Sunlight streamed through my window. My eyes fluttered sleepily, then suddenly popped wide open. Today was the day.
I was going into the arena.
Breakfast was unusually silent, the only sound being the gentle clink of china. In the blink of an eye, we were at the door, saying our final goodbyes to our mentors. Cashmere and Gloss both clasped Marvel's hand briefly, wishing him the best of luck. After he exited the room, Cashmere drew me into a warm embrace. "You have beauty and brains," she whispered to me, arms still wrapped tightly around me. "And that is such a rare gift. Use it wisely."
"I will," I whispered back, surprised at the rush of emotion that swooped through my body. I was not usually one for sappy goodbyes, but I realized that I would truly miss my mentors. No matter, I thought to myself reassuredly. You'll see them again, when you're a victor just like them.
Cashmere finally let me go, hurrying out of the room as tears fell from her clear blue eyes. Gloss hesitated, then pulled me into a hug as well. "We believe in you," he said gruffly, letting go of me rather quickly. "Go kick some ass, and we'll see you soon."
I smiled and nodded, turning to leave. When I was nearly at the door, he called out, "Oh, and Glimmer? I know that whatever you're doing with Cato is purely for the audience, probably because you think that some romance will rack up the sponsors. But just make sure you don't blur the line between acting and reality."
I paused with my hand on the doorknob but did not turn around. After a few stiff moments, I proceeded to walk out of the room. Of course I wouldn't blur the line between my fake romance and the real deal. Cato and I both knew what we were doing.
Still, the spot where he had kissed my cheek last night, even though no cameras were around, began to tingle.
A hovercraft picked up Cressida, my stylist, and me, transporting us smoothly to the arena. I leaned back in my seat, closing my eyes as I soaked in this one last luxury — after all, for the next week or so I would be living in rougher conditions than I had ever experienced.
"Ma'am?" A hesitant voice pulled me out of my reverie. I looked up to see a male flight attendant, pointing apprehensively at the ring on my finger. "I'm sorry, I know that's your token from your district, but I'm supposed to inspect it really quickly and make sure it doesn't give you any unfair advantage."
My pulse quickened, but I forced a laugh. "An unfair advantage?" I asked, my voice dripping with skepticism. "If you know of any way that a ring could be an unfair advantage, I would love to be enlightened."
He blushed crimson. "I—I know, ma'am, but it's just standard procedure," he stuttered, looking completely stricken. "Please, I could lose my job if I don't inspect it."
Reluctantly, I handed it over. My worst fears were confirmed almost immediately: as soon as the attendant ran his fingers over it, the stones twisted and the poisoned spike popped out.
He looked at me, thunderstruck, and I quickly morphed my expression into one of extreme shock. "I've never seen it do that before in my life!" I gasped.
He was at a loss for words, clearly not accustomed to dealing with tributes attempting to cheat. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but I'm going to have to report this . . ." His voice trailed off as I made my eyes fill with tears.
"Please," I squeaked. "I was just trying to bring a token from home. I didn't know it was a weapon, I swear. Can we please just let this one slide?"
After going through some sort of brief internal struggle, the attendant murmured his assent. "I'm afraid I can't give you this back, though," he said apologetically.
I smiled warmly and assured him that I understood. As soon as he walked away, though, I groaned and leaned back in my seat, throwing my arms over my face. Sure, I had gotten out of disqualification, but now my district token, my focal point, the thing that kept me grounded, was gone.
"You don't need it," Cressida assured me, patting my shoulder. "It's the thought of winning that will keep you going, not some object."
Taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes. She was right. I couldn't let this deter me from focusing one hundred percent on the task at hand.
In what seemed like no time, a tracking device had been inserted into my arm, the hovercraft had landed, and I had changed into a comfortable, loose outfit. Not the best for showing off my body, but I sensed that I already had enough sponsors racked up to make it by without using my allure any more.
Cressida led me into a room with a circular launch pad in the middle of it. After giving me a few last-minute pieces of advice and a quick squeeze, she left me in the room alone. Adrenaline rushed through my body as I stared at the launch pad: this was it. The moment that I had been waiting for my whole life was finally here. Now was my chance to prove myself, to show everyone that I was more than a pretty face, to earn a home in the exclusive Capitol itself.
"Prepare for launch," a cool female voice rang out. I took a deep, calming breath, then stepped onto the pad.
As a glass cylinder lowered around me and the tube rose into the air, I stared straight ahead in determination, my mind racing to review all my years of training, a confident smile on my face. I wasn't nervous — just ready.
Let the Games begin.
A/N: I'm sorry that this chapter isn't super long, but I wanted to get right up to the moment that she entered the Games so that I could jump right into the action in the next chapter! I'll have the next one up tomorrow. As always, reviews are appreciated! Thanks guys!