Fighter | The Hunger Games

Chapter Twenty-Four

The next morning I awoke to Jace lightly shaking me. "Avery you need to leave before the others are awake." I groaned at his demand, reluctantly dragging myself out of his bed. He rolled his eyes at me before burying himself underneath the covers covers. "I'll see you later" he called out as I begrudgingly left the room.

It was interview day. The day that "all of Panem has been waiting for" according to Cecelia, but I wasn't sure how much merit that held. Either way I was quite anxious. Speaking on national television was not something I enjoyed, especially when I would once again be forced to recount my Hunger Games trauma. The only thing pushing me through was the thought of seeing my family in a few short days. We were set to depart for the Victory Tour tomorrow beginning in District Twelve and working our way down to District One. We would skip Seven and save it for last. The anticipation of embracing my family was nearly unbearable. I wanted to be home right now more than anything.

Patience. I survived this long and I could survive another several days.

I grabbed a small blueberry muffin in the kitchen before being rushed into my room by Ezra. "No time to waste today kid! We have got to get you ready." I only nodded and obliged to his busy preparation process- another reminder of how significant today was. 

Ezra made small talk with me as he took over my hair and makeup. He insisted he wanted to be the sole person in charge of my styling today and excused the rest of the team from their duties. "You really are a new person Avery. Your bed is made and everything. I'm impressed" Ezra commented as he gently curled my hair into lush waves. I accepted the compliment, refraining from mentioning the fact that I hadn't slept in my bed the previous night.

A few hours later I was fully dressed and ready. Ezra called Cecelia and Jace in for the big reveal, preventing me from catching a glimpse until everyone was present. "One, two, three!" Ezra cheered as I spun to face the mirror in front of me. A small smile crept across my face as I absorbed the true magnificence of the dress Ezra created. I was fashioned in an emerald green one shoulder gown with beautiful pieces of silk fabric draped over it. As usual there were gentle accents of gold woven through pieces of the dress. My arms had golden cuffs that snaked around my shoulder to my elbow, complete with little green leaves that added a touch of complexion to the dress. I looked as if I belonged in nature, not trapped inside this cruel world.

There were small green gems placed on the edges of my eyelids with gold eyeshadow and red lips. Cecelia clapped her hands together in delight. "You've outdone yourself Ezra! She looks absolutely beautiful." Cecelia continued to gush over Ezra's hard work as Jace offered me a smile. "Gorgeous" he mouthed to me while the others were distracted. 

While everyone rushed to get ready to leave for the interview I stared at my reflection a little longer. It touched my heart that this was the dress Ezra was working on while I was still competing in the Games. Before departing I cornered him and thanked him privately. "Thank you for believing in me. You have no idea how much it means to me that while I was struggling to have faith in myself someone else already did." Ezra bent down and planted a kiss on my forehead. "I will always root for you." 

All of us piled into a car as we raced to the venue of the interview. Citizens were already lining the streets waiting to crowd into the audience in order to catch a glimpse of the "golden girl," the name Cecelia coined for me. I attempted to divert my attention away from the mass amounts of people and focus on my breathing. I was growing nervous and rubbed my hands together apprehensively. What if I say something that President Marx doesn't like? What if Apollo asks me about Mason? Or Olivia? What would I say then? My mind jumped to a million different scenarios, none of which I liked.