Loud cheers emanate from all around us as they take in our appearance. My bad mood seems to have evaporated and I don't have to fake a smile. In the back of my mind, I'm reminded that these same people will soon be cheering on the death of innocent teens, but I couldn't bring myself to care in the moment.
My partner and I look stunning, we have the crowd. Sponsors are lining up for sure, I would put money on it.
I wave at the crowd, acknowledging them, and Marcus does too. People act as if we we're actual celebrities, fawning over us, trying to catch our attention. It's all overwhelming, but at the same time empowering.
"Hug! Hug!" someone chants from the crowd, but I barely make it out over the roar of the others. Soon more people join in and I can understand it better. Hug? Hug what? Myself? At first, I'm confused at what they're asking before I realize what they want. They want me to hug Marcus? I think to myself. I glance over at him, and he just shrugs. Guess so.
So I give in to the crowd's strange whims and hug Marcus. He does too, and the crowd goes wild. We split apart, waving at the crowd again as some cheer our names.
"I wonder why they wanted us to do that," I say to Marcus. I have to shout so he can hear me over the crowd. He just shrugs again.
"Guess they wanted more than smiles and waving," he shouts back. I nod and throw a kiss into the crowd, completely caught up in the moment. I look ahead to see how much further we have to go, and I'm greeted by the harsh glares of other tributes. Intimidated, I shrink back into my seat and reclaim my hold on Marcus' hand.
I suppose its jealousy. For one, most of their costumes are plain and simple, one color with no embellishments. Their stylists' didn't get as creative as ours did. Plus we have a good amount of the crowd's attention. If I was in their position, I would probably be doing the same thing.
We round the final corner, and the White House comes into view. We're dropped off at the front gate, where we will walk the short distant to the main doors. I link arms with Marcus, and we follow the flow of tributes to the front door, waving to the crowd before they disappear as we enter the building.
As soon as the last of the tributes come in, they shut the massive doors behind us and I let out a sigh. The small rush of adrenalin I got works its way out of my blood, and now I just feel tired.
All the tributes are rounded up and taken to separate elevators to our floors. Our floor is for states K-M, and we enter the elevator with the other 20 tributes staying on our floor. My cousin, Evan, is in the elevator with me and I figure now is as good a time as any to talk to him. I squeeze past the others in the tightly packed elevator and make my way to Evan where I tap his shoulder lightly. He turns to me slowly and I smile sweetly.
"Hey, Evan. Do you remember me?" I ask. He thinks for a second, studying my face before he smiles slightly.
"Yea, you're my cousin, right?" I nod.
"Yes. I didn't know if you remembered me. We haven't seen each other in five years."
He opens his mouth to say something, when an older girl steps by him. She steps in front of Evan slightly, unsure of me. Despite the fact that she thinks I could possibly be a threat, I smile since she is stepping in to defend my cousin.
"Hi, is there a problem here?" she asks. Her tone isn't rude, so I make sure I'm polite.
"No, not at all. I was just asking Evan if he remembered me. We're cousins. She looks back at Evan for conformation, and he nods. I feel a hand on my shoulder and I turn around to face Marcus. He gives me a questioning look and I just smile back.
"Oh, ok. Well I'm Kennedie," she says, extending her hand out to me. I shake her hand and look at all the other tributes, watching as if something was going to happen.
"I'm Annelise, and this is my partner Marcus. Marcus, this is Kennedie and Evan." He nods at them, and they nod back. A ding signals we've reached our floor, and the door slides open.
"See you around," I say, waving to them.
"See you," they reply back. We all depart ways and head to our respective rooms.
"Well we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow," Marcus says. I nod in agreement. Tomorrow is the first day of training.
"Yes we do. Hey, do you want to join my dad and me for dinner? We're just going to eat in my room," I ask.
"Sure." We walk in the door where my dad is already waiting, watching the live commentary of the parade.
"Hey kiddos," he says when he notices our entrance.
"Hi dad," I say at the same time that Marcus says "Hi, Mr. Stague." We all take a seat around one of the tables in the room and dad grabs the phone, ordering our dinner for us. I'm sure he's making sure that we eat healthy since he didn't allow us to choose.
Not too long after he hangs up, someone knocks on the door and a waiter enters with a cart carrying our dinner. We thank him and begin dining on our meal. Just like all the food I've had on this trip, it's delicious.
"So, here is the one thing I have to say about tomorrow. Save your best skills for your private training, so the others don't know what you're capable of. Go to stations you could use more practice on, and find some allies," father says after we finished our food. He's talking about strategy for tomorrow.
"So no swords, guns, or knives?" I ask. He nods.
"And since you both are good at edible plants, avoid that too."
"Ok, sounds like a plan." Marcus says.
"Good. Now get some rest, It's going to be a tough day ahead," father says, getting up from the table and placing his used napkin on his plate. "Goodnight," he adds, heading towards the door. He stops for a second and turns slightly to look back.
"Don't get any ideas boy, lets go," dad says sarcastically to Marcus, who remained seated. We both laugh and Marcus gets up to follow my dad to the door.
"Goodnight darling," dad says once again.
"See you tomorrow, Sapphire," Marcus says.
"Sapphire? New nickname?" I ask, smiling. He winks at me before shutting the door. Sapphire. I like it. I'm sure Kaitlynn will get a kick out of it, since I was so reluctant to take the necklace in the first place. That is, if I ever get the chance to tell her.
Well, big day tomorrow. I'm going to need plenty of sleep. I put the plates in this trash disposal in the wall and change into some comfy clothes to sleep in. I fall onto the bed, and I'm almost immediately asleep.