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I didn't want to wake up the next morning. It felt nice to be sleeping in an actual bed then a smelly cell in the basement. I snuggled under the soft cotton sheets and readjusted my head on the fluffy pillow. I didn't have any dreams that night, which was good because for the past two months I had been reliving the events of the rebellion over and over again in my sleep. But I didn't have to worry about that now. Just silence and darkness…it was nice. And nothing could ruin this perfect moment.
Well almost nothing.
"Wake up, wake up, wake up! It's a big, big, big day!" a cheery high pitched voice sang in my ear. I jolted up right to find a woman with bright purple hair, which I was pretty sure was a wig, along with that she had on a lavender suit and heels to match. Behind her stood another woman with long wavy red hair that was pinned on one side with a flower clip, olive skin, and a beautiful floral dress. She smiled at me and bounced on the balls of her feet, she looked no more than early twenties at least.
"Who are you?" I asked and pulled the sheets up to my chin feeling uncomfortable.
"No hello? I thought you might have more manners than that," the woman with purple hair looked offended and wagged her finger in my face. But she quickly replaced it with a smile and continued speaking, "My name is Effie Trinket, oh I'm sure you've heard of me! And this is your stylist, Lurex."
"Stylist?" I asked, yawning and rubbing my eyes.
"Yes, yes, of course! She'll help you get ready for the Opening Ceremonies later this evening."
"Opening Ceremonies?"
"Yes! Their traditional and we want to make sure everyone gets a good look at you. Helps with getting sponsors."
I didn't want to be in the Opening Ceremonies, I just wanted to go back to sleep and stay like that forever. And what was the point anyway? I doubt we'd get any sponsors sense most of the tributes were from Capitol.
"I'll leave you two," she turned and started walking towards the door, but paused and said, "And may the odds be ever in your favor!" she cheered and hurried out of the room.
"Hello," Lurex said in a sweet and soothing voice. She sat on the edge of the bed next to me.
"Um…hi?" I said still uncomfortable and not wanting any part of all this.
"You must be Aradhana. I'm Lurex, but you already know that," she giggled to herself, "This is my first big break in the fashion business! And I want to make sure you look stunning!" she opened a book that she held in her hands and showed me drawings of beautiful gowns, stuff she must have worked on herself.
"Those look very nice," I said admiring them. I couldn't help but think of my Mom, which only put me in even a worse mood.
"Thank you! Now normally the outfits for the opening ceremonies are themed after the district of which the tribute is from. But sense you are from Capitol and most of the other tributes as well I don't want to have the same look as the others. I'm suspecting there might be a lot of high end styles, beautiful gowns, and silks. But instead of focusing on the place you came from I'd like to focus your style on you," I guess I didn't mind that, as least she seemed to care about me instead of ignore me like everyone else.
"Tell me about yourself," she turned to an empty page in her sketch book and started sketching an outline of a body.
"What do you want to know?" I asked.
"Anything, like your hobbies, personality, family life."
"Um…well I like to sew," I started off. Her eyes brighten up at this.
"Really?"
"Yeah, my Mom's a seamstress. Well she use to be…"I trailed off and started picking at my nails.
"Oh…" she seemed to get what I was hinting at but hesitated before asking, "what happened, if you don't mind me asking."
I did mind, I wasn't in the mood to spill out my life's story to some stranger I just met. Instead I went on with talking about myself, as if she had never asked the question, "I also like to read, and paint."
"You any good?" she played along and continued adding to her sketch.
"Yeah I guess," I paused, "My little sister," maybe I should talk about it, people always said it helped.
"She was really into princesses and dragons fighting knights in armor. I use to do a lot of paintings for her. We sometimes sell them in our shop, if my Mom was willing to part with them," I laughed. My mom always liked to frame every piece I did. She'd hang them all around the house, even the ones I messed up on. I never quite understood why she kept everything we did, I found it silly at times.
Its like a piece of you, don't you want to share it with the world? She used to tell me. My heart ached, I longed to be in her comforting arms hugging me and telling me not to worry about silly things. I missed them so much.
"I know what it's like," Lurex had stopped drawing and looked at me with understanding.
"What?"
"Losing someone you care about. I lost my little sister to the games. It was a long time ago when it happened. She was killed within the first few minutes of the gong ringing, never much of a fighter. I think about her every day," Lurex looked like she was reliving the memory; she shook her head and looked back at me.
"I should have done better," I mumbled to myself.
"What do you mean?"
I sighed, "I shouldn't have left them," I could feel my eyes tear up again. And then I couldn't help but spill out my guts. Lurex didn't seem to mind, she listened to every detail and nodded once in awhile. I told her about a litte bit of my life before everything changed. I told her about the explosion, about losing my parents and being captured.
"Now I'm caught up in this mess! What's the point of this anyway, I'm just going to die out there!"
Lurex sighed and touched my arm, "Now I could tell you to cheer up and that this is a great honor, I could even say that you'll be amazing out there and you'll definitely win. But I know it's hard. And this is far from being an honor, it's one of the cruelest and uncivilized things I've ever seen. I don't know for sure if you'll win or not but I do know that you're a strong girl. Maybe not physically but mentally, I can tell from the story you just told me," she gave a comforting smile, "I can give you a bit of advice though. If you really want to survive, then focus on something. Have a goal in mind and when times are hard, remember that and it will keep you going, have faith and stay strong."
I suddenly wished she was my mentor.
I nodded and wiped the tears from my cheeks, "okay."
"Have anything in mind? Maybe the most obvious one, staying alive?" she asked. I shook my head. My family was gone, who knows what happened to my friends and the ones I did know about were trapped in the same situation as me. If I did live I'd just be alone.
I shook my head. Lurex looked back down at her drawing, tore it out of the book and crumpled it into a ball, "This just doesn't look like you."
"What? I thought it was fine."
"But it just doesn't scream you," she shook her head and threw the paper in the corner of the room, "You remind me of a story my mother use to tell me when I was younger," she smiled at me. I waited for her to continue and leaned back against my pillow.
"Have you ever seen this kind of flower before?" she asked me and unclipped the flower she had in her hair. She handed it to me so I could examine it better.
The clip was made out of plastic that was shaped like an interesting flower. The petals reminded me of tear drops but were slightly curved. It was a mixture of colors, bright white starting from the center which bled into a crimson red then finally darkened into a black at the very tips. In the center was a tiny pearl and around the petals where thin delicate spirals which were a silvery white.
I shook my head and handed the clip back to her. I had never seen a flower like that before but it was beautiful.
"It's called the Red Virtus," she told me as she clipped it back in her red hair.
"That's an odd name," I thought.
"Well there's a meaning behind it. Virtus is Latin for courage and bravery. Red is also the color for courage. Each element of the flower has a meaning to it."
"What are they?"
"Well let me tell you the story first so it all makes more sense," she paused before continuing, "Once upon a time, someplace far far away was a great kingdom. The king of this great nation was a very powerful but greedy man. Even though he had more land then the eye could see, it just wasn't enough for him. So one day the king decided to take more, but there was a small problem…"
"What?" I asked and sat up straight.
"A small village was located a few miles away from the walls of the kingdom, it was the only thing standing in the kings way. You see the land didn't belong to the king but he was too blinded to care. The only way to get it was to take it by force. Now the king could have sent a small army of men to get the job done but instead he decided to have some fun. So he sent his best man out."
"Now this guy wasn't an ordinary soldier. He towered over everyone, every inch of him was pure muscle, he felt little pain, and was more animal then he was human. Along with that he was heavily armored and carried a blade of steel. When he arrived at the village the people were shocked but they would not back down. All though they were small in numbers they did their best in sending out any man willing to fight, but no one could take the beast down. He was so amused by this that he even turned it into a challenge, that if someone dare fight him and win then he'd leave. The poor village was in distress, many were hurt and half the homes where already lost. What hope was there left? Even the strongest, bravest man in the village trembled and did not dare take up his challenge."
"So what happened? What does this have to do with a flower?" I asked, I wasn't quit understanding how this story reminded her of me.
"Well there was one person brave enough, a girl, probably not much older then you. She took the challenge, and yes I bet she was terrified but that didn't matter to her. She did it to save the ones she cared about, if no one acted soon then the whole village would be destroyed and everyone lost."
"But wait," I interrupted, "she just decided to fight the guy? Even the strongest man in the village couldn't beat him then what makes her think she can?"
"You didn't let me finish," Lurex laughed, "Unlike the others she actually thought this through. She knew trying to save the village was a lost cause and would only get everyone killed. But she figured if she could distract the beast long enough then everyone could get away unharmed. It was a risk she was willing to take, for the people she loved. So she took a pair of pants, good running boots, her father's heavy coat, and a sword. She made sure to hide her hair and cover her face with the hood of the coat," Lurex started sketching a coat onto the figure she had drawn.
"She told only one other person of her plan, a friend of hers, to make sure everyone made it out. Then, without giving it a second thought, she confronted the man and took his challenge. He laughed that such a small person dared to fight him, for how could he lose?"
"'What's your name?' he asked in his booming voice," Lurex said in a deep tone. I laughed at her attempt to mimic voices.
"The girl replied with a smile, 'unknown'.  The man just laughed," Lurex's voice deepened again, "'this should be interesting then. You'll die a man with no name.'"
She started adding boots to her drawing and a sword.
"They started fighting. The beast charged but the girl was able to dodge each move. while this was happening the village quickly evacuated to a nearby hill which was far enough away from the village but still had a good view on what was happening. They stood there astonished wondering who this mysterious warrior was. And watched in horror at how it all played out and realized that they couldn't do anything to help their brave hero."
"The girl was faster than the man, she was able to run circles around him and strike him in the leg between the chinks in his armor. He became enraged at this and swung his big fist knocking her to the ground. He pinned her with his foot and …. Plunged his sword in her chest!"
"She died!" I said surprised and a little offended. I reminded her of a girl who was stupid enough to fight a giant and died in the process. Great that made me feel confident.
"Yes, but she saved many lives. She figured it was better to lose one life then to lose them all. The rest of the village had burned down and the beast finally left but the people were unharmed. The villagers returned only to find ashes and in the center of it all was the warrior's body. The friend removed her hood and the people gasped when they saw their hero was a girl. The girl who had saved them. The girl who risked it all.  "
"They buried her body on the hill top and rebuilt their village far away from the kingdom."
"But what does the flower have to do with it all?" I asked.
"Many visited her grave offend, and they noticed these odd flowers growing all around. So they named it the Red Virtus, in honor of her and planted the flowers around the village," she finished her sketch and set it aside. Then she unclipped the flower from her hair again.
"The white in the middle stands for purity, how she was able to think of others instead of herself. The red means bravery and courage. And the black on the tips symbolize her death," she said and pointed to each color. Her fingers lightly traced the outline of a petal, "the petals symbolized the tears the people shed for her."
"What about the pearl and the spirals?"
"The spirals represent celebration in honor of her memory. The pearl is simply a cute decoration!" Lurex smiled.
"How does this remind you of me exactly?"
She gave me that warm smile again and said, "Because you care a great deal for your friends and family. The way you described them to me, it sounded like you'd do anything for them."
I nodded and smiled back, I would do anything for them. I wouldn't even think twice.
She patted my arm, "I think I have the right look for you. I'll send in your prep team and return for the finishing touches later," she waved and skipped out of the room in excitement.
Shortly after, my prep team arrived. I could easily tell that they were all from Capitol.
One was a thin woman with pale skin and teal hair, she wore heavy makeup and bright clothing, and her name was Athene. The other was an African American woman with beautiful long black hair that was pinned up in an interesting bun with little stars. She also had golden stars tattooed on the corner of one eye, her name was Maia. The last was a man with tan skin and blonde curly hair. He wore blue eyeliner with matching finger nails. His name was Andreas.
"Well this makes our jobs a little bit easier!" Maia clapped when she noticed that my legs and arms were already shaved, along with my eyebrows already done. After a very stressful dinner yesterday I had spent the rest of the evening scrubbing off all the dirty and grime on my body. I hadn't showered for two months straight and I looked like hobo.
"Shame," Athene frowned, looking a little disappointed that she didn't have to use the wax strips.
They had me bathe and wrap in a robe. After that they went to work on my hair, finger nails, and toe nails. Lurex came in to make sure everything was going smoothly. She examined me and told them exactly how she wanted the hair and makeup done. She also brought in a bouquet of Red Virtus and placed them in a vase on my dresser.
They looked so beautiful in real life. The colors were so bright and vibrant. And they smelled wonderful too. I couldn't help but inhale its sweet scent.
Maia pinned my hair back in a simple tight bun. Andreas painted my nails to match the color of the flowers, starting off with white and melting into red and black.  Athene applied make up to my face, giving me grey smoky eyes and red lips. Which normally I wouldn't approve of, it was something Athanasia would wear. My heart ached just thinking of her.
Lurex came back just as the prep team was finishing up. She had a plastic slip slung over her shoulder and a huge grin on her face.
"You look wonderful! You did an amazing job," she praised the prep team.
"And just in time too. I had a long talk with Cosmo's stylist and we finally agreed on coordinating," she quickly unzipped the plastic slip and pulled out my Opening Ceremonies outfit.
"It's what I could whip up in such a short time. I hope its okay."
"You did that in just a few hours!" I asked and walked over to get a closer look. Lurex nodded and rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet.
"Lets put it on you first, then you can see how it looks," Lurex said and asked Maia to help.
They quickly helped me slip into it. Andreas started fussing with my hair and makeup, trying to fix any imperfections. Lurex slapped his hands away and turned me towards a mirror.
"What do you think?" Lurex asked.
"It certainly is different. Very dark," Athene commented.
"It's mysterious!" Maia said.
"Yet it'll stick out. It's wonderful!" Andreas added.
I stared at myself in the mirror. The outfit Lurex had designed was done very professionally, especial in such a short amount of time. I hoped she did make it big after the games were over. She deserved to live her dream.
My outfit was a dress that almost went to my knees. The skirt was made out of grey and black tulle, and I think you know how I feel about tulle. The top hugged my body and had cap shelves. Over that was a very detailed coat. It was made from a type of soft fuzzy black fabric. The sleeves went a little past my wrists and had beautiful embroidery around the cuffs and the edge of the hood. To complete the outfit I also had on a pair of new dark brown boots.
"I've already started sketching out your dress for the interviews! It's going to be gorgeous! But you'll have to wait, I want it to be a surprise," Lurex bounced with excitement.
"It's like the story," I said. The outfit looked a lot like the sketch she had done earlier of the girl from the story. The girl who risked it all.
"Yes, it is. I just made a few tweaks. You know, modernize it a bit," she smiled at her work and picked a few pieces of lint off my shoulder. "Now for the finishing touches."
She pulled the loose hood over my head and made sure it covered my face. Then she took one of the flowers from my dresser and stuck it in the collar.
"But you can barely see her face!" Athene complained.
"Exactly! This ensures that she'll stick out. People will remember her, they'll be dying to know who's under the hood," Lurex exampled. Athene rolled her eyes in frustration that her work would go to waste.
"That's smart," I smiled. I didn't like this whole situation I was in at all. But I didn't mind being the center of attention for a bit. And maybe, just maybe, this could help me later with getting sponsors.
        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Normally the tributes are sent to the Remake Center and then during the Opening Ceremonies the chariots take them up to the Training Center. But sense the rebellion the Remake Center was completely destroyed and was still being remade, pun intended. So instead the plan was to have the chariots take us down to the City Circle then back up to the Training Center.
"You look nice," I complement Cosmo on his outfit which was identical to mine. The only difference is he's wearing a pair of dark pants and a nice grey knit top.
"Thanks," he said, I noticed his hands were shaking. He seems just as scared as when I first met him.
I looked around the room at the other tributes getting ready and waiting by their chariots. The ceremonies were going to start soon. I search around looking desperately for my friends. Then I spotted Ajax by the far corner petting some of the horses. I couldn't control myself, my feet seemed to act on their own. I ran over to him and tackled him in the tight hug.
"Hey!" he struggled against me but I wouldn't let go. "Help!" he screamed. I remembered I still had my hood on so he must not recognize me.
"Ajax, claim down! It's me," I set him down and pulled off my hood.
"Hana!" he smiled and leaped back into my arms. I hugged him again and started kissing his cheek.
"Eww!" he complained but I didn't care.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened to you? Where's your brother?" I asked frantically running my hands through his hair and lifting his arms to make sure there wasn't a scratch on him.
"I'm fine," he made a disgusted face as he wiped red lip stick off his cheek and fixed his hair. I noticed he was dressed in a white tux that was covered in a complicated golden pattern.
His partner, a girl who looked about my age maybe a little younger. She looked Asian and had long silky hair that went down to her waist. Her stylist had put her in a similar outfit like Ajax. I couldn't tell if it was a dress but it almost looked like a second skin on her. It was white and shimmered in the light with the same golden pattern. She also wore a crazy pair of heels, they looked like a three year old had glued diamonds and glitter all over them.
"Neo!" Ajax yelled and ripped away from me.
Neo walked into the room, follow by his prep team and stylist all still  fussing over him. Neo was arguing with all of them and tried to wave them away. His stylist had decided to dress him in a type of leathery black unitard. I couldn't help but laugh to myself at how ridiculous he looked.
He glanced up when he heard his name and quickly spotted Ajax running toward him. His face softened and he broke away from his prep team and ran to embrace his little brother. Ajax had the biggest smile on his face and Neo looked just as happy. I couldn't help but feel a little jealous. They still had each other, they were still a family. I had nothing.
They started talking but I couldn't hear them. Ajax's smile faded but Neo quickly tried to reassure him, also trying his best to keep a smile on his face. Ajax looked down and sadly nodded.
"You sure your fine?" Neo asked as I got closer. Ajax nodded again and curled up in his big brothers arms.
"Is this it?" Ajax whispered.
Neo looked him in the eye and put on a brave face, "No, buddy it's not it. I promise you we'll be fine." I could see right through him, I knew he didn't feel confident about this. If Neo wasn't confident about something it meant that this was bad, real bad. I could see sadness in his eyes, I knew him well enough to tell when he was trying to hide something.
"Hey," I said awkwardly, feeling a little bad too for coming between the cute reunion.
"Hana? You look….different," was all Neo said.
"Really? After all the crap I've been through and that's the first words you say to me?" I laugh.
"Ajax, why don't you go get a closer look at those horses?" Neo suggested to him.
"okay," Ajax wandered off back toward his chariot.
I didn't wait any longer I basically tackled him in a hug like I had done to Ajax just moments ago. He didn't protest like his little brother did, just wrapped his arms around me.
"What happened to your lip?" I asked noticing it was split and there was a slight bruise on his cheek.
"Got in a fight."
"Neo! Fights amongst tributes are against the rules. You could get in deep trouble if_"
"It wasn't with another tribute! It was with one of those stupid guards," he glared at a group of them across the room.
"Still Neo, you shouldn't go around picking fights. Especially now, it's not safe."
"Safe? What does it matter if I'm in danger? As far as I'm concerned or anyone else for that matter I'm already dead," he said harshly.
"Don't say that," I looked away. I didn't want to think about him dying or Ajax.
He sighed and pulled me in his arms again, "sorry okay? I'm just stressed."
I nodded and decided to change the topic, "Are you okay? How's your Mother?" They only had a Mom. Their Dad abandoned them after Ajax was born. Now they rarely ever saw him.
He shook his head and sadness returned to his eyes.
"She didn't make it?" I asked. he didn't have to tell me I was right. He just hung his head, his lips were press together so tight they were white.
"Don't talk about it with Ajax, he doesn't know yet."
"He doesn't know?"
"I told him just now she had been captured. He thinks she's in a cell somewhere in the president's mansion."
"You didn't tell him? He's gonna figure it out soon! What happens when they do family interviews, he'll know something's up."
"He's never seen a Hunger Games all the way through! He won't know the difference," he tried to explain.
"Neo, he needs to_"
"I know. I'll tell him I swear. Just not now, things are hard enough as it is," he pleaded with me.
"Okay," I sighed.
"What about your family?" Neo asked. I felt a sharp pain in the pit of my stomach at the mention of them. I was alone, well not now at least. Was I an orphan? Did my parents still exist?
Tears started swelling in my eyes, I didn't want to cry, especially not in front of Neo. He'd never seen me cry before and knowing him he'd probably make fun of me for it later. I buried my head in his chest and whispered, "No."
"None of them?"
I simply shook my head, "Lydia and Cleo are gone! There was an explosion, I tried to help! Then I lost my parents in the crowded and I haven't seen them sense_"
"I'm so sorry Hana," Neo held me and tried to calm me down. I didn't want sympathy right now. I wanted to forget everything, all the pain. I changed the subject again.
"What are you wearing?" I asked and pulled away to looked at his black leather unitard.
"I'm not quite sure. But wait, its gets worse," he slapped his chest and the suit lit up red. Not the whole thing just different lines that outlined his body and designs around the chest and arms. He made a painful face and winced, "It's bad," he didn't look comfortable at all. I started to laugh, seeing Neo embarrassed always seemed to cheer me up.
"Well looky here. The two love birds reunite," I looked up to find Damian Stanton standing in front of us with the most annoying smirk on his face.
"Shut up Damian," Neo tensed and went to stand in front of Damian.
"Or what Stone? What are you going to do?" Damian taunted.
  Neo had a hard expression on his face. If there was one thing he hated more than his dead beat Dad, glitter, unicorns, loosing, and being told what to do, it was Damian Stanton. I didn't blame him, the guy was a total jerk. He had electric blue hair, sharp features, athletic build, and he knew exactly how to get on everyone's nerves. They always got into fights at school.
"I can't wait to get into the arena, finally I can teach you a real lesson."
"I wouldn't talk so fast, Stanton," Neo spat at him. They seemed to be sizing each other up, like animals did before they fought. Boys are weird like that. They were both nearly the same height, same build, Neo probably had a bigger temper though.
"I going to kill you, your brother, and your girlfriend," Damian cocked an eyebrow and looked at me with that annoying smirk.
Neo was not my boyfriend, let's just make that clear. We were close friends, and that was it. I mean I didn't think he had feelings like that for me, and if he did he was really good at hiding them. As for me, I wasn't quite sure how I felt.
"Don't you dare threaten my friend or my brother, got it?" Neo placed his hands on Damians chest and shoved him back as hard as he could. Damian stumbled, caught himself and returned the favor.
"No, I don't think I do."
They started arguing, throwing threats at each other and pushing the other around. One of the rebel guards saw and quickly had them restrained.
"Break it up! Break it up! Back to your chariots, both of you!" the guard yelled. Neo gave one last hard stare while Damian smiled and reluctantly they went back to their carts.
"You too," the guard gestured to me and I quickly ran back to my chariot without hesitation.
The ceremonies were about to start, Lurex quickly fixed my skirt and readjusted my hood.
"Remember not to let them see your face; I want the element of surprise on our side! Smile and be confident out there, I know you'll do great, "she patted my cheek and smiled. Then she stepped out of the chariot.
Cosmo's stylist, Elisavet,whos hot pink hair was short and styled as a faux hawk and matching pink lips, was trying to give him a pep talk, "you don't have to be nervous out there, just forget your worries. I want the crowd to think you're a strong, brave, and confident young man.  Which I know you are."
"But what if I'm not?" Cosmo said barely loud enough for me to hear.
"Well they don't know that, do they?" she winked, "Now go out there and prove yourself wrong."
Cosmo pulled his hood on, making sure it covered his face. He gave Elisavet his best smile, which was more of a small grin, and the ceremonies began. Music blasted loudly outside and the crowd roared. Our chariot was the sixth to leave.
I felt like I might fall right out of the cart as it moved along the street. I saw myself on screen. The camera tried zooming in several times but couldn't get a clear shot of our faces. The only part of my face that you could see was my bright red lips. I smiled for the camera and the crowd. But it was hard.
It was hard because the crowd was yelling at us, some cheered for us but among them I could hear others booing and saying hateful things. I tried my best not to listen to them, I tried to block them out and only hear the music. I looked over at Cosmo and noticed his hands were shaking again.
I placed a hand on his shoulder in hopes of comforting him a bit, also to keep me from falling out.
The chariots rounded over to the President's mansion and halted in a line. I looked down the row of chariots and noticed Ajax just one over. He was so short only his shoulder and head were visible. This wasn't right, none of it! He was only seven! Seven, and they were putting him through this! I looked more and saw Damian giving me that smirk, I wanted to run over and smack that grin right off his face. Neo caught his eye and returned the gesture by flipping the bird, normally I'd punch him for that but right now wasn't the best time.
The new leader of Panem, the one the rebels voted after both Snow and Coin had been killed, President Paylor stands on the balcony. She gives a speech about how well their new nation is being rebuilt. But I don't hear her words all I see is visions. Reliving that horrible day and staring at the spot where I last saw my little brother and sister.
I do notice something odd behind her eyes. Disappointment? Sadness? Or disapproval? I can't tell what it was but she didn't look pleased as she finishes talking and the chariots move back toward the Training Center.
Things go smoothly, we're almost to the doors when I hear screams and then something hits the tributes behind me. I look and see a few people throwing fruit at them. The guards quickly hurry the chariots along, but not fast enough. Fruit hits our cart and I feel something hit and start ozzing down my back. All the tributes are rushed inside on the doors slam shut.
My chariot wasn't hit as bad, just a tomato here and a melon there, also the tomato that hit me in back ruining the outfit Lurex worked so hard on. I look to find Damian's cart got hit the worst, he's covered in produce and he doesn't look happy. This of course makes me smile.
"That's a nice look on you Stanton," Neo chuckles. Damian Glares back but keeps heading for the elevators.
"Look Hana!" Ajax runs up to me, his cart must have gotten it bad too because his white suit is pink and red and he's holding part of a water melon. But he's smiling and laughing that I can't help but join in.
"Food fight!" he says and starts picking at the melon. I just stared at him, he was so young and innocent. He didn't deserve a fate like this. If anyone deserved to win this thing it was Ajax.

Description
I didn't want to wake up the next morning. It felt nice to be sleeping in an actual bed then a smelly cell in the basement. I snuggled under the soft cotton sheets and readjusted my head on the fluffy pillow. I didn't have any dreams that night, which was good because for the past two months I had been reliving the events of the rebellion over and over again in my sleep. But I didn't have to worry about that now. Just silence and darkness…it was nice. And nothing could ruin this perfect moment.
Well almost nothing.
"Wake up, wake up, wake up! It's a big, big, big day!" a cheery high pitched voice sang in my ear. I jolted up right to find a woman with bright purple hair, which I was pretty sure was a wig, along with that she had on a lavender suit and heels to match. Behind her stood another woman with long wavy red hair that was pinned on one side with a flower clip, olive skin, and a beautiful floral dress. She smiled at me and bounced on the balls of her feet, she looked no more than early twenties at least.
"Who are you?" I asked and pulled the sheets up to my chin feeling uncomfortable.
"No hello? I thought you might have more manners than that," the woman with purple hair looked offended and wagged her finger in my face. But she quickly replaced it with a smile and continued speaking, "My name is Effie Trinket, oh I'm sure you've heard of me! And this is your stylist, Lurex."
"Stylist?" I asked, yawning and rubbing my eyes.
"Yes, yes, of course! She'll help you get ready for the Opening Ceremonies later this evening."
"Opening Ceremonies?"
"Yes! Their traditional and we want to make sure everyone gets a good look at you. Helps with getting sponsors."
I didn't want to be in the Opening Ceremonies, I just wanted to go back to sleep and stay like that forever. And what was the point anyway? I doubt we'd get any sponsors sense most of the tributes were from Capitol.
"I'll leave you two," she turned and started walking towards the door, but paused and said, "And may the odds be ever in your favor!" she cheered and hurried out of the room.
"Hello," Lurex said in a sweet and soothing voice. She sat on the edge of the bed next to me.
"Um…hi?" I said still uncomfortable and not wanting any part of all this.
"You must be Aradhana. I'm Lurex, but you already know that," she giggled to herself, "This is my first big break in the fashion business! And I want to make sure you look stunning!" she opened a book that she held in her hands and showed me drawings of beautiful gowns, stuff she must have worked on herself.
"Those look very nice," I said admiring them. I couldn't help but think of my Mom, which only put me in even a worse mood.
"Thank you! Now normally the outfits for the opening ceremonies are themed after the district of which the tribute is from. But sense you are from Capitol and most of the other tributes as well I don't want to have the same look as the others. I'm suspecting there might be a lot of high end styles, beautiful gowns, and silks. But instead of focusing on the place you came from I'd like to focus your style on you," I guess I didn't mind that, as least she seemed to care about me instead of ignore me like everyone else.
"Tell me about yourself," she turned to an empty page in her sketch book and started sketching an outline of a body.
"What do you want to know?" I asked.
"Anything, like your hobbies, personality, family life."
"Um…well I like to sew," I started off. Her eyes brighten up at this.
"Really?"
"Yeah, my Mom's a seamstress. Well she use to be…"I trailed off and started picking at my nails.
"Oh…" she seemed to get what I was hinting at but hesitated before asking, "what happened, if you don't mind me asking."
I did mind, I wasn't in the mood to spill out my life's story to some stranger I just met. Instead I went on with talking about myself, as if she had never asked the question, "I also like to read, and paint."
"You any good?" she played along and continued adding to her sketch.
"Yeah I guess," I paused, "My little sister," maybe I should talk about it, people always said it helped.
"She was really into princesses and dragons fighting knights in armor. I use to do a lot of paintings for her. We sometimes sell them in our shop, if my Mom was willing to part with them," I laughed. My mom always liked to frame every piece I did. She'd hang them all around the house, even the ones I messed up on. I never quite understood why she kept everything we did, I found it silly at times.
Its like a piece of you, don't you want to share it with the world? She used to tell me. My heart ached, I longed to be in her comforting arms hugging me and telling me not to worry about silly things. I missed them so much.
"I know what it's like," Lurex had stopped drawing and looked at me with understanding.
"What?"
"Losing someone you care about. I lost my little sister to the games. It was a long time ago when it happened. She was killed within the first few minutes of the gong ringing, never much of a fighter. I think about her every day," Lurex looked like she was reliving the memory; she shook her head and looked back at me.
"I should have done better," I mumbled to myself.
"What do you mean?"
I sighed, "I shouldn't have left them," I could feel my eyes tear up again. And then I couldn't help but spill out my guts. Lurex didn't seem to mind, she listened to every detail and nodded once in awhile. I told her about a litte bit of my life before everything changed. I told her about the explosion, about losing my parents and being captured.
"Now I'm caught up in this mess! What's the point of this anyway, I'm just going to die out there!"
Lurex sighed and touched my arm, "Now I could tell you to cheer up and that this is a great honor, I could even say that you'll be amazing out there and you'll definitely win. But I know it's hard. And this is far from being an honor, it's one of the cruelest and uncivilized things I've ever seen. I don't know for sure if you'll win or not but I do know that you're a strong girl. Maybe not physically but mentally, I can tell from the story you just told me," she gave a comforting smile, "I can give you a bit of advice though. If you really want to survive, then focus on something. Have a goal in mind and when times are hard, remember that and it will keep you going, have faith and stay strong."
I suddenly wished she was my mentor.
I nodded and wiped the tears from my cheeks, "okay."
"Have anything in mind? Maybe the most obvious one, staying alive?" she asked. I shook my head. My family was gone, who knows what happened to my friends and the ones I did know about were trapped in the same situation as me. If I did live I'd just be alone.
I shook my head. Lurex looked back down at her drawing, tore it out of the book and crumpled it into a ball, "This just doesn't look like you."
"What? I thought it was fine."
"But it just doesn't scream you," she shook her head and threw the paper in the corner of the room, "You remind me of a story my mother use to tell me when I was younger," she smiled at me. I waited for her to continue and leaned back against my pillow.
"Have you ever seen this kind of flower before?" she asked me and unclipped the flower she had in her hair. She handed it to me so I could examine it better.
The clip was made out of plastic that was shaped like an interesting flower. The petals reminded me of tear drops but were slightly curved. It was a mixture of colors, bright white starting from the center which bled into a crimson red then finally darkened into a black at the very tips. In the center was a tiny pearl and around the petals where thin delicate spirals which were a silvery white.
I shook my head and handed the clip back to her. I had never seen a flower like that before but it was beautiful.
"It's called the Red Virtus," she told me as she clipped it back in her red hair.
"That's an odd name," I thought.
"Well there's a meaning behind it. Virtus is Latin for courage and bravery. Red is also the color for courage. Each element of the flower has a meaning to it."
"What are they?"
"Well let me tell you the story first so it all makes more sense," she paused before continuing, "Once upon a time, someplace far far away was a great kingdom. The king of this great nation was a very powerful but greedy man. Even though he had more land then the eye could see, it just wasn't enough for him. So one day the king decided to take more, but there was a small problem…"
"What?" I asked and sat up straight.
"A small village was located a few miles away from the walls of the kingdom, it was the only thing standing in the kings way. You see the land didn't belong to the king but he was too blinded to care. The only way to get it was to take it by force. Now the king could have sent a small army of men to get the job done but instead he decided to have some fun. So he sent his best man out."
"Now this guy wasn't an ordinary soldier. He towered over everyone, every inch of him was pure muscle, he felt little pain, and was more animal then he was human. Along with that he was heavily armored and carried a blade of steel. When he arrived at the village the people were shocked but they would not back down. All though they were small in numbers they did their best in sending out any man willing to fight, but no one could take the beast down. He was so amused by this that he even turned it into a challenge, that if someone dare fight him and win then he'd leave. The poor village was in distress, many were hurt and half the homes where already lost. What hope was there left? Even the strongest, bravest man in the village trembled and did not dare take up his challenge."
"So what happened? What does this have to do with a flower?" I asked, I wasn't quit understanding how this story reminded her of me.
"Well there was one person brave enough, a girl, probably not much older then you. She took the challenge, and yes I bet she was terrified but that didn't matter to her. She did it to save the ones she cared about, if no one acted soon then the whole village would be destroyed and everyone lost."
"But wait," I interrupted, "she just decided to fight the guy? Even the strongest man in the village couldn't beat him then what makes her think she can?"
"You didn't let me finish," Lurex laughed, "Unlike the others she actually thought this through. She knew trying to save the village was a lost cause and would only get everyone killed. But she figured if she could distract the beast long enough then everyone could get away unharmed. It was a risk she was willing to take, for the people she loved. So she took a pair of pants, good running boots, her father's heavy coat, and a sword. She made sure to hide her hair and cover her face with the hood of the coat," Lurex started sketching a coat onto the figure she had drawn.
"She told only one other person of her plan, a friend of hers, to make sure everyone made it out. Then, without giving it a second thought, she confronted the man and took his challenge. He laughed that such a small person dared to fight him, for how could he lose?"
"'What's your name?' he asked in his booming voice," Lurex said in a deep tone. I laughed at her attempt to mimic voices.
"The girl replied with a smile, 'unknown'.  The man just laughed," Lurex's voice deepened again, "'this should be interesting then. You'll die a man with no name.'"
She started adding boots to her drawing and a sword.
"They started fighting. The beast charged but the girl was able to dodge each move. while this was happening the village quickly evacuated to a nearby hill which was far enough away from the village but still had a good view on what was happening. They stood there astonished wondering who this mysterious warrior was. And watched in horror at how it all played out and realized that they couldn't do anything to help their brave hero."
"The girl was faster than the man, she was able to run circles around him and strike him in the leg between the chinks in his armor. He became enraged at this and swung his big fist knocking her to the ground. He pinned her with his foot and …. Plunged his sword in her chest!"
"She died!" I said surprised and a little offended. I reminded her of a girl who was stupid enough to fight a giant and died in the process. Great that made me feel confident.
"Yes, but she saved many lives. She figured it was better to lose one life then to lose them all. The rest of the village had burned down and the beast finally left but the people were unharmed. The villagers returned only to find ashes and in the center of it all was the warrior's body. The friend removed her hood and the people gasped when they saw their hero was a girl. The girl who had saved them. The girl who risked it all.  "
"They buried her body on the hill top and rebuilt their village far away from the kingdom."
"But what does the flower have to do with it all?" I asked.
"Many visited her grave offend, and they noticed these odd flowers growing all around. So they named it the Red Virtus, in honor of her and planted the flowers around the village," she finished her sketch and set it aside. Then she unclipped the flower from her hair again.
"The white in the middle stands for purity, how she was able to think of others instead of herself. The red means bravery and courage. And the black on the tips symbolize her death," she said and pointed to each color. Her fingers lightly traced the outline of a petal, "the petals symbolized the tears the people shed for her."
"What about the pearl and the spirals?"
"The spirals represent celebration in honor of her memory. The pearl is simply a cute decoration!" Lurex smiled.
"How does this remind you of me exactly?"
She gave me that warm smile again and said, "Because you care a great deal for your friends and family. The way you described them to me, it sounded like you'd do anything for them."
I nodded and smiled back, I would do anything for them. I wouldn't even think twice.
She patted my arm, "I think I have the right look for you. I'll send in your prep team and return for the finishing touches later," she waved and skipped out of the room in excitement.
Shortly after, my prep team arrived. I could easily tell that they were all from Capitol.
One was a thin woman with pale skin and teal hair, she wore heavy makeup and bright clothing, and her name was Athene. The other was an African American woman with beautiful long black hair that was pinned up in an interesting bun with little stars. She also had golden stars tattooed on the corner of one eye, her name was Maia. The last was a man with tan skin and blonde curly hair. He wore blue eyeliner with matching finger nails. His name was Andreas.
"Well this makes our jobs a little bit easier!" Maia clapped when she noticed that my legs and arms were already shaved, along with my eyebrows already done. After a very stressful dinner yesterday I had spent the rest of the evening scrubbing off all the dirty and grime on my body. I hadn't showered for two months straight and I looked like hobo.
"Shame," Athene frowned, looking a little disappointed that she didn't have to use the wax strips.
They had me bathe and wrap in a robe. After that they went to work on my hair, finger nails, and toe nails. Lurex came in to make sure everything was going smoothly. She examined me and told them exactly how she wanted the hair and makeup done. She also brought in a bouquet of Red Virtus and placed them in a vase on my dresser.
They looked so beautiful in real life. The colors were so bright and vibrant. And they smelled wonderful too. I couldn't help but inhale its sweet scent.
Maia pinned my hair back in a simple tight bun. Andreas painted my nails to match the color of the flowers, starting off with white and melting into red and black.  Athene applied make up to my face, giving me grey smoky eyes and red lips. Which normally I wouldn't approve of, it was something Athanasia would wear. My heart ached just thinking of her.
Lurex came back just as the prep team was finishing up. She had a plastic slip slung over her shoulder and a huge grin on her face.
"You look wonderful! You did an amazing job," she praised the prep team.
"And just in time too. I had a long talk with Cosmo's stylist and we finally agreed on coordinating," she quickly unzipped the plastic slip and pulled out my Opening Ceremonies outfit.
"It's what I could whip up in such a short time. I hope its okay."
"You did that in just a few hours!" I asked and walked over to get a closer look. Lurex nodded and rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet.
"Lets put it on you first, then you can see how it looks," Lurex said and asked Maia to help.
They quickly helped me slip into it. Andreas started fussing with my hair and makeup, trying to fix any imperfections. Lurex slapped his hands away and turned me towards a mirror.
"What do you think?" Lurex asked.
"It certainly is different. Very dark," Athene commented.
"It's mysterious!" Maia said.
"Yet it'll stick out. It's wonderful!" Andreas added.
I stared at myself in the mirror. The outfit Lurex had designed was done very professionally, especial in such a short amount of time. I hoped she did make it big after the games were over. She deserved to live her dream.
My outfit was a dress that almost went to my knees. The skirt was made out of grey and black tulle, and I think you know how I feel about tulle. The top hugged my body and had cap shelves. Over that was a very detailed coat. It was made from a type of soft fuzzy black fabric. The sleeves went a little past my wrists and had beautiful embroidery around the cuffs and the edge of the hood. To complete the outfit I also had on a pair of new dark brown boots.
"I've already started sketching out your dress for the interviews! It's going to be gorgeous! But you'll have to wait, I want it to be a surprise," Lurex bounced with excitement.
"It's like the story," I said. The outfit looked a lot like the sketch she had done earlier of the girl from the story. The girl who risked it all.
"Yes, it is. I just made a few tweaks. You know, modernize it a bit," she smiled at her work and picked a few pieces of lint off my shoulder. "Now for the finishing touches."
She pulled the loose hood over my head and made sure it covered my face. Then she took one of the flowers from my dresser and stuck it in the collar.
"But you can barely see her face!" Athene complained.
"Exactly! This ensures that she'll stick out. People will remember her, they'll be dying to know who's under the hood," Lurex exampled. Athene rolled her eyes in frustration that her work would go to waste.
"That's smart," I smiled. I didn't like this whole situation I was in at all. But I didn't mind being the center of attention for a bit. And maybe, just maybe, this could help me later with getting sponsors.
        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Normally the tributes are sent to the Remake Center and then during the Opening Ceremonies the chariots take them up to the Training Center. But sense the rebellion the Remake Center was completely destroyed and was still being remade, pun intended. So instead the plan was to have the chariots take us down to the City Circle then back up to the Training Center.
"You look nice," I complement Cosmo on his outfit which was identical to mine. The only difference is he's wearing a pair of dark pants and a nice grey knit top.
"Thanks," he said, I noticed his hands were shaking. He seems just as scared as when I first met him.
I looked around the room at the other tributes getting ready and waiting by their chariots. The ceremonies were going to start soon. I search around looking desperately for my friends. Then I spotted Ajax by the far corner petting some of the horses. I couldn't control myself, my feet seemed to act on their own. I ran over to him and tackled him in the tight hug.
"Hey!" he struggled against me but I wouldn't let go. "Help!" he screamed. I remembered I still had my hood on so he must not recognize me.
"Ajax, claim down! It's me," I set him down and pulled off my hood.
"Hana!" he smiled and leaped back into my arms. I hugged him again and started kissing his cheek.
"Eww!" he complained but I didn't care.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened to you? Where's your brother?" I asked frantically running my hands through his hair and lifting his arms to make sure there wasn't a scratch on him.
"I'm fine," he made a disgusted face as he wiped red lip stick off his cheek and fixed his hair. I noticed he was dressed in a white tux that was covered in a complicated golden pattern.
His partner, a girl who looked about my age maybe a little younger. She looked Asian and had long silky hair that went down to her waist. Her stylist had put her in a similar outfit like Ajax. I couldn't tell if it was a dress but it almost looked like a second skin on her. It was white and shimmered in the light with the same golden pattern. She also wore a crazy pair of heels, they looked like a three year old had glued diamonds and glitter all over them.
"Neo!" Ajax yelled and ripped away from me.
Neo walked into the room, follow by his prep team and stylist all still  fussing over him. Neo was arguing with all of them and tried to wave them away. His stylist had decided to dress him in a type of leathery black unitard. I couldn't help but laugh to myself at how ridiculous he looked.
He glanced up when he heard his name and quickly spotted Ajax running toward him. His face softened and he broke away from his prep team and ran to embrace his little brother. Ajax had the biggest smile on his face and Neo looked just as happy. I couldn't help but feel a little jealous. They still had each other, they were still a family. I had nothing.
They started talking but I couldn't hear them. Ajax's smile faded but Neo quickly tried to reassure him, also trying his best to keep a smile on his face. Ajax looked down and sadly nodded.
"You sure your fine?" Neo asked as I got closer. Ajax nodded again and curled up in his big brothers arms.
"Is this it?" Ajax whispered.
Neo looked him in the eye and put on a brave face, "No, buddy it's not it. I promise you we'll be fine." I could see right through him, I knew he didn't feel confident about this. If Neo wasn't confident about something it meant that this was bad, real bad. I could see sadness in his eyes, I knew him well enough to tell when he was trying to hide something.
"Hey," I said awkwardly, feeling a little bad too for coming between the cute reunion.
"Hana? You look….different," was all Neo said.
"Really? After all the crap I've been through and that's the first words you say to me?" I laugh.
"Ajax, why don't you go get a closer look at those horses?" Neo suggested to him.
"okay," Ajax wandered off back toward his chariot.
I didn't wait any longer I basically tackled him in a hug like I had done to Ajax just moments ago. He didn't protest like his little brother did, just wrapped his arms around me.
"What happened to your lip?" I asked noticing it was split and there was a slight bruise on his cheek.
"Got in a fight."
"Neo! Fights amongst tributes are against the rules. You could get in deep trouble if_"
"It wasn't with another tribute! It was with one of those stupid guards," he glared at a group of them across the room.
"Still Neo, you shouldn't go around picking fights. Especially now, it's not safe."
"Safe? What does it matter if I'm in danger? As far as I'm concerned or anyone else for that matter I'm already dead," he said harshly.
"Don't say that," I looked away. I didn't want to think about him dying or Ajax.
He sighed and pulled me in his arms again, "sorry okay? I'm just stressed."
I nodded and decided to change the topic, "Are you okay? How's your Mother?" They only had a Mom. Their Dad abandoned them after Ajax was born. Now they rarely ever saw him.
He shook his head and sadness returned to his eyes.
"She didn't make it?" I asked. he didn't have to tell me I was right. He just hung his head, his lips were press together so tight they were white.
"Don't talk about it with Ajax, he doesn't know yet."
"He doesn't know?"
"I told him just now she had been captured. He thinks she's in a cell somewhere in the president's mansion."
"You didn't tell him? He's gonna figure it out soon! What happens when they do family interviews, he'll know something's up."
"He's never seen a Hunger Games all the way through! He won't know the difference," he tried to explain.
"Neo, he needs to_"
"I know. I'll tell him I swear. Just not now, things are hard enough as it is," he pleaded with me.
"Okay," I sighed.
"What about your family?" Neo asked. I felt a sharp pain in the pit of my stomach at the mention of them. I was alone, well not now at least. Was I an orphan? Did my parents still exist?
Tears started swelling in my eyes, I didn't want to cry, especially not in front of Neo. He'd never seen me cry before and knowing him he'd probably make fun of me for it later. I buried my head in his chest and whispered, "No."
"None of them?"
I simply shook my head, "Lydia and Cleo are gone! There was an explosion, I tried to help! Then I lost my parents in the crowded and I haven't seen them sense_"
"I'm so sorry Hana," Neo held me and tried to calm me down. I didn't want sympathy right now. I wanted to forget everything, all the pain. I changed the subject again.
"What are you wearing?" I asked and pulled away to looked at his black leather unitard.
"I'm not quite sure. But wait, its gets worse," he slapped his chest and the suit lit up red. Not the whole thing just different lines that outlined his body and designs around the chest and arms. He made a painful face and winced, "It's bad," he didn't look comfortable at all. I started to laugh, seeing Neo embarrassed always seemed to cheer me up.
"Well looky here. The two love birds reunite," I looked up to find Damian Stanton standing in front of us with the most annoying smirk on his face.
"Shut up Damian," Neo tensed and went to stand in front of Damian.
"Or what Stone? What are you going to do?" Damian taunted.
  Neo had a hard expression on his face. If there was one thing he hated more than his dead beat Dad, glitter, unicorns, loosing, and being told what to do, it was Damian Stanton. I didn't blame him, the guy was a total jerk. He had electric blue hair, sharp features, athletic build, and he knew exactly how to get on everyone's nerves. They always got into fights at school.
"I can't wait to get into the arena, finally I can teach you a real lesson."
"I wouldn't talk so fast, Stanton," Neo spat at him. They seemed to be sizing each other up, like animals did before they fought. Boys are weird like that. They were both nearly the same height, same build, Neo probably had a bigger temper though.
"I going to kill you, your brother, and your girlfriend," Damian cocked an eyebrow and looked at me with that annoying smirk.
Neo was not my boyfriend, let's just make that clear. We were close friends, and that was it. I mean I didn't think he had feelings like that for me, and if he did he was really good at hiding them. As for me, I wasn't quite sure how I felt.
"Don't you dare threaten my friend or my brother, got it?" Neo placed his hands on Damians chest and shoved him back as hard as he could. Damian stumbled, caught himself and returned the favor.
"No, I don't think I do."
They started arguing, throwing threats at each other and pushing the other around. One of the rebel guards saw and quickly had them restrained.
"Break it up! Break it up! Back to your chariots, both of you!" the guard yelled. Neo gave one last hard stare while Damian smiled and reluctantly they went back to their carts.
"You too," the guard gestured to me and I quickly ran back to my chariot without hesitation.
The ceremonies were about to start, Lurex quickly fixed my skirt and readjusted my hood.
"Remember not to let them see your face; I want the element of surprise on our side! Smile and be confident out there, I know you'll do great, "she patted my cheek and smiled. Then she stepped out of the chariot.
Cosmo's stylist, Elisavet,whos hot pink hair was short and styled as a faux hawk and matching pink lips, was trying to give him a pep talk, "you don't have to be nervous out there, just forget your worries. I want the crowd to think you're a strong, brave, and confident young man.  Which I know you are."
"But what if I'm not?" Cosmo said barely loud enough for me to hear.
"Well they don't know that, do they?" she winked, "Now go out there and prove yourself wrong."
Cosmo pulled his hood on, making sure it covered his face. He gave Elisavet his best smile, which was more of a small grin, and the ceremonies began. Music blasted loudly outside and the crowd roared. Our chariot was the sixth to leave.
I felt like I might fall right out of the cart as it moved along the street. I saw myself on screen. The camera tried zooming in several times but couldn't get a clear shot of our faces. The only part of my face that you could see was my bright red lips. I smiled for the camera and the crowd. But it was hard.
It was hard because the crowd was yelling at us, some cheered for us but among them I could hear others booing and saying hateful things. I tried my best not to listen to them, I tried to block them out and only hear the music. I looked over at Cosmo and noticed his hands were shaking again.
I placed a hand on his shoulder in hopes of comforting him a bit, also to keep me from falling out.
The chariots rounded over to the President's mansion and halted in a line. I looked down the row of chariots and noticed Ajax just one over. He was so short only his shoulder and head were visible. This wasn't right, none of it! He was only seven! Seven, and they were putting him through this! I looked more and saw Damian giving me that smirk, I wanted to run over and smack that grin right off his face. Neo caught his eye and returned the gesture by flipping the bird, normally I'd punch him for that but right now wasn't the best time.
The new leader of Panem, the one the rebels voted after both Snow and Coin had been killed, President Paylor stands on the balcony. She gives a speech about how well their new nation is being rebuilt. But I don't hear her words all I see is visions. Reliving that horrible day and staring at the spot where I last saw my little brother and sister.
I do notice something odd behind her eyes. Disappointment? Sadness? Or disapproval? I can't tell what it was but she didn't look pleased as she finishes talking and the chariots move back toward the Training Center.
Things go smoothly, we're almost to the doors when I hear screams and then something hits the tributes behind me. I look and see a few people throwing fruit at them. The guards quickly hurry the chariots along, but not fast enough. Fruit hits our cart and I feel something hit and start ozzing down my back. All the tributes are rushed inside on the doors slam shut.
My chariot wasn't hit as bad, just a tomato here and a melon there, also the tomato that hit me in back ruining the outfit Lurex worked so hard on. I look to find Damian's cart got hit the worst, he's covered in produce and he doesn't look happy. This of course makes me smile.
"That's a nice look on you Stanton," Neo chuckles. Damian Glares back but keeps heading for the elevators.
"Look Hana!" Ajax runs up to me, his cart must have gotten it bad too because his white suit is pink and red and he's holding part of a water melon. But he's smiling and laughing that I can't help but join in.
"Food fight!" he says and starts picking at the melon. I just stared at him, he was so young and innocent. He didn't deserve a fate like this. If anyone deserved to win this thing it was Ajax.