Okay, I just want to point out that I am proud of myself for updating this soon! I have a ton of other things to do but managed to make time for this so please appreciate and do not hate! I'd gotten 2 reviews for the last chapter, instead of just one or even zero, which is why I updated a lot sooner that usual. Well, enjoy!
"Please welcome, the astonishing! The radiant! The legendary... Caesar Flickerman!"
Ol' Caesar levitated from the bottom of the stage, in a pale green scene this time. Honeydew, I think the color is called. His hair, his suit, everything. Since the green really was so pale, it almost seemed as if he was wearing no makeup and had milky white hair that freely flowed about.
I breathed in and out deeply. I was once again getting a sense of deja vu. I tried to push that out of my mind and keep my eyes focused on the screen.
Johanna was standing next to me backstage. We were in front of a fairly normal Capitol television, a half-inch 3-D one, taking in what everyone else in Panem was seeing. It was a pretty small TV, though, just 24 inches.
"His face looks young but his hair looks like he's eighty. Oh right, he is eighty," Johanna sneered. I guffawed. By now, Caesar must be well over eighty. But of course he wasn't dead yet. The Capitol's average life span was over a hundred years old.
"If you had no idea about the Capitol's plastic surgeries, how old would you think Caesar was, Brites?" I asked the boy who just joined us. Well, he's a boy to me: just twenty-three years old.
"I'd still think he was over fifty at the least." He squinted. "Their 'natural' theme this year isn't working. At all."
Small palm trees were placed in rows on the stage behind the two fancy lawn chairs that took up the attention before Caesar had arrived. There was a pretty pot of flowers on a priceless little table between the two chairs, and the spotlights and lighting had been pulled down a notch this year. I had to admit I sort of liked how the stage was set up more than the other years, but I commented, "They're so fake, they had no idea that natural was a word until they tried to design this." It just didn't look right.
"At least it's not completely ridiculous," Brites responded. "Remember my year?"
I rolled my eyes. They had planned a "mysterious" theme for the live interviews that year, but instead of having any mystery, they were just totally creepy and insulting. Skeletons hung everywhere, fruits were carved out to make evil faces, and shadows of weapons appeared on the walls. Like the interviews had nothing to do with that. The only thing that said the word "mystery" was the unique shade of blue that Caesar donned.
Caesar Flickerman was done stirring up the crowd and getting many chuckles from people all over Panem. "And now, it's time to meet the..." he trailed off teasingly, cupping an ear with his hand.
"Tributes!" the audience shouted excitedly. Girls screamed and guys pounded their fists.
They make me so sick.
"First, we have the gorgeous gal from District 1, Miss Glimmer!"
My mouth went dry. Glimmer? What? As the girl flounched onstage on a frilly pink flare dress, I nearly had a heart attack. She looked almost like the Glimmer I had killed in my Games!
"Katniss..." Johanna muttered, her eyes stuck on the screen curiously. "She looks sort of familiar, don't you think? She - Katniss?" She'd turned around to look at me. "What?"
"She - she's the - Glimmer - she - she was in my Games! I killed her!"
Johanna gave me a funny look but turned her attention back to the screen as panic rose in me.
"Glimmer!" The audience had shut up and Caesar could finally begin his three minutes with this smiling girl. "My, do you look pretty tonight. Such a beauty you are." Glimmer batted her false eyelashes and flipped back her perfectly curled blonde hair. "I'm sure your stylist was delighted to have you."
Glimmer let out a weird sound that was a mix between a scream and a giggle. "Oh, he was! And Caesar, cross my heart, he could not stop staring at me when we first met!" She sighed, tilted her head, and looked up at the ceiling dreamily. "He's only twenty-two, so when I become Victor, we may... you know..."
"Ooh..." the crowd said hushedly, making Glimmer laugh foolishly.
Of course, that was an easy entrance for Caesar to discuss the upcoming Games and her love life. Then he said the words that will replay in my head for quite a while. "Glimmer, you have an aunt who was in the Games, did you not? And to this day, I remember her interview. Her name was..."
"Glimmer." She took a deep breath. "I was named after my beloved, courageous aunt."
I muttered, "Ugh."
"Glimmer. Glimmer, do you know what had happened to your aunt?"
Tears shone in the blonde's blue eyes. "She was murdered, Caesar. Unfairly." Unfairly? Seriously? The Careers are unfair! The whole Games are unfair!
Caesar looked out at the audience. "Now folks, I don't want to be inconsiderate, but some of us here do know who was the cause of this poor girl's auntie's death."
Glimmer looked absolutely lethal as she hissed, "Katniss Everdeen."
Johanna gasped. She swiveled around with a look of recognition.
"Yes, I do believe it was the Girl on Fire." He looked at the girl from District 1. "Glimmer, would you like to share your thoughts on that."
"Three words: I will revenge."
Caesar took the girl's hands and said solemnly, "Fight to the death, my dear. Fight to the death." He stood up and pulled Glimmer with him. "Give it to the beautiful Glimmer, Panem!" I could literally feel the vibrations all the way backstage.
After that I couldn't really concentrate on the screen anymore. I felt... alive. Every inch of my skin showed goosebumps at the smallest sound behind me. I was aware of every person who walked by us. I wasn't frightened; I was alive.
A few tributes before my own managed to take root in my head though. The boy from One was just as big-headed as the girl, if not worse. Once again, the twosome from Two were harsh and held exploding egos, which obviously got them cheers from the oblivious Capitol. The boy from 6, who had gotten a 2 as his training score, turned out to be dyslexic and a bit mental. Even Caesar had difficulty making him admirable. The boy and girl from 9, who were both 18, were humorous, smug, and confident, although they also showed their modesty whenever possible. A few Careers could learn something from them. The girl from 10 was only thirteen and reminded me of Rue: curly dark hair, bright eyes, small frame, shy and young personality. Finally, it was Faye's turn.
I took a deep breath. "I didn't get to work with Faye," I admitted to Brites and Johanna. They raised their eyebrows. "We didn't last two seconds. I hope... Anthul..." I trailed off at the mention of the man's name.
"Damn it, Katniss, shut up," Johanna growled. "Your own tribute is up there and you're not even paying attention."
I clenched my teeth together and glared at her but kept quiet as Faye skidded across the stage. Yes, skidded. I guess she hated heels so much she ditched them and snagged roller skates instead. At least they were blue, which matched her galaxy dress, which resembled the one from the opening ceremonies but in a much formal, elegant way.
"All the tributes' clothes clash with the theme," Johanna observed, smirking.
"Wow! Faye!" Caesar greeted. "Your shoes are quite flashy." This drew laughs from everyone, even a snort from Johanna. I glared at her again. "Did your stylist, oh, what's his name?"
"Anthul," Faye spit out. Her face was pleasant and smiling ever so slightly but I guess she didn't want to control her expression as well as what came out of her mouth.
"Anthul! I doubt he gave you these shoes. Am I right or am I right?" Caesar kidded, but I guess Faye already had enough of it. She got up, waved, skated around to show off her skill for a while, and flew backstage, ditching Caesar Flickerman.
"Talk about rebel!" Johanna roared, amused. "If Haymitch had seen this, he'd like her!"
I had to agree. Would Gale approve, though? Back at District Twelve, is he laughing? Shaking his head? Frustrated? Upset? Whatever. I'll unfortunately be seeing him on Day 3 of the Games, the day of Haymitch's funeral.
"So you didn't train Faye at all?" Brites pressed. He looked disapproving. "You're supposed to, Katniss. Her life is riding on these interviews... get it? Riding? Roller skates?" I punched him hard on the arm, not even kidding. He was a sucker for puns and I wasn't in the mood for one now. "Hey!... Oh, it's Floyd's turn." Caesar had gotten over his shock, said something funny, and called out Floyd.
"Floyd!" Floyd grinned and jogged the rest of the way to the chairs.
"Caesar!" He shook hands with the host and thumped his back. Then he plopped down on his seat. "Wow!"
"Did you have coffee this morning?" Caesar asked jokingly, pointing out his hyperactiveness.
Floyd burst out laughing, which caused everyone else to do as well. He didn't sound like the regular, awkward teen he was days ago. "No! No. Probably something I ate earlier. I wasn't sure what it was and I wanted to know, so why not try it?"
This lead to a full-blast funny conversation about food and drinks of the Capital. Suddenly Floyd said, "It is hot in here," and actually took off his black coat. That lead to another conversation about weather and climate.
Floyd was reminding me so much of Peeta that it hurt. I started getting paranoid, thinking that the spirits had sent me Floyd on the same year as I met Anthul. I wondered if they had some kind of punishment for me for kissing Anthul.
"But I didn't kiss him. He kissed me," I mumbled out loud, trying to calm myself down. I was missing half my tribute's interview.
Johanna turned. "What? Floyd kissed you?" She looked alarmed and disgusted.
She'd heard me! "Jo, no! No - of course I didn't - ugh, Johanna!" I sputtered. She looked suspicious at my unability to form a proper sentence. I sighed. "No, it wasn't Floyd."
"What do you mean, it wasn't Floyd? Do you mean you smooched someone else?" I didn't reply. "Katniss Everdeen, I hope you're lying to me," she snarled. "What about Peeta?"
Brites was looking completely confused.
"Peeta just - he - he's not here," I whispered. Then I started getting snappish. "Peeta is dead, Johanna. He's been dead for twenty years. I think that's long enough for me to get over him and start meeting people, don't you think?"
She narrowed her eyes. I almost cowered at the expresson on her face and what I'd just blurted. "Tell me he's from a district, Katniss, and not a Capitolite."
I held my chin up high and said menacingly, "Anthul is a Capitolite."
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