A/N: Woohoo, 2 updates in one day. I'm not sure which comes first, the interview or the training. I just read the books and now I feel really bad that it won't be right! If you could tell me which one comes first that would be great.
I keep myself from crying by waving my hands in front of my eyes. Waving my hands dries the tears before they fall from my eyes. I place my hand on the couch where my family sat just moments before. A small whimper comes from my throat before I can stop it and seconds later I'm sobbing. It's a good thing Felix thought of waterproof mascara, or else I would have looked like a clown.
I curl myself up into a fetal position on the plush couch and cry myself into a fitful sleep.
I have a dream, a dream of Mom, Finnick, Dad, Rose, Leah, and Riley. I see Mom and Dad crying over a dead, lifeless, cold, pale, ashen body. I soon realize that dead body is my own, I try to scream but nothing comes out. I see Rose and Leah crying over Riley without me. I couldn't be at my own best friend's funeral. I see Riley, cold, pale, and lifeless shouting at me. She hates me for not being there for her. I try to hug her, but its as though she's transparent and I fall right through her.
I wake up screaming in a different environment than I was in before where I fell asleep. I feel around and feel the soft silk bed sheets under my fingertips. I had to get myself together. I turned to the clock and read the number 5:45 P.M. …5:45? 5:45! Oh no! I hurried out of bed and ran to the bathroom to find 4 prep team stylists smiling down at me.
I let a smile cross my face. They're ready for me. How long have they been waiting for me to wake up?
"Are you feeling alright, sweetheart?" Octavia asks me as she sits me in a comfy seat in front of the long mirror hanging on the wall.
I nod, biting my lip as she curls some of my hair again. She leaves a flawless hairstyle behind. I think it even looks better than the first. I run my fingers over the ringlets of curls.
Venia touched up my makeup and added a fresh coat of pale pink lipstick while Flavius helped fix the hem of my dress. I continue to gape at myself. Not in a full-of-myself way, but in awe of what these 4 people can do to make you look like a whole new person. Well, a whole new flawless person.
"Well sweetie, you're almost done." Flavius says as he finishes playing with the hem of my dress. Venia adjusts my leather boots and leggings.
I take a sharp intake of breath. I'm worried, scared, anxious, nervous, depressed, mournful, stressed, agitated, and concerned. Is there any other bad emotion that's not going through my brain right now?
I begin to pace as we are getting closer to the time when the interview starts. It starts at 7:00. It is now 6:50. Felix leads me down one of the many long hallways and into the elevator, I see Alex and his stylist coming down the hallway and I put my arms out to stop the elevator doors from closing. Alex steps into the elevator and smiles at me.
"You look pretty." He smiles as the elevators doors slam close. We shoot downwards and we're to the bottom floor within seconds of the time we stepped into it. Alex takes my hand into his and gives it a reassuring squeeze as we walk out. We're surrounded by cameras and flashing lights and I'm overtaken with surprise as Alex almost drags me along behind him to our chariot where we make our presentation.
We hold hands and hold our heads high as we step in. I can hear Felix and Lynn, Alex's stylist, yelling at us to stand up straight, and position my hair. I can't hear what they're saying about a clump of hair out of place so Alex moves my hair into the correct spot gently and the cameras go crazy.
We are ready to go and the chariot starts moving, I can hear the gasps of the crowd around us, but I don't turn to look at them. All I do is look straight ahead and hope I don't fall off. I cling to Alex for support but he doesn't seem to mind holding me.
When entering the training center, tributes were required to enter on chariots that would show the audience what to expect from certain districts' tributes. The chariots would be decorated according to which district they belonged to and the district's specialty and we got the loudest cheer for our design.
We finish making our round and I can't help but notice the glares from other tributes from different districts. We did well. I give a huge grin to the nearest camera and all the tributes make their way to the stage, preparing for our interviews. As always, District 1 is first and District 12 is last.
We wait as the districts fly by. I catch most names but I miss some.
The girl from District ones name is Maybelline. She had the talent of charming the crowd. I could see she was batting her eyelashes and twirling a strand of hair around her fingers.
The girl from District 2 is Alana. She is shy, almost silent and only answered with one word when Caesar asked her a question. The boy, whose name I don't know, was the exact opposite. He was outgoing.
The boy from District 3 is Marcus, and the girl from District 3 is Riley. I couldn't help but think of my friend Riley when I saw her. She had the same long blonde hair that my friend Riley had. I couldn't bear to think it would come down to me having to kill her.
I didn't catch the names for the girl or boy tribute from District 4. But, I did know that they were the best of friends. They'll definitely by allies.
The boy from District 5 was very muscular and looked 13 almost 14. He probably just barely made it into the reaping bowl, and the girl was small, tiny actually. She looked like she just turned 8, also barely making it into the reaping bowl. My guess is that he will leave her so she is left to survive by herself and he can survive.
I was lost in thought through the tributes of 6, 7, and 8. I only knew that they all were very boring and probably nothing to worry about.
It came to District 9 when I saw a giggly girl. She was going for the flirty look. Ew. Her name was Priscilla. Her boyfriend, Bruno, was the other tribute. Ugh. They were the love birds this year.
District 10 and 11 were both the same. Of course, there was both a boy and girl tribute. There was the same old interview but now it was our turn. Great. I'm sweating, and I can't breathe quite right. The girl from District 11 must have noticed this because she gives me a panicked look. I start hyperventilating and I soon have the crowd's attention, well, not just the crowd's attention, but the cameras attention. Two medics are rushed onto the stage and they fan me, they have me swallow a baby blue pill and my airways clear and I feel almost immediately calm. I say "thank you" before they leave the stage.
Caesar Flickerman called Alex to come up to the podium and he constantly looks back toward me before he is up there. I give him thumbs up and a small reassuring smile before he turns to Caesar.
"What are you wearing now?" Caesar asks politely.
"I'm wearing an outfit that my amazing stylist, Lynn, made last minute." He smiles at the camera before turning back to Caesar.
"Do you have family back home? Or anyone special back home?" Caesar asks then puts the microphone to Alex's lips.
"Yes, yes I do, actually." His smile falters a bit before turning to a frown. "I have a sister, Leah. She's actually Rue's best friend…" My mouth hangs open for a second before I snap it shut, hoping the camera didn't catch my reaction. He is Leah's brother? I never knew about this.
"What are you good at?" He continues to leave the microphone at Alex's lips.
"I'm good with a knife." Alex says blandly, not wanting to give away what he's good at.
The timer goes off and Alex walks back to his seat. I stand up shakily. Now it's my turn. No, now it's my turn to shine. I smile at Caesar and lean in to shake his hand but he shakes his head and pulls me into his side for a hug. I try not to act awkward, but, I get it from my mom.
"You're like a mini-Katniss." He chuckles and grabs my hand.
I giggle and he compliments, "I love your dress. Mind if I spin you to show off your beautiful dress?" I nod and he twirls me around twice. There are "oohs" and "ahhs" coming from the crowd and then he moves on to the next question.
"So, Rue. How does it feel to be a not one, but two Victor's daughter and you're now in the Hunger Games?" I almost glare at him.
"Let's just say, I've learned a lot from them. Don't underestimate me." I shrug.
"So…you're saying you'll stay alive for a while?" He stammers.
I smirk, "Stay alive for a while? I'm not going to just survive, I'm going to win." I give the camera the best grin I can pull off. That'll show the Gamemakers, and I strut off the stage.