The Incoming Storm: The Tale of the 325th Hunger Games

Chapter 10

 I rise to Clio knocking on my door. I quickly get dressed and head to the dining room for the next day of training. Today is a completely different form of training, this is training for our public showings which are the Sponsor Gala and Pre-Game Interviews. These events will give us our next two training scores, which can make or break a tribute. Even if you score a 10 in training, if no one likes you, you're probably not going to win.

At breakfast, Maizer and Quin inform us that we will be separated for the day in order to spend time working on more individual skills. Maizer and Clio head to the living room for etiquette while Quin keeps me in the dining room for my personality and speaking.

"Good luck," Bran says, leaving the room.

"You too," I say, giving a small wave as he leaves the room.

Quin and I sit for a moment in silence before she begins. "Okay, so you are good with a sickle, you haul, you're smart, and you have a good training score. You have everything going for you so far. Especially with Leto on our team, she will make you look stunning, now you just have to match that energy," Quin says.

"Thanks," I say, "How are we going to approach the interview?"

"Well, I have a couple of ideas for you, but is there anything waiting for you at home? Is anyone back in District 9 rooting for you? If we get the crowd to feel like your family, you will have sponsors lining up around the block," Quin says.

My mind lands on Farro and Rya and their baby. "Well, I'm going to be an aunt," I say.

"Oh congratulations," Quin says with a genuine smile.

"I found out right before I left, I didn't know. I wouldn't have volunteered if I had known," I say. I look down at my plate covered in crumbs from breakfast.

"I understand," says Quin, she reaches out and holds my hand across the table. "This is hard, I know. But we can use that to your advantage, no doubt the question on everyone's mind including Otius O'Hall's is 'why?' Every single tribute here volunteered for one reason or another and they all think they can win. It is your job to shine above the rest, grow beyond the seed. Talk about your parents too, if you'd like, but whatever you do, don't blame the Capitol, that's going to get you killed. Talk about bringing them honor, doing it for their legacy. Bring up the baby, people here love babies," Quin says. Funny, since they throw children into arenas to die, but who am I to judge?

We spend the next two hours going back and forth, Quin pretending to be Otius O'Hall or a sponsor at the banquet, she asks me a question and I respond. Then she gives me tips on what to say or not say. By the end, I somehow feel more confident and utterly lost at the exact same time. It takes all I can do to not throw up at the smell of food as the avoxes bring in our early lunch.

We have lunch for about an hour, when Quin, Clio, and I head to the living room for my etiquette lessons. Clio is in a manic state, she had a large portable wardrobe with her and a chair like the ones they will have for the interview. The moment I sit down she is on me, adjusting my posture, foot position, and even my facial expression. Apparently, when I'm relaxed, I have a face that is far too boring for the camera.

Once my posture is done, she teaches me to walk. Which sounds stupid, until you realize I am wearing high heels that are 8 inches tall, balancing a floral headpiece the size of a watermelon, and wearing those false eyelashes that cut my vision in half. I am marched up and down the living room, then I sit and stand over and over until I am completely proper with my technique. The last thing we are taught is the way to eat at a fancy dinner, like the Gala tonight. I learn which fork is used for what part of the meal, and which spoon I should use when. I doubt I will remember any of this longer than tonight, but then again, how many fancy galas do I have in my future? Realistically, I will be dead by Monday evening when the games begin. I stop myself from thinking that and assure my restless mind I will be the winner, as hard as it is to believe.

Just as we are wrapping up, an avox brings out a large platter covered in several types of slices of meat, cheeses, and crackers, as well as olives, grapes, and small bowls of honey. We eat the brief snack and have just finished when my prep team arrives. Flavo, Rose, and Azure give me a large hug and a kiss on each cheek before taking me back to my bedroom to prepare me for the Sponsor Gala.

While I am being scrubbed, plucked, and painted, I decide to try some of the things I was taught today on them, seeing as they are the closest I've been to a Capitol audience. "Oh dear, you are just as radiant as ever," Azure says.

"Thank you," I say, "People always say I look like my mother."

"Oh I bet your mother is gorgeous," says Rose.

"She was, but there was an accident at home and she's no longer with us," I say. I can feel the three of them freeze, "But that's why I'm here today, to bring her and my dad honor."

Flavo actually has to take a moment to compose himself. "That is simply beautiful, someday I want a child half as brave as you," he says.

"That is a true honor," I say, I mentally give myself a pat on the back, they bought it.

Once my prep team is through with me, Leto appears in the doorway with a dress and shoes. The dress is simple since most of the Sponsor Gala costumes are kept that way. It is a sundress decorated with green and yellow grain patterns with flat green shoes. I am relieved I am not adorned with any oversized headpieces or shoes that might as well be stilts.

When I am all dressed and have my full face of makeup, Leto places a white flower in my hair and my mom's necklace around my neck, "I went ahead and had it approved as your token," she says. We leave my room and meet with everyone in the living room. Bran is dressed in a light yellow shirt with a grain pattern up the left side and black pants and Quin is wearing a light green gown that has a zigzagging white belt. Maizer joins us a moment later, he is wearing black pants like Bran but has a white shirt with silver grain patterns on it and a light green blazer that matches Quin's gown.

We head down to the lobby and are greeted by Clio and a Capitol photographer. He takes pictures of us as a group, individual shots, shots of us with our mentor, shots of just the mentors, and finally shots of me and Bran, just like the ones taken at the Justice Building. Once the photo shoot is over we are led to the garage where a limousine sits waiting to take us to the Sponsor Gala.