Let The Games Begin // Billie Eilish

Chapter 17

"Cove darling please hurry up, you need to be on that stage in 30 minutes!" Sabine calls from behind the curtain.

Today is the day of the player interviews. Billie and I have just had our hair and makeup done and are currently changing into our tailored outfits.

I quickly do up the zipper of my midi dress and turn to look at myself in the mirror. I raise my brows softly as I can barely recognise the girl staring back at me. I look nothing like myself. My hair is styled in lose curls with half of it tied into a ponytail at the back of my head, and the dewy foundation on my skin and sparkly eyeshadow hides the enormous bags under my eyes.

I step into a pair of white heels provided to me by Wanda, and gently pull back the curtain. Two men dressed in red suits are fixing the hem of Billie's trousers while Sabine is pacing around the room with her head hanging down low. However, as soon as I walk out, they're heads instantly snap up to look at me. I blush slightly at the small smile growing on Billie's face, but I choose to ignore it.

"Oh, my dear, you look like a million dollars!" Sabine claps as she grabs my hand and spins me around, catching me off guard. She then turns to the two men and snaps her fingers at them.

"Ok, you two. Out." She practically shoos them away and they rapidly scurry out of the room. "Alright let's head down to the stadium, shall we?" She smiles, not even giving us a chance to respond as she bolts out the door. Myself and Billie glance at each other before following closely behind. As we step into the hallway and catch up to Sabine, two guards suddenly come up beside Billie and I, most likely to escort us to the car.

I look over at Billie and for the first time I fully soak up her appearance. She's dressed in baggy black trousers and a matching oversized shirt with red flames stitched in at the ends. Her face is painted with light but noticeable makeup and framed by her loose wavy hair.

"You look really good." I whisper to her as we walk briskly through the clinical hallway.

"Oh, thanks. You do too." She smiles before returning to her usual blank expression and walking confidently beside me.

We reach a massive black car with shaded windows, and I notice a line of identical cars lining up ahead of ours which are most likely filled with the rest of the players. A guard holds the door open for us and I slide in first, followed by Billie.

We both stare out the window as one by one each car takes off and drives to the stadium nearby. This all feels so strange. Right now, we are being glammed up and chauffeured around the place, but in 2 weeks time we'll be sent off to The Ring to kill each other.

It's completely messed up.

About 10 minutes later, we pull into to stadium and my door is opened for me. We are shielded by a herd of security guards as we step out of the car and I can hear chanting and screaming coming from all around me. Immediately I feel really overwhelmed by the abundance of activity happening around me, so I just keep my head down and follow the footsteps of guard in front me.

Myself and Billie walk down a dark corridor filled with framed photos of previous interviews hanging on the walls. We are led in to a room with the other players who are just as dressed up as Billie and I.

There are white couches in the middle of the room, and a large screen hangs on the back wall. I assume this is where we will be watching each interview.

I see James and Audrey sitting towards the back of the room, so I head over to them while Billie chats with Milaus and Nikki.

"Look at you!" I say to James, who is wearing an orange tuxedo, matching the colour of Audrey's hair. She is wearing a white dress that resembles something from the 1920s.