The Third Annual Writer's Game: Roots

Ab Initio | Females

District One - Crystal Caverly

Crystal was used to beautiful things. She had always had the most fashionable hairstyles, the most exquisite jewelry, the most alluring clothing, resulting in an extremely distinct style. A style that was currently being completely ignored by her stylist.

"I am not wearing that thing," she said firmly, staring at the long blue dress in her stylist's hands with distaste. Katalla made a sound of distress, her artificially gold eyes wide, and clutched the thick material in her red painted nails tightly. Crystal rolled her eyes, putting both hands on her hips.

"I'm not wearing it. I'd rather walk out there without any clothes. Hell, I would probably look better naked than in that thing." She eyed the long dress more closely, taking in the gaudy sequins and orange lines decorating it. Katalla looked longingly at the gown one more time before setting it aside. She moved around the large, spacious dressing room and Crystal watched as she rifled through the many stacks of clothing piled there.

God, can't she do anything right? Crystal huffed impatiently, tapping her foot against the ground. At last, Katalla shuffled over to her, this time holding a thin, gossamer white dress. She held it to Crystal, and she grabbed it none too gently. She ran her fingers over the silky material thoughtfully, admiring the soft texture. The dress itself was simplistic in design, a pure white color that went to her ankles. A slit from her thigh down was on each side, but it was otherwise unadorned. It would work. She quickly got into the dress, ignoring Katalla's attempts to help, and reveling in the silky texture. The garment hugged her figure, emphasizing her chest and small waist. Crystal nodded, satisfied with her appearance.

"Not bad." She turned to look at Katalla. "When's my interview?"

Katalla pouted slightly before answering. "It starts as soon as you're ready since you're the first to be interviewed."

"Excellent." Crystal straightened. She should have thought of that; of course they wouldn't start without her, it was tradition for district one's female to go first. "Let's go."

Katalla led her through a couple of hallways before stopping at a door. Crystal walked through without hesitation, taking the first in the long line. A single fence-like structure served as barrier between her and the large crowd, and Crystal wrinkled her nose at the myriad smells of perfume and loud noise. Some of the other tributes were already there, and she stared at them with narrowed eyes. This is my competition? God. At this rate only the other Careers will be a threat. Her attention was diverted when lights flickered brightly and she looked up to the stage.

The interviewer, Ara Ursa, was now onstage. Crystal did a quick once over of herself, checking her dress and flicking away invisible pieces of dirt. She listened without interest as Ara gave the usual speech about meeting the tributes, and sighed. At last, she heard her name and stood up. Pasting on a brilliant smile, she strode confidently up on the stage. Applause thundered across the air as she moved to the seat in front of Ara, and Crystal gave them a wink that drove them wild. She turned to Ara, taking the seat in front of her and settling into the soft chair.

Crystal raised an eyebrow slightly at the woman's appearance. Ara Ursa was plump, with hair half curled and half straightened. How ridiculous. And that wasn't even the most unique thing about it; it kept changing colors, switching between black and blue. Bright green eyes popped out from tanned skin, possibly the only pretty aspect of her appearance. And her clothes. Crystal resisted the urge to make a scathing comment about her clothing. The light purple Ara was currently sporting did absolutely nothing for her complexion, and the dress itself was so puffy it reminded Crystal of a cupcake, not a dress. Silence fell, and Crystal realized she had missed Ara's first question. She cursed silently, before giving a delicate sounding laugh.