The Boy With The Bread

Chapter 6

Katniss POV

Finally it is morning. I have been up all night unable to get sleep, even though Effie kept commenting on how soothing the train is. Speaking of Effie, I hear her click-clacking over to my door.
"Katniss! Katniss! Get up, get up! We are soon to be in the Capitol!" The peppy escort bangs on my door.
"I am already up!" I shout grumpily. I slide out of the comfy bed and think about Prim. Will my mother and Prim be grieving for me? Will Prim go to school tomorrow? Probably not. She is so fragile, me going to the Capitol most likely broke her. I change back into the black reaping dress and do not comb my hair. When I feel like I have wasted enough time, I trudge to the dining area.

Gale is already there, scooping eggs onto a clean white plate. He smiles at me and asks me if I had a good sleep. Shaking my head, I snatch a plate and pile all the food I can possibly carry onto it. Immediately I shovel the delicious breakfast delicacies into my mouth, hardly bothering to chew.
"Katniss!" Effie shrieks. "You cannot eat like that today! We are going to the Capitol and you will meet with your prep team and stylist! I hope that your breakfast will not come up all over them!"
Oh, right. Another part of the Games. Each tribute has three Capitol people doing their hair, makeup and whatnot. We also have one stylist, who designs our costumes for special events before the Games. I groan. I don't want people "styling me" or whatever that means.
"Katniss, I'm sorry but I just want you to make a good impression on your team. They are good people." Effie says. And I am not mad because she is like our mentor. Haymitch hasn't done anything to help us. I haven't even seen him since dinner last night.

"Yes Katniss. We will gain more sponsors if we agree to everything our stylists say." Gale adds. I can only help but ponder about what costumes Gale and I will be forced to wear. It will be ugly, no doubt. Gale's comment is actually funny because District 12 victors rarely get sponsors, one reason being that the tributes are so scrawny and weak, the other that usually the stylists are so idiotic the costumes are hideously hard to look at. Out of the corner of my eye, I see light that flashes in the train.

"What was that?" I gasp.
"It seems that we have arrived in the Capitol!" Effie says happily, her green curls bouncing cheerfully. I hurry over to the window as light floods into the train, giving everything inside a warm glow. I press my face against the glass, taking in the breathtaking view. The Capitol is ginormous! Tall buildings that touch the sky, short little apartments in crazy hues. It seems like the sky is a painted picture, because it is a perfect blue with perfect puffy white clouds dotting it. In the very center of it all, is a huge white dome shaped building that sparkles in the sunlight.

"Oh," Effie breathes. "It is wonderful to be home. By the way, the big building in the middle is the President Snow's building. And the tallest structure to your left is the Training Center, where you two will stay."

I look up at Gale and he is mesmerized too. Abruptly, we are pulled into complete darkness for a while, then emerge out of tunnel into the Capitol train station. I see throngs of people, if they could even be called that. Pink hair, silver tattoos, lizard lips and even furry tails are what I see on these Capitol citizens. "Whoa!'' Gale is appalled by their fashion choices. So am I, but not Effie. She is raving about a woman's lavender dyed skin, and a man's hair that is gelled into a two foot high stick. I spot a little girl, maybe four years old, who has small sparkly orange cat whiskers and ears sprouting from her tiny little head. Poor kids.

The train roars to a stop, and I see Haymitch stumble into the room, a male Avox struggling to hold him up. "Are we in the Capitol, Ellie?" Haymitch asks. He actually sounds sober! Even though he called Effie Ellie again. Effie nods in reply and we all are glued to the window.

"Alrighty! Gale, Katniss, we will be off the train in a few minutes. Just relax a little and just follow me. Everyone will be thrilled to see tributes right now, so don't be alarmed if people crowd around you. Just enjoy the experience. You will feel like real celebrities!" I share a look with Gale, who is grinning widely. I know this grin. It is the one he always wears when he is about to laugh. Before we have time to laugh though, an infinite amount of light pours through, blinding me. I see that a huge door has opened, and hundreds of excited fans are waiting to meet us. Even though we are tributes form 12, the Games are such a big deal to them, even we are considered amazing.

Effie struts out of the train confidently, waving hello to the adoring fans. I wish I had combed my hair this morning. I wasn't expecting this at all! Gale and I follow Effie meekly through the crowd. I manage to throw a few smiles out to the people, even though I despise them with my heart, body, mind and soul. Haymitch staggers behind us, and the Avoxes, including Levia, trail behind Haymitch in shame. After what seems like hours of parading through the station, we reach a private area that is decked out in soft couches and chairs and I plop down on one instantly.

"Nope! No time for that Katniss! We gotta move!" I moan and Gale offers me a smile. I lift my eyebrows to suggest to Gale that the Capitol people are crazy. Effie leads us through a claustrophobic corridor and we enter a tall, awesomely large building. "This! This is the Training Center! There are fourteen floors, one for each district, one for the lobby which we are standing in and below us is the actual Training Center, where you will practice your skills and prepare for the Games!"

Gale and I are taken aback by the magnificence of this grand area. "Okay, let us go to twelfth floor where you will be staying in. You will have your own rooms like in the train and we will have our meals there too." Effie chirps. She beckons us to come forward, and we enter a boxy thing that I do not know what it is. Effie calls it an elevator. The elevator is so fascinating! The box soars up into the air and Gale and I watch the ground get smaller and smaller. Ding!
A bell rings and the doors of the elevator slide open. Amazingly enough, the District 12's floor is beautiful. The room we step off into is a greenhouse, filled with exotic, bright flowers and leaves. Trees brush the glass ceilings and yellow roses hug the walls. The next room is the dining area, where a long, antique table is decorated with silver platters and pretty centerpieces. Golden curtains are draped against clear windows. As we pass exquisitely gorgeous rooms, Effie finally brings us to our rooms.

"Gale, your room is to the left, Katniss go right. Now go enjoy yourselves until I call you for lunch. Now, where is Haymitch?'' Effie leaves and I scramble inside to explore. My room is three times as big as the one on the train. There is a T.V. and one wall is entirely a glass window. I peer out and see the entire Capitols, glittering and shining. There is a flat silver box on the creamy walls that has a booklet attached to it. I scan it, and the silver box can produce whatever food or clothing item you want in a second. To test it out, I press the little black button and a keyboard pops out. I type in green corn. Amazingly, green corn appears. I am in awe but the Capitol thinks they can have all this hi-tech gadgets with endless amounts of food and clothes while people are dying. I nibble on the corn, which tastes good actually, as I explore more. The bathroom is half the size of the actual bedroom. Little crystals outline the huge mirror and there is another silver box inside the shower. After reading the manual, this box has hundreds of choices of soaps, water temperatures, shampoos, even how soft you want your towel to be! I never had a shower before, because they are too expensive at home. I have seen Capitol ads about showers on T.V. so I decide to try it.

I strip of clothes and select a temperature. Soft water rains onto my back and tangly hair. I use a minty scented soap that stings but exfoliates my dead skin. I have definitely been missing out on life! This shower feels like heaven. I gather my hair and wash it with a foamy substance that smells of cinnamon. It is lovely.

I am pacing back and forth in my room, my hair silky and soft. I finish off the green corn and wonder where Levia is. Didn't she say she would come with me to the Capitol? Someone knocks on my door. I am changed into a brown shirt I found in a dresser drawer and blue pants. I do not know what it is made of, but it is comfy and says jeans on the back. I open the door and find Haymitch standing there, a pretty wineglass in his unstable hands.

"Hello, Haymitch." I say formally.
"Hello, Katniss. Lunch is ready." He tells me boredly and sips his wine.
"Haymitch, please help us." I plead. I know it will not do us any good to ask him for help, because he is so lost in his world of alcohol but why not try? "I am sorry if this is interfering with your alcohol addiction," I spit out, "but I am pretty much going to die if you do not help. Right now, all we have is Effie who hasn't taught me anything useful but how to eat with my mouth closed." I say sarcastically.

"Katniss Everdeen." Haymitch says, looking me in the eye. "Don't worry. You'll die anyways, with or without my help." Then he spins around, wine sloshing in the glass, and walks off.