OLD VERSION - Fangs (An Enobaria Story)

Chapter 3

I throw on a black sweater and pants when I wake up, and remember what today is. Today we prepare for our interviews. I will spend 4 hours with Ira in the morning and 4 hours with Zenobia in the afternoon. During my time with Ira, I learn stuff like sitting up straight, and walking in heels, which I'm already good at. It's pretty boring stuff. Lunch is quiet. Me and Zenobia discuss my angle for the interview. We decide on the typical angle, sweet but arrogant. Female tributes from 2 always use this, but it works, pretty well too. I'm handed over to my prep team, who spend hours working on my hair, makeup, and nails. It's easy to hate my prep team, they're all idiots. But I can't help but feel bad for them, they don't know how hard life is outside their precious Capitol. My hair is pulled into a cute ponytail, I have beautiful blue and red eyeshadow, and my lips are red like cherries. My nails are blue, with red sparkles. Ophelia enters the room and tells me to close my eyes. She helps me step into the heels, and then I feel her slip a dress over me. "Open your eyes." When I open them, I see what I'm wearing. A long sleeved, off-the-shoulder, sparkly blue dress that had splashes of red on the skirt, fit with a gold belt. My heels are blue velvet. I look amazing, without a doubt. "So, what do you think?" Ophelia asks me, breaking the silence. "It's- amazing." I say, still appreciating the beauty of it. I look nothing like myself. I walk out of my dressing room and stand with the other tributes. Pearl has her hair in a crown braid, and is wearing a white dress, and her body is studded with small pearls. Like her name. Silk has on a dark green suit. Hawk is wearing a white suit. Vanadey is wearing a short sunset ombré dress, and has her hair in space buns. She looks younger, much younger than 14. Maverick is wearing a black suit. Pretty basic. The twins are dressed in similar outfits, the girl in a red dress and the boy in a red suit. I go third, being from District 2. Pearl and Silk do really well, and the audience seems to love them. Finally it's my turn. I walk onto the stage and the cheers are deafening, like they were at the tribute parade. This year, Caesar has mauve hair, lips, and eyelids. Caesar shakes my hand and I take a seat. I play to the sweet yet arrogant angle, just like I practiced, and they love it. "So, Enobaria, got any special boy back home?" I think of Ashton, of course. "Yes, actually. His name is Ashton, and he means everything to me. I'll do everything I can to make it home to him." The crowd is roaring with cheers, and I give a cheeky smirk. They love me. The buzzer goes off, signaling my time is up, and I walk backstage. "You look beautiful, darling!" Ira exclaims when she sees me. Brutus simply grins, and says "Good job." Hawk does really well, looking intimidating as ever. The twins do their interview together, and it seems that Prescott does most of the talking, and Florence stares around nervously, gripping his arm. After the boy from 12 is finished, we're all sent back to our rooms. We eat dinner in an uncomfortable silence, before Hawk's stylist, who's name I don't know, starts taking about some kind of Capitol stuff. I really wish the Capitol people could see what life is like in the districts, where some families can barely get bread for breakfast. My family is overall better off though, so we don't have to worry about that. Not a lot of families in District 2 do, being one of the richer districts. We have to say our goodbyes here, since we won't see our mentors tomorrow. They give us some final words of advice, and then we're sent to bed. When I get back to my room, I peel off the beautiful dress and put on some pajamas and climb into bed. Tomorrow's the day, the day of the 62nd Hunger Games, and honestly, I'm kind of scared. I toss and turn for a while, but I can't sleep. I flip through channels on the TV for a while, but decide to just try to sleep again. After a few hours, I finally drift off. I'm woken by Ophelia, and I put on a simple outfit. I'm taken to the roof, where I wait for the hovercraft. I climb onto the ladder, and I'm frozen into place. I sit down in the hovercraft, in between Pearl and the boy from 8. A woman in a white coat injects something in my arm. "What's that?" The boy from 8 asks. He looks about 12. "Your tracker." The woman answers. After about an hour, we reach the arena. We walk through underground catacombs before a peacekeeper places me in a small room. I see Ophelia is already there. I decline breakfast, but drink a glass of water. I change into my arena clothes, hunting boots, green cargo pants, a black t-shirt, and a vest. "30 seconds." A woman calls. I hug Ophelia before stepping into the glass tube. "20 seconds." I'm ready for this. "10 seconds." "Good luck." Ophelia says, before the tube seals shut and I begin rising into the arena I look around at the other tributes and see that Hawk is right next to me. The other side is Florence. The arena is a field, with some trees and a river.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, let the 62nd Hunger Games begin!"