Blythe Mellark is the older sister of Peeta Mellark. At 16, she's being reaped for 72nd Hunger Games. She's been lucky to haven't been chosen yet, but the odds are never in anyone's favor.
A few hours later, Blythe was dressed in a black suit with a cape and a head piece. She saw Colton approaching in a similar outfit.
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"Relax. It's synthetic and not real." Cinna assured them as he and Portia adjusted them on the chariot. "Portia and I created it and tested it."
The two tributes still looked skeptical.
"I'll rip off yours, if you rip off mine." Blythe said.
"Deal." Colton replied.
"Shouldn't Haymitch be here?" Blythe asked, noticing he wasn't around.
"Do you really think he should be around flames?" Colton questioned. "Real or not."
Blythe couldn't disagree with him.
The other chariots started leaving. Cinna stepped up to light their capes and head pieces.
"Heads high!"They're going to love you!" He said, but he was drowned out by the music as they were whisked away.
The horses, who required no driver, lead them through the streets of the Capitol.
Blythe could hear people screaming their names. She looked into a camera to see what they looked like with the fire. They looked pretty magnificent. And Cinna was right. She really didn't feel the fire aside from some tingling.
With the crowd screaming their names, Blythe came up with an idea. She took Colton's hand in hers.
Colton looked at their conjoined hands, but didn't make a fuss about it.
The crowd cheered louder. Blythe leaned up and kissed Colton on the cheek. The crowd went nuts.
A rose, among the flowers they threw, landed in their chariot. Blythe picked it up and tucked it behind her ear.
The ceremony ended with chariots circling around the street in front of President Snow's mansion.
When the chariots returned to the stables, everyone was congratulating them. Colton offered his hand to help Blythe off the chariot.
"Nice job, you two." Haymitch complimented.
After the opening ceremony, they were brought to a large and tall building referred to as the Training Center. This building had thirteen floors. The first floor had the actual training center, where the tributes trained before the Games, and a medical center. The rest of floors were specifically for each district. Them being from District 12, they were at the very top of the building.
They all ate dinner while they watched a rerun of the opening ceremony. This is what the Gamemakers do. They make you relive everything, from the drawings at the reapings all the way to rewatching certain moments of the Games during the closing ceremony. It was like sports teams rewatching a gameplay to go over and correct any mistakes they made.
"Whose idea was the hand holding?" Effie asked.
They expected either Cinna or Portia to reply and was surprised to see Blythe answer.
"The kiss and rose too?" Haymitch asked.
Blythe nodded.
"Nice job, sweetheart." Haymitch said. "You two did great out there."
"Wait till you see your dress for the interviews." Cinna said.
