Chapter Thirty-Four: Showcase
The dreaded day had finally arrived.
She'd barely managed to get any sleep the night before, something that seemed to have also plagued both of her parents. Brier and Piper had crawled into Maize's bed around eleven and Birch not even an hour after that, though they had slept through the rest of the night. Her youngest siblings had picked up on the apprehension wafting off the rest of them and were a bit cranky this morning. Amla and Thorn were equally antsy as they flitted about the kitchen and spoke softly to one another.
Seeder had joined them for breakfast, giving Maize and her family the support they would need to handle the incoming Capitolites. Chaff would be making his way over soon and was probably still getting dressed, her male Mentor had been very good to Maize's father. Inviting him over every Saturday evening for drinks and answering any questions her baba had about the Capitol.
Maize was prepared. She knew exactly how this would go down. Still... the nerves ate at her. She just wanted to get the whole ordeal over with... and it was just the fucking beginning! After presenting her talent she would still need to go to every District and address the families of the fallen tributes.
Breathe. Maize was fine. Just fine. Seeder and Chaff will be by her side the entire time. She wouldn't be facing the wolves on her own. Maize still jumped when the doorbell began ringing insistently not three minutes into clearing off the table.
Breathe. Seeder was the first to move, the entire Galloshire family seemingly frozen in their places, as she opened the door.
"Oh! Seeder, dear! I've missed your company so much my dear!" Goldie's exuberant tones wafted from the door as the pink-skinned Capitolite barged through the foyer. "Maize! Oh, you look wonderful!" the escort crowed when she caught sight of her. The woman's hair was a dark green color now and was up in a complicated looking do as she sashayed her way over to Maize. The woman pulled her into a small hug before blowing Maize air kisses as she smiled her glittery green lips in the direction of the weary-looking family.
"Oh my!" Circo gasped as he walked in behind the escort, "How quaint!"
Her prep team was as colorful as she'd remembered them. The three Capitolites were quick to surround her, mostly ignoring her family in favor of inspecting Maize for flaws. Tesoro sighed despairingly at Maize's 'crocodile skin' before complaining that she hadn't been keeping up with the moisturizing routine. Circo eyed Maize's less than perfect nails and shakes his head, while Yurida quietly despaired over the split ends in Maize's hair. Maize only internally sighed and sent her parents a reassuring smile over the Capiolites heads... though her mama did look slightly offended at the comments and her baba did not look happy about the two strangely dressed men crowding his daughter.
Thankfully Orion was more respectful about the whole matter as he cleared his team away before pulling Maize into a quick gentle hug, "Hello darling, you look wonderful! Very fit!" The man's eyes, an unnatural golden shade she saw Birch blanch at, were still as piercing as Maize had remembered them as his gaze took in her form. "Though you haven't grown at all." he teased lightly, his pale grey-painted lips pulled up.
Maize mock glared at the stylist, "We both know that I won't be getting any taller Orion, it's nothing a pair of heels can't fix right?" she threw the words the man had once told her.
Orion let out a joyful laugh, "Oh, darling, you do listen!"
The next hour or so was spent in a way similar to that of her time in the Remake Center, though this time, her entire family was subject to the unwanted makeover. Interviewing the new Victor's family was a pretty standard procedure during the tour, and apparently all of the Capitol was enamored with Maize's siblings after witnessing their reunion six months ago. That was also the reason her heavily pregnant cousin and her husband were in their home.
"Alright," Goldie tittered, "let's go over it once more my dear, you'll sit right here," the woman indicated to the beautifully decorated living room where Maize's guitar was waiting to be played, "introduce your talent and then sing your... song. Cupid's crew will be conducting the interviews in the study. Remember, my dear, wide smiles, and don't forget to enunciate! Seeder's told me all about how you've been practicing, oh this is so exciting!"
Maize nodded robotically as she tried to arrange herself in an elegant manner on the chair. It was a bit difficult since she was wearing a short black dress with silver stars printed on it that flared at her waist, and Maize would rather die than accidentally flash all of Panem while she played the guitar. At least the black boots she was wearing went all the way up to her knees. Maize's hair and nails had been immaculately done by the enthusiastic prep team followed the same theme of stars. Chaff had snorted softly before whispering in her ear that Orion was sure that Maize would become an actual star after performing... Maize would rather that she not.
Cupid, the cameraman, and director in charge of filming her during the tour gave her the three-minute warning -it really only served to send Maize's heart into a panic than get Goldie and the prep team out of the shot. Orion was the one who had to shoo them out of the way since Seeder and Chaff were coaching her nervous family through their interviews.
"Oh, its time!" Goldie chirruped as a hologram of Ceasar Flickerman came to life on the wall and began to narrate to the cheering crowds in the Capitol in front of the glowing phrase 'VICTORY TOUR' with Maize's image by it. Great. Maize breathed in and out before plastering a soft excited grin -that she'd practiced for hours with Seeder- as Cupid motioned that they were live.
"Here she is ladies and gentlemen!" Ceasar announced joyfully, "Our Victor of the 70th Hunger Games! Maize, my dear, how are you!?"
A demure giggle escaped from her lips, as if Maize couldn't contain her mirth, "Oh, just wonderful Ceasar! I'm so excited to show everyone what I've been working on!"
Cesar let out an excited laugh, "Not as excited as we are! Right folks?" the man gestured to the audience that let out a roaring cheer, "So, tell us, Maize! What wonderful talent will you be showcasing for us, on this historic first day of your Victory Tour?"
Maize smiled shyly as her face pinked, "Well, Ceasar, how about I just show you instead? Just go easy on me, I'm still a novice." she added with a mischievous wink before gently lifting the guitar, that up until that moment had been out of the screen, onto her lap.
She could hear the crowd in the Capitol gasping in excitement and see Ceasar's eager expression from the hologram image as Maize hummed the first note of the song before strumming the first chords and singing.
"I close my eyes and I can see/ A world that's waiting up for me/ that I call my own.../ Through the dark, through the door./ Through where no one's been before./ But it feels like home..." Maize allowed her eyes to shut as she let the music wash over her, "They can say, they can say, it all sounds crazy./ They can say, they can say I've lost my mind./ I don't care, I don't care, so call me crazy./ We can live in a world that we design."
She smiled opening her eyes and staring right into the lens of the camera as if the words to this song were dedicated to the Capitol alone, "'Cause every night I lie in bed./ The brightest colors fill my head./ A million dreams are keeping me awake./ I think of what the world be./ A vision of the one I see./ A million dreams is all it's gonna take/ Oh, a million dreams for the world we're gonna make!"
Cheers erupted from the other end of the line, but Maize ignored them and continued on, her fingers dancing across the neck of the guitar and her voice strong. "There's a house we can build/ Every room inside is filled./ With things from far away./ The special things I compile./ Each one there to make you smile,/ on a rainy day./ They can say, they can say, it all sounds crazy./ They can say, they can say we've lost our minds./ I don't care, I don't care, if they call us crazy./ Runaway to a world that we design!"
Maize looked off towards the room where her family was being interviewed, the recordings would air in the morning. She would miss them all terribly, especially with the journey she was about to embark on.
"Every night I lie in bed./ The brightest colors fill my head./ A million dreams are keeping me awake./ I think of what the world be./ A vision of the one I see./ A million dreams is all it's gonna take/ Oh, a million dreams for the world we're gonna make!" she sang the chorus out passionately before her voice tapered off into a quieter tone, "However big, however small./ Let me be part of it all./ Share your dreams with me./ You may be right, you may be wrong./ But say that you'll bring me along./ To the world you see./ To the world I close my eyes to see./ I close my eyes to see!"
Her fingers danced as she changed the chords before repeating the chorus once more in a wistful tone before repeating the last phrase twice without the accompaniment of her guitar, "For the world we're gonna make."
The applause would have been more than deafening if she had actually been on that stage with Ceasar. Maize smiled, panting softly out of breath. Goldie, Orion and his prep team stared at Maize with wonder and wide smiles as they clapped quietly to themselves.
"WOW!" Ceasar crowed, "Just WOW! Absolutely amazing! Wasn't she folks! Just beautiful! I think we'll want a repeat performance one she gets here, won't we folks!" the host asked as he faced his crowd. The Capitolites cheered wildly.
Words 1800
(This chapter is dedicated to Kristin. -I still can't believe you're reading this.)