Defiance: The 13th Annual Hunger Games

Chapter Eight

Wow.

That's the only word I can even think of to describe what I'm feeling right now. I never dreamed that the Capitol could look this beautiful. Beautiful? I don't know that's even the right word.

Perhaps crowded or drowned in color . I don't know what to say or do. I begin to wonder if I should wave to the people who are crowding around the train car. I chuckle. Like I would want to communicate in any form or fashion with a snob from the Capitol!

I hear Juniper's high heels clanking on the floor. She comes over and stands beside me. She claps her hands together gleefully. "Oh we're here! We are finally here! Come come, we must get you ready to meet your prep team!" She squeals.

"My prep team?" I mutter with a questioning tone.

Juniper rolls her eyes and laughs, "Yes! Your prep team! They'll be the ones who will make you look..." Her voice trails off as she gets a long look at me. She waves her hand as to dismiss the fact that she clearly has nothing to say about my "good" qualities. She says, "They'll be preparing you for the interviews and training."

My breath gets caught in my throat. Interviews? Then I remember. Every year, all of the tributes get interviewed by Philo Augustus, some Capitol man that has different colored eyes every time he's on the television and a pudgy stomach nearly pops off a button on his blinding suit every time he moves. I shudder. The past forty eight hours are just getting better and better.

Suddenly, the train comes to an abrupt halt and I'm thrown to the floor. As I'm getting to my feet, Juniper chirps, "Oh, we're here!" She just about pulls my wrist out of joint as she pulls me to my feet. I dust off my pants, "So...what's going to happen once we go inside?"

"Your prep team is going to get you ready for the tribute parade!" She says excitedly.

I shoot her a questioning look, "Huh?"

"The chariot rides." She says pointedly.

Seriously? I had completely forgotten! Again, the past hours are just getting better and better. . .

~◆~◇~

"Ow!" I yelp as I hear my skin sizzle.

I'm strapped onto a hard examination table with lights streaming into my eyes. The blank white room that I'm in is called "The Remake Center. " A strange light begins to flash and I squint my eyes.

For the past two and a half hours I've been stripped down of all my clothing- luckily I've been given a gown to wear, but still-; I've been bathed about four times, been plucked bare of every follicle of hair on my body except my eyebrows and eyelashes, bathed again, and been rinsed in this horrible smelling solution that burns off about five layers of my skin.

"Sorry!" A member of my prep team squeals. I think her name is Livia, or something weird like that. Capitol people have the oddest names. And styles.

Livia is wearing a white skin-tight dress with black stripes. Her hair is shaved almost completely off, except for a thick line down the middle.

Another member, who has her skin dyed a light shade of purple and her eyebrows dyed a dark violet, laughs, "Stop worrying Livia! Seriously, this isn't your first time doing this!"

Livia rolls her strangely orange eyes, then continues to rub the solution all over my body that's on fire.

I grit my teeth and bear the pain. After all, I have experienced much worse.

My lips curve in the beginning of a smile as I recall an old memory. I close my eyes and let it drift through my mind:

It was warm out- and I mean really  warm out. Pretty much all of District Twelve was inside their houses trying to find a way to keep cool- which is close to impossible because we have no "air conditioners"-I believe that's what the Capitol calls them. Anyways, everyone was inside, and all coal mining had been cancelled for the day because of the intense heat. However, Rowan, Marsh, and I weren't inside. No, I was determined to show them the place Spuce and I discovered. It was absolutely beautiful.

There was a crystal clear stream with sparkling water that weaved its way through the forest outside of the district.  It ran straight into what Spruce and I called "Crystal Falls". It wasn't huge or magnificent, but that's why we loved it so much. The water was cool and refreshing and at the bottom of the pond you could see little fish that darted between your feet. The best part of Crystal Falls was standing under falls. The water seemed to dance as it fell in a rainbow assortment of colors. After a long day of training, Spruce and I would always stand under the falls together- splashing, swimming, jumping from the small ledge above the falls and landing in the pond. It was almost like we were carefree- but we weren't. 

Anyways, Rowan and Marsh followed me as we darted past Peacekeepers and hid behind random houses to avoid getting caught.  Finally, we reached the boundary that separated the district and the huge expanse of never-ending trees- no electric fence had been installed yet since according to the Peacekeepers, "everyone was content on staying in their own district" and were, "frightened by what was behind the district. "  We quietly slipped into the forest unseen and unheard.

My brothers and I had such fun being together. I was ten years old and they were sixteen. I suppose there was a large age difference, but no one's too old to have fun with family.

At last we reached Crystal Falls. We were drenched in sweat and our faces were blood red from the exhausting hike through the trees. All of our eyes lit up as we saw it.  It was simply breathtaking. Without hesitation, we dove in. We splashed and swam around for a bit, but then I had the wonderful idea of showing them the Ledge. Spruce and I would always climb to the top of the falls using clefts in the stone. However,  you had to somewhat leap out when you jumped because there was one large boulder that was on the side nearest to the Ledge. It was hard to see the rock from so high up, but it was there. 

Well, Rowan and I climbed up and prepared to leap off. Before I had the chance to tell him about the boulder he pushed me, thinking that it would be hilarious to see me unprepared . He didn't know what would happen of course- but it did.

I was in shock as I hit the water, then the rock. Fortunately, I had the sense to put my arm in front of my body to stop my ribs and head from hitting the rock before I hit it. Unfortunately, my arm slid, out of place. I sputtered to the surface of the water. Rowan was still on the Ledge waiting to see my reaction when I surfaced the water.  When I came up with a scream of pain, he realized what he had done. Luckily we were so far from the district no one could hear us. Marsh rushed over and gently pulled me out of the pond and propped me up against a tree as he examined my injury. Rowan came over and he and Marsh set to work.  Marsh held me down and Rowan did it. My arm slid back into socket quickly, but painfully.  I thrashed around on the ground for a few minutes until the pain seemed to fade.

Marsh made me a make-shift sling and gently laid my arm inside.  Rowan apologized of course. I accepted it, eventually.

It was painful and horrifying experiencing it, but looking back now, I would re-live that day one million times over if it meant being with my brothers again. 

I'll never forget what Rowan said to me as we made our way back home. "Annabeth, " He said, "Next time, we'll just stay home."

I open my eyes and the memory fades. Livia and the other two members of my prep team stand in front of me, their brows furrowed.

Finally, they pluck one more hair from my eyebrow then they stand back and admire their work.

"Done!" Livia squeaks proudly.

A door opens from the far side of the room I'm in and a figure steps in. My mouth drops open as I see her.

My stylist.