Clove POV
Instead of going to my own room, I decide to go to Cato's. I don't want to be alone on this first night. I'd rather be with someone who knows what I'm going through, and as of right now, that's Cato. Even though I'm not particularly happy with him right now, but I push that to the back of my mind for now. I have to be thinking about strategy right now. This is the Games, after all.
"So, who were you thinking about for allies?" I ask Cato as we start to get ready for bed.
"Well, the District One guy looks good, but not the girl. But we kinda have to let them both in. Both of the tributes from four look good, as well," he responds.
I wait a minute before asking, "What about the guy from District Eleven?"
He looks confused. "What about him?"
"Well, he looks...intimidating." I don't like showing the small weaker side of me, but I'll be honest, Eleven kind of scares me a little. He could over power me in a matter of seconds if I am defenseless. Which probably won't happen. I can kill from a distance, so it shouldn't matter. But I still worry.
Cato walks up to me and cups my face in both of his hands. "I'm not going to let him or anyone hurt you. Okay?"
"Okay." He kisses my forehead.
"So, what do you think about the District Twelve tributes?" He asks as he walks over to climb into bed.
"What do you mean?" I ask as I make my way to the bed.
"I'm not saying I'm scared of them, but how often does District Twelve come up with a guy with at least some muscle and an athletic looking girl?"
"Not ever," I reply, making my way under the covers.
"Exactly. I wonder why neither of them are skin and bones is all," he says as he lies down onto his pillow. "So, we'll be in the Capitol tomorrow. What do you think it's going to be like?"
"Probably just like the people. Crazy and decorated in colors and accessories. But, I also think it will have even more amazing food and accomodations than this train."
"Hm, yeah."
I lie down and lay my head on his shoulder. We stay up late talking and eventually fall asleep at around one o'clock. So much for a good night sleep. I remind my natural alarm clock to wake me up a bit early so I can sneak back to my room, because, technically, Cato and I are supposed to lack any feelings for each other whatsoever.
So I wake up in the morning and try to quietly get out of bed and leave the room without waking Cato up. I quickly and quietly open the door to my room and climb into my bed and try to make it look slept in, otherwise they'll be suspicious.
I pretend to fall asleep for the next few minutes until I hear someone walking down the small hallway. It's obviously Elle. You can hear her thin heels from a mile away.
She doesn't even knock when she comes in. She just bursts in and screams, "Rise and shine!" She goes and opens the curtains as I pretend wake up. "Oh, isn't it a lovely day? We will be arriving in the Capitol in a little over an hour, so I would get your little patooty up and get dressed for breakfast. Enobaria and Silas want to speak to you and the handsome young man before we reach the Capitol. Chop, chop!" With that, she went over to wake up Cato.
"Ugh," I moan as I get up out of bed to get dressed and cleaned up. I thought I would get to pick out my own outfit, but there's already one in the closet for me. It's a gold flowy dress with black outlining it. It has thick straps and a slight v-neck and hits a couple inches above the knee. The gold is metallic, which makes it look like armor. It's perfect. It makes me look strong and fierce while still making me look like a girl.
After I'm dressed and ready to go, I head out of my room and go to breakfast. I'm surprisingly the last one there, but I sit down without a word and start eating.
Once we've all finished, Enobaria tells me and Cato, "Okay, a few rules and tips for the day. In a matter of minutes we will be arriving in the Capitol. When we do, you will see many people surrounding the train, trying to get even a glimpse of you. Stand at the window, but do not smile at them. Look fierce, brutal, and bored. It'll let them know that you are strong and the best shot at winning, which will help you get sponsers." Cato and I nod, happy to get any advice we can get.
"And something for later today," says Silas. "You will be meeting with your stylists later so they can get you ready for the parade." Cato and I groan. "Yeah, yeah. I know they don't always pick the best costumes, but trust me when I say, don't argue with them. Some of them get really offended and they could possibly quit being your stylist. Let them do what they want. And when they ask you if you like it, tell them you do. Otherwise, again, they could get offended. But I wouldn't be too worried about having stupid costumes. I have a hunch that yours are going to be magnificent this year."
I take his word for it. It does make sense that our stylists, being Capitol people would be easily offended by us not liking what they put us in. They tend to be very perky, flamboyant, emotional people. I also trust his opinion that we will have amazing costumes, because Silas has that weird way of knowing things. I still don't understand how that works, but I kind of don't want to know.
The room goes dark from the windows. We are probably going through one of the tunnels. The Capitol is surrounded by mountains, and so the only way in through train is to go through tunnels. When the room is bright again, I look out the window and see the wondrous Capitol. It's amazing! It is nothing like District Two at all and I'm glad to see a different scenery for a change.
I quickly tell myself the real reason why I am here and immediately stop marveling at the city.
Once the train starts to go slower, I start to see what Enobaria was talking about. All of the crazy Capitol people are surrounding the train and screaming and waving at us. I walk to the window and stand there. But I don't wave or smile. I show them the brutal me. The strong me.
The killer me.
Cato POV
As we exit the train, we are surrounded with people. We ignore them and look strong and bored like our mentors told us to do. We are shoved into a car and it takes nearly an hour to get to our destination because the streets are completely crowded with freaks.
We arrive at the remake center. This is where we will be spending the day. Oh, goodie.
We are quickly rushed inside and seperated into different rooms where we are told to sit there and wait patiently for our prep-team to greet us. They are going to be the worst. I just know it.
When they come in, I realize that I didn't even know the half of it. They are all girls with neon colored hair and printed skins that make them look like wild cats or something. They are all wearing the weirdest clothes, too. Seriously, how can this be considered fashion? Do they not realize they look ridiculously stupid? Apparently not.
The prep-team introduces their names, but I don't even remember them. I just do what they tell me to do. I feel very uncomfortable when they tell me to completely strip down, but, I remind myself to not argue with them, no matter how badly I wanted to.
As they "fix me up" they start to drone on and on and I eventually completely toon out. Until I feel a sudden tingly sensation that runs up my leg, which hurts so bad that I actually scream.
"What the hell was that?" I yell at them.
"It was wax," the purple-haired one replies. "We were told to remove all hair, including legs. Just obviously not the eyebrows or the hair on your head. Obviously!" And her and the other two break out laughing.
Okay, I see that they need to do what they're told, but do they really need to take off my leg hair? I have to sit there biting my lip for what seems like forever while they remove almost every piece of hair on my entire body. I can see them doing this to the girls, but why the guys? What's the point of it? There probably is none.
They wash my entire body, twice. Once they look me over and nod at each other in approval, they tell me to out a robe on and they head out to get my stylist. I wait for about ten minutes until I hear the door open.
In walks a woman who looks about thirty with jet black hair with bright pink streaks in it. She is wearing a dress that can almost pass for a ballgown except for the fact that it isn't nearly as poofy. She has a slight pink tint to her skin. At least it isn't neon. Her eyes are a strange purple color and her pupils have been modified so they are heart-shaped. Again, how is this considered cool?
She tells me to drop the robe and I do reluctantly. She gives me the once over, tells me to put it back on and says, "Hello, Cato. I am Saige, your stylist."