Annie Cresta- Beyond the Sea

Chapter 13

I woke up bright and early. It was around four o'clock I could tell, barely any sunshine shone through my  window. It was almost like mornings back home, only there wasn't the ocean roaring outside. Finnick lied sleeping in front of me, motionless. I sat up, careful not to wake him, and got out of bed.
I took a shower, brushed my teeth, and got dressed in a sunny yellow dress I had found in a drawer. I ruffled up my hair, and walked out of the bathroom.
Suddenly, someone grabbed my shoulders and screamed.
I jumped out of my skin, every nerve a live wire. Then I heard a familiar laughing. I spun around, livid.
"Finnick, you asshole!"
He laughed harder. "You should've seen your face!"
"Don't do that!" I threw a half-ass punch at his shoulder. I knew it was Finnick's nature to get into people's personal space and scare them, but I didn't always like it. His laughter finally started to die down.
"Sorry, Annie," he apologized, smiling, coming up behind me and resting his head on my shoulder. I looked down at him. Well, I tried to, anyways. He looked up at me with a "I'm sorry" smile and bright eyes. I laughed at how ridiculous he looked/was, and said, "Why are you so.. " I was searching for a word.
"Cute? Amazing? The most good looking person on the planet?" he chimed in.
"I was gonna say stupid. But yeah, you are those too, I guess." He laughed and lifted his head off my shoulder. "Let's go get some breakfast."
"If you insist."
We go downstairs to find Uridecee, Jayda, and Darcy eating pancakes at the table.
"Good morning!" sang Uridecee cheerfully. Darcy stuffed her face. I was surprised; for such a petite girl she sure did eat a lot.
"Morning," said Finnick, sitting down. I took a seat next to him and ate the pancakes, when I saw that they were purple and tasted like blackberries. It was new for me, but it tasted good.
"So, Annie," said Darcy when she was done eating,"Are you ready for the interviews today?"
I swallowed a bite and said, "Oh, yeah, the interviews. I forgot."
"Might've been the wake up call," said Finnick.
Darcy got out of her seat and bounded towards me. "Then let's go!" she grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the table. I waved goodbye to everyone and kept a fast pace to keep up with my stylist.
"We have to practice your walk!" she smiled, pulling me into her bedroom. It was a beautiful purple color. Man, why is everyone else's room better than mine?
Suddenly she thrust a pair of beautiful navy heels into my hands. "I made these just for your interview. Try them on!" she insisted excitedly. I slipped them on and buckled the straps that criss crossed all the way up to my knees, curious how she knew my shoe size. The Capitol must know everything these days. Slowly, I stood up, shaking in the tall shoes. They made me taller than the maker herself.
Darcy was extremely good at her job.
"Beautiful," she commented. "Now to work on that walk. No shaking! I'll help you if you need it".
I tried to take a step forward, but I shook and lost my balance. I fell forward, and Darcy caught me. She assisted me up, giggling.
"Let me help," she said. She held out her arm to me. "Use my arm for balance. Remember, heel toe, heel toe." I took her arm and took a shaky step forward. This time I didn't fall forward.
I fell back.
"Ouch," I muttered, rubbing my tailbone as she helped me up again. I would've been better if I had worn heels more often instead of my old, beat-up flats.
We tried again, until I could walk a few steps with her help.
"Good!" she smiled. We continued to practice until the point where I could walk almost perfectly on my own. Then she said, "Okay, I think it's time to get into your dress. Also made by me." Darcy walked over to her closet and pulled out a hand-made dress that drew all eyes to it. It was incredible to look at.
Lace and ruffles that varied in colors from the palest blue to the darkest violet swirled around it like a blizzard. It was strapless and fluffy and just plain exhilarating.
"It's amazing," I sputtered. This was the kind of dress that you couldn't take your eyes off of, nor the person wearing it. The heels also matched perfectly. And to think Darcy made this by hand..
"Thank you," she said. "So, lets try it on".