Note- The character who is narrating is a Capitolite because I thought it would be cool that way. Warning, she is very clueless. Her name is Titania Sparkl.
Oh. My. GOSH! I was so so so so so excited! It was the day of the annual Parade and I could not wait. I was so excited to see how they would look, and so me and my boyfriend Justin ordered front row seats. It was necessary, trust me.
We had to wait like seven hours of commercials until finally they spared us and just started the parade. Thank goodness! I thought I was about to die! The heat was seriously giving me a tan and I wasn't even at the beach.
The first chariots began starting down the stadium and with them the tributes. The first held District One, of course, which was, like, the best District in my opinion. They were obviously going to win because they were Careers- and the best ones at that.
The girl, Skyrah, was, like, so ugly, to my surprise. She had glasses which was totally terrible, and she was dressed like an empress, complete with a giant dress that sparkled and big mounds of makeup on her face in an effort to make her look better. To no avail, obviously.
The guy, Mark, was, like, totally hot. I'm not saying Justin's worse, because obviously he's much more handsome, but in terms of Districts, Mark was over the average. He had dark blue eyes that were so amazing, but his plain brown hair could use some dye. He was wearing a pink suit and displaying his muscles to the girls.
Then there was Persefone. She was wearing this camouflage soldier thing, which was like the ugliest thing in the world. I pitied her even though she looked like she was trying her best to make everyone feel the opposite.
Eh, Felix was okay. He wasn't hot like Mark, which was why everyone wasn't showering him in flowers. He was wearing the same ugly soldier outfit, but it was better on him because at least it showed off his Career muscles.
Calamity just sat there with a smirk on her face. I wanted to wipe it off her because it pulled down at her mouth and made her unattractive. Her hair was just curly brown, and she was pretty average. Her clothes, with the wires on the front, did not help.
Tyler was...meh. He just looked like a nerd, he didn't even need glasses. There was a really light star on his shirt that made my eyes hurt, so I guess he wasn't too good, but at least he had red hair, which was kind of close to dyed. He needed some makeup to cover up those freckles, though. They were hideous.
Then there was Azurine. She was very short, and the frown on her face was a bit disconcerting. Her dress was like the ocean waves; her stylist had done a good job. I was totally going to buy that dress when it came out in stores.
Algar was dressed in a suit of blue jewels. It seemed that a lot of girls found him hot because he had "heroically" turned up at the Capitol's door, and they screamed as he came by, tossing roses by the hundreds. Honestly, he wasn't really that handsome, in my opinion.
The girl, Twyla, from District Five, killed everyone else. She was wearing a long black dress that had patches like lights. She wore it well, a smile plastered upon her face and waving monotonously as the boys ran over each other to get her attention. Her hair was so cool, I was totally going to get that same hair dye after the parade.
Her partner, Mica, looked super happy, and that was all. I could tell he was thin even through the fat suit, an attempt to make him look plumper. The flashing colors distracted from this trait, causing me to look away, but I thought it looked pretty neat. Their stylist had done a great job.
Harriet was hilarious. I mean, she was a tire. There was a bunch of dust on her so she looked like a sand-snowman or something. Then- and seriously, I'm not even joking- she TRIPPED AND FELL OUT OF HER CHARIOT! Her tire costume thing sent her rolling down the road and everyone broke out in laughter. Jeez, that must be embarrassing.
Cameron was- OH MY GOSH. My heart began racing like doubletime because of his utter hotness. I wanted to squeal like seven-year-old girls do when their crush comes sauntering up the hallway. But...Justin was there. And he was kind of watching me like he wanted to know if I thought Cameron handsome. So I just stifled it even though I felt like he could tell by my endless swallowing.
Then Justin said something plainly. He said, "Why are you swallowing?"
I laughed nervously, toying with the ends of my silky gold hair. "Um...well, you see, swallowing is a natural part of life...everyone has to swallow..."
He stared at me so hard I blushed madly. He finally replied, "But you're not eating. The only time anyone swallows is when they eat."
"Ah...yes, you're right, but I got something stuck between my teeth- I think it was that zucchini I ate earlier- and I had to swallow it. There's no trash can around...," I stated, still fumbling with my hair.
He relaxed. "I suppose you're right. There is no trash can around."
Whew! That was a close one! I thought, free to "swallow zucchini" as much as I wanted. Cameron had messy brown hair, light skin and bright blue eyes. He looked pretty young, probably only twelve or thirteen. I made note to sponsor him as much as I could during his Games. He had to win! He just had to!
I could also see a bunch of other girls, younger than me and around nine or ten, tossing flowers carelessly at him. He flashed a smile back to one girl who went to my school- Fiona Oneletto- who shrieked and fainted. Her friends surrounded her in concern.
The next carriage went by, the horse a lean brown one with dark, serious eyes. Alea Bryce was dressed in this tree thing. It was a dress made up of a bunch of branches woven together expertly and tattoos on every patch of skin showing so she looked exactly as she was supposed to be, but it was very ugly nonetheless. Seven always was.
Spruce was okay I guess. He was just wearing a brown suit with leaves for a headpiece and going around his arms. It was kind of plain and boring in that nature-green bleh way so I didn't really pay much attention.
District Eight rocked this year. They made everyone look like trash, even Twyla. I didn't even know it was allowed and I sneaked a glance at President Snow a couple times, but he seemed unconcerned. Lace and Rowan were both dressed in matching blue fabrics, her a dress and him a suit. Jewels were basically everywhere on Lace and she was scowling at them, shaking them to the ground dramatically. Rowan was more mature but he still showed distinct dislike for his costume.
District Nine was weird. Zahava was a Peacekeeper- was she trying to be like Two? Nobody could replace Two...
Cornell scared me. He was ducking behind Zahava and blushing furiously, covered in only a white loincloth plus some glitter. There was still a somewhat joking glint in his eyes but not enough to revive him from his embarrassment. The girls were giggling to each other from the audience and taking as many pictures as they could to post on social media.
Ten was boring. They were just farmers again. Well, correction, Dahlia was a farmer, and she was exclaiming stuff to Murray who took it disinterestedly. Then she looked up and saw her stylist, Keith, and I caught him waving a hand frantically at Murray. She tipped her head slightly and poked her District partner with her rake. Murray, who was dressed in one of those cow costumes that always entertained little kids, fell to the ground, startled. Yay! Another thing to post on social media.
District Eleven was the District of agriculture so they were always so boring. Elizabeth was just wearing a dress and flats. So plain. There was a faint blush on her cheeks- probably shy. Amil was okay...he was kind of hot and he definitely thought so because he was winking flirtatiously into the audience. Those tributes always made me feel so giggly inside.
Twelve was generally always the worst, but this year they weren't bad. They weren't anything epic like Eight or Four, but at least halfway decent. Alice, who was so small and angelic I had to consider sponsoring her, was wearing a black dress that, when catching the light, turned a purplish color. Like coal I guess.
Jackson looked like...I don't know...some kind of rebel? He was wearing black combat boots, black cargo pants, and a black muscle shirt which all the girls screamed at. There was an extra coat of makeup on his face. I wondered what all that was about.
My gaze lingered on Cameron a second too long and Justin frowned. I quickly kissed him to make him shut up and ended up getting lipstick smeared all over his face. Oh, well. He'd have that to worry about and I'd get to keep looking at Cameron—yay!
As he was wiping at his face, I saw my friend Jessamine come over to me. She looked like she had at least forty pounds of makeup on her face- her lips were an unnatural shade of red, eyes heavily lined in black. Silver face paint glittered as the light shifted and she smirked as I watched in amazement. Jessamine was rich so she could afford that kind of thing, I thought envyingly.
"Hey, girl!" she said, turning to Justin with an extra flirtatious smile. Her green eyes were shimmering and her hair glossy, every thread on her dress flawless. I kissed Justin again to settle territory and then gazed sweetly back. She tried to hide a small frown.
"Hey!" I purred, linking my arm through hers. "You look fabulous!"
"Oh, I know," she smiled, sharp white teeth showing. She turned in her dress and the sun made the silver slivers of plastic shift suddenly, turning an aqua blue color. She noticed the direction of my eyes and beamed.
"Do you like the dress?" she asked.
"Oh, it's wonderful," I gave her a truthful smile. We tossed compliments to each other back and forth until Jessamine got bored and told me why she was there.
"So you know, Algar?" she began, nodding to the boy in the suit up at the front.
I nodded. "Yeah, he showed up randomly, right?"
"Well, not randomly," she prodded. "Caesar said they had magic transport buttons or something."
"So?" I didn't get her point.
"Well, I just thought maybe we should, um, meet him when he's walking back." She pretended to stammer but you could read the truth in her eyes.
"Why?" I still didn't get her point.
"So we can talk to him! Find out the truth! You know!" she burst out impatiently.
"I didn't know that," I said honestly.
She looked like she was about to call me dumb before she remembered her manners and said sympathetically, "Oh, you poor thing, I'm sorry if I made you feel...er...embarrassed or anything, I really didn't mean that." She lowered her lashes, catlike.
"No, no, you didn't make me feel anything!" I fibbed, reassuring her of her own lie. "I am completely fine."
"That's good." She smiled once more at me until I felt that her mouth was going to get stretched by the end of today. "Will you come with me?"
"Of course," I replied, though I wasn't too sure of it. Find out the truth? I didn't really want to know...but protocol stuck with me and I could not deny her.
"Good," she said brightly. "Now you stay here, Justin, and we'll go!" She led me out of the stadium before he could argue and we crossed the perfectly polished hallway. There was gold filigree all over the walls in patterns of leaves, and the floor was lavishly decorated. Velvet lined the edges, twinkling newly.
"Are you sure we'll be able to see them?" I said hurriedly, anything to make her stop. But she continued on her brisk pace and seemed to be completely sure of her decision.
"Of course! The hallway they go out on is that way, by the way," she told me, pointing her finger sharply to the right.
I gaped at her. "But that's the forbidden hallway! No one can go that way."
"Trust me, I know what I'm doing." She tugged me along after her and I tried to kick at her but I couldn't. Ugh! Stupid Jessamine! What if we got in trouble? Maybe..maybe I could play dumb and blame Jess? Ooh, good idea. It had been her idea after all.
We crossed countless intersections before we finally reached the other side of the stadium. Tributes were filing out of it and Jess quickly shoved me into a storage closet. I was knocked against rolls of toilet paper as she shut the door behind us, leaving only a tiny crack to look out.
"There he is!" she exclaimed.
"Algar?" I rubbed my head and pushed the crinkled toilet paper off me.
"No, Cameron!" Wild excitement lit up her eyes.
"So...?" I had to admit that my heart was beating as rapidly as hers. Cameron! We would be able to see him up close and personal! Just one more look at those impossibly bright eyes, the blue suit and white bowtie, the messy hair...
I could tell Jessamine was thinking the exact same thing and she said snootily, "You've got a boyfriend."
I jutted my chin up sharply and retorted, "I don't like him." I tried to put emphasis on my words but it was like totally obvious I was lying.
"You do," she accused.
"You do too," I answered simply, fists clenching. "But anyway- here he comes. You don't want to miss him, do you?"
She brightened and peeked back out of the doorway. She popped her head back in with a tiny squeal. "OMG! I JUST SAW HIM!"
"...you know he's gonna die, right?"
An angry look crossed over Jess's face. "Don't say that."
"Sorry, I just did," I dropped my gaze apologetically, though inside I felt triumphant.
"Oh, shut up!" Jess trotted out of the storage closet and tapped Cameron on the shoulder. "Hi," she said, her voice suddenly becoming silky sweet.
He looked startled for a moment before forcing a smile. "Hello," he said. "How'd you get here?"
She looked down. "I-I got lost," she answered breathlessly, then shot him a smile in return. "Will you help me find my way back?"
He tilted his head at her, giving me a perfect view to just stare into his amazing eyes. So bright, so blue... I thought, forgetting Justin entirely. "Of course," he finally said. "Come along." He began leading the way back and Jess twisted around to grin at me, bullets shooting from her eyes. I scowled. Could I follow them? I took a deep breath and decided yes.
Which ended up in Cameron discovering me, by the way. Ugh. I was never going to try that again. I could call it "#MostEmbarrassingMomentOfMyLife" easily. I had never gotten caught by one of my crushes or something like that. But Cameron...he was different. I was totally rooting for him, even through my reddened face.
Lol sorry it's kind of boring but I finished the actual parade around 1600 and felt unsatisfied. 9/4/17