We're back in the Capitol soon after the agony of removing our trackers. As soon as we land, I'm greeted by Daren, Eleanor, and Antoine. Cato's greeted by his mentors and such. Daren and Eleanor encase me into a hug. And then I'm whisked away by Antoine to fix me up. We're not back in the remake center, but in my old room in the training center. He immediately demands I take a shower. I don't argue. After a hot, 30-minute shower, I'm ready to be made over. All we have to do to my body is remove the little hair that had grown back during the games. Antoine then brushes out my hair and puts a certain gel in it to straighten it out as it dries. I let him add my eye makeup and he does my nails. I sit on the bed as the nail polish dries itself. Antoine lays a purple dress across my lap. It's rather simple, but I like it. "This is what you'll be wearing tonight for your interview with Caesar." He tells me, happily.
"It's beautiful. Thank you." I smile. He directs me to the mirror as I let him curl my hair. I put my dress on and put on the black heels Antoine had set out for me. I let him slide my engagement ring on for me but put my earrings in and bracelet on myself. The result is this; [polyvore] . As I look at myself in the mirror, I can't stop telling Antoine how beautiful I look. There's a knock on the door, it's Eleanor summoning me out into the living room.
"Somebody wanted to see you before interviews." She smiles as we walk down the hall.
"Who is it?" I ask. I have no idea who would visit me here. My family could certainly wait until I arrived back in District 3 for my belongings, right? But it's not my family waiting in the living room. It's Cato's. A smile plays on my lips when I see them. His mother, father, and younger brother. Cedric, who's only 14, is the first to greet me. I smile as he gives me a hug. Sadly, he's only an inch or two shorter than me.
Cato's mother, Celina, stands from the couch and makes her way towards me, opening her arms. I take her offer, and she squeezes me until I'm sure there's no life left in me. "Nice to see you again, Arriana. I wanted to see if my ring looks as good on you in person as it did on camera." She says, lifting my hand from my side to examine the ring. "It's perfect."
"Thank you." I smile. "It's nice to see you too, Celina." Next, Cato's dad, Calvin, steps up. "Hi, Calvin. It's good to see you." I smile, welcoming him over to the circle. "Have you guys seen Cato, yet?" I ask.
"Of course, dear. We got here soon after you did." Celina answers.
"Oh. I bet he was glad to see you guys. I could tell he missed this little guy though." I laugh, nudging Cedric.
"Next year, you're gonna be the little one." He glares at me. I stick my tongue out at him and we end up shoving eachother back and forth while giggling even more.
Eleanor butts in. "Okay! Play time's over. Got to get down there! Chop chop!" I say 'Goodbye' to Cato's family and follow Eleanor into the elevator. We pick up Cato and his escort on the way down.
"So, they stopped by to see you?" He asks, taking my hand.
I laugh, "Yeah, Cedric's getting so tall. You better watch out. He just might outgrow you Mr. I'm 6 foot 4." I taunt him. He gawks at me for a moment before countering my statement.
"Watch, he'll be taller than you by the end of the night, Miss 5 foot 8." He smiles, patting the top of my head. The elevator dings, indicating we're on the level for another interview with Caesar. Cato leads the way, holding his hands behind his back for me to take hold of. We walk like this all the way up to the stage, when Caesar's announcing us. The crowd gets a kick out of it at least. There's a loveseat waiting for Cato and I. He sits on the half closer to Caesar, while I cuddle into his side while swinging my legs onto the bare couch to my left. Cato's arm instinctively wraps around me. Caesar let's the crowd settle itself before he talks.
