A Hunger Games Story

Chapter 2

     Poppy came and woke me up bright and early the next morning. I found out who my opponents were. I hated that there was a twelve year old. That could be Anya next year. I wonder if victors were allowed to go to the games again.

     If I won and Anya was called next year, I would definitely volunteer for her. I could never see her walking off to face her death. I wouldn’t allow it.

     Poppy took us to a dining room. They had the most wonderful food I had ever tasted. Eggs, rolls ham, fresh fruit, fresh orange juice, and this warm liquid called hot chocolate. It was absolutely delicious. Poppy asks us what our advantages might be, so it will help us in the arena. I’m really good with throwing spears and knives. That should help me out a lot in the games.

     I avoided any discussion with Harry. If need be, I needed to be able to kill him without regret. If I liked him that would just ruin my plan completely. The train slowly pulled up to the station, and we were now at the capitol. Poppy turned us over to our stylists. Before my stylist saw me, some other women spent a while giving me a makeover in something called the Remake Center. They waxed a lot of my body. They did my nails, washed me, and made a new me. At the end, they put lotion all over me. I had never felt so violated in my entire life. I felt like a newborn baby.

     When my stylist finally did come, she told me her name, and what she planned on dressing me in. Her name was Rhonda. She had to dress me in something that depicted District 13. I don’t know how she’ll work graphite and nuclear weapons into it, but I’m sure she’ll manage. I crossed my arms over my body because I felt really self-conscious. I mean wouldn’t anyone if someone was just standing there watching them while they were naked?

     “I know how your outfit will be. It’s going to take some hard work though,” she said.

     “What are you going to do?”

     “You’ll find out soon enough, dear.”

     “She was right. I while later I was clothed in a tri-color strapless dress. It was miraculous. I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life. It started off yellow at the bottom, in the middle orange, and finally red at the top. It was very sparkly. I could practically shine without a light on. I had this gray shimmer on my entire body to represent graphite. It was almost transparent, but you could slightly see the color. I had gray smoky eye shadow, dark penciled in eyebrows, and black eye liner.

     I had never seen myself so radiant before. I was truly amazed at what she did. “So do you like it?” she asked as if I would say no.

     “I absolutely love it. You’ve made me look gorgeous!” I said while grabbing her in a tight hug. “Thank you so much!!”

     “Oh- well you’re welcome,” she said in a surprised tone. “Your carriage is ready for you.” I walked off on to the carriage. I rode with Harry to the City Circle. We didn’t say a word. Maybe he had the same strategy as I did. When we arrived at the City Circle, we walked off together. When I arrived I went do the level designated for my district. I took my hair down, found some pajamas, brushed my teeth, and stepped in the shower. It was excessive. They even had heaters to blow-dry your body!

     I went to eat. The food was still amazing. How did the cooks ever come up with something so delicious? After I ate I went to bed and thought about the day ahead. Eventually sleep took me into unconsciousness.

     When I woke up, there was a simple sweater and some jeans waiting for me. I put them on and went for breakfast. After breakfast, I went to the Training Center. This is where we learned new skills and strategies. I stayed off to the side the entire time. I only participated when absolutely necessary. This went on for three days.

     After three long days, we finally get called to go tour private sessions with the Gamemakers. All twenty-six of us sit in a room waiting to be called. We get called one by one, and district by district. The clock ticks down as slowly but surely, each tribute gets called. I can feel anticipation in the air. By the time the call the girl from District 12, Katniss, I’m pacing the floor.

     “Are you okay?” Harry asked me. This is exactly what I was trying to avoid. I wasn’t asking for any allies or friends or problems. I just wanted to go off without word from anyone. This took my plan back a few steps.

     “I’m fine, thank you.” Luckily that’s all he said, and he left the conversation alone. They soon called him and I was alone. About twenty minutes passed before they called me. What takes twenty minutes?

     When I was in the gymnasium, I showed them some of my best moves. I put all my effort into showing them all I could do, so I could get a high rating and great sponsors. I threw several knives, sometimes two at a time. I made sure they hit the bull’s eye of the targets. I threw spears too. I could throw very far. I threw and threw and threw. My spears went straight within the heart of some dummies. Five time in a row. After throwing I decided to climb some obstacles they had. I had always had a tree near my house that I would climb every day when I was little. I then curtseyed and waited to be dismissed.

     That will be all Ms. Chestnut, thank you. While I’m walking out, I wonder why there is an arrow through the roast pig on the table. I went to dinner. Rhonda was here today. Harry’s stylist Ronald-they were twins ironically-was also there. As always the food was amazing. I was excited because they televised the scores online tonight. I quickly ate and waited for the others.

     We went in the sitting room to hear the scores. All the career tributes pulled an eight, nine, or ten, which didn’t surprise me at all. There were a lot of fives. Somehow the twelve year old pulled a seven. District 12 pulled an eight and…ELEVEN!!! Getting a number that high is rare. She was definitely going to get some good sponsors they would be lining up for her. I couldn’t believe it. Eleven out of twelve!

     Harry got a ten I wonder what he showed them. Now I was waiting for my number to flash. I then saw a giant number twelve! How did I get such a high number? I was jumping up and down. Every one congratulated me, even Harry. I congratulated him to, going against my rules. I was only being polite though.

     After some excitement I headed off to bed. Tomorrow would be our interviews. Like everything else, it would be televised across Panem. I hoped Andria, and especially Anya weren’t worrying too much. I feel bad because I’m assuming they are.