Prim and I wait by the chariot in plain black clothing. I roll my eyes and sigh to myself. They dress us up as coal? Wow. I am blown away. I was about to make a sarcastic remark to Prim, but I am reluctant to speak to her. I'm afraid I will say too much. I tend to lose self-control when my mouth opens.
Our stylists walk up to us and her stylist carries a black metal square in his hand. I keep my eyes on the square and try to figure out what it is. He holds it up to me and explains, "now when you are ready, touch this button."
"Ready for what?" I ask him.
"When you touch that button, the back of your suit will spark into flames. And so will Prim's dress. But don't worry, the flames are merely a holograph, but it will look very realistic," I take the button from him.
A red light flashes above us, which signals everyone to get ready to go. Prim looks at me and she seems a bit scared. I don't know what to do. After I figured out she was my sister, I'm scared to talk to her. I don't know if she should know. I told Haymitch, but now I regret it because he said that I should use it to our advantage. He says it will make us more interesting, but if it went out, it would ruin both our families' reputation. And I would be telling someone's secret, which wasn't mine to be told. I didn't even know if it was completely true. I just had a hunch, but Haymitch said true or untrue it could be the one thing that keeps me alive. He thinks we might get sponsors if we go out their as a sibling duo. But he doesn't understand how big of a deal this really is. What would Katniss want me to do? She would know what to do. She always knew what to do.
I take her hand and help her onto the chariot, but I don't say a word.
The huge doors open and a flood of cheers bursts through the room. The tributes from District One go out first and the rest follow. Us being from Twelve, we are last.
We finally make it out the door and the applause seems to get louder by ten fold. The only thing restraining me from covering my ears is my tight gripped hands on the chariot. I get a nudge from Prim and I press onto the little button with my thumb. In a matter of seconds, blue flames brightly lit our backs. Prim grabs my hand tightly and hidden under her smile are eyes drowning in fear. If she is not able to handle this, I am scared to imagine how she will be in the arena.
We finally stop when we are in front of the President's podium and wait for Snow to appear. My heart starts to race and I can feel the hairs on the back of my neck rising. A cool breeze makes me shudder. I am a bit scared to see the man in person. The doors open behind the podium and he enters. The crowd is now completely silent as he starts to address us. He starts to speak, but all I can hear is my beating heart drumming in my ears.
All of a sudden his speech is over and the chariots start to move. We travel across the rose covered trail and wave to the fans. Every glimmer and shine in our smiles is a façade behind our misery.
I look at the poor little soul next to me. My eyes swell with tears as I think about her future and the only thing that will save it is a dark secret from our past.