100th Hunger Games

Chapter 3

Rayna Lamoure's POV: (District 7)

I wander around my room on the train absentmindedly. Looking out the window and watching the outside world transform into a blur as the train moves at over two hundred miles per hour. I find myself wishing that Willow would return from her shower so that we could continue working out our strategy. Only one can win the full games and I'm determined that it be one of us.

All of a sudden, someone raps on the door loudly, and I jump... Only to realize that Genevieve has come to tell me that we have reached the Capitol. I let out a sigh and leave my quarters, working my way to the common living room where I find the other eleven tributes, including Willow, waiting to exit the train that is now slowing down.

The train eventually stops, and we are all ushered into the lower levels of the all-new training center, where we are separated and introduced to our prep team.

"Hello, Rayna, is it?" An oddly dressed woman asks as she approaches me. I nod, not knowing how else to react. "Lovely. My name is Zygra, and this is Tanae and Malisha. We are your prep team."

I nod again, feeling awkward. I'm usually very outspoken, but these Capitol freaks make me uncomfortable.

"We'll just have you undress, and put this on, then we'll get you ready for the opening ceremonies." Tanae, a man with hot pink hair and a gold nose ring, says as he hands me a thin robe made out of an itchy, papery material.

I take it from him and undress, feeling extremely awkward as I take off my silver reaping dress. I then slip on the thin robe, and lay down on a table that resembles a hospital bed as Zygra, Tanae, and Malisha begin to work on me; removing all unnecessary hair from my body, making my skin as smooth as satin, perfectly shaping my twenty nails. I lie as still as possible while they work on me. I would much rather be talking strategy with Willow then laying on this table, having every hair on my arms and legs removed by force. Every second wasted on appearance is a second of preparation that we lose. Still, I stay frozen in place, praying that this torture will soon be over.

My prep team eventually finishes working on my body and moves to my face and hair, covering any "imperfections" in a thick, skin color liquid, and unbraiding my hair, leaving it hanging in a silky curtain at my shoulders.

I am then allowed to stand and Tanae guides me into a new, nearly empty room where my stylist, Christelle, will meet me. Tanae "assures" me that they haven't finished working on me, they will return to put the "finishing touches" on me. I groan once he's left the room, and sit down on an uncomfortable chair to wait for Christelle.

The door swings open and a tall woman with bizarre purple and gold hair enters the room and sits next to me.

"Hello, darling." She says in a nauseatingly sweet voice. "I'm Christelle, your stylist, and I'm here to make you look pretty. But first, I'll need you to remove your robe for a moment."

I sigh and drop my robe for a moment. Christelle circles around me for a few seconds, studying me, then tells me I can slip my robe back on. I gladly do so and sit back down.

"Before we eat, I just want to let you know how the opening ceremonies are going to work this year, what with the quarter quell." Christelle smiles, sitting down across from me and going on to slowly deliver her news as if speaking to a child. "So, as you know, there are twelve tributes from district three, and twelve tributes from district seven in this mini games, and it would be rather boring to dress the tributes the same way for each district when there are currently only two to work with, so it has been decided that the twenty four stylists that style the tributes from all districts will create a unique, district related costume for each of the tributes, and each tribute will be in their own chariot. Does that make sense?"

I nod, and Christelle grins.

"Now, how about lunch?" She asks. I nod again, and Christelle squeals in excitement. This lady is way too peppy and overdramatic...

Christelle leads me into yet another new room where there are simply two chairs, a table, and a large window overlooking the Capitol, and sits down in one of the chairs. I sit down across from her, and she presses a button on the table that makes two steaming plates of rice and vegetables appear before us. How convenient it must be to have food at the touch of a button, where in district seven we have to work for our meals.

I eat in silence, though Christelle talks nonstop about nothing in particular. When we finish eating, Christelle leads me into the room we just left, which is where I will be dressed for the parade. Zygra, Tanae, and Malisha are already waiting for us with my costume when we get there.

Christelle has me slip on a short, brown dress that has the texture of tree bark on it, and a poofy green wig... and I thought I disliked this woman before.

The next few hours are spent with me holding still while Christelle and my prep team paint my exposed skin to match the tree bark texture of the dress.

When they finally finish, Christelle presses a button that makes my 'afro', as she called it, light up. This has been the worst day of my life, and I get the feeling it's about to get worse.

When I am completely 'ready', Christelle leads me to the tunnel where the twenty four single-rider chariots await. I am to stand in one near the back, though there is apparently no district order, because Willow is in the second chariot to the front, wearing a dress made completely out of paper. I feel bad for Willow, I may be dressed like a tree wearing a green afro, but at least I won't be getting paper cuts for the entirety of the parade as I suspect Willow will.

Suddenly, large doors open at the head of the tunnel, and the first chariot begins to pull out of the training center.