Zenia leads Van and I to our quarters, on the top floor. We have the opportunity to visit the roof, which greatly appeals Van and I. I like being up high, and seeing who is down below me. The sunset and sunrise is also beautiful to watch. Van and I part ways, and I enter my room. I gasp in astonishment as I walk inside. I have a humongous bed, with denim blue sheets and fluffy pillows. The room was the size of our shack in the Seam. I have a large closet, and when I open the spruce doors, I see many outfits that my stylists custom designed. I walk into my bathroom, and see a large bathtub. I slip off my reaping dress and walk into the bath. I soak in hot water for at least an hour, still trying to process everything that just happened. "Van was reaped. Paige was reaped. I volunteered." I tell myself numerous times, in an attempt to drill the events into my head. I drain the water and step out. I dry the water off of myself and search for a simple, casual outfit in my closet. But those two words are practically nonexistent in the Capitol's world, so I settle for a silky red dress. I always looked stunning in red, so perhaps I'll draw more attention wearing it.
I sink into my bed, and can't help but think about everyone back at home. The thought of Dad hunting and gathering alone, or Mom cooking in place of Van, brings tears to my eyes. I blink them away, and pull out a hairband. I start braiding my hair.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I rouse the next morning at sunrise, like I always do at the Seam. But the Capitol clearly sleeps later, as after I dress in a yellow floral dress, I walk around the building. No one is in sight.
The Capitol pampers themselves all right.
I return to my room, and try to fall asleep. But its hard to break a habit after doing it for over 5 years, so I just give up trying. I walk to my closet and examine all the clothes I was given. Many cute dresses, but I finally find black leggings with a gray cotton shirt. "Why couldn't I find this last night!!" I exclaim through laughter. I hang the clothes back up and knock on Van's door. He opens it and smiles at the sight of my face.
"I've never seen you wear something more luxurious and beautiful before!" he compliments me.
I walk into his room, grinning. "Have you seen our wardrobes?!" I ask in disbelief. "Have they heard of the word 'casual'?"
Van sits on his bed, and I take a seat beside him. "I just have fancier shirts and pants." he says through laughter.
"You're lucky." I say. "You still used to our Seam schedule, I see?"
Van sadly nods. "I hate thinking about home."
"I know Van. Its hard to be away from the only place you've ever known." I lay an arm across his shoulder.
"Who's going to cook?" Van asks. "Who's going to hunt?"
"Lets talk about the Games." I say, redirecting the subject.
"What about the Games?"
"A plan. Do you have one?"
"Lie low, I guess." he sighs.
After another hour and elaborating on his plan, Zenia barges into our room. "To your own rooms- your stylists are ready to dress you all up!!"
I blow a kiss to Van, before heading to my room, where I see Linah, Alisa, and Timo standing. "There she is!! Oh, a beauty she is! What a dearie!" the woman who I assume to be Linah says. Linah wears her hair in blue and green braids that seem to sprout out of her head, like a plant.
"Oh, everyone will ADORE you in the opening ceremony tonight once we're all done with you!" Timo exclaims. His hair is in a jagged red mohawk.
I smile at them, and ask, "Do you have a plan for my outfit?"
"Save it for Aurelius, darling. Now, come here!" Alisa leads me into the bathroom. Her hair looks the most normal out of the three, as it was a wavy blonde, and it went down to her calf. Nothing too extravagant, forgetting the length. "Undress, dearie."
I grimace. "Right here? Right now?" I ask, and in response, I get cheerful nods from all three. Uncomfortably, I slip off my dress.
"Underwear too, dearie." Timo says.
As I slip off my underwear, I look and Timo and force a fake smile. "You all can call me Haylynn."
The trio nods, and they pull out a foldable table which they wheel out beside my bed. "You can lay down on this." I do as told, and they pull out wax strips. "This is going to hurt." they warn me, before sticking it to the middle of my armpit. I brace myself for the agony that would happen next. They rip it off, and I flinch. I mentally scream in pain. I close my eyes, and they wax my entire body. It takes close to an hour to finish, and by the end I was fighting back tears. But I wanted to impress my stylists and show no pain. With only a few strips left, Linah walks over to the bathtub and begins mixing citrus soaps in the water. Once they finish waxing me, Alisa smiles at me. "You did amazing. Most District 12 tributes scream bloody murder during the waxing. Off to the tub you go, dearie." she says.
"Its Haylynn." I correct them, and climb into the tub.
"We're going to update Aurelius. You get an hour to soak and scrub with the loofa until we start on the best part- makeup and hair!" Timo exclaims, and the trio scurries off. I sigh. The lack of hair on my body made bathing feel different. It feels as if the water and soap simply float on top of my skin, barely touching it. As I scrub the red loofa up and down on my legs, I wonder what costume I'll wear on the chariot tonight. I remember watching kids wearing pathetic coal miner uniforms. A few years ago, the tributes were stripped naked and covered in coal dust from head to two. I shudder just recalling it. If I have to be naked and covered in coal dust, I WILL rebel on the Capitol. After bathing and washing my hair, I lay down in the citrus soapy water.
Once an hour passed, my stylists bustle in. "Excellent, excellent!! Come on out!" I step out, and see vents on the floor that I hadn't noticed before. "Timo!!!" Linah calls. "Turn the drying vents on!!" I hear Timo respond, and warm air suddenly rushes at my nude body, drying every inch in seconds.
"Whoa." I breathe. Alisa pulls out a chair, and I sit down.
Suddenly, a man walks in. His skin is dark and flawless, and he wears his hair in a short afro. There is a shiny gold line of lipstick above his upper lip. "Shouldn't we dress her in a gown to make her feel more comfortable?" he asks Alisa in a deep voice.
"Oh- Aurelius! Yes, of course! Do you have a plain one handy?" Alisa asks cheerfully.
Aurelius nods. He leaves the room and returns a minute or so later with a simple white gown. I slip it on. "Thank you." I say to him. I sit back down on the chair. Aurelius walks in and stands beside Alisa. "Are we still doing the infinity braid?" Alisa asks Aurelius.
"Lets see how different braids look on her head, then we'll decide." he says.
Time seems to fly as Alisa braids my hair in unique varieties. They finally decide on an infinity braid. "Makeup now! Linah! Your specialty!" Alisa calls.
Linah bustles in, and Alisa leaves. I close my eyes, and feel makeup brushes delicately stroking my skin. I feel lipstick caress my lips. After a bit, Aurelius's soothing voice brings me back to reality. "You can open your eyes now Haylynn." I open my eyes and look at myself in the mirror. I uncontrollably gasp at my appearance. I have black cat-eye eyeliner, and eyeshadow that realistically resembles a flame. My blush is deep red, that slowly integrates into my olive skin. My lips are a blood red, and I look frighteningly beautiful and intimidating. I smirk at myself and turn to Aurelius. "I look stunning. Thank you."
Aurelius grins at me, revealing pearly white teeth. Its hard to believe he's from the Capitol, as he is the most normal looking Capitol resident I've ever seen. "You'll look even more stunning with your costume tonight."
Well, those words ease my anxiety about wearing coal dust on my nude body. 261Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVNAZoGZ2nH
As the opening ceremony nears, my worry about our costume increases. Will I really look stunning? An hour before it starts, Aurelius leads me back to my room to dress me in my costume. Its a simple coal black dress with a black veil. He helps me slide in, and carefully places the veil on my head. "Ready to burn?" he asks me. Curious and excited, I nod. He walks me outside to where all the tributes are lining up, preparing to ride around Panem in their chariot. I see the tributes from District 1, their uniform covered from head to toe in diamonds and other jewels. I scan the crowd and find the District 3 tributes. They look like robots, engulfed in wires. I see the tributes from District 4 wearing a turquoise scaly dress and the male with a bodysuit, looking like a fish.
I redirect my attention to Aurelius, and see Emmelise and Van strolling up behind him. "Ready?" Aurelius asks me.
"As ready as I'll ever be." I answer.
Aurelius looks at me. "Don't worry. This is fake fire." He pulls out a chunky lighter, and lights my veil on fire. He does the same to the end of my flowy dress, and stands back. "Remember- look strong. You have to steal their hearts, Haylynn. This is your best chance." Aurelius leads me up on the chariot, and I stand beside Van. The chariots begin driving off, and we follow after them.
I keep a stoic expression on my face, and notice Van waving to the crowd. I let a small smile form, and grasp Van's hand. Just as we did at the reaping, we raise our hands to the sky. I hear the audience hooting and hollering. We wave with our open hands, and I realize how successful I had been with Aurelius's request. The crowd didn't like us. They LOVED us. For once, I think the crowd was crazier about District 12 than they were with the fancier Districts, like 1 and 2. As we near the end of our tour, a rose is thrown to my feet. Uncontrollably, I think of Scottlynn. Scottlynn Rose Burns. I can only imagine her reaction to her sister and brother being on fire. I lift up the rose and wave it in the air. We had made a loop and we were headed back to the Capitol building. I suddenly hear people chanting our names. "HAYLYNN! HAYLYNN! VAN! VAN!" Its music to my ears, and I realize how much I'm dwelling in the attention.
Once we return to the building, Aurelius, grinning ear to ear, rips off my veil and dress. Thankfully, I wore a white bodysuit underneath my dress, so I wasn't exposed outside. We walk inside, and we watch ourselves. The camera usually always focuses on the wealthy districts, but this year, the camera never let a moment without Van and I in a view somewhere. In the up close shots, I realize how detailed my makeup is.
Aurelius was right. I looked, and felt, absolutely stunning.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
