Ava Hanson
I waited until I was good and ready to start moving around. I knew I was busted up half a dozen ways and I didn't want to get in the doctors' way as they patched me up. I didn't try to get up until they gave me permission, and even then, I took it slow.
I had a lot of time to think as I recovered. Some of the Victors found the guilt overwhelming, and others felt nothing but fear. I felt both of those, but they weren't the main emotion. Mostly, I felt accomplished. I felt massive relief that it was over, but not because I was alive. It was because I hadn't let Pray down again. Nothing else seemed as important as that.
"How are you feeling?" a nurse asked as I laid back in bed. It was strange feeling nothing but blankets on my skin, and I was glad the covers hid me from the nurse.
"Good," I said. "Can I see Pray sometime?"
"She'll be happy to hear that. She's been camped outside the door ever since you got here," the nurse said. "Just don't strain yourself." She opened the door and Pray swept past her like a whirlwind. She saw me and her smile switched to fury in an instant. The nurse took one look and fled.
"What did they do?" she howled. She pulled back the blanket and I scrambled to cover my breasts as she looked me over.
"Pray! What was that?!" I asked, and I looked down to see what was so horrible. I didn't see the problem- I looked great. I was thin as a rail, as thin as the models in the magazines back at Two. I picked up the mirror by my bed and looked at my face, which was what Pray would have seen. I'd always wished my hair wasn't so dirty blonde, and now it was a glorious shade of pure beach blonde. My light brown eyes were as big as saucers and my cheekbones could have cut me. I was perfect.
"You're a skeleton!" Pray said. "They actually took off weight."
"I look amazing," I said.
"You looked good the way you were," Pray said.
"I'm better now," I said.
"There was nothing wrong with you," Pray said. She was always so lenient with me. She didn't see all the flaws I had to remove.
"I made it back this time. Sorry I died the first two times," I said.
"Only you would apologize after you won the Hunger Games," Pray said. That's right. I won the Hunger Games. I didn't think it would ever seem real. I never had to go back, and now I was famous all over Panem. The most important thing was how happy Pray was. She was muttering dire threats and looking around for someone to chastise, but I could see how proud she was underneath.
I felt like a million bucks as I faced Harlequin for a second time. With my flat stomach and impossibly long legs, I didn't have to feel self-conscious in my toga-style dress with a daring slit. The stylists piled on makeup but let me keep my signature cotton candy lip gloss. The memories of me and my allies playing with it in the Arena were tender, but it felt like they were with me.
"It's great to see you again, Ava! You were popular right from the start. Did you know that? We were all rooting for you. After you killed Venus, we knew there was nothing to worry about," Harlequin said. Most Victors felt guilty about the people they killed. I knew Whyte was going to haunt me, but I didn't feel at all bad about her. I did the world a favor.
"Oh, thanks, everyone!" I said. "I'm glad I didn't let you down."
"I'm sure your allies would be very pleased," Harlequin said.
"I'm sure they are," I said, and she started the recap. It all seemed far away and removed from me, except for the parts with my allies. I turned away when I saw Venus coming for Marley. I saw my fights from Pray's perspective and wished I hadn't looked so scared. It felt like finishing a story when the last frames flashed by.
I was bursting with excitement and pride when President Galba appeared to crown me. We all loved her in Two. She was the strongest in all Panem.
The crown she carried was a thin circle of a light gray metal. It looked too thin to support itself, but it was impossibly sturdy when it settled on my head. There was a slender vein of silver running around its base, and three jewels set into its front. I understood them immediately and new I'd cherish them forever- a pale green olivine oval, a chocolate diamond as brown as Lottie's eyes, and a ruby as scarlet as Red the chicken. The party girls would last forever.
In this chapter, the Gamemakers do their best to make sure Ava's body issues never improve by making her into an example of impossible airbrushed beauty. Lucky thing she has some more positive influences in her life. Also, I don't know who designs these crowns and how they always know exactly how to personalize them perfectly.