𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬; 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐎𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐫.

chapter 7 - Flames

"Eleven."

"No! Not above the ankles!" Ivara yells , pinching the bridge of her nose as she tries to teach me how to walk in a gown.

We're preparing for our televised interviews with Caesar Flickerman , the Capital's beloved Hunger Games commentator and presenter. We each get four hours with our Escort for presentation , and four with our mentor for content. I'm with Ivara first, and her shrill voice is gnawing away at my brain slowly.

She makes me wear a large gown and heeled shoes to get a feel for how I will be dressed tonight. The dress hurts my back , and my feet hurt.

"I'm just lifting it to walk!" I defend , dropping the skirt and placing my hands on my hips. I had no clue there were so many rules with dresses.

Ivara takes a deep breath and whispers to herself , trying to calm herself. I roll my eyes . She is losing patience with me. She straightens up , smoothing her face with her hands.

"Just go from the start." she says.

I huff and walk back to the wall, putting on the fake smile she had spent an hour perfecting. I lift the skirt , making sure to not go above my ankles.

"Straight back , chin up. Don't look at the floor." Ivara mutters.

I lift my head up, focusing on a tile on the wall , and try my best to look graceful.

When I've got a hang of the walking , there's sitting , posture- she says I have a habit of looking down - eye contact , hand gestures and still smiling. It's mostly about smiling more , as Ivara says I have a resting face like a kicked animal.

She has me practice starting phrases with a smile , adding a smile or ending with a smile, and it seems tedious to me . Ivara works me to the very last minute of our time , and when I kick off my heels and leave , I purposely yank the skirt of my dress up to my knees.

I pass Tiernan on the stair case , and he seems to be in a good mood. I warn him of Ivara's painful smiling practice and wish him a wholehearted good luck. I walk to the dining room, where fruits and cheeses are laid out on a platter. I pick a few grapes , and a hand slides around me to do the same. When I turn my head , Finnick's face is inches from mine. He places a grape in his mouth and smiles.

"Nice dress." he chides , and I cringe.

It's one of Ivara's , and it's a very unflattering shade of green.

"I'm going to change and then you can bore me for the next four hours"

Once I'm in my room , the thought of spending four hours with Finnick , alone, puts a nervous roll in my stomach. I slip out of the gown , flinging it onto the bed , and pull on a loose light blue cotton set of trousers and a vest. I skip down the steps , and my feet patter against the marble.

Finnick waits on the sofa in our living area , his hands move quickly as he scribbles on a note pad with a pencil. When he sees that I've arrived, he places it on the small coffee table.

I sit in one of the armchairs, and when he doesn't say anything for a few moments I ask,

"What?"

He tilts his head from side to side.

"I'm trying to figure out what to do with you," he says, " how we will present you tonight. Will you be charming? Aloof? So far you've made a splash in the parade , and you've got one of the highest scores in training , so people are interested , but they don't know who you are."

"so," he grabs the note pad again, " dazzle me."

Finnick takes the roll of interviewer , and I try to answer the questions honestly , while also trying to be charismatic. I don't know what I am , so how can I show it?