Predator

Chapter 4

After around an hour of driving, we arrived at a posh looking building - which I came to know as the Remake Centre. I had a feeling I wasn't about to like what was going to happen to me.

We were escorted into the building, and me and Michelle were separated, going into two different rooms. The room I was in was mostly empty, but I couldn't look around much before two people came into the room.

They didn't speak apart from giving me orders to move when necessary. And telling me to get naked in front of them, which was quite the shock.

The next 20 minutes of my life was complete and utter torture. The scrubbing, the waxing of my whole body, eyes inspecting everything about me: my measurements, my face, my body. When it was finally over, the two people left, and I was left alone in the room, my whole body bare and stinging.

It wasn't long before yet another person came into the room, this woman however looking far more eccentric than the last two. She wore a deep blue gown that flowed around her ankles, decorated with shiny jewels and lace trims.

Blonde hair with blue streaks was pulled back from her face in the tightest bun I had ever seen, making me wonder how that was even comfortable.

The first thing she said to me was,

"Look at you! You're the perfect canvas to work on!"

She must've seen the creeped out look on my face as she quickly introduced herself as Saphina, my stylist, and offered me a robe. I gladly accepted it and was quick to cover myself, feeling better now I wasn't so exposed.

She took some final measurements, and when she was, left the room, stating she was going to make some adjustments to my outfit.

I was confused, before I remembered about the chariot ride I had watched so many times. Every year, I began to hate it even more, as our district was constantly the laughing stock of the parade, our tributes always dressed in full black with coal smeared all over their faces.

I supposed it was better than the one year they sent out the tributes in a potato sack.

Looking back, I remember what I said the first time I saw it, and remembered how I thought that all the other districts must be watching and laughing. I just hoped it wouldn't be the same this year, as I didn't recognise the stylist.

My prayers seemed to be answered as when Saphina walked back into the room, she held a bundle of leather clothes, unlike the cheap, thin materials from years before.

She must've noticed me looking and a small smile fell onto her face,
"You don't know how hard I fought to get a bigger budget for district 12," she announced.

Smiling, I looked up at her, "Well all I can say is thanks for not dressing me in a potato sack."

Saphina slightly chuckled before whispering under her breath about the stylist being 'so unprofessional' that year.

After I had put on the outfit, I looked at myself in the mirror for the first time since I had entered the room, and my jaw practically dropped to the floor.

My outfit began with a sleek, fitted black suit, fabric that shimmered subtly under the lights, reminiscent of the finest coal from 12. The jacket was expertly tailored to highlight my frame, with sharp lines and a structured silhouette. The jacket was embroidered with delicate silver threads, forming intricate patterns that resembled the veins of coal embedded in the earth.

My arms were bare, showing off my broad shoulders and biceps. It also made it a lot easier to move around in, which I silently thanked her for.

Small cutouts in the outfit showed off some skin, especially around my abdomen. I was glad that my body would be shown off, because I was confident that it could get me noticed, even sponsored by some.

----

Before I knew it I was standing next to my chariot alongside Michelle, who was dressed in a simple black material dress, with leather sleeves and some more leather highlighting her shoulders and waist. She looked a bit happier than before, feeling confident in herself for the first time since the reaping.

Not wanting to talk to her at the time, I looked towards the chariot that we were soon going to be riding in.

The body of the chariot itself was quite plain, a simple black paint job with silver linings and highlights around the doors. Silver came together in patterns, portraying beautiful patterns. When I went to walk around it to see the other side, my eyes caught on the subtle shimmer that the chariot gave off if you looked under the correct light.

Basically, it was beautiful, and definitely better than any other chariot district 12 had ever rode in before.

----

Suddenly, a weird feeling crept down my back, and I spun my head around to see the female tribute from 5, Aria, staring at me, as if she was trying to figure me out. She hadn't noticed I caught her looking until I fully turned my body to face her, and her eyes slowly crept back up to my face.

She looked embarrassed as I had just caught her staring at my abs, which she tried to hide by turning her head to her district partner - Ezekiel - who then also looked towards me. His eyes swept over me before he tried to slyly glance at his partner and slightly nodded his head.

A small blush washed over her cheeks whilst she took one last look at me before climbing into her own chariot, facing forward and straightening her back.

That reminded me where I was and I quickly went to jump into my own, but was stopped by a hand on my waist. I looked behind me, it was Saphina. She beckoned me to come closer, and whispered something into my ear. I gave her a thumbs up, telling her I understood.

I finally climbed in the chariot, after Michelle as she could barely lift her leg in the dress. Trying to look confident, I mimicked what I saw the careers doing, trying to perfect my posture and keep a blank face.

It was then when I noticed how unstable and wobbly Michelle was next to me. She swayed on her feet when the carriage moved even in the slightest, most likely due to the high heels that she wore to seem close in height compared to me.

We most likely only had around a minute before the chariot started to move and we were on display for everyone in the Capitol to see, so I quickly tried to teach her how to balance.

It wasn't like I was a pro, as I had never even seen heels that weren't on TV or Effie's feet, but I tried to teach Michelle like I used to with Katniss, when she wanted to stand and walk on thin tree trunks in the forest.

Seemingly, it worked as she stopped swaying so much, and when the chariot started to move - although she did stumble a bit - she quickly recovered to stand on her own, tall and straight, showing confidence I never thought she had.