Hey everybody! Finally got this out to you! And no, I'm not pinning it all on Icepath-Snowwing this time. ;) What I eventually convinced her to do was split the chapter in half and move the second, unwritten, half over to Ch11/12 to be with Arena Day 1. So here we go:
A/N Another quote.
"Yeah, I know, I know when I compliment her, she won't believe me
And it's so sad, it's so sad, to think she don't see what I see.
But every time she asks me do I look ok
I say
When I see your face
There's not a thing that I would change.
'Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are."
From Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars
This is her talk with Meryll since I couldn't come up with anything else.
Guess what? We are going to have a banquet and a ball included. The day after the interviews is the banquet (dinner) and after that is a ball… so, yeah!
By the way, I have posted Ari's interview dress on my page. It's pretty!
6:50: I fidget as we wait for the elevator. When the doors open, Garilee pushes ahead without waiting for me. Huh. I guess he's not a gentleman sort of guy. It's not like I expect that from most people though. In fact, I'd actually be surprised if there was some gallant guy who lets me go first. These days, it's always "ME FIRST!" sort of thing. Never "ladies first." There are few exceptions, if any.
When I manage to shove myself into the squished elevator, I scan through all the tributes, looking at all the colors. I was surprised to see someone in green and then pink and then dark, dark purple. I look at the bearer of the royal purple to see Lethalissima. Oh. Of course. She would wear that color… I just wonder how she reacted when her stylist presented her that dress. It looks like a ball gown shaped like a pastry. And not only that, it looked really weird with her standing next to the girl with the green dress. It was kind of plain. And not interview worthy. But whatever.
My eye catches a girl wearing a white dress with silver sparkles beckoning me over. I look up to see Meryll and she gives me a hesitant smile. Trying to pretend that it was nothing, I flip my hair and saunter to her side.
"Hi!"
I laugh at her enthusiasm. "Hi. I really like your dress. It's so pretty!" Might as well get a little friendly with someone who'll be in the arena. As long as she doesn't backstab me.
She gives me a genuine smile and looks down at her dress. The silver sparkles catch the light and gives off a little shininess. "Thanks. I really like it. My stylist is a miracle-maker. I mean, I come in all ugly and she manages to make me look magnificent in this dress. I count that as a miracle."
"Really?" I look her up and down. She's not the prettiest girl ever, but she's definitely pretty enough not to be called ugly. Or at least not in District 4. In fact, she would kind of fit in if she had green eyes instead of her big, chocolate brown eyes. "I think you're pretty."
Meryll blushes. "I don't know."
I give her a look. "You are. Don't deny it." The elevator dings and the doors slide open.
ooOoo
Nervously, I await the interviews. They walk us in when Caesar announces the beginning of tonight's features: The Interviews. They have us sit down in our chairs. Of course, it's organized by the order of how everyone's going. First Sapphire, then Amethyst. Next is Mya, and then Moliask. After that is Pearanya, and then her district partner. What's his name? Well, it doesn't matter. Then it's me. Garilee sits to my left. And after him is Etolia, and then Dion comes next.
Caesar walks by to greet us but I just ignore him since I'm kind of preoccupied with not freaking out… too much, anyways. The curtain rises and I glance at the crowd before looking back down into my lap.
As Sapphire walks up, I fiddle with my bow on my dress. It's black to match all the black lace on the blue. The color reminds me of the reaping dress my mother made for me… Ouch. It brings back memories.
"Thank you, Bermiath Tapos. But now it's time to move on to our District 4 tribute, Ariella Pebblestep!" Bermiath nods and walks back to his seat next to me.
Uh oh. Uh oh. Uh oh, uh oh! It's my turn. Time to panic! I think before trying to shake that thought out of my head. I have to concentrate… This repeats over and over. Must concentrate. I slowly walk up and start to feel a little clammy as the spotlights follow me up to the chair by Caesar Flickerman. He gives me a hug and I hug him back a little hesitantly. Then my interview starts.
"Well, well Miss Pebblestep. It's nice to meet you."
I frown for a moment as I think of the polite response I should give. "It's my pleasure."
Caesar gives a light smile and a small chuckle. "How are you doing today?"
"Wonderful…" I don't think that's very convincing. I try again. "It's been an amazing day. And you, Mr. Flickerman?" I'd say I did better.
"Oh, I'm doing great, but you shouldn't be the one asking the questions!"
I look at the ground and wish it would swallow me up. "So sorry, Mr. Flickerman."
I hope it didn't sound sarcastic. I didn't mean for it to come out that way if it did. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Tillie flinch and I wince inwardly. It should've been I'm so sorry, Mr. Flickerman. Great. I've made my first mistake.
He gives an award-winning smile and pats my shoulder. "It's quite alright. Besides, it's polite to ask about the other person, is it not?"
I feel the warmth spread to my cheeks. Awesome. Please note the sarcasm there…
"So, how are you enjoying The Capitol?"
I take a deep breath. Better not mess this one up, Ari. Then I smile out into the crowd. "I absolutely love it. I mean, it's, like, a once in a lifetime experience!" I pause in thought before I continue. I'm a little unsure of myself. "And the dresses! Isn't it marvelous?" I stand up and show my dress to the crowd. They let out an ooh of appreciation. "My stylist is fantastic."
"That's great to know! But to move on, the citizens of Panem have noticed that your reaping was… quite interesting. You volunteered so bravely and yet when you got to the stage, it looked like you were having a nervous breakdown. What were you thinking at that moment?"
No! I wanted to scream. This was the one question I really did not want. Why? Well, to be truthful… I actually don't know what I was thinking. I guess it's a little like I saw what I love flash by my eyes. I felt like I was dying. I mean, I just sort of signed myself up for my death sentence.
I take a breath and give a shot at acting. "Oh, well, I guess…" No! I'm blushing! No, no, no! "I guess I kind of panicked at the last moment. You know, a little nervous with all the butterflies in the stomach."
Caesar nods in approval and gives me a reassuring smile even though I can see the question in his eyes. "Oh, how we do know when we start to have a nervous breakdown. In fact, when I first started as an interviewer, I was a nervous wreck. I still get nervous these days." He turns to the crowd. "It doesn't show, does it?" The crowd cheers for him and a lot of the audience gives him a thumbs up.
I let out a nervous laugh. Caesar was really trying to help me. He's such a great guy. "No, it doesn't show. I would never have guessed."
"Well, that's good. I've got to appear together for the cameras! Now, that training score of 5 is intriguing. Considering you come from District 4, do you feel that it wasn't good enough?"
I sigh. "I actually don't really know. I normally do much better, but the training session didn't go in my favor."
"Well, those nerves do get the best of us sometimes. On behalf of everyone else, we hope that the odds are in your favor! But it looks like that's it!" The buzzer sounds and he gives me a nod of approval again. "Thank you, Ariella Pebblestep. Now we have Garilee Longue!"
I watch the interviews run by and Meryll seems to capture the audience's attention. She's probably a natural actress. She's all bubbly and manages to make the audience laugh at her sweetness. After Velvito, who is not interesting at all, Icanya is up. Her interview seems quite interesting.
"Thank you, Velvito! And next we have Icanya from District 9. How are you doing today, Icanya?"
Icanya crosses her arms. "Fine.
Caesar's eyebrows fly up. "What do you think of the Capitol?"
"Fine."
"Your fellow tributes?"
"Fine."
"Your mentors?"
"Fine."
"How about your stylist?"
Icanya pauses. "Come on! You've got to have an opinion about something!" Icanya pauses again.
Then she comes out with such an outburst that it's worthy of being compared to her bright scarlet dress she's wearing. "I hate them!"
Caesar looks shocked, probably because most tributes don't have such an emotional change. "You hate them? Do you have any particular reason?"
Icanya stands and gestures to her dress. "He put me in this stupid dress! Look at it! It's hideous!" The crowd becomes so silent you could hear a pin drop.
Caesar shifts uncomfortably. "So, what do you think of your training score of 9?"
"Fine." Hm… back to the 'fine' mode.
"Do you have any allies?"
"Maybe."
"Do you plan to get any allies?"
"Maybe."
"How about being allies with your district partner, Hatmic?"
Icanya wrinkles her nose. "Ew. No way." That gets a laugh out of the audience.
Caesar leans in, eager to get something out of her. "Oh really? Is there some rivalry between you two?"
"No."
"Do you dislike him for some unknown reason?"
"No."
Caesar sits back into his chair. "Ok… Do you have any Cornucopia strategy?"
"Maybe."
"Do you think you're a contender in these games?"
"Well, duh!"
"What's your favorite thing in the Capitol?"
"Stuff."
"Anything specific?"
"No."
"Is there something in particular that you want in the arena?"
"No."
"What do you hope the arena is?" Icanya shrugs. "Do you intend to make it to the end?"
"Duh!"
"Do you have a favorite among these tributes?"
"Maybe."
"How about Hatmic?"
"I though I made it clear that we're staying away from each other."
"Oh, yes. That's right. But that must mean you don't like him. Right?"
"Right." It's surprising that Caesar actually got a straightforward answer out of her. "I don't like him or hate him. It's not like I don't don't like him." She pauses and face palms herself. "If you know what I mean."
"Sure… But you wouldn't want to team up with him?"
Icanya sighs exasperatedly. "No!"
"I see… Well, how did your private training session go?"
"Fine."
"A nine is pretty impressive since you're not from a career district." Icanya shrugs. "Did the careers ask you to join them?"
"Maybe."
"Why don't you tell us what you did in the session?"
"Oh, no."
"Why not?" Wow. Caesar results to begging.
"No."
"Come on!"
"No."
"Please?
"What part of no do you not understand?" Icanya looks angry and I wouldn't be surprised if steam started coming out of her nose and ears.
"Well, citizens of Panem, this is Icanya from District 9. Thanks…" Caesar sits up in his chair as he calls the next victim, I mean tribute, over. Icanya walks back to her seat and plops down, slouching quite noticeably.
Under my breath, I giggle a little and it starts to come out before Garilee glares at me into silence. I can't believe Icanya was willing to stand up the Capitol like that. But it was enjoyable. Still, she'd better watch out in the arena. Not only will the tributes try to kill her, the Gamemakers will probably be angry about her… not complying with the interview.
As the curtain falls, the crowd cheers wildly which makes their earlier cheering seem like whispering. The deafening screaming for more makes me think a little bit. I glance to the side and watch Kobe and Mya do something as the audience roar even louder. Huh. I guess they took over the show. With what, I have no idea. "What are they doing," I manage to shout to Garilee after the curtain comes to a close. We can still hear them screaming for Kobe and Mya. Garilee doesn't even acknowledge me and just strolls away. I purse my lips together.
I find myself looking through the sea of people and finally find Meryll. I would walk over to them now, but Icanya is talking to her. Slowly, I feel myself getting pushed towards them a little more, and I decide to give it a try.
"Hi."
"Hey, Ariel." Meryll smiles.
"Ariel?" Did she forget my name or something?
"Yes. Ariel. I like it better than Ariella or Ari. You've met Icanya before, right?"
"Yes. And by the way," I begin as I turn to the tall girl, "I was quite impressed with your interview. It definitely… caught my attention. And you look amazing in that dress, especially with your hair down in a braid like that." Icanya looks like she's about to smile until I mention her dress. Then she returns to wearing that scowl of hers. I guess that wasn't the right comment.
Meryll looks at both of us nervously. "Well, I'm glad the interviews are over."
I nod. "Most definitely." I look around the room and am astonished when I see Sapphire push over Dion. What did he do to her? Then Teribia goes up to him and starts screaming in his face and begins crying again. Apparently her stylists did not think to put waterproof makeup on her since her mascara started making streaks across her cheeks. Did I miss something important?
Whatever. Hiast, Garilee's mentor, taps me on the shoulder and I see Garilee in tow. I give Icanya and Meryll a wave before taking off.
ooOoo
"Wait, what?" I'm sitting on the velvet couch, scanning the TV channels. Well, I was about a minute ago. Right now, I'm freaking out. "Did you really just say that?"
Irinead stares at me dully. I guess she's ok with a little bit of drama. "Yeah, yeah."
A banquet. I have to go see those tributes again. You know, the people who want to kill me. And not only will I have to see them, I'm going to have to sit down with them, eat with them, talk to them, and actually dress up formally! Oh, and did I forget to say that we need to behave? No slicing our opponents up with our knives and stabbing them with our forks? Awesome! I can't wait to die since I bet some one is going to figure out a way to get around those rules.
Irinead looks at me once more and walks out of the room. Over her shoulder, she calls back to me, "Sijardin and the prep team have your dress." With that, she walked away.
I glare at the screen and stomp out of the room without turning the TV off. Let the Capitol attendants do that. That's what they're for, right? It's time that they worked their butts off for their amount of payment. All they ever do is make your bed. And maybe clean your room of any mess. And I suppose bring you food and water when you ask for it? And perhaps they vacuum the carpets. Or clean up spills in the dining room. And iron your wardrobe. And do the laundry. And… oh, alright. They do work a lot. But still. Turning the TV off won't kill them.
I turn the corner to stalk off into my room when I bump into someone.
"Oh, so sorry," a tired voice says.
I glance at the person and immediately feel guilty. Stress creases line her forehead and she backs away, afraid that I'm going to hit her. Which I won't, of course. I slide against the wall into my room and close the door quickly, before I know she has seen the TV. I open the door a tad and look out. The TV is off and I hear a vacuum going. I close the door and walk over to sit on my bed. Mm… so fluffy. It's so incredibly nice.
A few hours later, I hear a knock on my door. It opens after a minute and Sijardin steps in. "Ariella," he says in a reprimanding tone, "you were supposed to come to us an hour ago."
I jerk upwards into a sitting position. "I was," I ask, alarmed.
Sijardin sighs and gestures me to follow him.
ooOoo
I twirl in my dark blue dress and touch the string of pearls on my neck. A touch of home. "It's so nice!" I let out a little squeal of excitement before turning to look at my stylist in the eye. "Wait… there isn't a dance, is there?"
Sijardin avoids my eyes and strides over to meet another person on my prep team. "Hm," he mutters under his breath. "Shall we add a little more eyeliner?" He makes me turn a little bit to the side. "Eh, no. It looks about right." I let out a little giggle. He just answered his own question. How weird is that? Weird. Oops… I just answered my own question. But that's beside the point. Most people don't. And I most definitely do not. I did not just answer my own question. Nope. I did not. I never do.
One person from my prep team saunters over to me and fiddles with my sleeve. What's wrong with it? I look down and frown when I see it slightly twisted. "There." She smiles and stands back, clasping her hands together. "You look lovely."
I nod, distracted as I smooth out a wrinkle in my dress.
Irinead pops up from pretty much nowhere. "Well, off you go, now. You have a banquet to attend. You are required to stay until 10 pm. In fact, you should come back at 10 so that you have time to rest before going into the arena tomorrow. Just don't stay past 11. You need to sleep. Just because you are distasteful does not mean that I'll try to keep you alive. For my sake, anyways. Now run along," she said in such a monotone voice. I blink and inch out the door after she leaves.
Hiast walks Garilee and me to the elevator. Garilee stares at the ground silently and Hiast's eyes dart back and forth between us. I'm glad he doesn't attempt to make another one of his super lame jokes again.
When we reach the elevator, Hiast says his goodbyes to Garilee and tells us to enjoy the banquet and the 'special' surprise. He waves as the elevator doors close. The elevator doors open before I realize that we had zoomed upwards to pick up the tributes from District 11. A burst of cold air enters the warm elevator and I unconsciously inch closer to Garilee. Garilee frowns and sidesteps to the other side of the elevator. Then Urness walks into the elevator and Garilee joins him in silence. We wait for a few seconds and then the doors close again. Huh. I guess Blossom will be coming separately.
Just as we're about to glide down to the first floor, the elevator jerks back up and the doors open to reveal Blossom in a light pink dress just like the one she had worn to the interviews. I think the color fits her. She seems like a girly girl and also her name just sounds like a pink flower. I notice that it looks practically identical to mine other than the fact that hers has a few artificial flowers on like a sash across her torso instead of around her waist.
"Hi! Sorry about that! My shoe came off." She smiles widely and stands beside me as the elevator glides down to the first level. It wasn't a very grand entrance as she dashed in, her hair flying behind her, but that's Blossom for you. She gives me a bright smile as I wave hesitantly to her.
The attendants walk us to a lobby type area and we mingle with the tributes. My eyes flit around as I look for someone to speak to. They land on a girl wearing a bright orange dress and I raise one of my eyebrows after seeing who was wearing it. I saunter over to her and smile.
"Hey, Lethalissima," I begin.
The girl looks at me coolly and crosses her arms. "Hi."
I look her up and down and a giggle rises in my throat.
"What?" she asks, annoyed.
I cover my mouth to smother my giggles before speaking. "Well, the orange really doesn't match with your tan skin color. And, well, frankly, you look terrible in it."
Lethalissima pursed her lips, although I could see them twitch a little which would've become a smile. "Like Teribia type of terrible?"
My eyes widen at the intended joke at the poor girl. I glance around before noticing that she isn't here and let out a little sigh of relief. "I- I guess so."
She blinks before turning around and pointedly walking away from the conversation. I stare after her in shock before turning away when I am rudely pushed aside as someone barrels past me. My eyes widen once again and I pointedly glare at the person who could be so rude. The glare becomes fiercer as I realize that it had been Moliask who had bumped me. He looks back at me and smirks before turning back to talk with Amethyst. I frown in thought until a burst of laughter interrupts my thoughts.
I turn to watch Etolia tilt back her head in laughter. Behind the group, the elevator doors open and the last of the tributes arrive. The Capitol attendants move to open the grand doors and everyone turns to watch it open.
A/N Don't kill me for leaving it off like that! I hope you enjoyed! And sorry if this was a little boring…
Mwahahaha. All shall be explained in chapter 10...
