Chapter 2
On the train, Valentina shows Emrys and I to our rooms where I flop on the ridiculously cushy bed and stare at the ceiling. I wonder how the train can move so steadily. It’s completely different from the rickety trucks I occasionally got to ride in for work after school. Turning, I look out the large window on the wall, watching the blur of green as the train speeds away from home. I fiddle with the charm on Parker’s necklace and let myself cry. If no one is going to bother me until dinner, I will use it to its fullest extent.
I cry for a while before washing my face in the private bathroom that’s attached to the room. While my feelings may be justified, I should at least try to make a decent impression for my mentors. I don’t need them to immediately write me off, they can get to know me a little before deciding I’m a lost cause, but I should at least be given a decent chance first.
Freshened up, and no longer red-eyed, I leave my room. Emrys pokes his head out at the same time and quietly follows me to the dining room. Valentina, Blight, and Johanna already sit at the table which is weighed down by a feast. My eyes widen at the amount of food that could easily feed several families. I’m pretty lucky in that I haven’t known hunger the way many people from the districts do- particularly those from the outer districts, but this is the most food I’ve ever seen. It's flat out excessive. And incredibly wasteful, there’s no way five people could eat this much.
“Ah, there’s our lovely tributes!” Valentina is the first to greet us. “Take a seat, take a seat. You are so lucky. There are so many treats you get to have when you go to the Capitol. You young man,” She says to Emrys, “look like you could eat a horse!” Emrys shifts uncomfortably in his seat. I reach out to grab a roll and Emrys takes that as his cue to help himself to some ham from a shiny white platter. Johanna sits with her chin resting on her fist, sizing us up.
“Well,” Blight gets the ball rolling, “while I wish it were under better circumstances, it’s nice to meet both of you.”
“You too,” I reply.
“First off, do you two want to be mentored together or separately?”
Emrys and I share a glance and a shrug, “Together’s fine” I answer.
“Great, it’s always easier to co-mentor than having to repeat ourselves." Blight begins serving himself some potatoes, "So tell us about yourselves, what can you two do? Any special talents that can help in the arena?”
“I’ve been working since I was fourteen.” I offer, “I usually do limb pruning at the tops, so I can climb and use saws. I’m pretty good with an axe as well.”
“Good, good. We can work with that.” Blight turns to Emrys, “And you kid?”
“Um, I just started work this summer… I’m not very good with axes.”
“That’s fine, useful skills don’t need to be just tools or weapons.”
“Okay… uh, I can climb pretty good too and I’m pretty good at baseball, I play with my friends after school.” Emrys sits up a little.
“So you can throw and hit things with a bat?” Johanna speaks up in a flat tone.
“Yeah”
“Perfect, throw some rocks and get a big stick.” Johanna stabs her fork into a big piece chicken, not bothering to cut it, and switches gears, “Now, as soon as we get to the Capitol you will be watched and scrutinized by a bunch of Capitolites. It’s up to you to decide what character you’re going to play.”
“What do you mean by character?” I ask.
“The moment your name gets pulled is the moment you enter the Games, it’s not just the arena. There are different ways you can play the game as long as you have a solid strategy. Some people act tough, some are aloof.” She pauses to take a bite, “During my Games, I acted weak so other tributes wouldn’t think I was a threat until I was able to get an axe. But that strategy came at the cost of any potential sponsors. So, what character are you going to play?”
Shit, everyone’s going to be watching me, judging me. Only this time it’s definitely not just in my head… I do not wish to be perceived thank you very much.
“I’m assuming it’s too soon to do the same as you?”
“Some people may see through it, but if you ride in the middle of the pack, get a decent enough score in the evaluations- not too low, but not too high, you could pull off the whole invisible thing. There’ll definitely be enough people fighting for attention that you can just fade into the background. Don’t expect any sponsors though.”
I think on this for a moment as I eat. “How important are sponsors, really? You did fine without them.”
“Yeah, but not everyone’s me.” Call it what you want, arrogance or confidence, Johanna has it.
“I had a couple sponsors during my games. It’s always helpful, and depending on the arena, could be a life saver.” Blight offers.
“So how do you get sponsors?” Emrys asks.
“There’s a few ways, but basically it boils down to either having a personality that the Capitol likes, or impressing them with your skills during evaluation or the arena. People put money towards the tributes that they think have the best odds, or the ones they would like to see succeed despite the odds because they like them.”
“Which one applies to me?”
“I’d recommend going for the personality angle. So act like you’re super excited to be here. Wave, smile, the works.”
“Um, I’m not sure that’s really me though…”
“Exactly” Johanna interrupts.
Emrys lets out a soft “oh” and Blight elbows Johanna, giving her a stern look.
“You’ll be fine kid, being in the Capitol is always a performance. For everyone, even for us.”
“Well, I think we should take our dessert in front of the TV so we can take a peak at the other tributes. What do you think?” Valentina intervenes.
I know I should be using this time to try and glean some insight into my soon to be competitors. But I can't think of anything practical at the moment, my mind only focuses on the freezing feeling of my hands wrapped around the bowl of ice cream that was brought out for dessert. I’m so nervous that the bites I take don't even taste like anything. I don’t want to see the other kids who are condemned to death with me.
Throughout the recap, Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith add commentary for who they predict have the better odds based on initial impressions. The tributes from One and Two are volunteers, most are eighteen except for the girl from Two who’s seventeen. As usual, the commentary is the most complementary of them. After the first two districts there are no more volunteers and the tributes represent all ages, from twelve to eighteen. District Four gets some special recognition as the home of last year’s victor, Annie Cresta. Who won after surviving a broken dam that drowned the rest of the tributes. I cringe when I see myself on screen when it’s District Seven’s turn. Neither Flickerman or Templesmith have anything special to say for Ermys or I. The last two tributes who get positive commentary from the presenters are the boys from Eleven and Twelve, both eighteen, and look to be quite tough. What the hell am I going to do?
~~~
We arrive in the Capitol early the next morning. Blight reminds Emrys and I to wave and be friendly for the Capitol citizens and reporters who will be lined up to welcome us in. Johanna reminds us that whatever persona we decide on needs to be kept up the whole time. I swallow the lump forming in my throat and give my best smile, trying to emulate the dazzling grins of the victors I’ve seen on TV.
“Oh,” Johanna starts, “Oh no. No no no. Don’t do that” I drop the attempt and grimace instead.
“Well that’s not any better either.”
“You’re not helping Jo,” Blight glares at her.
“What? It doesn’t fit her, there’s no way she’s going to keep that up.” She shrugs and as an after thought adds, “And don’t call me Jo.”
I settle on a casual grin and slight wave when it’s time to disembark. Emrys does attempt the full Capitol-esque smile.
We’re dropped off with a prep team at the Remake Center to get ready for the tribute parade that will tout us around like show ponies for the citizens of the Capitol to fawn over. The team consists of three people with the strangest hair and makeup I’d ever seen. They talk over and around me but never directly to me. Spouting off comments about my body as if I couldn’t hear them.
These freckles and tan lines are hideous! Who keeps their nails this short? Oh, she could be a pretty thing if she just tried a little. Rude.
They really don’t have much room to talk, it’s hard to tell that they’re human under so many body modifications. One guy has every inch of skin covered in intricate tattoos. One has slivers for pupils, similar to a cat’s- which I sincerely hope are contacts. And the last one just had too much makeup with bright purple hair, lips, and eye shadow that makes it look like she got punched.
I ignore them and let my mind wander as they do their job. Nothing would come from me arguing anyway. What feels like hours of torture later, my whole body tingles from the hair removal and abrasive soaps. Why anyone would do this to themselves on a regular basis is beyond me. I get wrapped up in a silk robe and led into a room where my stylist will meet me. I haven’t waited long when a woman enters with a large slung over her shoulder. Her hair is slicked back with so much gel it gives a plasticky shine.
She brushes past me, placing her bag on the table. “Good afternoon, I’m Dulcia, your stylist.”
“Hi, it’s nice to meet you.” It’s not really, but it can't hurt to be polite.
My stylist doesn’t respond as she begins circling me, inspecting. I’m concerned about what costume I’ll be forced into. Thinking back on Johanna’s parting comment before Emrys and I entered the Remake Center- Don’t let them turn you into a tree.
“Your district partner is much taller than you, perfect.”
I’m not sure how to react to that, “Thanks?”
“You are getting the lumberjack outfit.” She moves the bag she came in with and pulls out the pieces of my outfit.
It’s like they took an axe to the bottom half of my clothes. I’m dressed in a cropped red checkered flannel that gets rolled at the sleeves, shorts held up by suspenders, and heeled boots. I go to button up the top part of the flannel to at least cover my chest but Dulcia brushes my hand away, leaving more cleavage than I’m comfortable showing. I then try to pull my shorts down a little but there’s not much wiggle room. The only positive thing about this outfit is that I’m not in stilettos and I can actually walk in the chunky heeled boots. The final touches are applied with braiding my hair into two sections and caking makeup on my cheeks to hide my “hideous” freckles.
I’m the first to from District Seven to make it to the stables that will be the starting point for the opening ceremonies. Johanna is standing to the side watching as other tributes trickle in. I walk over to her.
“Hey, nice job not getting turned into a tree” Her eyes trail up and down my outfit. “But I think you’re missing some of your costume.”
“Hmm, don’t remind me…” I cross my arms over my stomach.
Johanna reaches over and pushes them down again. “You look good, now be confident. It honestly doesn’t matter what you’re wearing as long as you’re confident in it.”
“Thanks,” I smile.
“Ah damn it.” Johanna is looking over my shoulder. Emrys has walked in, dressed as… a tree. He walks over to us looking put out.
“Why do I have to be the tree?” He complains, swatting at a stray leaf that falls in front of his face.
“I think because you’re taller,” I helpfully supply.
“So not fair.” While I’m glad not to have been forced into the tree costume, I don’t like the imagery. Am I supposed to be cutting him down?
Johanna points us in the direction of our chariot and leaves to join Blight in the stands. We hop into the designated chariot pulled by four brown horses. Other tributes are climbing into their respective chariots, looking a range of emotions from the excited careers to the terrified twelve year olds.
The opening music begins and the doors open to the streets where the parade will make a circle and stop before President Snow who will make a speech to welcome us. District One’s chariot leads the way, the other district chariots following at even intervals. Ours gets moving once District Six has pulled away. Emrys keeps one hand glued to the front of the chariot and uses the other to eagerly wave. I do the same to keep my balance, but I try to keep my smiling and waving to be the same composed manner as I had while getting off the train this morning. I’m aiming for an untroubled attitude, the opposite of my internal emotions.
Cheering surrounds us as the crowd calls out the names of tributes who’ve already caught their eye. Focusing on the tributes from One, Two, Four, and the boys from Eleven and Twelve. Pretty much anyone who had the best comments from Flickerman and Templesmith during last night’s recap.
Our parade comes to a stop in front of the president’s mansion. On the balcony is President Snow who gives his welcome address. Following the speech, the chariots make one last circle around the corso and disappear into the Training Center. Our home for the next week.