Never In Your Favour

Watching

Blinking in the light of the next morning's early hours, I was overcome by numbness. Electric shocks of anxiety seemed to run through my body as I thought of what they would be doing to Finnick in this moment. This evening was to be the time for the opening ceremony: a parade where all of the tributes were shown off in attire that reflected their districts. Usually, I'd enjoy seeing the wonderful achievements of the talented Capitol stylists, but now I only felt anger. They had taken my Finnick away and...
What was I talking about? Since when was he my Finnick? He did call me his Annie... Although I had enjoyed it a great deal, part of me wished he hadn't kissed me yesterday. He had been my best friend but... Well, he was extremely attractive. I felt sick to the stomach thinking about just how much the designers would play into his outstanding looks.

The television was already on downstairs, and the irritatingly happy man with the purple hair - Caesar, was doing short backstories on all of the tributes.
'And now for our resident charmer, Mr Finnick Odair! Is this Adonis we see before us, hauled from the waters of district four? This sure will be a big change from his usual nets and tridents! Those items won't be at the cornucopia this year! Like his comrade, Ms Barrow, Odair will be trained by Mags Flanagan, winner of the eleventh games! Good luck district four! Now we'll have a short break before we continue with the information on our next set of tributes. Don't forget to tune in at eight for the opening ceremony - this is a year you will NOT want to miss, ahahaha!'
Fucking hell that man was making my skin crawl, I thought as I raced out of the door, heading for the beach. I plunged into the clear turquoise water, and swam with strong strokes, out as far as I could. I dove to the ocean floor, and began to search for coral and precious stones I could sell. As usual, my search was fruitless, but I felt a little more at peace. By the sun's point in the sky, I estimated it to be about seven in the evening, so I paddled back so I would be cleaned up and ready for eight o'clock.
As usual, the ceremony opened with the anthem, and a shot of the long procession road. The camera zoomed in on a vast set of double doors at the star of the route, and Caesar's voice cut through the cacophony of the Capitol.
'Welcome to the opening night of the sixty-fifth hunger games! The procession is about to start, and we are going to have some really fantastic designs this year I'm told! Oh and would you look at that, the doors are opening already! I am soooo excited, and....'
I lost track of his commentary as the doors opened and the chariots began to emerge:
First was district one, adorned in golden togas that accentuated their ridiculously toned muscles.
Then came district two, in Spartan warriors' garb, complete with helmets, square shields and of course swords.
As district three came, my anticipation was mounting - the male had been made up to look like a robot, with a metallic sheen, and the female's costume flashed like one of the many cameras that were trained on her. District three made technology.
Then he came through the doors. I briefly saw Guinevere, with a sour expression on her face, dressed almost comically like a fish, with scales and an arching tail. The entire audience, however, let out a gasp at the sight of Finnick. With barely a garment on him, save for a loose loin cloth, he had been made to look like Poseidon, the Greek god of the water. He wore a coral crown on top of his flowing bronze hair, and hints of scales ran up and down his toned arms. In his right hand he firmly gripped a trident, and his charming face stared up at the thronging crowds, blowing kisses and winking . I could see the pain and shame behind his eyes as he saw how they swooned for him. I could feel it myself. I couldn't stand the way they looked at him and wanted him so.
No other tributes compared to him.
Five and six were hugely forgettable, so we're nine and ten. Seven was passable, but only because of the woman's remarkable tree head dress with fruit hanging from it. Eleven both had Make-up inspired by crops - wheat and corn respectively. Twelve were totally naked and covered with coal dust, which I have to say was, however horrible and unsightly, a statement.
'Wow' said Caesar once again. 'Just wow. I think we can all agree we are in for a treat this year. I don't know about all of you, but I am definitely looking forward to my interview with a certain tribute from district four tomorrow evening!'
I turned off the television. I could not stand it, the way they all wanted him. I had to get at least a little sleep to make it through this without storming up to the Capitol myself.