
Come to think of it, I quite like my prep team. They're quite positive people and don't really complain like Martinus does. They don't really delve into my past, but just talk about fashion and that like they're in their own little world. I don't think they've even implicitly mentioned the Hunger Games once to me so far. I believe they're just happy to be doing their job and to be meeting me. Also, the mere fact that they've seen my naked body automatically brings me closer to them. It enables me to try make conversation and additionally divert my attention from the numbing pain of the scrubbing.
"So, uh, ow, did you all choose District 3 to style?" I ask.
"No!" They all answer immediately, eager to talk. "But Tiberius did!"
Weird. I believe stylists are assigned to work on the tributes of different districts. I've heard those with more experience and status get more of a choice, and obviously the Career tributes are first priority. For my stylist to choose the male tribute from District 3 is interesting. Maybe he has more expertise in technological fashion.
We talk more about how long they've been working as a prep team, what the loam is composed of, and how they get themselves to look how they are. I have a feeling they could talk for hours on end regarding the latter. I tried to be open-minded, but some procedures sound more horrifying than the one I'm undertaking right now. The conversation does help pass the time, though, and the scrub is done. Unfortunately, I don't feel any less sore.
"All done for now!" says Antonia. "You're a very strong boy, and also very chatty!"
"Is that bad?" I ask.
"We love it!" responds Laurentia. "And we adore that you aren't whining, which we absolutely hate!"
Trying not to whine required so much will, but I got through it. I've listened to Beetee and Jovan.
"So what's next?"
Cassius holds up some clippers and files. "Nails!"
I look at my fingernails in concern. They're in such bad shape. I pick at them constantly so their edges aren't smooth and they are never able to grow too long. My toenails are even worse. I need to drop the habit someday.
I get to wear my robe again as they cut my nails to their absolute minimum length, leaving my fingertips feeling a little tender. They smooth the edges with some nail files and my nails become the most uniform they have been in years. They repeat for my toes and the nails are done.
"When does the injection come in?" I ask them.
"We've stopped having them a few years ago!" says Cassius. Thank goodness. "It leaves an ugly wound. We've replaced it with a cream! Much less messy."
"What does it do?" I ask.
"So many questions!" exclaims Antonia.
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"No, keep the questions coming!" Antonia says, bringing the cream to me. "The cream prevents your hair from growing for a long time. Only the boys get to have it."
Why do they hate hair so much? I remove my robe and Cassius rubs me down with the cream which needs some time to set. It stings against my skin, still red from the waxing and the scrubbing, leaving it feeling sticky.
"Almost done!" Says Laurentia. "Last but not least, some moisturiser."
The lotion is my favourite. It finally soothes my skin and leaves it feeling soft. With the lack of hair, I feel like I'm back to being eight-years-old.
The three finish rubbing me down and then wields themselves with tweezers. They examine me closely to pluck out the last strands of hair that have evaded the shave and the waxing.
"That should be all!" Antonia announces, and they all step back to assess their work.
"We've made you look like a human being now!" says Cassius, and they all laugh.
I seriously hope they're not implying that they're the ones who look human, because they are the ones who are far from it. I still attempt to keep them liking me, though.
"Well, we all behave like robots back in District 3."
They all shriek like they've just witnessed a child getting murdered. Oh wait...
"Oh, you poor things!" Laurentia says, her hands clutching to her heart as if I said something so heartbreaking.
"But thank you so much." I say. It's obvious my prep team is sincerely trying to help me. They've worked with me for almost three hours.
"Aw, no, thank you!" Cassius responds. "You cooperated and made our work so easy!" He doesn't seem like he means it when he goes back to his usual, disgusted face.
"Not to mention, you were such a joy to have!" Antonia says. "Entertained us!"
"You're going to look so much better when Tiberius gets his hands on you." says Laurentia. "You'll be so pretty and handsome!"
"We promise!" adds Cassius.
"Can't wait!" says Antonia. "Time for Tiberius to meet you!"
They all dart out of the room. I shout a final, "See you!" but they're already out of earshot.
I'm left alone in the room, still completely naked. I check myself in a mirror in the corner of the room. I could stand to look a little more muscular, and my hair could be a little neater, but otherwise, I don't actually look so bad.
I take the time to practice my smile and waving for the tribute parade. I look a little better, thinking of how ridiculous my prep team were to help my smile.
My mouth is starting to hurt, so I stop and I put the robe back on, knowing that Tiberius will tell me to take it off anyway, but it is a little cold in the room.
"Take the robe off." Tiberius says with the same silly Capitol accent when he enters the room. I quickly do as he says. He approaches me.
Tiberius looks just as weird as my prep team, yet nothing about what he wears is similar. He has short, spiked hair alternatingly coloured lime green and jet black. His distracting suit was checkered with the same colours as his hair. He had blue tattoos on his cheeks, and I immediately couldn't trust him looking at his intense eyes with contacts that turned his irises lime green. He would be dangerously handsome, if it isn't for the absurd amount of white make-up. He seems a bit familiar from when I've had to watch the previous Hunger Games, but I don't pay much attention to the stylists so much, and they barely appear on screen anyway.
He bends down and examines me from the feet up. Jovan had mentioned that I would be spending a lot of time with my stylist up until the moment I get sent into the arena, so I figure it's important to have a good relationship with Tiberius, even more than my prep team.
"So, hey Tiberius." I say, while he's looking closely at my bare knees. "How-"
"Sh, quiet." Tiberius says, shutting me up. "Need to focus."
It feels like he took around ten minutes to look at me, taking the longest around my genital area for whatever reason. It feels even more violating than when my prep team worked on me. I want a new stylist who's less creepy.
It's awkward when he makes eye contact with me, like the staring contests Denary and I used to do, but then he finally looks away and breaks his stone-faced expression.
"It looks like Antonia, Cassius, and Laurentia did a really good job on you." He says, smiling but not looking directly at me. "I think I'll be able to do the same. Hey, Henry. Nice to meet you. What was it you were going to say before?"
"Nice to meet you too." I reply. "Uh, I was just saying hello and asking how you are."
This seems to grab his attention, and his smile goes into a full grin.
"Wow, they were right about you. Nobody ever really says that." he says. "I already really like you. And to answer, I'm feeling good now, thanks to you!"
Again with being different. I have just gained another admirer. It's unbelievable.
"I've heard you chose to be the stylist for District 3." I mention. "Any reason?"
"I'm better with the tributes from District 3." he says without elaborating, then he changes the subject. "I like your hair."
"You really think that? I think it's a bit messy."
Without warning, my stomach embarrassingly makes a grumbling sound that echoes around the room. I'm used to not eating for a while, but it seems my body has already adjusted to require Capitol-sized portions of food. I am quick to apologise.
"Woah." Tiberius exclaims, eyebrows raised. "You must be hungry. That's okay. Grab your robe and follow me."
I only realise his voice is subtly calmer than my prep teams', a bit more calming. He also isn't as flamboyant as I expected. I pull on my robe again, and he leads me into a sitting room that has one large window providing a view of the city. The place looks even greater from up high. Tiberius invites me to sit on one of two velvet couches that sit across from each other, separated by a low, wooden table. He takes a seat on the other, and pushes a button on the side of the table. Out comes a second tabletop containing an array of food, including chicken with chunks of something I don't know smothered with a creamy sauce I don't know, a fine grain I don't know. I do know the items shaped as flowers are rolls, as well as the green peas and onions, but the dessert remains a mystery to me. Looks sweet, like caramel.
Caramel. Butter caramel. Ergo's candy! The last of the sweets is all the way back in the locker, deep in the pocket of my pants. Seems like I will never get to taste the flavour of butter caramel candy and I get disappointed. I turn my attention back to our lunch, and how it seemingly apparated from nowhere.
"Magic." I lie with a surprised look on my face.
In fact, I am pretty appalled. The food from the Capitol is already so rich and so large, but to have them appear at the press of a button is just overkill. These people don't even spend time and work to prepare or even at least serve themselves meals. What else do they do to pass the time? These people must be so bored. They're so lazy. It's totally unfair, but I don't envy them one bit in this regard. This is not a change in my lifestyle that I want to take. I just want to be back home, helping mom cook our lunch, and all we need for a good, filling meal would become only the chicken on the table right now. No need for sauce, or dessert. This is the biggest "Fuck you, I'm rich." the Capitol has shown us yet.
Tiberius doesn't catch my internal feelings. "It's cool, isn't it?" He serves himself some chicken. "But it turns out to be just a conveyor between the floors. Help yourself and we'll talk about your costume."
Luckily the food isn't on a plate or served in courses. I am able to put as much as I could on my plate without feeling like bursting open if I consume it all.
"First things first, though." Tiberius takes something out of his pocket. It's my father's watch. "I trust this will be your token for the Games?"
I take the device off his hands. On it's face, it reads 12:50 in the afternoon. I haven't eaten in more than six hours. No wonder why my body was begging for some sustenance.
"Yes," I answer, wearing it back on my wrist. "It's my father's."
Tiberius' indifferent expression abruptly turns eager when I note the item's sentimental value. To him, it was probably just a really cheap and worthless watch only to remind me of technology.
"Does it do anything else?" he asks, like I could be the only one to activate a hidden compartment or trick from the watch's interior.
I shake my head. It shouldn't do anything else. It can't give me a tangible advantage in the Games. I hope I'm allowed to tell the time, though.
"One more thing," There's the crinkling of the cellophane when he pulls out the butter caramel candy. Looks like I'll be able to get a taste of the sweet after all. "Found this as well!"
"Thanks, I forgot to try it." I keep the candy in my hand, since I don't have any pockets at the moment. "Why were you looking through my clothes?" I ask curiously.
"Umm." he holds. "We were meant to take them down for washing and deliver them into your quarters for tonight."
Once again, Tiberius quickly changes the subject. I can't trust my stylist, and it's not just because of his eyes. But I don't really have a choice except to trust him with the costume he's about to propose to me.
"So I'm really pleased that you are what they say you are, which is different." Tiberius says. I'm getting tired of being called that. "And this made Tatiana and I experiment with new designs for you and Radia. We were so up for the challenge!"
"But all I'm doing is talking to you." I reply.
"That's the thing. They never talk." Tiberius says, but he doesn't look particularly unhappy. "They don't like us."
But I hate your kind and I'm talking to you. I bite my tongue.
"But you. You love us!" Not true. "Plus you're hotter than the past tributes so that sets you up better for success. So it's even better that we're deciding to dress you up into something that really stands out, not just from District 3, but from the other costumes! Don't worry, it will still have something to do with technology!"
Our costumes traditionally have to reflect the main industry of the district, which means 11 has to be something relating to agriculture, and power for 5. District 8 generally looks well at opening ceremonies, since they deal with textiles, but sometimes they go too overboard. For us, it's obviously technology, and I remember our costumes in the past consisted of fancy, shiny scientists. There were a few variations each year, like the tinge of the outfit's colour, the shape of the headdress, and the pattern on the coat, but they essentially remained the same.
Though I remember one year where they really deviated from the scientist characters, and made the tributes wear large, block-shaped pieces to resemble what the Capitol thinks robots look like. Our district was not received too well that year.
I wonder whether what Tiberius and Tatiana, I assume to be Radia's stylist, has in store for us will become a flop like the robots. Or Tiberius with that weird demeanour of his might be lying and I'll just end up as a fancy scientist, but this time, with goggles that shed out tears. I don't understand why they were unable to create a different costume for every Games. I don't have much hope it'll be as good as he's hyping it up to be.
Well, I was wrong where I thought I'd be a scientist, but I'm right having thought it would be abominable, because in an hour I'm dressed in a hideous unitard of silver shapes and patterns against a black background. It doesn't look good, and if I had the choice between this and the scientist, I'd choose the scientist.
I'm not going to lie, the thing is comfortable. The measurements Tiberius made of me before he styled my hair and dressed me up must have been used to quickly adjust the pre-made costume for a perfect fit. I don't know how they would have made it fit so well otherwise.
Still, other than the fact that nobody would ever like what I'm wearing, it's also problematic that my outfit makes my genitals too prominent to the eye. I often find myself covering my groin to help not ruin people's innocence, even though it's just Tiberius and the prep team around. I wonder why there isn't any effort to help hide it, because I'm frankly embarrassed. Is this an attempt to mimic Finnick Odair's provocative costumes to help me get more sponsors like him? That's just sick.
Tiberius then places a small headdress that matches the colour scheme onto my head. It completely ruins the point of styling my hair. Tiberius stands a little too close to me for what is necessary, but I don't mind it. The crowds back in District 3 have gotten me used to close contact.
My prep team join Tiberius in marvelling at the abomination I'm sporting. It's silent and I don't know if they hate it. They should. It's flat. There's no colour. There's no way the Capitol will love me.
I finally break the silence. "I look stupid." I say.
"Nonsense!" shouts Laurentia.
"It's not done yet." says Cassius.
I raise my eyebrows. "What?"
"Cass, he's not supposed to know that." lectures Tiberius. He turns to me. "But yes, what you're seeing now is missing the best bit!"
I feel my costume. It was actually thick at some parts and thin at others. I dismiss it as a coincidence.
"What's the best bit?" I ask.
"You'll have to wait and see." says Tiberius. "You surprised us, now it's our turn to surprise you. Come on, let's see how Radia looks like in the next room."