Chapter 8 - Alexia's POV

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My make-up team is incredibly hectic.  They told me their names were Hallaway, Tatiana, and Clio as they ripped me away from Margo, but they all look similar and they said it so quickly that I don't really know which name belongs to which person.  They speak so fast and their voices are so high pitched that for the most part I don't even know what they're saying as they usher me into a small room and strip me down.

"What are you doing?" I ask, shocked and concerned as they start poking and prodding my naked body.

They may have responded, but I honestly can't tell.  The begin to polish my body and wax any piece of hair that they find, most of it I didn't even know existed due to my almost translucent leg hair.  They wash me down multiple times, scrubbing me with some purple grainy stuff that can't be good for your skin, all while chattering about nonsense.  Once they seem satisfied with me, they quickly rinse me and then fix my hair and nails. 

After the whirlwind of whatever that was, I'm sent into another room and given what looks like a paper-thin hospital gown.  I put it on and sit down, not two seconds before a short woman with extremely long and straight lavender hair comes bursting through the door.

"Oh aren't you beautiful!" she shouts, "You're like this perfectly shaped blank canvas.  How would you feel about dying your hair?"  she says, aggressively playing with my face and hair.

"Um, thank you, but I'd rather not.  Also, who are you exactly?" I ask, once again concerned.

"Oh, I'm so sorry darling, I'm Chastity, I'm your stylist.  Your sister has her own, I assume that they're chatting right now." She says, still talking extremely loudly.

"OK.  Hi," I say, softly, trying to compensate for how loud Chastity is speaking.

She begins to circle me, like a vulture, before stopping and hitting herself on the forehead.

"OH!  I'm so sorry I forgot to congratulate you on getting into the games!" she shouts, wrapping into a hug.  I feel like she means well, but it also hurts a little bit.

"Um, thank you." I say, again speaking quietly.

"So, I'm here to get you dressed for the parade!  Helios and I have come up with this WONDERFUL costume for you and your sister this year!  It'll be all anyone talks about until next year's reaping.  Oh, this is so exciting! Isn't this exciting?"  As she continues talking, her voice starts to get higher.  I feel like after awhile the mirrors will start to shatter.

"Yes, it's very exciting," I say, smiling uncomfortably.

"Wonderful!  So you know how the normal costumes for the tribute parade look for your district, yes?" Chastity asks.

"Yeah, I watch them games every year," I respond.  Please don't tell me were doing the coal dust thing, please, I think to myself.

"Well, this year is going to be even better!  Think of the best things from every year's costume, and then wrap them together into one black and red outfit!" Chastity says, boiling over with excitement, as she pulls out my costume.

I look it over.  It's a large black dress with a very low neckline and sheer long sleeves, and a cape to go with it.  The whole number shimmers in the light, and I can see two buttons inside of the right sleeve. 

"Where's the red?" I ask.

"You'll see babe, you'll see," Chastity says, smiling to herself, "Oh, also, you get to wear this in you hair," she says, pulling out a small black tiara, with shiny lumps of fake coal as gems.

This should be interesting, I think.

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