Stay Alive (A Hunger Games Fanfic)

Chapter 5

My skin is burning. Right now, my prep team is scrubbing down my entire body with some cleansing soap, that I swear has rocks in it. I grit my teeth to keep in any screams, but this may feel worse than being stabbed. Or burned.

Okay, maybe not. Because that actually could happen all too soon. But still, it's as painful as anything right now.

I hear one of my prep team members, Lucius, whispering to another, probably to keep me from hearing what he says, but he whispers like an old woman, so I hear him just fine.

"He's so dirty! Why did we get put with this district?"

Whatever. I hold in any snarky comments I would make, because I do have some. These people are stupid. Again, they're from the Capitol, so it doesn't come as a shock to me. They're like animals almost, weirdly colored animals. That have no feelings.

Lucius, the one who called me dirty, is colored pale pink, and has electric blue hair that doesn't match his skin. His eyelashes are extremely long, and they've got some sort of red glitter on them.

Another lady, who I think's name is Fyora, has skin that is a chalky blue, with midnight blue hair and small white lights in it that I think are supposed to resemble stars. Well, at least she tried to match so it doesn't look as hideous. She's got a twin sister too, Lora, who looks exactly the same. Except she drew a star on her face, a large yellow one. I can tell she drew it herself, because it looks like a 5-year old's drawing for his mother.

His mother. My mother. I miss her. She's probably getting nervous for me, and waiting to watch the Opening Ceremony.

"You're all ready!" says Lora.

"Yep! Arial will be here any minute now!" Fyora practically screeches in my ear.

Arial? Oh, my stylist, right. I give a slight nod, and put on my robe.

She steps in, and I'm shocked at how beautiful she is. Well, despite the fact that she's caked in makeup.

She has long, and I mean touch-the-floor long hair, that is green. She's extremely tall and slender. Her eyes are bright green, I'm assuming their contacts, with eyeliner drawing weird geometric designs all around her face, and her skin is as white as snow.

"Hello, Haymitch."

"Hi." I say, and smile tautly.

I really don't want to have anything to do with her, despite her looks, because she plays a role in fixing me up for my death.

She examines my body, nods to herself, and is quiet for a while.

"So," she says after some time, "your District is coal-mining. So what me and the other stylists wanted to do was focus on the coal."

Great, what does that mean?

She brings me over to a glass casing, and then instructs me to close my eyes. Yay, a surprise.

She slips on some sort of jumpsuit that covers my whole body.

"Open."

And then I look, and see that what I'm wearing is pure black. They made some sort of effect so that I look like I am part of the fabric, that I think is made to resemble coal. It looks just like a continuation of my skin.

"Not bad." I shrug. I mean, it DOES show off my muscles from working in the yard so much at home.

Arial smirks. She then puts no makeup on me, thank God, but she does slick my hair back. Ew.

I'm walked out a door to see Maysilee, Eloise, and Lon. They're all dressed the same as me, although I see that the girls are wearing a little makeup around their eyes. Lon's hair is slicked back like mine, and Maysilee and Eloise's hair is made so they look like small zigzags.

I suddenly think how pretty Maysilee looks. Her hair is smooth and long, and her face is so defined...Wait, did I just think that? Come on, Haymitch. Don't be stupid.

Effie marches us off to this very, VERY huge door, and then tells us to wait for the horses and our chariot. Oh gosh, that's right, we're riding in on horses, which will be going in quite, quite fast.

Our chariot pulls up, and, to match our outfits, is painted coal-black. The horses are also completely black. They have red eyes, too, which disturbs me greatly. They're probably fake or something. I hope so. Arial and the other stylists help us on to the chariot, and tells us one thing.

"Make them like you."

And then we're riding off into the night.

--

I can hear the crowd. We're about to come out from the tunnel. District 11 is pulling out, and then all I see is bright lights. The music is loud and it batters my ears.

Finally, my vision clears, and I see thousands of people. I'm standing in between Eloise and Lon. The camera bounces around, and then I see us. I look dashing. Hm. Not bad. So does Lon, sort of. And Eloise and Maysilee look fierce, too.

I hold my head high, and again, give off arrogance and indifference. I smirk slightly and nod to a few ladies in the crowd, who nearly faint, but mostly just look forward.

At least this year, District 12 is not a complete case of lameness like it usually is. Still, we can't mask the beauty of the Career Districts 1, 2, and 4. They're always the favorites, and there's no exception tonight. We're up there, though. At least, we'll get a few sponsors for sure. I hope.

The chariots all line up in the center of the stadium, while President Snow stands up to give his opening speech. Ugh, President Snow. The leader of Panem.

"Welcome, tributes from all Districts..." he starts, but then I zone out immediately. I refuse to give him respect, because in fact, he doesn't deserve any.

I'm wandering off into my own world, and I catch myself staring at Maysilee. I quickly turn away, but not before she makes eye contact with me. I can feel the blood rush to my cheeks. Stop being so stupid, Haymitch!

How awkward. I've only known her for, what, three days? Forget about it.

Snow finishes, and the chariots pull into a tunnel on the opposite end of the stadium. And all is darkness.

--

Pretty soon, we're helped off the chariot.

"You guys did great!" Effie squeals.

Mhhmm. I turn away from her. Maybe I should be nicer to Effie, she IS my escort. It seems like she's making a genuine offer to help me. But she's from the Capitol. Maybe she's different? Or just stupid but has a good heart? I don't know. I'll make more of an effort, I guess.

I turn around and mutter "thanks", and them head to the elevator with the rest of the tributes. It's been quite a day, but that's nothing compared to what's coming.