Sea Of Secrets [1]

Three

   When the sun rose, so did I. Back home I would always rise with the sun, make myself some tea, and sit on my couch reading a book. It was what I called my morning ritual. Liam would sometimes wake with me, sense we shared the same bed. I never dared sleep in my parents room when they died. I guess it's a sign of respect. Don't lay in someone's bed when they no longer can't.

   I was the first one to sit at the table and wait for breakfast. My eyes were swollen from the nightmares that came to me last night. I asked a Avox boy to bring me some hot tea, and thanked him generously when he brought it.

   An Avox is someone who did wrong to the Capital, and in punishment they have their tongue cut out, making them no longer to speak. The Capital treats them as slaves, having to wait on the rich while they hardly have anything. I offer him to sit with me, but he kindly declines my offer by a simple shake of the head. I smile and thank him again.

   "Want some sugar cubes for your tea?" I hear Finnick's voice from behind me, and he sits across from me, with his sly smile. He holds out some sugar cubes and I take three, gently dropping them in my tea, making sure to not splash it over the table.

   "Thank you, did you sleep well?"

   "Yes , Indeed I did, did you?"

   "Same" I smile at him, I know I didn't sleep well, but I can't show him my weakness, he might use it against me in one of his games. I've heard what he does. He lures girls in, then leaves them like a fish out of water. "I'm going to my room, thank you for the sugar Finnick" as I stand and walk away, I can feel his eyes watching me.

{~}

   When I am done with my shower, I slip on a long skirt, and a tank top the color of the sky. Light blue, with a white tint to it. Tonight is the opening ceremonies. I have watched it on my TV for years, watching how the different Districts ride in chariots down to President Snows mansion. I hate the man, I hate his staff, and most of all I hate how he created the games. I find it sick how he enjoys himself while teens fight to the death in the arena. A small knock interrupts my thinking and I head to the door to see Finnick leaning against the door frame.

   "Can I help you?" I ask , not daring to let him into my room.

   "We are almost to the Capitol, come out here soon so we can quickly go to the remake center" he looks angry at me that I didn't greet him with a smile, he must be so used to all the girls swooning over him. I'm not one of those girls. I will never be. As I walk out into the dinning cart, I see a bottle of spirits on the table. Someone must be drinking.

   Loud cheers erupt all over the tribute train, and I can see many people, buildings, and cars moving about the city. The buildings are tall, and have a shimmer to them , almost a glow. The cars are the same, but the people wear painted faces and large hair dues, over doing it in a large way.

   "Welcome to the Capitol" Alessandra hugs both me and Sam who are looking out the train windows in pure disgust. How can this city be so lavish , while other Districts are starving and not knowing when their next meal will be? When the doors open, we are shoved out and rushed to the remake center. Crowds are gathered round, looking and shouting to get our attention. I look down, not wanting to make eye contact.

   When I am in the remake center, I am rushed into a room with a prep team already waiting for me.

   "Ah, Coral, please , please come lay down so we can start. My name is Tia Fuming" she has me strip to bare nakedness, and makes me lay down on a cold table. I can't keep my eyes off of her appearance. She had dark pink eyes that wonder about my body, looking at my flaws and perfections. Her hair is a bright blue, and she has a tattoo starting from her ear to the bottom of her neck. The prep team starts by removing every part of hair from my body, except for the hair on my head. They perfect my eyebrows, they wax my underarms, my legs, every place that has hair. If this is how women think they need to look in the Capitol, I feel bad for them. No one should be wanting hair pulled from their skin just to look presentable to others.

   Next they soaked me in gritty foam, it felt nice against my body, but hurt with the aftermath. They scrubbed hard , trying to get every drop of dirt from my pores. When finished with that, they lathered me in a sweet smelling lotion. It smelled like honey and sugar.

   "Your stylist will be in shortly" Tia smiled at me before walking out of the room. I didn't even get to thank her for her work that she did. I waited for about fifteen minutes, thinking of what I was going to wear to the opening ceremonies. A knock sounded on the door and I came to open it. Finnick and a short man with bright green eyes comes in.

   "Hello my dear! I'm Cruz Caesar. I am your stylist for this Hunger Games" he has green hair that looks like it has too much hair spray. His suit is blue , but undershirt is white with gold linings where the stitches are. It's the only thing decent on him. He takes my hand and walks me over to where I was laying. He looks at my hair and frowns, obviously upset at how messy it is. He looks at my legs, my arms, and then grabs my face and looks at it with such worry. "Looks like you have been crying my love, hard night?"

   "I'm only tired is all" I pull my face away and look at the floor. I don't like looking weak in front of people.

   "Well your costume will be here shortly, in the mean while, we need to get your hair fixed, as well as your face. There is much to be done" his words stung. I know he doesn't mean them in a harmful way, but I am already insecure about myself. Many people tell me I am beautiful, or pretty, and all I say is thank you and walk away. I don't praise myself, because I don't think I'm worth it. Finnick walks out and nods at Cruz before shutting the door. Why was he even here? Cruz starts to work on my hair, brushing and pulling. I can feel his fingers working, and I know that I am going to have a braid. "A fish tail braid , for your District"

   He takes some makeup and starts to apply it in places I never dreamed it could go. My eyelids , my eyebrows, my cheeks. I never used makeup at home, but once in a while I would see my mother wear it. She looked beautiful either way. Cruz takes some gold powder and sprinkles it in places like my cheeks, collar bones, shoulders.

   My prep team comes back in with my dress, shoes, accessories and jewelry. The dress is a dark green, but at the bottom there is hints of pink, blue, and orange. It is scaly like a fish at the bottom as well. The shoes are gold , and high heeled. I have had practice from my mom on wearing shoes like these before, because she has a pair. They give me earrings to wear , and a necklace that looks like coral. Lastly , they string a fishers net around my shoulders. As I looked in the mirror, I was surprised at how the costume didn't clash, but it fit together nicely. All of the colors combined reminded me of a coral reef , with many fish, coral, and other small creatures like crab and shrimp. I loved it.

   As I walked my way to the chariots I looked around at all of the other tributes. They looked scared, and some even upset. I wouldn't blame them because who wouldn't be upset when Reaped into the Hunger Games?

   When I saw my chariot and it's four horses I was blown away. The horses were all white except some stripes and specks of color in their mane and tale. The chariot was also white, but with small fish , and coral decorations. I loved how they interpreted some coral in this because that's also my name.

   "Now when you go out there , hold hands. Don't let your negative emotions show. Smile and wave, smile and wave" Finnick rushes us up on the chariot , and Sam looks like he's about to vomit. I squeeze his hand in reassurance and he seems to calm down, knowing that I'm here. He is dressed in a white suit , with a coral reef painted on it. It is beautiful. "Alright, you'll be up in a few minutes, remember , smile and wave. Oh, and , don't fall off" he smiles and winks at me, I roll my eyes and smile back.

   The horses start to move, and when we get out into the city , we see so many people. Instantly I put on a smile and wave. Many cheer at our costumes, and many call our names. Sam squeezes my hand tighter as he waves and smiles, sometimes pausing to blow a kiss or two to a girl.

   For almost a moment I was happy by all the attention, by all the people loving me. Then, I remember that I'll get even more attention in the arena, and those people are going to kill me.