ODDS

bliss

"Five minutes, my tributes!"

I wondered how anyone could be such a morning person. Calypso would have cut Freya's head off already, simply to enjoy another minute and a half of sleep. Sander seemed to be cut from the same cloth, as a deep and terrifying scowl had taken over the entirety of his face. I almost giggled.

I was quickly distracted by the taste of bitter coffee hitting my tongue, and I immediately put the mug of disgusting liquid down. There was no way anyone thought it tasted good, but I was proven wrong as Sander gulped down the last of his drink and refilled it to the brim for the second time.

I stared at him in disgust, standing to pour myself a glass of the pale pink liquid from the cart just behind my chair. I stuck with the sweet tasting foods, instead. Platters of blueberry and banana muffins had littered the table, biscuits with the sweetest tasting jams, jellies and honeys tempted me so much that I felt the need to try them all. I only had awhile to enjoy life to the fullest, after all.

Sander smirked at the fact that I was clearly overwhelmed, eyes wide as I fumbled around to grab treat after treat. It was when my mouth was stuffed full that a sleepy voice came from the opening train car door from my right.

"Try some sugar with the strawberries over there." FInnick's eyes were still laced with sleep as he rubbed his face, and his hair looked like it hadn't been brushed at all.

I squinted my eyes at him as he took the seat between Zane and me.

"Sugar and fruit?"

Finnick's eyebrows raised at my obvious curiosity.

"Don't judge it until you try it, darling." He chuckled, pushing a bowl full of sugar cubes towards my plate.

I pursed my lips at his sly arrogance, plucking a few sugar cubes from the pile and pairing it with the reddest strawberry on my plate. I looked at him pointedly, popping the food into my mouth.

But I felt my expression change as soon as the flavours hit my tongue. My mouth instantly began to water at the sensation, my eyes widened, and I looked to Finnick, who nodded at my revelation.

"Yeah, I know." Finnick stated, agreeing with my silent statement.

Before anymore conversation could be had, the bright sunlight just beyond the train car vanished, leaving an only dimly lit room. It was as if night had come again, only so randomly and without an invitation. I yelped, before realizing we must have hit a tunnel. My cheeks heatened at this, finding Sander and FInnick smirking. I rolled my eyes stuck out my tongue. The boys only chuckled.

Without a second thought, I made my way over to the window as the natural light returned, careful to not trip over the oriental rug beneath my flats. And I caught a glimpse of, for the first time ever, the Capitol in all its grandeur.

As the train slowed at a glowing station, I found myself staring back at hundreds upon hundreds of Capitol citizens, each more and more decorated beyond what a human should be. A plethora of colors decorated the platform, like a wave of designs and patterns that didn't run together. Yet it all seemed to fit the description and reputation of the Capitol. A man-made rainbow of men with no eyebrows, women with eerily creepy colored contacts, tattoos of vines and stripes around temples and cheekbones. It was like a magnificent painting that had been created in the early hours of the morning, when delusion took over the minds of artists.

"Go ahead and give them a few waves. Might gain a few sponsors from the get-go." Zane spoke up, mouth wiped of the honey biscuit he had previously been eating.

I turned back to the crowd, giving small, shy smiles before gaining enough courage to wave. This caused a frenzy, excitement falling onto the crowd like a ray of sunshine. Before long, I was blowing kisses to the crowd. They screamed, chanting my name, as if they knew who I was and what made me tick. It baffled me, and I couldn't believe that this was real.