the wonder of being afraid| cloves story

Chapter 13

2. The number of my District. The amount of siblings I have. The number of parents I had when I was born. How long I have until I am faced with death again.

I have my interview with Ceaser Flickerman tonight and the arena tomorrow. The old Clove wouldve loved to be pampered, fussed over by the Capitol. But not the new Clove. No, I want to go home, forget the arena. forget the trauma. Forget what I left behind. Its late afternoon and I'm sitting on the balcony of the apartment, arms wrapped around my knees. I can see the Capitol sun starting to go down as I yawn. I check my watch which tells me its 6:00pm, so I get up and head to my room where Errisus and the rest of my prep team would meet me for hair and makeup. Not even 30 seconds pass and a knock on my door makes me jump. I answer it and sure enough my team is here. 'Darling!' shrills Errisus as he kisses my cheeks. 'Hi!' I say excitedly to Farina and Lionel, who I havent seen since my victory tour, both kiss my cheeks and hug me. 'We have alot to do!' says Farina, who instructs me to lay down on my bed. She lifts up my skirt and gasps at my legs. 'These need waxing! Pronto!' she says as she puts a hot sticky substance on my legs, ripping it off with paper, making me scream out in pain. She moves to my armpits, then my eyebrows and the area above my lips, all of which are horribly painful. Lionel sticks on fake nails, which are extremely long, with purple glitter. My hair, which I'm told is considered beautiful in the Capitol, is my fishtail going down into a curly bun. Makeup is still Errisus' specialty. My eyes have a mix of purple and gold in them, with fake eyelashes and heavy face makeup. A robe is lying on my bed. I strip and put on the robe and we all walk to the elevator. We reach the lobby and we walk through. We get a car to the stage and we are there in no time flat. We get out and I walk through a secret entrance where Capitol people are rushing around with clothes on racks, makeup and hair pieces, shouting and some are in tears from all the stress of getting 24 adults, and in my case child, ready before they are murdered by there 'co-stars.' Errisus leads me to my dressing room. My name and district is on a sign on my door, as well as the logo for the games. I open the door and see my dress on a manniquin. I gasp, because this is by far the most beautiful one that Errisus has made. It has a sweetheart chest and a dark purple puffy material, that gets lighter as it goes down 'Its beautiful' I say. 'I'm glad you like it, now lets get you in this thing.' he says. I pull off my robe as the dress gets slipped on my small frame. I am helped into my shoes, that make me that little bit taller. As I'm being decorated with jewelry, the show starts. The song starts and Ceaser Flickerman comes out and greets the crowd. He begins to laugh which I think is a bit odd, considering most of us are gonna die. 'Thank you! Thank you!' he says as he waves. 'Thank you for being here, on the eve of the 75th HUNGER GAMES!!' he shouts. I roll my eyes as I'm getting touched up with makeup. 'I think I'm done' says Errisus, as he puts a earring in my freshly pierced ear. 'Will I be doing something magical tonight?' I ask as I turn towards him. He nods 'But save it for the end.' We walk to the stage as Ceaser continues to make his speech. 'We have never seen anything like this, and we will never see anything like it again. because tonight, on this stage, 24 of Panems brightest stars, will vie for the ultimate crown! This will be their final oppurtunity for them to express their thoughts, our final opurtunity to express our love, and heartbreakingly, we say goodbye to all but one.' Groans and gasps arise from the crowd. 'What a night' says Ceaser as I wait with Cashmere and Gloss. 'Hey' I whisper to Gloss, 'Good luck out there' I say. 'Thanks' he whispers back. 'Lets hear it!' says Ceaser, as the crowd cheers. 'IM SO EXCITED!' says Ceaser. 'Now, from District 1, the deadly duo, its Cashmere and Gloss Grandine!' the doors open and they walk out together, hand in hand while waving to the crowd. Ceaser begins as Errisus fixes my hair. 'Now you two became everyones brother and sister, I dont know how we can let you go!' says Ceaser as he shoves the michrophone into Gloss' face. 'We're not going by choice, you are our family. And I dont see how anyone can love us better.' Gloss says to the audience. Cheers rise from the crowd and I smile, Gloss has made sure hes not a piece in the game. Cashmere breaks down into sobs 'Thanks to the genorosity of you all, we get to be here.' she says. 'God, does anyone actually believe this?' I ask Errisus. He nods 'Apparently everyone' he says, pointing to a small crack in the doors, which shows me Capitol people crying with her in the audience. 'These victors are angry, Clove. Theyll say and do anything to try and stop the games, I suggest you do the same.' he says. I nod as he leaves, possibly going into the audience. Applause and cheers come up from the crowd, indicating that iys my turn to go on. 'Now, this young lady from District 2, has proven herself to be a fighter, but a kind, gentle soul. She is our Golden Girl, Ladies and Gentlemen! The victor of last years Hunger Games, Clove Kentwell!' The doors open and I take small steps towards Ceaser, showing off my dress as I go. Cheering and screaming and applause fill the room once Ceaser has taken his hand in mine. 'My goodnes! She looks like a princess! Does she not, folks!' Ceaser laughs. Once the applause dies down, Ceaser begins his interview. 'Now, Clove. This is a very big and a very emotional night for all of us, wouldnt you say?' he asks. 'Dont go crying on me now, Ceaser' I tease. 'I cant make any promises, you know me' he says. 'Well you know I wouldnt believe you, even if you did' I say. This makes him laugh, the audience too. 'I love her! The Golden Girl is so cheeky!' Ceaser says. 'But, Clove. On a more serious note, a little birdy told me, that you had moved on from your late lover, Cato. Is this true?' he asks. I honestly have no idea what he's talking about so I answer 'No. Cato was the only one for me. I couldnt imagine being with anyone but him.' I say, which I can see the sponser points adding up with the 'Aws' and the crying from the audience. 'But to lift your spirits, I can show you my dress in action.' I say, the cheers are louder than before. I look at Errisus and he nods for me to twirl. I start, my dress has gold flecks flying everywhere like the chariot. My hair falls out of the bun and my purple dress disappears, I'm afraid that something backfired and I'm naked in front of the world. But I have a totally different dress on now, its gold with a gold chest. I see myself in the screen at the back of the room, and my hair is out with the crown that I recieved from Snow at my crowning ceremony when I won. I look at Errisus who mouths at me to open my arms, which I do and the word BEACON appears on my arms. The crowd go wild as Ceaser points out Errisus who made my dress. Errisus blows a kiss at the camera, as if Snow is right there.