Jake's POV
Once we are in the Capitol and temporarily relaxed a pair of Peacekeepers comes into the room and escorts Marley and me out of the room and into separate facilities. At the facility the Peacekeepers handed me over to three extravagantly dressed people. Each of them had different colored hair, skin color, and piercings. One of the women led me over to a tub and told me to strip down. I felt a little conscience that there were two women there but I stripped down anyways remembering the deal with Haymitch. They placed a small robe on a seat next to the tub and walked out of the room.
I sank into the tub and wondered what I was getting myself into. I knew my choice to let Marley win was a good one but I couldn't wonder what she would do if the roles were reversed. Would she allow me to win if it meant going home to a loving family? There was no telling what she would say if she knew what I was thinking of doing. There was no way she would let me go through with it. Thank god Haymitch would be sober enough to help us otherwise what I would be asking would be practically a mission to discover life on another planet by myself.
After soaking in the tub for what seemed like an hour the man from my prep team walked into the room and told me to get out. He handed me a towel which I dried myself with and then I slipped into the robe. I followed the man as he walked down a corridor and as we walked I could hear screaming from several rooms.
"What's going on in there?" I asked curious about what could be so painful about looking good.
"It's the girls. They have to be waxed and polished before they are handed over to their stylists."
"What do you mean 'waxed'?" I asked thinking of the candles we have at home which were made of solid wax.
"The hairs on their bodies are being removed. We can't have girls going out in public in very pretty outfits and having hairy legs now can we?" He looked at me and raised his eyebrow.
"Uh, no I guess." I glanced down at my legs and shuddered at how painful removing even one would be. I continued to follow him until we got to a door with a M12 on it. He opened the door and ushered me inside. Closing the door quickly the man rushed into the room to stand beside the two female prep team members assigned to me.
They gestured to a chair and I sat down. They wrapped a black cape around my neck and then sprayed my hair with water. I blinked as the water slowly dribbled down my face and onto the cape. One of the females picked up a sharp looking pair of scissors and began to pull bits and pieces of my hair into her hands. Snip. Snip. My hair fell around me like a blanket. There was a small mirror across from me and I watched as she shaped and molded my hair into a short spiky arrangement. The man mixed something together in a small dish and then grabbed a paintbrush and dipped it into the liquid. The brush was heavy with some dark brown goop and I watched as he lifted parts of my hair and put a piece of foil under it and then painted my hair with the goop.
"What is that?"
"It's a small sample of brown hair dye that will breakup these boring one tone locks of yours." The man answered. I tried not to take offense to the "boring" comment.
"Why not apply it all over?" I ask thinking there was no reason to dye part of my hair.
"Marley's a very pretty natural blonde so we don't want to mess up anything with her hair; so you're going to be partly blonde. Haymitch wants you to look like a united front, a team if you allow me to use that term, without being mistaken for brother and sister," One of the girls explains like it's common sense but I can't help but wonder what Marley will think of my new hair. She's always on my mind somehow. Even when I try and not think about her, I think about something she said or something she likes. One the man was done applying the goop to my hair the prep team walked around me in circles. One of the women grabbed my hand and began to rub a small piece of metal across my nails. To my surprise they became blunt and rounded off perfectly. Not that I really cared in the first place.
"There we are almost done." Almost? I've been in here for what feels like hours. At least the screaming is done. A while ago all of the screaming had suddenly stopped and left the room feeling a little bit empty. It left me a little on edge, but I guessed a person could only have a certain amount of hair on their body which could be removed. I'm sure Marley will be absolutely furious with Haymitch later for letting them do that to her. One of the female stylists grabs a bottle from the vanity and begins to squirt a clear liquid into the palm of her hand. She then pats my cheeks and down my neck and then dabs some more on my upper lip. The stuff has a temporary burning sensation but then it is gone and my face feels cool to the touch.
"What was that?"
"It's a temporary hair growth stunner. It will stop any hair from growing on your face while you are in the games. The rest of you may get dirty but you won't have any nasty facial hair growing on that handsome face of yours!" I examine my face and see that the tiny amount of stubble I had been growing prior to the reaping has also been removed. "It will also remove any existing facial hair which was the burning sensation you felt."
"I haven't had a shave for five years and you wouldn't be able to tell that feeling my face now would you? Go on feel," The man extends the side of his face towards me but I shake my head and don't feel his face. What is it with these people and touching? Seriously I've never met anyone with this much of a personal space issue.
The stylists walk out of the room and I am left alone sitting in a robe. I look at my new hair and am slightly pleased at my image. Before I got my hair dyed people always said I looked innocent and cute, but the brown in my hair now gave me a more edgy look; like I could actually stand a chance in these games. The brown contrasts with my eyes making them look greener. I have to admit the prep team didn't do that bad of a job. A small women walks into the room and asks me to remove my robe. I hesitate and she smiles reassuringly.
"I'm Portia, your stylist. You must be Mr. Puckerman." She holds out her hand and I shake it.
"Jake is fine. Mr. Puckerman seems a little too old." She laughs and waits for me to undress. She walks around me lifting my arms out to the sides. Once she is done inspecting me she writes down a few notes on some kind of device and then takes a seat on a couch I hadn't realized was there.
"So how are you Jake? I know it must be a real shock to come all the way from District 12 and then be thrown in here."
"It's different, definitely different. I haven't really seen this many people in one place at all the same time, and they all have funny colored hair. No offense." I add seeing her bright gold hair.
"None taken. So let me tell you a little about how the Games function. The first night is the tribute presentations. This is the first night that the people of the Capitol will get to see you. It's important to make a good impression; there will be lots of important people with lots of money who will be looking to sponsor some of the tributes. You want to obtain as many pledges at this time as you can. Haymitch will later select a few to be your sponsors. Then for the next week you will have a few days for group training and then a few for personal training where you can talk strategy with your mentor. But until then there's no reason to worry about what you are going to do in the arena. Your first priority should be finding a song that will demonstrate not only your talent with a weapon but also your voice."
"My voice?" I ask trying to picture where this is going.
"Yes your voice. The Gamemakers this year think that having one glimpse of the tributes is not enough to make any sponsors truly happy. This year the tributes will have to perform a song or dance that will showcase their talents. Your training score will also be determined by how well the crowd responds to your song as well as how well you do in your private sessions with the Gamemakers."
"So we have to perform a song? What song should I do? I've never sung in my life, well except for in my shower and even then it's nothing worth paying money for."
"That's what I'm here for. Not only will I dress you in amazing outfits but I will also be your vocal coach. All final decisions rest with Haymitch of course but you do get some input." She pulls some tablet off the table and presses her hand to the screen. It flashes a few times and then a voice says "Welcome Portia". She smiles as she looks at my shocked expression. I wipe my face with my hand and try to relax a little. She pulls up some sort of list on the tablet and then holds it out to me. "Go ahead and pick any song you'd like." I look at the list but all I see is a bunch of words. I press my finger to one of the titles and sound starts to play. It's some loud pulsing thing and I tap it to try and get it to stop. I laugh nervously and try to pick one that doesn't sound like something dieing. I pull up the song titled "Don't Trust Me" by somebody called "3OH!3". The first part of the song is okay but then the song lyrics start talking about hoes so I shut it off.
"Maybe you should pull up a couple of songs you like." I suggest since my first to picks were awful.
"Sure try listening to this," She scrolls through a few pages of songs and finally picks a song. I glance at the song title and see a group called "Cobra Starship" and the song is "You Make Me Feel". It's not a bad song and has a really good beat to it. There's a female singing with the group and I think of what Marley and I could do with this song.
"Are we singing with ourselves or are we with partners."
"I'm glad you asked. You will have one giant group project, which will introduce all of the tributes, and then each district will go as duets, or pairs, and then you will have a solo. The boys from the districts will go first and then the girls. Marley will be the very last show."
"What about the interviews?" Every year back in District 12 we have had to sit through the interviews and always District 12 receives the least amount of applause from the Capitol audience.
"Those will come after the performances. You'll have a brief intermission where you'll change clothes and makeup." I nodded pretending I knew what an intermission was.
"So what song should I do as a solo?"
"Well I think Haymitch will want something that shows how strong you are and also how approachable you are. So I think this is the song he has in mind for you. She picks up the tablet and scrolls for a few seconds until she finds what she is looking for. She plays the song and I am pleased with the choice. I guess I have to be since I'll be singing it. What song will Marley sing? Probably something to show off her beauty and her already amazing voice. Marley is really the only person I know in District 12 who can carry a tune. When she sings the birds stop their melodies and listen intently to hers. Portia leads me to another room and sits me down beside her on a large bench. She lays her hands on the black and white keys before us and begins to play a simple chord. She sings a little and tries to match the pitch of the note coming out of the piano. She finally locks into the pitch and stops playing.
"Now I want you to try and match the pitch of this note, okay? Just keep singing the note when you think you've locked into it." I had only ever taken a few music classes back in District 12 but the piano we managed to get a hold of was broken in two places and was being supported by a few pieces of wood we happened to find outside the mine. Almost all of the strings needed to be replaced the piano was in bad need of a good tuning. Portia played the note and I started to sing. "Open your mouth more. No one ever sings well with a closed mouth." I opened my mouth wider and continue to try and find the pitch. Finally I manage to lock in all of the notes she wants me to and then we start on the music. I tried to focus on the music but my mind kept drifting to Marley and what she would be wearing and singing. Later we would finally get to see each other.
I know this last chapter was about Jake but I have to say a few things about Marley before posting the next chapter. Marley never had Beth because that wouldn't fit the story, Marley's sister is younger not older, Puck has no real attraction to Marley other than thinking she's pretty, Marley doesn't hunt illegally like Katniss does in the Hunger Games, and lastly Marley's father never cheated on her mother but did die like Katniss's father did in the book. For people who are wondering this is a Fabrevans fan fiction even though it only says Marley online. There will be some Cato/Marley pairings in later chapters. And you will just have to keep reading to find out whom she chooses to be with in the end! Please R & R!
~ cold as ice 1915