As Silas and I hopped onto the chariot, I could feel the nerves bubbling in my stomach but I pushed them away. Now wasn't the time to be nervous. Once all of the tributes were safely on their chariots, our stylists, mentors and district escorts said their goodbyes.
"Good luck out there guys," Star exclaimed holding her hands to her heart.
"Remember you guys want sponsors, so make sure to make them like you," Chaff reminded us.
After a nod and a smile, the towering walls in front of us began to open and all of us tributes followed district 1 into the spotlight.
Our chariot was the second to last one as there were 12 districts. We hadn't yet been seen by the crowd and my nerves were worse than ever. I began to scratch the front of my neck which is a nervous habit I picked up after my mother passed away.
"You okay," Silas' concerned voice met my ears and I turned to face him.
I could feel my throat going dry and I tried my best to steady my breathing. I nodded, answering Silas' question.
I let out a huge sigh as we were revealed to the watchful eyes of the capital. I fakely smiled and waved towards the crowd in hopes to gain a few sponsors. Roses were flying around the room and I managed to catch one, bringing it up to my nose and smelling it. Surprisingly, the rose was real as I thought it would've been fake just like them. I threw the rose back into the crowd, which caused a cheer to erupt as my chariot went by.
I looked over to Silas to see him laughing at me and I playfully hit his arm and laughed along with him.
The chariots formed into a line and came to a halt at the end of the path. I could see president snow standing above us on a podium preparing his speech.
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I present you the tributes of the 68th hunger games!" His voice echoed around us.
I sort of tuned out for the remainder of the speech as I couldn't care less about what he had to say. He was the one who had sentenced me to death. His whole facade seemed so fake and I hated it.
Once the speech was over, Silas and I were greeted one again by our stylists, Chaff and Star.
"You two looked wonderful out there," Star gushed pulling us in for a tight hug.
"Yeah you guys did well you have a lot of possible sponsors," Chaff added with a smile.
I looked past Chaff and my eyes caught onto a figure I swear I recognised from somewhere. He was quite tall - around 5,9 - he had dirty blonde hair and I could see his dimples clearly on his shaven cheeks. Just then I remembered that he was the district 4 victor from 3 years ago. Finnick Odair. What most caught my attention though were his eyes. They were a sort of greeny blue colour just like the ocean and the colours mixed together were just so angelic.
I must've been staring for a bit too long as his eyes met mine and I quickly looked away. I could feel the blush rising on my cheeks so I rubbed my face to make them stand out less. I could feel butterflies fluttering in my stomach and I have never had that feeling before. What was that?
⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆
Entering the dining room for the last meal of the day, I noticed that there was someone missing from the table. Silas. I sat at my seat but I could feel the tension rising in the room.
"Where's Silas?" I asked, to nobody in particular.
The room stayed silent and I was getting more and more worried.
"Where's Silas?" I asked more sternly but still, nobody replied.
I was getting frustrated now. Why won't they tell me where Silas is? Did something happen to him?
"Why won't anybody tell me where he is?!" I shouted getting everyone's attention.
"He's in his room," Chaff replied in a monotonous voice.
I got up to leave but Chaffs voice stopped me.
"I think it's best you leave him by himself for a bit."
I furrowed my brows, sitting back down at the table.
"Did something happen?" I asked more softly, worried for my friend.
"Nothing to worry yourself about dear," Star cut in before Chaff could reply. "Now eat your food, you won't be getting much of it when you're in the arena."
Everyone at the table began to slowly eat again but the room was full of tension and the only noise that could be heard was the cutlery crashing onto the dishes.
I didn't have much of an appetite after that conversation. I was too worried about Silas to eat.
I ate a few potatoes and a slice of meat and got out of my seat.
"I'm not very hungry," I announced, wiping my mouth. "I'm just gonna go to my room."
I left the dining room and headed straight to where the bedrooms were. But I wasn't going to mine, I was going to find Silas.
