Deceived: The 500th Annual Hunger Games

Chapter 43 - Tribute Parade

UNIVERSAL P.O.V

For the third time this year, the Capitol citizens took their seats to see what the stylists had done with their newest batch of tributes.

The citizens were screaming for their favourites, as usual. These games though...the tributes may be great, but the outfits are usually hideous - especially District 7's outfits.

The first chariot pulled out with Billee Washam in the carriage. Billee looked adorable with a pen behind his ear, a notebook in hand and casual clothing on. He threw bits of paper from his notebook into the crowd.

People caught his scraps and opened them up. It showed inventions previously made from District 3, starting with basic things decades before the Dark Days, all the way to modern ideas being created now.

Gauis rolled out on his chariot, dressed in mucky overalls. Oil and grease splattered his clothes, hands and face, indicating he was an engineer or a technician of some sort. He gripped metal gears, which he looked like he would love to throw at the crowd. For his entertainment.

Theta rolled out wearing a headset, a button up shirt, a black tie and a skirt - trying to be a technical support person - but she'd obviously modified her outfit. Her shirt sleeves were rolled up, her headset was around her neck, her skirt was rolled and the tie has been shortened from the original length.

Mizar wore a dirty white polo shirt and bright blue dungarees. She ripped her safety goggles from her face and threw them into the crowd as far as possible, not wanting to be a part of the parade.

Yasmin was giggled at as she rolled out dressed as a computer. Her face was where the screen was. She looked like she was about to cry. Her stylist had made a mockery of her. She stuck her middles fingers up at the crowd.

Arlu was next. He wore big purple goggles and huge yellow gloves, standing out from his dull lab coat. His hear must've had at least a can of hairspray sprayed over it to help it stand up the way it did - he looked like a blonde lion.

Auricula's outfit was stunning, stopping the audience's cheers and giggles. She had a dress made from red, green and blue wires. They were wrapped around her body elegantly and beautifully. She'll probably steal the show away from everyone else.

Last from District 3 was Bramble. The little boy smiled and waved to the crowd, uncertain about the event. He wore a suit with little electric bolt shapes on it - they looked a bit like pyjamas. The little bolts flashed every so often. The crowd cooed for the boy with the brain damage.

If someone like Gauis had worn that, he would've been as much of a laughing stock as poor Yasmin was.

District 7 started to roll in now. First up was Thalia. She looked stunning, paper stuck to her body. Origami is a normal outfit, but something about the outfit on her body made it look great.

Thalia started throwing paper out of the chariot, ranging from paper planes to paper shurikens. The crowd squealed, trying to catch the fragile objects.

Briar was next up. He was dressed as a stereotypical lumberjack, the checked shirt, the ripped jeans, the hiking boots. He wielded an axe that he delightfully swung above his head, roaring. The Capitol roared along with the most Career-like tribute of these games.

Vibia wore a pair of dirty overalls and a construction helmet. She held a saw - which she wouldn't stop playing with - and a plank of wood. She was supposed to be a carpenter. No District 7 stylist ever does anything original, but this wasn't as common as a tree.

Flux came out on his chariot. He was dressed in a red checked shirt and khaki trousers. He held a pen knife and wood. Lots of wood.

Wooden figures. He threw sculptures at the citizens. Aggressively. Taking a closer look, the figures were of past tributes. Mainly the dead.

Alberto came out dressed like a tree. There's always that one tribute with an unfortunate outfit. He somehow managed to make the most out of it, comically waving his stuff branch arms.

Confrey was dressed as a lumberjack too, but he didn't look happy. He pulled off his boots and dumped them on the floor. His chariot whizzed passed the abandoned boots. Confrey refused to do anything - wave, sulk, cheer, glare. he just stood there and did nothing.

Last up was Vanity. She had been dressed as a beaver. That's an original idea.

The Capitol began to laugh at the beaver girl. The beaver started to throw wood into the crowd. Like Flux, she was trying to hurt them. One or two people ended up with splinters.

First up for District 11 was Skene. He was dressed as your average gardener - and he did not look happy. He didn't remake Ovid's joke of raking in the crowd - he waved the rake angrily at the citizens, swearing death on all of them.

Persei was next. Persei looked just as annoyed in her outfit. She wore a stereotypical farmer outfit - like Skene. She put on some gloves and grabbed a pitchfork. You could tell she wanted to kill someone with it.

Instead, she shovelled the hay inside her chariot onto the audience. They danced under the raining hay.

Indigo smiled as she rolled out on her chariot. She wore casual clothes with night goggles. She threw fruits out of her chariot - in a friendly manner - to the crowd. The way she threw them showed that she could probably throw knives if she tried.

Ogilby was sat on something because he was unable to stand. He sulked slightly as the crowd laughed. He was dressed as an apple. The crowd thought it was funny.

Ogilby didn't. He stared ripping his costume apart, screaming. The citizens found this very amusing. He then hid inside the remains of the apple, refusing to look outside.

Violetta didn't have it much better off. She was a scarecrow. Her arms were limp and her head hung in shame as the nation saw her half naked. The loose clothes barely clung to her body, threatening to fall off.

Otillie was dressed similarly to Indigo, only there was innocence about him. He threw seeds onto the floor and at the chariots around him, trying to entertain the Capitol.

Orchid was dressed as a corn on the cob. He ripped his 'edible' costume apart and started attacking the crowds until he was wearing a pair of shorts and a sleeveless shirt. He didn't care.

Last up was Wyatt. Wyatt wore a tracker jacker costume. Tracker jackets are extremely common in District 11, especially in high branches. He wiggled his butt a little bit, making the stinger wobble. The Capitol laughed.

The tributes travelled for a bit longer around the square, many of them causing havoc.

Once the anthem finished, the chariots weren't moving and the citizens were quiet, President Ammon was supposed to arrive.

But he didn't.

"What's going on?" Someone yelled. People started yelling, demanding an answer.

Jarrett Cannery came out and took the podium. "President Ammon is unable to attend tonight's parade. I'm very sorry to you all."

The chariots disappeared as the citizens began to grow angry. The Capitol never get angry at the President. Tonight, the tribute parade was a failure.