Flooding Panem: The Hunger Games

Chapter Ten: Listening

By eleven the next morning, I'm sitting with Errid in my room, wearing a full length white dress covered in various precious gems. It's beautiful- nothing extraordinary in comparison to other outfits, but beautiful- and I was shocked to find it sitting in my chest of drawers, just ready for me to wear whenever I feel like it. In the districts, no one has a dress anywhere close to this one in splendour or beauty, even the politicians of District One where the gemstones are cut and many of the simpler Capitol evening gowns are made. It didn't take me long to get into it, but I spent quite a while admiring the way it swirls around my feet as I walk, and the patterns the gemstones throw on the walls until Errid began to worry about me.

I've found that I'm beginning to like our escort. Not in a friendly way, so to speak; more in the way you love a stray dog that follows you around, and even though it's always whining you find it rather endearing. I lose this feeling whenever he mentions how marvellous the Games are, obviously, and I know that I'll lose it permanently the minute I'm thrown into the Arena. But for now, I'll allow myself to play along with his conversations, just to endear him.

He's provided me with a pair of white, shimmering heels, about two inches tall. I'm surprised by how small they are, but Errid is quick to explain.

"The heels you'll be wearing shouldn't be any higher than that- we don't want to make you look much bigger than you are, so that…" he drifts off awkwardly, but I can finish the sentence for him. If I come off too big or powerful, then people will start questioning my score even more than they already are. So I smile and nod and allow him to start praising my smile and nod. 

Overall, the session goes rather well. I'm surprised at how graceful he's saying I am, and I have a sneaking suspicion that part of it is just to make me feel better. When it comes down to it, I'm something of an athlete and there's only so graceful I can be. But, for the first time in a long while, I'm thanking fate that I'm smaller than the average teenager. That must be helping me out somewhat. The only major issue is the fact that I do have a slight lisp, and my voice isn't the most well-pronounced in the world. When I say I have a slight lisp, I mean it- dad didn't even notice until I turned eleven. But as I'll be fully wired with a highly sensitive microphone, Errid starts freaking out when he notices it. Normally it could go one of two ways, but my low score means that if I use my lisp to make myself seem cute, it'll be as good as suicide. 

So we end up spending about an hour working on my lisp and getting rid of it. I can't rid myself of it completely, but it's faded considerably by the time we go to eat. I've changed out of the evening gown into a mid length dress, but I can still feel Errid's eyes on me as I eat, and I find myself wanting to impress him. I take care not to reveal my lisp, sit with a straight back and even though he can't see that I'm doing so, I cross my ankles under the table. No one comments on it during the meal though- Laxina's been in her room all morning since I've mean working on presentation, and Hercule is looking proud, presumably about how Marvel's content session went. When we get up, Marvel walks past me though.

"Hey- what happened to your lisp?" he asks. I'm quite surprised at that- I never thought he noticed, even Victoria didn't. Or if she did she didn't comment on it.

"I- Well it's not going to be useful in the interviews is it? They already think I'm completely pathetic."

"Yeah, well that's their problem." Marvel looks at me, his face twisted into honest concern.

But I'm not taking advice from another tribute, not after what happened last time. "Thanks, Marvel, but I think I can manage on my own. I've gone this long without someone bearing over me." I brush past him coolly. I know that it was a bit harsh, but I'm perfectly willing to take advice from the people who know what they're doing over someone who doesn't really have a clue.