A Victor's Ally - The 73rd Hunger Games (Fanfiction)

seven

"Now Juliet, just because your mentor is not here doesn't mean you can lose your focus. Pay attention or you'll go out there looking like a bumbling idiot!" Hilda scolded me once again as my attention drifted from the vibrant woman in front of me. I hadn't seen Luke all day; In fact, none of us have. I guess he was back to his old way of ignoring me and hoping everything would work out.

But Luke was the least of my problems at the moment. Right now I was pulling on my uncomfortable dress, silently cursing Nimmo. He had once again put me in a stunning gold number, sticking with his claimed inspiration of District 9's "golden grain fields". Unfortunately, this dress was even tighter around my midsection than the last, cinching in at my waist and making it difficult to take a deep breath. The neckline dipped a little low for my liking, but at least the length flowed all the way down the floor, pooling around my ankles and dragging behind me.

I mumbled in response to Hilda, making a snide comment about the high heels I was forced into. The dress completely covered the shoes anyway, but I guess she thought I needed a few inches of extra height. Hilda shook her head at me before walking away, mumbling about how I was 'a lost cause'. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and instead made my way over to Laurette and Hank, who were stationed right behind Atlas.

"Oh, wow. You're going to blind me with that thing." Laurette teased, eyeing my outfit up and down. I groaned, putting my head in my hands.

"I know, it's so bad." I whined, jealous of Laurette's lavender dress and wavy hair. I felt my own hair, which for once fell down my shoulders in thick, bouncy curls instead of its natural wavy mess.

Laurette shook her head, disagreeing. "No, you look great. I promise."

I flashed her smile before I was sent back to my spot in line. I stepped into the empty spot in front of Atlas, ignoring his creepy stare and facing forward as the lights dimmed. We stood in the dark for a minute as Caesar walked out on stage, cheers erupting through the crowd.

"Be careful what you say out there, Julsey. Only nice things about me, I hope." I nearly jumped out of my skin as I felt Atlas' hot breath on my ear, the tips of his fingers resting on my bare shoulder. Before I had a chance to respond, we were quickly ushered out onto the stage and into our predestined chairs.

"Hello and welcome, Panem! I hope you're all doing wonderful! Who's excited to meet this year's tributes?" Caesar smoothed back his silver gray hair and flashed his pearly whites at the screaming crowd. The District One female was called up to the stage.

Her long, sleek red hair bounced as she flounced up to the stage in a short, sparkly silver number. "Hello Caeser, I'm so happy to be here!" Layla giggled, flipping her hair behind her shoulder and winking at the audience.

I zoned out for the beginning of her interview, which consisted mostly of giggling and praising Panem. It wasn't until the end of the interview that Caesar asked about something interesting.

"So, Layla, let's talk about your training score of seven. What do you think of your score?"

The corner of her mouth twitched, as if she was annoyed at the question. "My score doesn't give enough of a representation of what I plan to do in the arena. That being said, I'm proud of my score." She had lost her ditsy attitude and was serious for once. Clearly, he had struck a nerve.

"There were a few tributes from the outer districts that matched your score or had a higher score than you. I think everyone was expecting you to have a higher score than most. I suppose you have more to show than what can be judged during a training session. Am I right?" The crowd began to cheer, showing their love for Layla.