Against the Tides

Chapter 2

I spent about three hours admiring everything that the train had to offer. When I had my fill, I met up with Claudia, Tristan, and our mentors.

Nolan Hemsworth and Isabelle Pace were District 4's only victors thus far. Nolan had won the 5th Games. Isabelle... she was special.  Eleven years ago, she battled fearlessly to become the first victor in the history of Panem.

"Mags Wader," Nolan said as I walked into their car. "There you are. I thought you might've jumped off the train." He chuckled.

Isabelle rose from her seat to greet me. "Don't mind him. He's not... all there." 

"I could tell," I replied quietly, nodding. 

In Capitol ads, Isabelle was the picture of Panem royalty. Away from the Capitol, she was just another citizen of District 4. She hadn't bothered putting on makeup. She wore baggy pants, rubber boots, and a button-up shirt. The typical fisherman's outfit.  Isabelle's blonde, pixie haircut had sparked a trend in the Capitol, but she'd refused to style it for the reaping. I admired how unkempt, undeterred she looked. Tristan had taken the chair across from her. 

"So," Nolan said, "you both know tonight's just going to be the parade. We get down to business tomorrow morning. Tristan will work with me, and Isabelle will work with you, Mags."

"For right now," Isabelle added, "we want you to start devising your tribute strategies. It makes all the difference."

She covered her mouth, stifling a yawn.  "I think a nap is in order. Come on, Nolan. Let's give them some room to think."

"Allrighty," he agreed. When he thought I wasn't looking, he picked a crumb out of his Mohawk-styled hair.  He tossed it into his mouth.

Nolan and Isabelle made their exit, but as they left, I heard Nolan mutter, "Happy Hunger Games."

I fell onto one of the couches, basking in relief.

"That was a really brave move, Mags. Volunteering, I mean."  Tristan had plopped down beside me.

"Thea hates me for it," I argued, sniffling.

"No, she doesn't," he insisted. "She took it about as well as anybody in her situation would."

"I guess so."

Then I felt Tristan's arm wrap around my shoulders. I didn't shrug him off. We'd embraced many times before, so it wasn't much of a surprise.

"Aw!" Claudia gushed. "You two would make a cute couple."

I'd forgotten she was still in the room.

"Can you give Tristan and me some time alone?" I asked her. "Please? You can hassle me for however long you want, but only when we're in the Capitol."

Claudia grimaced, as if she knew my pain. "Say no more, dear."

"Thank you."

She made her exit, and Tristan avoided my eyes. He chose not to bring up Claudia's comment about us, which left me conflicted. Was he in love with me? In our current state, I wouldn't have been able to handle the answer.

We sat in silence, watching the other reapings onscreen, and the Capitol came into view. I wished I could've seen this place under better circumstances.  The Rocky Mountains provided a spectacular backdrop to all the sparkling, towering structures. It wasn't as big as it is nowadays, but I'll keep that memory locked in my heart forever. Funny how you tend to appreciate things more when you think you don't have much time left. 

I was taken to my prep team the minute we left the train.  Raven, a dark-skinned woman with an afro and dozens of piercings, took care of washing and waxing me. Then she sent me to Bick, a squat, dwarfish man. He gave me a haircut, manicure, and pedicure.  Raven returned later for my makeup.

Afterwards, I met our designer, Zara. What drew me to her first was a square-shaped tattoo on her wrist. In its left corner, I saw a blue box with white stars inside it. The rest of it was red and white stripes.

I may have been born into Panem, but I knew that symbol. The flag of the United States of America.

"You're from the fishing district," Zara began, "so I thought about costumes that revolved around water or sailing. Then it came to me: Pirates! I mean, who doesn't love a good pirate adventure? So that's what you two will be dressed as tonight."

Well, I thought, it could be worse. We could've been forced to wear fishnets. And I mean, just fishnets. They always seemed to use that costume for our district.
*********************************
My knee- high boots squeaked as I entered the chariot room. I could barely talk with the corset I wore, and it brought too much attention to my... girl parts. At least I was covered by the baggy dress underneath it. Raven had tied a matching rag around my head, keeping my hair down. For the final touch, a patch blinded me in one eye, and a fake sword was strapped to my dress.

Tristan looked almost identical to me except for his vest and pants. He punched his fist through the air. "Man, I feel so bad-ass!  I always wanted to be a pirate."

"Weren't you a pirate for Halloween, like, every year?" I teased.

"Not every year," he insisted.

Nolan and Isabelle stood by our chariot, dressed in extravagant Capitol garb.

"Pull out those swords," Isabelle said happily. "It looks more intimidating if you hold them out for the audience."

When the time came for Tristan and I to ride into the Remake Center, we stood back-to-back, raising our swords high.

We weren't pirates. We were soldiers, and the battle had just begun.