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I was with Affron again, who was getting me ready for my interview with Caeser. He'd put me in a blue dress, with silver decorations on the ribs. The games were in a day, and it felt like I could barely breathe. I wish I had the chance to talk to my family one last time. I hoped they were proud of my score, and the brave face I was putting on. I was going to talk to Finnick tonight; tell him to deliver a message to my family. Affron is putting my hair in waves; he says it's to represent the ocean, and then he tells me to look in the mirror.
"Thank you, Affron. The dress is beautiful. I actually feel pretty." I'd always wanted to wear fancy dresses, but the people of Panem rarely got the choice to unless they were from 1 or 2. Even then, they dedicated their lives to training so they could one day volunteer.
"Darling, you are beautiful. You don't need makeup to see that; though I am glad I was able to fix your eyebrows." He says, and we both laugh for a second.
"Oh, you look stunning! You'll capture the hearts of the people of the Capitol, I just know it!" Verena says, entering the room. She pulls me into a hug, and I return it. I hadn't talked to Verena much, but she didn't seem too bad. I'd never tell her that my sister and I always made fun of her, though. "Azure is currently talking to Caeser. You'll be up soon." She tells me, and Affron applies his finishing touches.
I make it in time to see Azure on stage. She's shaking, and I can see tears brimming her eyes. Caeser's doing his best to make the girl laugh, or at least talk about something, but it's not going well. My heart breaks for her; she's just a kid. We all are. I remember the day I turned twelve vividly. Instead of it being a day of celebration for living another year, I had locked myself in Marina and I's bedroom, positive that my name would be called at the next reaping. My dad had done everything he could to cheer me up, though. Marina had handled turning twelve better than I had. She focused on the cake and presents instead of paying attention to the fact that she was now in the reaping bowl. Now, at fifteen, I was still just as scared, but I was learning to hide it a little better.
I'm lost in my own thoughts until an escort ushers me to the stage.
"From District 4, our little mermaid; as I like to call her, Coralia Underfell!" Caeser introduces me, and I take a deep breath before going on a stage. I remember Finnick's words. He's like a cat with a laser pointer. I step on stage, faking a smile, and waving at the crowd.
"Stunning girl, don't you think, folks?" Caeser turns to the crowd, who cheers. "Come, sit! Sit!" He guides me to a chair, and I feel less nervous as I sit down. I look out to what has to be thousands of people in the crowd.
"So, Coralia, tell me, how does it feel to be the highest scoring female tribute?" He asks, and I smile.
"Empowering. I want everyone to know they are strong no matter how it may appear on the outside. Also, the bragging rights aren't so bad." Caeser laughs at the last part, and I now know what Finnick meant. "A role model, and a jokester!" He exclaims. We talk about my dress, and why I had earned my nickname from him, until he puts his hand on my knee and quiets the crowd.
"Now, unfortunately, we all know that only one tribute will come out of this alive. I have two questions: what will drive you to stay alive and be crowned as victor?" He asks. I go over everything in my head.
"Well, my family, and Fin-friends are the reason I'm hanging on. They're my anchor. Fitting for a tribute from 4, I know. Other than that; I want to put my feet in the sand again. I want to watch the waves crash, and let the wind blow my hair. I want to jump in the water and swim. Caeser, I want to have a long, happy life." He nods, faking some tears; there's no way he felt like this for every tribute.
"Wonderful, wonderful answer. My second question; what's going through your mind right now?" Finnick, for starters. I could never say that, though. I find that recently, he's been the only thing on my mind.
"Right now...I hope my family is proud of me. I want them to know that if I die in that arena, I couldn't have asked for a better life. I love them forever and always." It's something my dad had always said to me. I fiddle with the bracelet I'm wearing; the matching one to Marina's as Caeser wraps up my interview.
***
I'm pacing around my room, and my nails are digging into my palms again. Blaze had been charming, as expected. He'd made the crowd swoon over him, and had been the tribute to make Caeser laugh the most. I'm still pacing in my room when Finnick comes in.
"Finnick, I'm scared." I admit, though it was never really a secret. He pulls me into a tight embrace. "I know." He rubs my back to comfort me. When we pull apart, I take the bracelet off of my wrist, and hand it to Finnick.
"If I don't make it out of there, please give this to my sister. It's not an item I want to just be thrown away in the Capitol. Maybe she can give it to a best friend, or maybe even a daughter one day..." I was going to go on, but seeing tears run down Finnick's face stop my rant.
"Please come back to me, Cora. You're the only person I have left. I can't watch you die - I won't. Come back to me." He cries, causing tears to spill out of my own eyes.
I step closer to him, wiping away his tears. He cups my face and touches his lips to mine. The salty tears get in the way, but it doesn't bother us. After we pull apart, I take his hand.
