Everybody Wants Me Dead

Chapter 8

I rapping on my door awoke me from my deep slumber. 

"Time to get up, Vanessa! It's a big, big day!" Effie's shrill voice pierced my eardrums. I groaned and rolled over on my stomach. I shoved my head under my pillow and tried to go back to sleep. It was no use. The smell of breakfast tugged me out of bed. I stood up and on a velvet chair in the corner was a pile of clothes I was to wear today. I took a shower first, finally understanding what the controls actually meant. I towel dryed my hair, and braided it in this intricate hair style that my mother had taught me to do. I slipped on the clothes sitting on the chair, noticing that they were just plain black. My pants were comfortable slacks, and a  black t-shirt that was a little snug at my arms. I walked out of my compartment and to the dining car, where Katniss and Peeta were already sitting. 

"Good morning, Vanessa." Katniss said, taking tiny sips of a steaming brown drink. 

"Morning." I replied. I sat down and grabbed a white mug. A server came out with a tray of packets on them, each holding a different drink. Most of them I had never heard of, so I randomly pointed at one. He poured the liquid in my mug.

"Thank you," I said to him. He gave me a small smile and walked away. Effie didn't say anything to me. Luke walked in wearing the exact same outfit I was. His brown hair was ruffled from just waking up. 

"Morning." His voice was scratchy, like he was crying again. Nobody else seemed to notice, and if they did they didn't say anything. He grabbed a biscuit from a bowl in the middle and slightly buttered it. 

"What's on today's agenda?" I looked over at Effie, her eyes brightened, like I was the first person to ask her what today's agenda was. I understood why I would be the only one when she pulled a thick packet onto the table and started flipping through it.

"Today is the Opening Ceremonies! We will arrive at the Capitol at precisely 12:16 p.m. Your prep teams will be meeting you at the train station, and we will immediately get started preparing. After the ceremonies, you will be brought up to your rooms to watch the reruns." She said cheerily. I looked at the clock hanging on the wall which read 11:16 a.m. I had one hour to waste before we get there. I finished breakfast and wandered back to my room. I lied on my bed staring at the ceiling. Before I knew it, I snoozed off into a sleep. 

-

"Vanessa... Vanessa..." Luke's soft voice interrupted my sleep. 

"Hmm?"  I murmured sleepily.

"We're at the Capitol, Vanessa." I opened my eyes and Luke was standing in front of me. I quickly stood up, but immediately regretted it because I fell back down on the ground. Luke's warm hands pulled me up by the arms and helped me to the window. The capitol was rushing by, ice blue water surrounding the whole thing. We went through a tunnel, and then we were in the train station. People were cheering and waving at us. Luke and I stood there, solemnly, looking at the crowd. Effie appeared by the window.

"C'mon, c'mon, time to get off and get ready!" She pushed Luke and I off the trains, and the crowd grew louder and crazier. Peacekeepers were standing in front of the metal bars holding the citizens back, but even then some people were pushing it away. Effie hurried us through a door, and the screams became just a fuzz. Katniss and Peeta were in the room already, waiting for us.

"Vanessa, come with me." Katniss waved me over, and we started down a long hallway. 

"Where are we going?" I asked her. She glanced at me but kept walking.

"We're going to get ready for the ceremonies." She didn't add anything else. There was a door at the end of the hallway, and she pushed through it. A familiar face was on the other side. Katniss immediately smiled and ran over to his embrace. I recognized him from the year that Katniss went into the Games. Katniss and him broke away from one another and he looked at me.

"Hello, Vanessa." He gave me a warm smile. "I'm Cinna. I'm going to be your stylist."

"Hi, Cinna." I felt a bit shy in front of him, though I could not tell you why. I know this is the man I should have no secrets with.

"Well, let's get started." He lead me to a bigger room, where people were bustling all around. There were 24 operating-looking tables all edged around the outskirts of the room, they circled around one large table in the middle, with tons of equipment piled on top. He leads me to a far table in the room, with curtains placed around it. 

"Go in the room behind you and change into the robe." He instructs. "Sorry, I know it's revealing, but we need you to look your best." I nod, and push the door open. I quickly strip off my old clothes and wrap the robe around me. He was right, it is revealing. It was a light blue, paper thin material. I felt weirdly uncomfortable. I walked back out to the room with the tables and stood there awkwardly waiting for somebody to tell me what to do. Finally somebody pointed to the table and looked at me.

"You're gonna need to lie down sooner or later." The aggravation was dripping in her voice. I lied down on the table but not before making faces and other inappropriate gestures behind her back. Two workers immediately rushed over and started plucking, pulling, and prodding at random places around my body. I wasn't annoyed until they started trying to lift my robe up. 

"Uhm, excuse you," I said, while smacking a worker's hand away. Two others whispered to each other.

"No wonder they call her Venom." I smirked to myself.

You got that right.

After yanking every last hair follicle, rubbing half my skin off, and studying every inch of my body (against my will), I was finally sent to Cinna. He smiled at me and chuckled when I walked in with a scowl on my face.

"Pretty aggravating, huh?" I nodded. He made me slip off my robe, but I didn't mind. He slowly circled around me, observing my body shape. He also took my measurements and sent them to my prep team to fit my dress.

"You can put your robe back on. Let's have lunch." I slipped on the robe and followed him to a small room with two cozy-looking adjacent seats. The glass table filled up with food, and we ate a silent lunch. When we were finished, a new women appeared in the room. She had long eyelashes, and bright purple hair. Capitol people freaked me out.

"Cinna, the dress is fit." He smiled and looked at me.

"Let's get you really prepped then."