Hide and Seek

☾6☽

A/N: I'm really sorry for not updating. I've been really busy during my Summer and going through lots of drama but now I think I can start writing again. I've forgotten a lot that I've written though so there might be a few mistakes.

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Here's DoodleBlue's silver parachute containing a special message: "Thank you so much for sponsoring Skyler Odair! Hope you never give up on her! You were the bestest childhood friend everrr btw. <3"

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The only thing to fear is fear itself.

I take heavy strides back to my quarters, but when I turn a corner I run right into something. Someone. 

"Hello Skyler," Nikolai says. He drags my arm rather forcefully to dinner.

Theres small talk at the table. I eat pork chops with a wine sauce, mashed potatoes, and a tureen of fruit. After I sit back and drink something called hot chocolate.

"Alright, lets get to the main entree. How bad were you two today?" Nikolai says.

Sebastian is silent, taking interest in his pork chop, so I say, "Very."

"Well what did you do exactly?"

I chew on my bottom lip a little, "I did what you told me to do."

Nikolai nods. Sebastian says, "I did okay."

We find out later that he does more than okay. After dinner we go to the sitting room to watch the scores announced on television. First they show a photo of the tribute, then flash their score below it. Career tributes naturally do well, ranging in the eight to ten. Most other players average a five. Im not surprised when the first male district one tribute, Dominic Jives gets a ten.

Sebastian pulls a nine so he must have done something amazing for the Gamemakers. I can only guess what he's done. Back in District Four I remember his net skills but other than that I have nothing. He's got a decent athletic build as well, so he could have thrown weights or something.

They flash my name and I wince as I pull up a one.

A one.

I laugh, I cant help it. Nikolai doesn't try to hide his guffaw and Sebastian smiles a little. Petra though, looks upset.

"How am I supposed to work with a one?!" She shrieks, her normal composure gone. Oops.

Rita calms her down as we all go to bed.

The next morning is okay. Today we'll be coached for the interviews tomorrow. I'll have four hours with Petra and four with Nikolai.

I start with Petra. I cant imagine what she has to teach me that could take four hours.

We go to my room and she puts me in a full length gown and high-heeled shoes. I'm actually okay at walking in the shoes, keeping on the balls of my heels and not wobbling around. But the dress is too big on me and keeps getting tangled in my thin legs. 

I have a slight tendancy to curl my shoulders inward. Sometimes I daze off. Petra teaches me how to be attentative always. She makes me say a hundred banal phrases starting with a smile, while smiling, or ending with a smile. My cheeks are twitching with overuse by lunch.

We eat as Petra says, "Just be as likable as possible. That one will make a dent in your sponsors, darling."

After lunch, Nikolai takes me to the sitting room. I slug into the chair as he frowns at me for a while. "I'm trying to pick out how to present you," he says after a while.