Chapter 4: Cards
Dinner is a time to indulge, at least for Gardenia and I. Courses after courses are served to us, ranging from lamb chops, split pea soup, an assortment of cheeses, crackers, and cold meats, and plenty of different types of rolls. There's another table, too, filled to the brim with different types of deserts. The people in the Capitol really know how to eat. I try my best to have manners while I eat, but I can't help myself from stuffing my face, and neither can Gardenia, who's eating a lamb chop with her hands. Well, most of her food with her hands. This causes Effie to look over in complete disgust at her lack of manners, but it doesn't phase the rest of us, because we know that food like this in District 12, just doesn't exist. Most are lucky enough to even have one meal. There was never enough.
I've finished two large plates, and the idea of desert goes away since I'm afraid of overindulging. I'm not sure if it's from the food or just all the stress Ive been through, but I'm battling to keep it all down. After everyone finishes, Effie excuses herself while Haymitch and Katniss bring us to another compartment that has velvet couches against one of the walls of the car, in front of the couch is a huge tv that's playing the recap of this years reapings and some clips from the previous games. I have so many questions to ask, but I hold off, we're all too glued to the screen. I might as well see who's my competition. District 1's tributes are siblings, both of which look very strong with blonde hair and blue eyes, they look almost god like. Apparently the brother volunteered after his sister got picked, and volunteering for them is like a competition. District 2 is the same story, except they're not related. The idea of volunteering for fun makes me sick to my stomach and I'm struggling to keep dinner down. Some other tributes that catch my attention are from District 4 and 7. Both of the male tributes look pretty strong as well, but I'm sure I could take them down. Gardenia and I are the last to be shown, and that brings me back to reality. That this is all really happening and in less than a week we will be killing each other.
After the recap is over, we all sit in silence. "What are we supposed to do.." Gardenia's quiet voice breaks it. Haymitch takes a huge sip from a silver flasks he's hidden in his pocket. I now realize that this is the first time I've seen him drink today, which is unusual because he's known for being drunk every day. For instance, he fell off the stage during Katniss's reaping because of how drunk he was. But he's relatively sober, for now. "Stay alive." He says, almost jokingly. Katniss quickly elbows him in the stomach, not too hard, but hard enough to let him know it's not the time to joke around. Katniss composes herself quickly, and her stern grey eyes stare the two of us down. "Focus on shelter, food, and water." Katniss tells us, "And don't even think running towards the cornucopia unless you got a death wish." I take in everything she's saying, and Gardenia seems to do the same. Nothing else is needed to be said.
We're brought back to our designated cars for the night. Finally all by myself, my feelings from the past couple days hit me as fast as the Capitol trains. In the shower, I let it all out, noises I've never heard from myself as I sob. Hopefully the sound of running water drowns out my sobs, I wouldn't want the others to feel bothered or keep them up. The tears don't come to a stop, and I can't help but feel that I'm missing a part of me, which is now miles away, back home in District 12. I miss my father, my brothers, and my mother. And I find myself missing Delly. Thinking of Delly makes me pull myself together. Missing them isn't going to help me get through this.
After my shower, I put on a white tee and boxers and throw myself onto the massive bed. It feels like I'm on clouds, as if the velvet blanket would just engulf me if I lay any longer. I shut my eyes, in hopes that when I wake up the next morning, this would all surely just be a dream.
I find myself in tall grass, the summer air filling my lungs as I take a deep breath. The sound of flowing water tells me that I'm in the meadow, back in District 12. All of a sudden, I can't help but feel so thirsty, and my feet move on their own accord, swiftly bringing me over to the river. I see someone as I come up to it. Her curly golden blonde hair covers her face from my view, but there's no doubt on who it is. Delly. A smile forms on my face, and I don't hesitate to run and pull her into a tight hug. Her sweet scent makes me feel so happy, but I smell something else. Almost like an earthy smell. I pull away from our tight embrace and try to get myself lost in her bright blue eyes. But it's not the same eyes that belong to my girl. Something isn't right. I take one more look at her face and I'm met with piercing grey eyes. My hand falls from her face and I realize that this isn't real. The girl in front of me is a mix of both Katniss and Delly, and with each look the face starts to become unrecognizable.
I wake up, completely drenched from sweat. I release my grip from the satin like sheets. So much for everything being a dream, it's more like a living nightmare. After avoiding Katniss for almost two years didn't help the feelings i tried to suppress, instead made them come back more stronger than ever. I get myself out of bed, making my way to my personal bathroom to clean off the sweat from my nightmare. As soon as I finished and got dressed up for the day, I make my way to the dining room car, already finding everyone at the table. 'Guess I was the only one who woke up late..' I think to myself. "Peeta! How nice of you to join us!" Effie chirps in her high pitched Capitol accent, confirming my thoughts. I mutter a quick apology before taking my seat at the table. "We are to be arriving at the Capitol any minute now!" Effie smiles at Gardenia and I, as she walks over to one of the trains windows, opening it to show us the outside. Instead of trees, we're met with a huge crowd of people, cheering so loud we could hear them from the train. People who are so happy to see us get sent to our deaths.
Gardenia runs over to the window, her face in awe at all the people cheering for her. I watch her as she puts a huge smile on her face, softly waving back to the loud crowd. This drives the Capitol crazy. Haymitch looks at me, motioning his head towards Gardenia as if he wants me to join her. I hesitated at first, not wanting to be more of a pawn in the games, but at the same time, what else do I have to lose? I join Gardenia, forcing a big smile onto my face and waving back to the crowd. I look back at our two mentors, getting a nod of approval from Katniss. "Play your cards right.." Haymitch tells me. I was unsure what he meant at first, but then I realized; I have to put on an act, give them a good show, and maybe, just maybe, the odds will be in my favor. That gave me hope.
Haymitch's words repeat in my head as Gardenia and I follow behind our mentors exiting the train. Katniss is the first to step out of the train, her cold demeanor suddenly disappearing as soon as her foot hit the pavement. I was taken aback at first, seeing Katniss like this was new. She had a big smile on her face, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the crowd, waving to everyone in the stands. Katniss had been a Capitol favorite before she even stepped foot in the arena all because of her selfless actions. A small hand grabbing onto mine distracts me from Katniss and I realize it's Gardenia shakily holding onto me. I get out of the train, turning back to help Gardenia out, causing the crowd to go even more crazy for some reason.
Shortly after, we're brought to room that is under the Tribute Center, and are told to wait until our styling teams show up. The room I'm placed in is barren almost, giving the same atmosphere as if it was a hospital. I change out of my clothes from home and put on a paper covering that was laid out on the hard looking bed. That same moment, three very eccentric looking people walked into my room and stood around me, observing me as if I was an animal in the zoo. A woman with bright blue spikes on her head touches my face with caution, while a man who was covered in spots of gold examines the rest of me. I never understood the fashion in the Capitol, nor did I ever consider following the trends. My team gets to work on me, covering the basics and even going to the extreme. By the time they were done, they stood around me once more, and this time they didn't look at me like an animal, instead they took pride in their work. I didn't recognize myself in the mirror once they were done with me. Not a blemish, scar or any impurity in sight- they made me perfect, almost doll like.
A dark skinned man enters the room shortly after my team leaves me, and I was taken aback by how normal he appeared. There were subtle hints in his appearance that gave away that he was from the Capitol, for instance, the shimmering gold that lined his lower part of his eyes and on the tips of his black hair. He reaches his hand out to me, shaking mine in a friendly manner. I've seen him before, mainly during Katniss' games where he debuted as a new stylist, his name is Cinna and he was the mastermind behind the Girl on Fire. Not much is said between Cinna and I, besides his little comments on how my costume for tonight was made. Once dressed into my costume, I take one good look at man standing before me in the mirror. My golden blonde hair is brushed and gelled back, maintaining its hold no matter how hard I shake my head. I'm dressed in a tight black shirt with shoulder pads resembling coals, and tight black jeans. The costume is very fitting as we have to dress up based on what our respective district is in charge of, and in District 12's case, we're in charge of coal.
I meet up with my mentors as they prepare us to get onto our chariots. Gardenia is dressed in the same fashion, almost resembling Katniss during her games, except you can tell her team brought out the innocence more in her. Our turn comes up, and we make our way to the roaring crowd. As we catch speed, I notice flickers of orange from the corner of my eye and I take a look at Gardenia; she's on fire, quite literally and so am I. I stop myself from panicking once I realize that nothing hurts and make myself stand tall, looking out at the crowd that's cheering for us. I flash a cheeky smile and catch a red rose that was thrown in our direction, placing that same rose behind Gardenia's ear. The crowd loves us, cheering our names louder than the rest, causing us to get some nasty glares from the other tributes but that doesn't stop Haymitch's words from earlier going through my head. Play your cards right.