Annie Cresta- Beyond the Sea

Chapter 7

After getting dried off, we went into the Capitol building that holds all the tributes until its time for the games. We took an elevator to our floor. Number four. Ha, it rhymed and it's our district number. It'd be more amusing if we weren't going to die.
The escort opened the door when we knocked, and welcomed us inside.
"Isn't it beautiful?!" Jayda would exclaim, pointing at the glowing chandleirs and intricate glass center pieces. The place was extremely gorgeous.
I looked around, and a light breeze swept through the room. I began to freeze. Jayda took note.
"Annie, Dallas, how about you two get ready for dinner while I show these guys around?" she questioned. I nodded, and found my way to a room with a sign that was labeled "female tribute". The whole scene made me miss Alana's old house by the beach. Better to not think about that now, though.
The room was a turquoise color with swirls of green painted neatly on the walls. There was a desk and a twin sized bed in the room, along with a large window that was too high for anyone to reach. Guess they didn't want tributes to die before they're supposed to.
There was a door on the wall, and I took a wild guess that it was the bathroom. I strode in, and saw it was.
Walking over to the sink, I began to scrub the make up from my face. Not gonna lie, I was exhausted. Not from being underwater or anything, but just the whole day was so emotionally draining. Starting with being whipped, then being picked and hitting my head, saying goodbye to my family and hello to my enemies, it made it a little hard to wash the waterproof make up off of my tired face. But it finally came off after a while, even though my head and hands were stinging a little bit. But hey, at least then I looked a little more like myself.
I let down my hair, and stripped off my bathing suit, and got into the shower.
I turned it on and all the chlorine and oils washed from my body and down the drain. It felt strange, not like at home. It was like standing underneath a waterfall, feeling the water softly pour down my back. The first time I felt a little calm all day.
After surrounding myself with huge, sweet-smelling gold bubbles, I sang a little to my self, rinsed, then programmed the faucet so the water stopped. Some clothes close to my size were found in my room, so I slipped into those and decided to check back with Jayda and co.
They were downstairs eating dinner, all of them enjoying (no surprise) sea food and garlic bread. That's when I noticed the seat next to mine had been taken by  a tall kid with brassy hair and a smile I could recognize from a distance.
"Finnick!" I exclaimed, and dashed to his seat. I practically tackled him in my arms, but I couldn't care less.
"Hey, hey! Annie! Nice job out there!" he laughed, and returned my hug. I stole the empty seat and reached for a plate, when Jayda smacked my hand away.
"No food for you!"
I gazed at her. "What?"
She cleared her throat. "Sorry, Annie, but you were.. Asleep... The train ride, so you missed very important information on how to stay alive during the game. You, Finnick, and Mags-" she looked at Mags, who had her head on the table next to her dinner, snoring. "Well, you and Finnick, anyway- must go converse somewhere preferably quiet so you can catch up. I'll save some dinner for you for when you're done."
I sighed, disappointed. I really was hungry, I didn't have anything to eat all day, and the extreme stress takes a lot out of you.
"It's okay, Annie.. C'mon," coaxed Finnick, noting sadness. He took my hand underneath the table and lead me to his room.
It was no secret that Finn and I were more than friends. Almost everyone knew it: we were always together, always snuck out to see each other, you know, things that "just friends" don't normally do. But we weren't really dating, either, which is the thing. We probably would be sometime soon if I weren't picked for the Games and he didn't have the stress of mentoring kids who were probably going to be murdered. That whole thing put a lot of stress on our relationship, and with time running out, would it even be worth it anymore?
Finnick's room was way larger than mine. It looked nicer, too. I sat down on his bed. Finnick took a pulled over the desk chair and faced me.
"Okay, Annie.." He shot me a patient smile. "A couple things you should know.." I gazed at him and watched as his tone became less playful. "Stay far, and I mean FAR away from the careers. I don't want them laying a finger on you," he looked down, and both of us remembered the year he won. He did multiple things to anger the careers, but overall he just mocked all of District 1, and 2. I thought it was pretty funny how he made so many enemies in the district, but this was definitely no laughing matter.
Because I was his weakness.
Almost all of Panem knew he loved me, he admitted it on his interview, and now that I've been reaped, I've become a prime target to get revenge on Finnick Odair.
I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. How didn't I see this coming?