Hey everyone :-) Hope you like this next chapter; please tell me what you think! Once again, I'm sorry for not updating in so long. I had started this chapter and kind of forgotten/lost the file. Oopsie!
Really? Wanda, Patricia, Leonardo and Carl? Even Sean has a smirk on his face as our prep team makes an entrance.
The first woman, who I presume is Wanda, has skin a shade of light pink and hair that literally sparkles. I'm not sure how they did that, but it's hard not to notice her in a crowd. Her lips are coloured candyfloss pink, and there are stencilled golden stars on the corners of her eyes. Her nails are gold and sparkly, matching her hair. As she comes closer, I realise she is Wanda; her name is tattooed on her neck in gold ink.
Next comes Patricia, who smiles at us warmly. When she does, she exposes a set of electric blue teeth. I suppose that must be the new Capitol fashion. Patricia has jet black, long, curly hair that reaches her waist, velvety brown skin and heavy-lidded eyes. She wears an electric blue jumpsuit with black platform boots. I notice that everybody is wearing this, except in different colours of their own choice.
Leonardo must be at least six feet tall. His jumpsuit is dark green, with black platform boots. His crimson red hair is so gelled that it looks slimy. His eyebrows are dyed white, and his eyes outlined in silver. His lips are outlined in silver too, and they are coated in clear lip gloss. I remember him from last year's games, when he was the stylist for District 2. Why is he at District 12 now? He can't have left 2's prep team voluntarily, so was he moved by the Capitol? I try to think back to the last games, and what happened to District 2's tributes. My mind draws a blank, so I give up and focus my attention on who must be Carl.
Carl is fairly short compared to Leonardo, but the heels on his platform boots are at least three inches taller than the others. He has ice-blonde dreadlocks and even paler skin. He would look white even against snow. His teeth are actually glowing, pearly white and absolutely perfect. He has piercing magenta eyes that are outlined in white ink, and on his face is a dragon, tattooed with magenta ink. His lips are outlined in magenta, but they are covered in a silver gloss. His jumpsuit is white with a purple dragon winding up his back.
Sean saunters towards Wanda, who would be very pretty if it weren't for her 'make-up'. He gives her a radiant smile and winks.
"Hey, Wanda. Long time no see."
Wanda bats her eyelashes and twirls her sparkling hair around her fingers. "Hi, Sean. You're looking… well."
"You haven't changed a bit, Wanda. Still looking gorgeous as ever," Sean purrs.
Wanda swoons and Carl steps forward to catch her. He sets her up and then rolls his eyes. Wanda looks absolutely spellbound.
"Honestly, I can't believe they moved me to this dump," Carl mutters beneath his breath. Not many people catch that, but since I'm closest to him I do. I see Patricia glare at him from behind his back; she clearly heard him too. Patricia has been at 12 for five years now.
"So, guys, you'll have your makeovers now. Then we'll meet in floor seven for dinner, discuss tactics, eat some food. Your interviews are on Tuesday, so we'll brush on that." Sean actually sounds serious about this. I'm starting to have faith in him until he shoots a smile at Wanda. "And, we'll be happy for you- that is, the prep team- to join us for dinner."
Carl starts to open his mouth but Wanda cuts in. "We'd love to come to dinner. What time shall we be there?"
As this conversation happens, June, Maysilee, Kyle and I exchange glances. Kyle's look is one of awe, June's is of bemusement and Maysilee's is one of entertainment. I shuffle towards my mentor, hoping to catch some more of their conversation.
"So, tonight at half seven, right?" Carl asks impatiently. Sean nods. Leonardo turns towards us, for the first time since the beginning of our little meeting.
"Okay, Kyle, Haymitch, you two come with me and Carl."
"June, Maysilee, you two follow us," Patricia smiles.
As we begin to follow the prep team, Sean catches Wanda's hand and whispers, "We can meet an hour beforehand, if you want…"
Wanda nods eagerly and replies, "See you at half six in floor seven?"
"How about that time at floor 5, instead?" Sean suggests.
"Sure."
I'm not sure on what is in floor 5. All I know is that Sean has Wanda hook, line and sinker. Presently, Kyle and I follow Carl and Leonardo through a number of passages. We are not alone, because there is some sort of waiting room, where a handful of tributes are sat watching a tape of the reaping. Carl and Leonardo motion Kyle to enter the District 12 salon. I sit down on a chair away from the other tributes and turn towards the T.V screen.
Playing now is District 4's reaping. The first girl called looks about fourteen. She has fiery red hair and deep blue eyes. Her name is Jonah Marks. She is a career, and is delighted to be reaped. There's some confusion: several girls volunteer but Jonah refuses to let them replace her. One moment is captured on camera. They have zoomed in on to her face. She says, "I'm young but I can kill at the drop of a hat." Next called is a girl from the twelve's section. She is small, weak, probably the runt of the career litter. An older, eighteen year-old girl volunteers. Applause erupts from the people of District 2. The volunteer is very tall, has bronze, curly hair and aquamarine eyes. She has a fierce look and she is very pretty. What was her name?
"The beautiful Spiera Kindle," a burly tribute in front of me whispers, putting his arm around a girl I can't quite see. They are clearly a couple. I lean in closer and see that the girl called Diamond Kindle matches the volunteer on the tape. The first boy is called, a career tribute who is thrilled to be picked. He is from the sixteen's section; he is my age. He has the generic bronze hair and brown eyes. He's average looking. His name is Dexter Matthews and he is sat in front and to the left of me, the other side of Spiera. I'm used to hearing the sickening names for career kids so it doesn't bother me so much. The next boy called is thirteen. About ten guys volunteer in his place, but finally, the muscular tribute in front of me is chosen. His name is Lucius Trilobite. I laugh quietly- Spiera and Lucius should make a good couple.
There's a noise behind me and I see Kyle emerge from the District 12 salon. He doesn't look too different, his eyebrows have been dyed a lighter blonde and his features enhanced somehow. His skin is nearly glowing and he's grinning from ear to ear. He motions for me to go in and takes a seat right next to Lucius, Spiera's boyfriend. I see his intentions and ponder whether to warn him that Spiera isn't up for grabs. I'm about to go in the salon when I hear Kyle's voice, dripping with self-confidence like water from a tap.
"So, do I have to ask for the pleasure of knowing your name or will you tell me yourself?"
Oh dear. I disappear into the salon before I am forced to stand up for the idiotic Kyle Rolland.
"Hello, Haymitch. Are you ready for your makeover?" Leonardo smiles at me as I enter the salon. I look around and see a shelf full of different coloured hair-dyes, ranging from 'sunshine yellow' to 'deep sea blue'. I offer up a quick prayer to nobody that my hair doesn't end up candy coloured.
"Yep, I'm ready," I reply, trying to smile.
"Okay. Basically, all we're going to do is clean you up, tame your hair and enhance your natural beauty," he continues.
I can't help but snort with laughter. Natural beauty? Carl notices me laugh.
"Yes, well, you're not exactly a male model and we can't call it natural ugliness, can we?" he snaps.
I glare at him and he stares right back at me. "Ouch." I whisper to myself. "That one really hurt."
Leonardo sits me on a dentist-looking chair and begins removing unwanted hair with a pair of tiny scissors and a razor. I endure it in silence, willing the time when I am fully clothed to come soon. Then they escort me to a large, polished-till-it-shines bathtub. I'm expecting them to wash me themselves when they hand me an expensive looking soap, a brand new scrubber and various hair products. They then enclose me inside a curtain. I step into the warm, bubbly bath water and sniff the soap tentatively. Mm. It smells of wildflowers and about three other scents I am unsure of. I suddenly identify one as honey, just like the honey we ate on the train to the Capitol. I can almost taste the sweet syrup as I scrub hard on my skin, removing a whole lot of dirt. I pick up the shampoo; salon-quality coconut and jojoba oil (whatever that is), and wash my hair. I use the conditioner, and some weird thing I had never heard of called a 'hair follicle exfoliator'.
As I stepped out of the water, dried myself and applied some sort of lotion that made my skin glow, I heard the prep-team discussing which colours they had set out for me and my now clean dark hair. I didn't hear 'sunshine yellow', so I let out a sigh of relief and wrapped myself in a soft, woollen robe. I pulled back the curtain and walked towards Carl and Leonardo.
"Ah, much better. Now that you're clean, we're going to dye your hair. It's not a new colour, we're just making your hair a darker, richer brown that will really make your eyes pop and will compliment your skin really very well," Leonardo explains, sitting me down again. As they dye my hair I wonder what my parents are doing. My mind drifts towards June's parents, Lola and Martin, and suddenly I am worrying for June about her makeover. Then Carl tells me my hair is done, and I look myself in the mirror. My curly hair is a dark, chocolate brown and they have even cut it and gelled it slightly without my noticing. It looks…good, I suppose. Then I look at the rest of me. They have trimmed and shaped my eyebrows, thankfully not too much. My skin is a cleaner olive and has more of a 'healthy glow', they tell me. I look different but better at the same time, and I don't know whether to like it.
"You look good," Carl finally mutters, "not quite male model good, but I'm happy to call it 'natural beauty', now."
I'm still confused when I look at myself. Am I good looking? I still don't see it. I leave the salon dazed and dressed in a simple outfit, the same for all of the tributes.
"Haymitch?" Three voices exclaim as I emerge into the sunlight of the lounge.
"Yeah?" I murmur looking around to identify the voices. Standing together are Kyle, Maysilee and June. Kyle is nursing a cut on his jaw. That is clearly the work of Lucius Trilobite. Playing behind them is District 4's reaping.
"Haymitch, you look really good!" June grins, looking up at me.
"Thanks…You too, June." She really does look good. Instead of darkening her hair like they did to mine, hers is a shade lighter and makes her look cuter. They have cut it into layers, but they aren't very noticeable. The end of each layer flicks up a little. Her skin is glowing and there is a very small amount of blush on her cheeks, so that it looks natural. Her hazel eyes look bigger and I notice that her eyelashes are longer. She is the definition of 'adorable'.
I turn to Maysilee, who has a bewildered expression on her face. Wow. Her skin is like porcelain and her awkward curls have been replaced by glossy blonde ringlets. Actually, they have made her hair slightly blonder, but made the golden-brown highlights more prominent. They have applied a lip gloss that is tinted slightly pink. They have applied blush too, more than on June but enough so it still looks natural. Her eyes are lined in a graphite pencil. She looks more like my age than a fifteen-year-old. I smile at her and she smiles back eventually.
"So, we're all dolled up and there's an hour before dinner… What do we do?" I ask.
"Watch the rest of the reaping, I guess," Kyle replies. He takes Maysilee's hand and leads her to two seats away from Lucius and Spiera. She withdraws her hand almost instantly, throws Kyle an annoyed look but has pity on his injury and follows him anyway. I hear her sigh as she sits down. I pat June's arm and we sit down where we are standing, on a comfortable sofa. I don't really pay attention to the video, even though I know I should. I just see some tough guys and girls and some not so tough ones. Next to me, June is clearly frustrated with Spiera and Lucius hugging and kissing in front of us. She aims a kick at the leg of the sofa they are sat on but stops herself before her foot makes contact. I smile at her and mouth 'good choice. Be cute'. She taps Spiera on the shoulder and whispers "Excuse me, miss. Please could you two move? I can't see what's going on…" Her eyes are glistening with tears and her lips have formed a pout. She twirls her hair around her fingers.
"Sorry, honey," Spiera replies, and resorts to putting her arm around Lucius' shoulder instead.
"By the way, I think you're really pretty," June adds. Nice touch. Satisfied, June gives me a smile. I give her thumbs up. Until we are separated in the arena, I am going to watch over her like a big brother. I want to prepare her for the Hunger Games, even though I don't know much about them myself.
Did you like it? I'm really sorry again for not updating in so long! So, who's watching/ going to see the Olympics? Go team GB! :-)