Chapter 21- Catalina Nightwind
I'm woken up late by my prep team. "It's interview day!" they say, cheery as always. What they don't say is that tomorrow the Games start. That makes me want to pull the covers over my head and stay in bed forever, blocking out tomorrow. I can't, though, because they pull me out of bed and set me on my feet. One of the women leads me to the end of my bed and makes me sit there as the others pull out their beauty tools.
I'm so scared, but my prep team doesn't notice that I don't talk as they bustle around me, covering my face in white powder and creams. My stylist, Solara, comes in a little later and watches over the three assistants with a critical eye, sometimes telling them to do something different, or apply more cream.
"You should have been at that party last night! There was the most fantastic lobster, and one of the Gamemakers came to it!" says one of my prep team to another.
"Whose party was it?"
"Cordia Caerellia's, you know, the former District 1 escort. I've never seen a better decorated place in my life!"
"What did you wear?" And so on and so on. My head hurts by mid-morning listening to them. Occasionally Solara joins in, but mostly she's silent, speaking only to correct one of the other women.
Noon comes and I'm starving; I haven't had breakfast or anything yet today. "Can I get some food, please?" I ask timidly.
"Oh, we'll give you something in a bit!" Solara says, but they get distracted by talking about what they wore to that party last night and completely forget.
After a bit, Ripple comes in to see how I'm doing. "The boy is almost done already; would you believe it?" he says, taking a seat by me on the bed.
"Don't bump!" shrieks one of the women, busy puffing powder over my face.
"Are you hungry?" Ripple asks, ignoring the woman, and I nod. He gets up, making the woman with the powder shriek again, and goes over to the food machine. The woman grabs my head and forces it to face the front, so I can't see what Ripple is doing until he comes back. Something warm drops into my lap.
"Let her take a break. She's starving," Ripple says; the prep team reluctantly retreats, letting me pick up what Ripple gave me. It's a large, brown, and twisted piece of bread, sprinkled with salt. I've never seen anything like it.
"What is it?" I ask, looking from the bread to Ripple.
"A pretzel. Haven't you ever tasted one before?"
I shake my head.
"Go ahead, it's good. Eat up, I'm going to go tell Miri what progress you're making here." Ripple leaves and I eat the pretzel as fast as I can. He's right; it is good. I'm glad he came in to see me. I haven't seen Arla since the night of the private sessions, and I hope I won't ever see again. I hate her.
As they resume their prepping, I start to think. Will I be able to find Summer in the arena? Will I make it out of the Cornucopia circle alive? All these questions race around my head and chase each other like cats and dogs. Challah, I wish you were here, or better, I wish I was home with you and Lavender and Edel and Mother and Father.
"You are going to look fabulous tonight!" Solara says, trying to reassure me. But I stay silent, gritting my teeth to keep them from chattering. I'm terrified of tonight, talking in front of all those people.
My prep team works from around ten or eleven in the morning to late afternoon on me. One woman paints my nails in light purple, drawing lavender blossoms on them once the nails are dry. I won't say it, but I love what she's done. It's like having my sister with me tonight. I miss Lavender so much.
"I know you love flowers, so we'll put some up your arms, like you wore to your private session!" says another woman with vibrant aqua hair. Her eyelashes are so long I wonder how she can keep her eyes open.
Flowers. I smile at the idea, but I can't see them properly yet, because the third woman, with long gold nails, is coloring in my eyebrows at the moment.
"Not too much, Cleo," Solara says to the gold nail woman. "We want her to look twelve, not twenty."
The brushes tickle my arms as the aqua hair woman paints the flowers up the sides of my arms. The woman with blue tattoos, who did my nails, has now moved to my hair, curling it with a hot iron.
"Keep your eyes closed," Cleo says, coming at my eyelids with a brush heavily tinted in light purple. Over the afternoon, they apply my makeup, curl my hair, and finish the flowers snaking their way up my arms. Finally, when the clock on the wall says four o'clock, they step back and admire their work.
"Can I see?" I ask timidly.
"Wait, let's put your dress on first," Solara says, coming forward with something purple and fluffy. "Close your eyes!"
They make me hold my arms up above my head and keep my eyes shut as they slip a soft dress over me, guiding my arms into the sleeves. Someone pulls a sash tight at the back; another slips shoes on my feet. After a little fluffing and walking around me, Solara finally says, "Open your eyes, Catalina."
I open my eyes to see me in the full-length mirror. The dress is light purple and is fluffy and soft and beautiful. The sleeves are capped, the skirt is full and comes to mid-calf. A sash is around my waist, pulling the dress tight; when I turn in the mirror, I can see a large bow at my back. My red-brown hair has been curled and pulled to one side, tied with a bow; there's pink eyeshadow on my eyes and on my lips there is light pink lipstick. To finish it off, I'm wearing dark purple shoes with a small heel. Twining up my arms are roses and lavender blossoms and vines.
I look young, and innocent, and beautiful.
"You look beautiful," Ripple says, coming back in and seeing me in my finery. I've never worn anything so beautiful, never in my whole life.
Miri clacks in after Ripple in heels so high I don't see how she can even walk. "Time to start getting going!" she says, then breathes in a gasp when she sees me. "Oh, Catalina, you look beautiful!"
She and the rest of them admire me a second more, then Miri claps her hands. "Let's go, everyone! We have a show tonight!" She starts pushing us all out the door, gathering us by the elevators, even Arla, who doesn't look too well tonight. She avoids looking at me, and I'm glad for it. I hate her.
"Show time!" Miri says again as the elevator doors open and she herds us all in, except for the prep team. They'll go down separately. The interviews start soon, and I'm scared again.
Oh, I hope my family will think I'm beautiful!