I stand in my chariot, trying to look as cocky and certain of myself as possible. I'm the one of the first tributes to arrive, due to my vastly experienced and speedy prep team. I know I look amazing. I would have never thought that I would be able to reach such a point of beauty, of such elegance. What my stylist and prep team have done for me is amazing. My hair is long and flowing down my back, and there's a single braid wrapped around the top of my head like a halo. I'm wearing a soft pink lip balm that appears to shape my lips perfectly and there are hues of gold and brown around my eyes. My eyelashes have become long and full, after a long half hour of pulling and tearing at them. And my dress is no disappointment either. It's long and flowing, reaching around my ankles. It's a powdery white and has golden trimmings on the neck and waistline. They've given me white sandals with golden buckles and a beautiful golden necklace to top off the look. I look like a Greek goddess, beautiful and powerful. I had severely underestimated my stylist.
I hear a loud thump, startling me and forcing me to look behind me. It's the District 4 girl who hadn't volunteered, and she looks literally like water. The fabric on her t-shirt and shorts seems to flow and move like water. Her hair's short and adorned with fake fish.
Seeing an opportunity, I step out of my chariot smoothly and strut over to hers, trying my best to look intimidating.
"Hi." I say, stepping toward her and holding out my hand. "I'm Andromeda Perro, District 2. And you are?" I raise my eyebrows at her.
She stares at my outstretched hand for a moment and then shakes it roughly. "I'm Nami Rubis."
We stand there for a few moments, looking over each other. She's taller than me by several inches and has short, brown hair and light green eyes. It's hard for me to determine if she's been trained or not, but I can see that she's slightly muscular. I'm not exactly sure what she thinks of me, probably not much, but we both just give each other a brief nod and I head back to my chariot, waiting for that damn Cato to get here.
Soon enough, the very blonde that I despise appears next to me in the next few moments, causing the chariot to shift under his weight. He's dressed to look like a Greek God, golden shield in hand. He notices me looking at him and smirks. I roll my eyes back at him. I wonder when Calantha will get here.
Soon enough, Calantha arrives, giving us an approving nod. We all stand there in silence until I ask her, "So... what do you want us to do?"
She contemplates this for a minute, her baby blue eyes looking up at the sky. "I've been thinking that you should do something that no other District 2 tribute has ever dared to do. I think you should start a pretend relationship."
Cato scoffs at her reply and I hate to admit that I agree. A team? It's hard to consider someone a teammate when you're going to be tearing their throat out in a few days.
As if reading my thoughts, Cato says, "Yeah, everyone will buy that. And I'm sure they'll think it's real sweet when I slit her throat in the arena."
Nodding, I say to Calantha, "Ditto to that."
She glares at both of us, smoothing down her black hair. "Of course I know that. Now, look, you spoiled little brats." She leans forward, and I admit that she looks slightly intimidating, even for her small size. "I know how to do my job, and my job is to get you two to last as long as possible, which means that you'll need sponsors. To get sponsors, people have to like you. And the Capitol's gotten bored with ruthless tributes. So, I recommend that you do what I say."
I think for a moment, and then nod. I hate to admit that she's right. Cato takes a longer time to think and then rolls his eyes and nods.
"Alright, then. Now- and don't you dare complain- when you go out there on that chariot, I want you two to hold each others hand." She says, gesturing toward us.
I sigh and allow Cato to grab my hand and, to no surprise, his grip is nearly bone crushing. Oh, how I wish that I was in the arena with Calantha, so that I could wring her little neck for making me do this in front of all of Panem, in front of all my competition. I'll look weak, girly, needy.
The second District 1 chariot, which is occupied by the young girl with the flaming red hair and the weak boy, soon takes off and it's almost our turn. I can feel my hand going numb in Cato's. Damn him for being stronger than me.
Pretty soon we're off and front of the crowd. Cato and I are forced to look each other in the eye without any hatred shown, which I know is probably not at all believable to the crowd. I hear people screaming our names, adoring us and showering us with applause. I feel on top, like I can do almost anything. I feel important and loved by the crowd.
As our chariot comes to an abrupt stop, I realize that I'm still grasping Cato's hand. Pulling away quickly, I'm greeted by a cocky smirk from Cato. When doesn't this guy look like a cocky bastard? But none of that matters, because I feel confident and sure of myself. But I'm still not sure of how I'll convince all of Panem that I have feelings for Cato Monstrum.