We were taken to this place called the Remake Center. There, colorful people took us into rooms, stripped us of our clothes, and started a process that I like to call torture. They sat us on tables and proceeded to rip hair off of our arms and legs. It took everything in my power not to lash out at them. A couple of rooms down, I could here a girl scream and I couldn't blame her. I would too if it meant they would stop.
They pulled me off the table after they made my skin sore and told me to get into this tub with this white oil like liquid in it. I eased into the tub, first cringing in pain from the sting of my raw legs hitting the water, then relaxed after the sting magically disappeared. I put my whole body in the tub, knowing it would bring relief to the pain. They made me sit in the tub for about fifteen minutes before they told me to get out.
These people who called themselves my "prep team" put me back in the table and proceeded to cut my hair and pull hair from my eyebrows. They made comment about my hair being as soft as silk or how my eyes were as green as priceless jewels. They also made comments about how the people were going to love me. They seemed to like how I looked because they backed off and left the room. No mirrors to see the damage that these people had done to me. This was frustrating. I laid on the table, waiting for whoever decided to come into the room.
The door opened and I found a woman with raven black hair and soft violet eyes looking back at me. She didn't make me feel uncomfortable, like the prep team did. She looked kind. I sat up, hoping that she was willing to talk to me.
"How do you feel?" she asked, coming closer to me.
"I feel like I've been violated," I answered. She laughed at the comment and came close enough for her to touch me. She reached out for my hair, which now reached to my mid back because of all the cutting the prep team had done. She made me stand and walked around me like a vulture circling its prey. She stopped in front of me.
"You're a beautiful girl," she said to me.
"Thanks," I replied. She walked over to another table in the room and picked up a big fluffy brush and dipped it in this gold powder. She walked back over to me and started brushing the powder across my face.
"If you don't mind me asking, what is your name?"
"Valiant." She put the brush down and picked up a smaller brush and dipped it in some bronze liquid.
"You fit your name very well. Especially for making through this without screaming. I know it's different for you." She brushed the liquid across my eyelid and under my brow. She put the brush down and walked over to the black bag that has been hanging in the room since I got there. She took it down and brought it over to me. "We're suppose to dress you in costumes that reflect your district. I did some study on grain and decided that we should use flowing fabrics to show the flow of the fields when brushed by the wind." She unzipped the bag to reveal a shiny bronze fabric dress that looked rather short. "Don't worry. There will be fabric that goes over this." She must have seen my reaction to give this reassurance.
"What's your name?" I finally asked as she helped me into the dress.
"Ariya." She draped this sheer gold fabric over my shoulder and it flowed down to my ankles. As I shifted to accommodate what Ariya was trying to do to fix my dress, I noticed that it did flow like the wheat being blown by the wind. She put gold tinted sandals on my feet. Half of my hair was up in a bun. Ariya put this headpiece on my head that had beaded strands hang down to mimic wheat. I imagined that it looked very pretty, even though I couldn't see it.
I noticed that Ariya wasn't fixing anything anymore and had walked off. She came back holding a full length mirror. She sat it up and drug me to it. I stared into my own reflection, mot even realizing it was me. I looked like myself enough. My green eyes, wavy hair, and tan skin were still visible. Yet, the makeup and clothing looked like nothing I would wear. Overall, it was very pretty. You can tell where the dress ended, yet the gold pieces of cloth draped perfectly. The headpiece flowed into my hair.
"Well, what do you think?" Ariya asked me.
"I like it." It was the truth, I did like it.
"We better get you down to the square. They'll begin soon." I nodded and followed Ariya. The more I walked, the more the fabric did look like grain. It was shiny grain, but grain nonetheless.
We made it to the line up. All the tributes from every district were lined up in order. I quickly found Jeremy with his stylist and Galaria. Jeremy tugs at his costume, almost identical to mine except he has no shirt and just a pair of pants to go with the sheer gold material draped across his shoulder. They had streaked his dark brown hair with bronze and had actual wheat in his hair. Other than gold eyeliner highlighting his eyes, he pretty much looked like himself. I walked up to him and gave a nervous smile.
"Do you feel about as violated as I do?" he asked with a joking smile. I laughed at his question.
"I think more," I replied. We laughed at this for a minute. He looked me up and down.
"You look great."
"Thanks. You too." I look around at the other tributes. Now that I see everyone in person, a lot of them look familiar. I couldn't quite place it, but I knew about five of the tributes. I heard the roar of the crowds. My stomach turned over in knots.
"You okay? You look kind of pale." Apparently my nervousness is obvious.
"I'm not used to vasts amounts of attention." I tried to hold down the contents of my stomach. I started twisting my dress in my fingers.
"But you acted just fine with the cameras back home."
"I was in shock. I'm totally okay now so I know exactly what's happening around me." Jeremy stuck his hands on my shoulders. He was a head taller than me. If I wasn't freaked out about the crowds, I would have probably been thinking about how he could easily take me out. He was pretty skinny but he had at least twenty pounds on me. Pounds made out of nothing but pure muscle.
"You're going to be okay. Just pretend they aren't there. You can do this." I nodded my head and he let go of my shoulders. I noticed that the tribute boy from District 4 was staring at the two of us. I quickly shook it off as we were being corralled to the chariots. Jeremy climbed in first and offered me a hand up. I quickly took it, knowing I wouldn't make it up on my own.
The two of us stood and waited while the first eight districts went. Suddenly, the chariot jerked, almost knocking me down. Jeremy quickly grabbed my arm to stabilize me. He gripped my hand but I wasn't about to let go. I was too nervous to. As the crowds became closer, Jeremy leaned in close to me.
"Smile and wave. Get everyone to like you," he whispered through smiling teeth. I nodded my head and put on my best smile. I started waving, even though I knew I looked like a fool. As we pulled into a roundabout, a faint smell of roses and blood hit my nose. I looked around to try to find the source of the smell. "What are you looking for?"
"Do you smell what I smell?"" I asked quietly. The chariot stopped and all the other tributes stopped waving. I put my arm down and watched as a skinny man with a face that looked like a weasel stood at a podium. This was President Morrow. Sitting behind him was a young man, not much older than I, that had a single rose in his black jacket. I guessed that was where the smell of roses is coming from.
"Welcome and happy Hunger Games!" Morrow interrupted my train of thought. Everyone quieted down in order to hear what the President would say next. "We are very happy to have you all here in the Capital with us today. May the odds be ever in your favor!" The crowd cheered.
The chariots started back up again and drove us to some building that looked like it was newer than the rest. I counted thirteen floors and we rode up. Galaria, Ariya, and Jeremy's stylist, Nole, all stood there waiting for us. Jeremy and I climbed out of the chariot and Galaria corralled us into the the building.
"Can you believe it?" she started. "This whole building was built here just for you! Isn't that wonderful?" I wouldn't say if it was wonderful or not. This is the place where we get to spend our final days alive. No, I wouldn't say it was wonderful at all. I would rather be home.
She took us to the elevator and pressed the number 9 for our floor. It was nice that we didn't have to remember anything else but out district number to be able to get to the place that we would be staying. My stomach twisted as the elevator shot up. It took us only a few seconds to reach our floor.
When the doors opened, I couldn't believe it. We walked out onto plush carpets in a room with a whole wall made out of glass to look down on the Capital streets below. The sofa in the middle of the room was a giant "c" shape that faced a huge television screen. Off of the room was a hallway with several doors off of it. Galaria walked us to the hallway and pointed out the door that went to the dining room and our room doors. I opened the door to my room. More plush carpeting with a giant bed covered in pillows. There was a closet filled with clothes and a door to a bathroom with a shower.
I quickly ran for the shower. I turned on the water and it was much hotter than the water in my bath back home. Thousands of buttons on a panel set for different purposes. Two for water temperature. One for water pressure. Twenty different buttons for different smelling soaps. The rest controlled different shower heads. It was most relaxing shower I have ever taken. I had washed off all of the makeup and came out of the bathroom smelling of vanilla and cinnamon. I found some pajamas that were made of silk.
Too tired to go down to the dinning room, I crawl into bed. The mattress was soft as well as the hundreds of pillows that surrounded me. The blankets were as soft as satin and twice as warm. I quickly fell asleep, wondering what the first day of training will behold.
They pulled me off the table after they made my skin sore and told me to get into this tub with this white oil like liquid in it. I eased into the tub, first cringing in pain from the sting of my raw legs hitting the water, then relaxed after the sting magically disappeared. I put my whole body in the tub, knowing it would bring relief to the pain. They made me sit in the tub for about fifteen minutes before they told me to get out.
These people who called themselves my "prep team" put me back in the table and proceeded to cut my hair and pull hair from my eyebrows. They made comment about my hair being as soft as silk or how my eyes were as green as priceless jewels. They also made comments about how the people were going to love me. They seemed to like how I looked because they backed off and left the room. No mirrors to see the damage that these people had done to me. This was frustrating. I laid on the table, waiting for whoever decided to come into the room.
The door opened and I found a woman with raven black hair and soft violet eyes looking back at me. She didn't make me feel uncomfortable, like the prep team did. She looked kind. I sat up, hoping that she was willing to talk to me.
"How do you feel?" she asked, coming closer to me.
"I feel like I've been violated," I answered. She laughed at the comment and came close enough for her to touch me. She reached out for my hair, which now reached to my mid back because of all the cutting the prep team had done. She made me stand and walked around me like a vulture circling its prey. She stopped in front of me.
"You're a beautiful girl," she said to me.
"Thanks," I replied. She walked over to another table in the room and picked up a big fluffy brush and dipped it in this gold powder. She walked back over to me and started brushing the powder across my face.
"If you don't mind me asking, what is your name?"
"Valiant." She put the brush down and picked up a smaller brush and dipped it in some bronze liquid.
"You fit your name very well. Especially for making through this without screaming. I know it's different for you." She brushed the liquid across my eyelid and under my brow. She put the brush down and walked over to the black bag that has been hanging in the room since I got there. She took it down and brought it over to me. "We're suppose to dress you in costumes that reflect your district. I did some study on grain and decided that we should use flowing fabrics to show the flow of the fields when brushed by the wind." She unzipped the bag to reveal a shiny bronze fabric dress that looked rather short. "Don't worry. There will be fabric that goes over this." She must have seen my reaction to give this reassurance.
"What's your name?" I finally asked as she helped me into the dress.
"Ariya." She draped this sheer gold fabric over my shoulder and it flowed down to my ankles. As I shifted to accommodate what Ariya was trying to do to fix my dress, I noticed that it did flow like the wheat being blown by the wind. She put gold tinted sandals on my feet. Half of my hair was up in a bun. Ariya put this headpiece on my head that had beaded strands hang down to mimic wheat. I imagined that it looked very pretty, even though I couldn't see it.
I noticed that Ariya wasn't fixing anything anymore and had walked off. She came back holding a full length mirror. She sat it up and drug me to it. I stared into my own reflection, mot even realizing it was me. I looked like myself enough. My green eyes, wavy hair, and tan skin were still visible. Yet, the makeup and clothing looked like nothing I would wear. Overall, it was very pretty. You can tell where the dress ended, yet the gold pieces of cloth draped perfectly. The headpiece flowed into my hair.
"Well, what do you think?" Ariya asked me.
"I like it." It was the truth, I did like it.
"We better get you down to the square. They'll begin soon." I nodded and followed Ariya. The more I walked, the more the fabric did look like grain. It was shiny grain, but grain nonetheless.
We made it to the line up. All the tributes from every district were lined up in order. I quickly found Jeremy with his stylist and Galaria. Jeremy tugs at his costume, almost identical to mine except he has no shirt and just a pair of pants to go with the sheer gold material draped across his shoulder. They had streaked his dark brown hair with bronze and had actual wheat in his hair. Other than gold eyeliner highlighting his eyes, he pretty much looked like himself. I walked up to him and gave a nervous smile.
"Do you feel about as violated as I do?" he asked with a joking smile. I laughed at his question.
"I think more," I replied. We laughed at this for a minute. He looked me up and down.
"You look great."
"Thanks. You too." I look around at the other tributes. Now that I see everyone in person, a lot of them look familiar. I couldn't quite place it, but I knew about five of the tributes. I heard the roar of the crowds. My stomach turned over in knots.
"You okay? You look kind of pale." Apparently my nervousness is obvious.
"I'm not used to vasts amounts of attention." I tried to hold down the contents of my stomach. I started twisting my dress in my fingers.
"But you acted just fine with the cameras back home."
"I was in shock. I'm totally okay now so I know exactly what's happening around me." Jeremy stuck his hands on my shoulders. He was a head taller than me. If I wasn't freaked out about the crowds, I would have probably been thinking about how he could easily take me out. He was pretty skinny but he had at least twenty pounds on me. Pounds made out of nothing but pure muscle.
"You're going to be okay. Just pretend they aren't there. You can do this." I nodded my head and he let go of my shoulders. I noticed that the tribute boy from District 4 was staring at the two of us. I quickly shook it off as we were being corralled to the chariots. Jeremy climbed in first and offered me a hand up. I quickly took it, knowing I wouldn't make it up on my own.
The two of us stood and waited while the first eight districts went. Suddenly, the chariot jerked, almost knocking me down. Jeremy quickly grabbed my arm to stabilize me. He gripped my hand but I wasn't about to let go. I was too nervous to. As the crowds became closer, Jeremy leaned in close to me.
"Smile and wave. Get everyone to like you," he whispered through smiling teeth. I nodded my head and put on my best smile. I started waving, even though I knew I looked like a fool. As we pulled into a roundabout, a faint smell of roses and blood hit my nose. I looked around to try to find the source of the smell. "What are you looking for?"
"Do you smell what I smell?"" I asked quietly. The chariot stopped and all the other tributes stopped waving. I put my arm down and watched as a skinny man with a face that looked like a weasel stood at a podium. This was President Morrow. Sitting behind him was a young man, not much older than I, that had a single rose in his black jacket. I guessed that was where the smell of roses is coming from.
"Welcome and happy Hunger Games!" Morrow interrupted my train of thought. Everyone quieted down in order to hear what the President would say next. "We are very happy to have you all here in the Capital with us today. May the odds be ever in your favor!" The crowd cheered.
The chariots started back up again and drove us to some building that looked like it was newer than the rest. I counted thirteen floors and we rode up. Galaria, Ariya, and Jeremy's stylist, Nole, all stood there waiting for us. Jeremy and I climbed out of the chariot and Galaria corralled us into the the building.
"Can you believe it?" she started. "This whole building was built here just for you! Isn't that wonderful?" I wouldn't say if it was wonderful or not. This is the place where we get to spend our final days alive. No, I wouldn't say it was wonderful at all. I would rather be home.
She took us to the elevator and pressed the number 9 for our floor. It was nice that we didn't have to remember anything else but out district number to be able to get to the place that we would be staying. My stomach twisted as the elevator shot up. It took us only a few seconds to reach our floor.
When the doors opened, I couldn't believe it. We walked out onto plush carpets in a room with a whole wall made out of glass to look down on the Capital streets below. The sofa in the middle of the room was a giant "c" shape that faced a huge television screen. Off of the room was a hallway with several doors off of it. Galaria walked us to the hallway and pointed out the door that went to the dining room and our room doors. I opened the door to my room. More plush carpeting with a giant bed covered in pillows. There was a closet filled with clothes and a door to a bathroom with a shower.
I quickly ran for the shower. I turned on the water and it was much hotter than the water in my bath back home. Thousands of buttons on a panel set for different purposes. Two for water temperature. One for water pressure. Twenty different buttons for different smelling soaps. The rest controlled different shower heads. It was most relaxing shower I have ever taken. I had washed off all of the makeup and came out of the bathroom smelling of vanilla and cinnamon. I found some pajamas that were made of silk.
Too tired to go down to the dinning room, I crawl into bed. The mattress was soft as well as the hundreds of pillows that surrounded me. The blankets were as soft as satin and twice as warm. I quickly fell asleep, wondering what the first day of training will behold.