53th Hunger Games

Chapter Three: Beauty and the Tree

RIPPPPPPPP! I wince as the wax tears off the hair on my legs. They finish with my legs and move on to everywhere else on my body.

Finally, they're done and they rub me down with some oil. I catch snippets of their whispered conversations, "She is very beautiful, I wonder if she even notices, If I could dye her hair," "Alright, we're done here. We'll hand you over to the stylist," says a man with a green wig flopping off one side of his face.

My prep team is gone in a flurry of dress ruffles. My stylist steps in and smiles at me. She is, by far, one of the most normal people I've ever seen from the Capitol. The only weird thing I can see is her rainbow colored eyelashes.

She bites her lip in concentration. "District 7, what shall I do with you?" she asks herself. "Oh, I know!" She scribbles a little sketch on her notepad. She take the measurements the prep team left, looks me over one last time, and goes to confer with the other stylist.

I'm left alone to my thoughts. Of course, my brain wanders. I wait for lunch to finally come and at last, the bell rings.

After lunch, we go straight into costume fittings, so there's no time for dinner. I scarf down my lunch of seafood and go to find my stylist. I find her in my dressing room and sit down next to her.

"I realize I've never properly introduced myself. My name is Crystal, Let's get you into the costume and see how it looks." I like this lady, she's really down to earth and just wants to get things done.

I step into a dress and I'm trying to guess what the point of it is. She sees my bewildered expression and explains,"You're a earth goddess or maybe a dryad and you're watching over a little sapling, Ron." I see the point now.

"This dress is amazing. It looks so full but it weighs about as much as a feather. I just can't wait for you to get started on my make-up," I say cheerfully, actually happy about the rest of the day.

Crystal and my prep team start on my make-up and the emeralds lining the side of my face feel weird. My blonde hair is whirled up in a updo with a ton of braids, and a tiara made of flower petals and branches sits on my head. They paint my fingernails to look like flower petals and design with what they call henna on my hands.

I look at my face in the mirror and wonder how they made my sea blue eyes seem wearied and bright at the same time. I put on my best sisterly smile and turn around to see Crystal with my beautiful dress. She helps me step into it, and when I turn, it rustles like leaves in the wind. It gives me a ping of homesickness, but that's gone as soon as I look in the mirror.

I gasp at how beautiful it looks and I smile at my stylist. "Thank you so much!" I squeal. She smiles sadly, and it sobers up the mood a little.

"Okay," Crystal says after a moment of silence, "Just wait here when we finalize the chariot and things, and we'll come get you in about five minutes." I nod and sit in a chair as gracefully as I can so I don't wrinkle the dress. After what has to be the longest five minutes of my life, Crystal comes back and leads me out the door.

We meet in the square and Daniel helps me onto our chariot. I help Ron up and smile hugely at his adorable costume. He's lined with leaves and he has tree arms. We line up between Districts Six and Nine who look pretty much usual for their district. The only District I really notice is 2. I just can't keep my eyes off that stupid boy. I close my eyes for a second to clear my thoughts and the One's chariot takes off.

They're in sparkling costumes and the girl's is almost completely see-through. Two follows in full body armor and swords. Three has electric lines running over their bodies and they look more shocked than the audience at their costumes.

Four is covered in fishnets and starfish. Five is in a solar powered light suit. Six is supposed to be cars, a vehicle we learned about in history. Our chariot finally starts to move and everyone cheers.

I smile and wave. I give Ron a huge hug and the crowd aw's. I blow a kiss at the crowd and flower petals come out of my sleeve and drift over the Capitol citizens who i aimed the kiss at. They whoop and ask for more. We all circle around and eventually come to a stop.

I sigh, relived that it's over. I give Ron a hug and, out of the corner of my eye, I see Garret staring at me. I smile a little and follow Crystal back to my dressing room. "The crowd loved you! I'm sure you'll have sponsors lining up!" She tells me, smiling proudly.

I get out of my dress and wash my face. I collapse into bed and fall asleep almost instantly.