Broken - A Hunger Games Story

Chapter Five - Apollo

I run over to him and immediately inspect his head.

"Does it look bad?" He asks nervously. I open my mouth to say it looks atrocious but I suddenly see a pattern in the minuscule hairs. A vine patterned with ivy stretches around the back of his skull.

"It's cool!" I say in awe.

"Apollo and Athenia wanted the vines. You'll see why soon enough." Says a tall man in heels.

I am separated from Ash. My stylist is called Apollo. Ash's a dark skinned girl called Athenia. They seem to have an obsession with A names around here. The glass door slides open and he stares at me. I stare at him. He has glossy skin, huge green eyes and a short mop of brown hair.

"You are incredible." He compliments.

"What? No." I say, blushing slightly.

"Yes. Your quite incredible. Your prep team have done a great job." He says whilst circling me. "Take off your robe..." He says it so simply that I am taken aback. I don't like the idea of being naked in front of this man.

I do it though. The robe drops to the floor and he gets to work. He measures my every body part, writing down the results on a clipboard.

Just as he is finishing up Gracie bursts into the room.

"Well aren't you a dish, darling" She squeals, clapping her hands together.

I laugh a little at the extreme exaggeration in her voice.

"Apollo and my prep team have been great Mrs Goldisle " I exclaim, mocking her excitment.

She smiles and then surprisingly says, "It's Miss Goldisle." A look of sadness arrives in her face but it is gone as soon as it came.

"Can I take her to the hotel now App." She asks Appollo.

"Of course." He replies politely.

++++++++++++++++++++

The hotel is huge. One level for each district and the bottom two levels are saved for the training centre. As we take the lift up to District Sevens level, Gracie informs me, Ash and Johanna the plans for this week.

Tomorrow night will be the parade where each district dresses in a costume to represent their districts goods. The two days after that are reserved for talking through training with Johanna. I will relish these days. I love everything about Johanna. She is a wonder of Panem.

The day after will be training. We will learn a variety of skills through the day and then we perform for the game-makers that evening. This will scare me. Performing infront of the beady-eyed, sick minded, downright disgusting game-makers. We then recieve a score going from 1 through 12.

The last day are the Capitol interviews. Each tribute has a two minute slot where the Capitol Interviewer, Selena Flickerman, asks us a series of questions. She took over from her father a few years ago. He was killed whilst in District Eight. A rebel had put a bullet in his head.

The following days are when the unthinkable happens. My mind starts to wander, but I banish those thoughts from my mind. Perhaps if I don't think about it, I can actually convince myself that everything is fine. That everything is normal. That I won't die.But the thoughts come back. I will die.

The elevator comes to a stop and Gracie ushers us inside. The first room is a living room with luxury sofas and high definition television screens. There are huge windows that look out over the city. That leads straight to a kitchen area where you can order of a menu at the press of a button. Then there's over thirteen other rooms I have yet to venture to.

I relax on a sofa next to Gracie. My skin still tingles from my makeover. We watch the sunset and I notice that she has begun to snore. I retrieve a light pink blanket from a pantry almost as big as my house and place it gently on top of her. I pull of her spiked heels and her extravagant wig revealing her blonde wavy hair. A natural, beautiful shade of yellow. I smile at the soft look on her face before turning away.

Ash and I order a hot chocolate and slowly sip them as Johanna talks to us about strategies. I hardly listen and when she asks me anything I vaguely nod my head and let out a positive grunt of some sorts. Today has tired me out so much. I am about to ask to sleep when Johanna speaks up answering my question for me.

"I'll let you sleep now. Tomorrow will be the parade. Look above the crowd. Imagine they're not even there." She says softly and she moves a hair behind my ear.

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow." I say as I walk to my room. Before even inspecting it I collapse on the bed in exhaustion. An avox takes of my shoes and dress leaving me in my undergarments. I nod in gratitude. She has striking blue eyes that gleam in the darkness. Much like a cat. Her ginger hair falls in curls at her shoulders. Beautiful. She stares at me in the darkness before hurrying out the door.

Today has tired me out. I get the best sleep I've ever had in my life. No nightmares. Just the image of me swinging through the trees in Dsitrict Seven with Jason, Juniper splashing around in the river. My mother and father watch us from the river bank buttering fresh bread from the bakery. A peaceful dream. A true dream. From before my life fell apart.

++++++++++++++++++++++

I wake up sometime in the early afternoon. The light from a giant pane of glass fills my room, making me shield my eyes. I pull on a dressing gown and inspect the view. A incredible perspective of the glorious and shining Capitol. I see towering skyscrapers, rows of glass block houses. Malls filled with shops of all kind. Cafe's busy with citizens. A busy city. A happy city. An awful city. I despise them truly. However, I have come to learn that not all members of this city are as horrible as they seem.