[15] - Rochelle
I can feel Marzia's eyes watching me as I slowly dress into my clothes for the Arena. I run my fingers across the fabric as I slip into it; it's well-made and must have cost a fortune. It's very well tailored as well - it fits my body perfectly.
I shudder a bit as I slip on the provided hiking boots. This is it - these clothes could be the last that I ever wear. If I die in the Arena, this is what I'll be wearing when it happens.
I shake my thoughts away. I'm about to enter the Arena, and all I can think about is the clothes. It's just the factory worker in me, I guess.
Marzia approaches behind me as I take a look at my outfit. They've got me layered - I'm wearing a warm fleece over a t-shirt, and my pants are quite thick. I'm wearing hiking boots as well, so I'm not sure what the Arena has in store for me. August told me about an environment called a tundra where everything's covered in ice and snow; I just have to hope that we won't be entering one of those today. I'm used to cold winters in District Eight, but I won't last long in the Arena with my small frame.
"This hair won't do," Marzia muses, more to herself than to me. She pulls my hair back, pulling the right side of my hair into a pigtail.
"Pigtails?" I ask, not bothering to hide my disgust. "I'm not a kid, Marzia."
"Yes you are," Marzia insists. "Trust me."
I just roll my eyes as Marzia quietly pulls my hair together into pigtails, like I'm a schoolgirl. I can't believe I'm even letting her do this to me - I've been an orphan on the streets of District Eight, for crying out loud! Marzia has no idea how mature I am.
"That'll do," Marzia says with a nod. "Good luck, and may the odds be... ever in your favor."
"Thanks," I say, already halfway out the door. It took everything in me not to just cut her off and leave. Like Marzia actually cares what happens to me.
As usual, Diego's waiting for me outside my door, but this time he's joined by Leah, Ramona, and Venetia. Venetia coos at me as I make my way over to the group, and I have to fight the urge to rip out my pigtails. I know I'll have to wait until I'm out of view of Venetia - she'd never let me disrespect my stylist like that.
"We're about to head out to the hovercraft," Leah informs me. "You won't see anybody other than Ramona after that, so we should say our goodbyes now."
I assume that Leah's talking to Diego and me, but Venetia swoops in before we can turn to one another.
"I can't believe this is it!" she cries, as dramatic as ever. You'd think she's the one going into the Arena and not us. "Be smart, you two. I think you're both going far this year, I can feel it!"
"Thanks, Venetia," Diego and I say, opting for a group hug to escape Venetia's individual scrutiny.
Venetia starts fussing over Diego's hair, but Leah manages to pull her away. "We should be heading to the hovercraft," Leah says, gently grabbing Venetia by the arm. "Diego and Rochelle, say your goodbyes on the way, okay?"
Diego nods as Leah, Ramona, and Venetia walk ahead of us. Ramona is silent as always, but she does seem to be aware of her surroundings, which is certainly an improvement. She's been getting better since I snapped at her, so hopefully that means that she'll have my back in the Arena.
"I can't believe we're really here," Diego says breathlessly. "Six months in the making. We've done it all together."
Diego's refusing to meet my eyes. I can tell that he really thinks that this is it - he might not make it out of the Bloodbath.
"Please be smart, Diego," I beg him. "Don't give up. We've fought too hard for this. Don't throw it away."
"I won't," Diego says, finally glancing up at me. "I'll try to fight, really. I don't think the odds are in my favor, though."
"The odds aren't in anyone's favor," I argue. "Especially with this twist. Just be careful, okay? And I'll look out for you in there if I can."
"I will too," Diego says, smiling a bit. "Maybe I'll follow your group the whole time and wait for everyone to start killing each other."
I just laugh. "Do whatever you need to do. But I really hope you make it to the end. Astrid, too. Wish her good luck from me."
"I will," Diego promises. "Once the Bloodbath's over and done with. I'm not going to see her until then."
That's right - I'm not going to be able to talk to August until we're inside the Arena as well. We'll all be traveling to the Arena in a hovercraft, but we won't be able to speak to one another with everyone else around.
Finally, we're outside, and I know my time is up. I give Diego one last hug, squeezing him as hard as I can. At this point, after everything we've been through, he feels like a brother to me. I can't bear to think of losing him now.
"We'll see you on the other side," Leah calls from ahead of us. She leads Ramona to a side door in the hovercraft, where the other mentors are surely waiting.
"Let's go before Venetia comes back," I mutter, pulling Diego up the long ramp to the hovercraft. Already, the ditzy woman is looking around, trying to spot us.
Most of the other tributes are already waiting when we arrive - only a few empty seats remain. I spot August, offering him a smile. Across from him, Princess and Zinnia are smirking at me, clearly unimpressed by Marzia's pigtails. I continue to the back of the hovercraft, where I'm seated across from Diego. As soon as I'm strapped into my seat with a buckle, I practically rip out my pigtails, tying my hair back into a more sensible ponytail. Diego watches me, amused.
"Hold out your arm," a woman dressed in all white instructs me. I wince as she pierces my arm with a needle. This must be my tracker - according to Ramona, they typically use it to track the tributes' location, but this year it has an extra purpose: to inject poison into my bloodstream the moment that August is killed. I just have to hope that it'll never be activated.
I'm seated between the girl from Seven and the girl from Nine. The girl from Nine is Pollux's partner - I think Valentina said that her name was Mandy. Other than the interviews, I haven't seen her or heard her talk. She's a scrawny girl with long, red hair, and looks like the exact type of person that Pollux would hate.
Mandy sees me sizing her up and offers me a nervous smile. I return it before turning back to face Diego.
Finally, everyone's here. The woman in white injects trackers into the last few tributes, and then we're off.
It's only once the hovercraft doors are sealed that I realize how dark it is in here. There are no windows - who knows where we're being taken. There's no light in here other than one flickering strip of lights in the ceiling.
The hovercraft is silent the whole ride to the Arena. I could cut the tension in here with a knife - the nervous energy is almost too much to bear. Finally, we descend to the ground, and light is brought back into our capsule.
Peacekeepers are waiting for us on the landing strip, and they extract us from the craft, two of them for every one of us. I share one last glance with Diego before we're both whisked away.
I'm taken to a small room. There's barely enough room for two people in here; just concrete walls and a steel door, guarded by a Peacekeeper. Ramona's already inside, waiting for me.
"You're allowed to bring a District token," Ramona says as I enter, as if I could possibly care about that when I'm about to enter the Hunger Games. I guess she is finally doing her job, though, so I should be thankful.
"Here," Ramona says, pulling a small spool of thread from her back pocket. "You didn't bring any trinkets with you from Eight, so this is the standard token. Diego got one too."
"Thanks, Ramona," I say, giving her an awkward hug. I can tell that Ramona's trying her best to be energetic for me, to show me that she's trying, and I appreciate her efforts.
I turn to enter the glass tube behind me, but Ramona has more to say. "I have hope for you, Rochelle," she calls, making me turn back around to face her. "And I haven't had hope in a long time. So please, be responsible. You have a shot in there."
"Thanks, Ramona," I say quietly. "That means a lot."
"Tributes, please step into your tubes," a voice calls from a speaker in the corner of the room, and that's all the prompting I need. I give Ramona one last nod before stepping into my tube.
A sheet of glass slides in behind me, shutting out the outside world. I'm completely alone in here - all I can hear is my own breathing. I'm so nervous that I'm practically panting. I reach into my pocket, grasping my spool of thread with my right hand. I'm glad now that Ramona gave it to me - at least I have something from home, no matter how small. Something to connect me to the outside.
The ground beneath me begins to rise, and I close my eyes. This is it: do or die. And I'll do whatever it takes to make it out of here alive. Mark my words.