Four Weeks to Live
Preparation
Lovage was scrambling around the entire morning, desperately trying to get me to be a likable person.
“Okay, just... whatever you do, don’t be yourself. You don’t have the best personality in the world. Try to make them like you.” She sighed. I watched Griffin talking to himself in the mirror, always seeming to give the best possible answer for every question he asked himself.
“Focus, Ivory. If Caesar were to ask you ‘What do you like best about the capitol?’, what would you tell him?” She said, snapping her fingers twice. I couldn’t tell if it was to get my attention, make me hurry up, or possibly both.
“Oh, well I don’t really like much of anything.” I said, keeping a fake smile off of my face. The last thing I wanted was to fake anything.
“No, no, no. You’re not doing well at all.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Never mind. You have to get ready now. Go on, and try not to embarrass your district too much.” Lovage hissed.
I was sent to the prep team I’d met on my first day. After they thought they did a
satisfactory job covering my body in powders and creams and curling my hair, they handed me over to the stylist. She made me wear an orange dress that faded to black at the bottom with reddish ruffles running down one side. A pure black flower, the same color as Moss’ hair, was stuck into one of my curls.
“Beautiful.” She whispered, sending me off to a small waiting area. Some of the other tributes were there too, but not Moss. I couldn’t wait to see if his stylist was planning on being lazy and not even bothering to design clothes again.
“Boo!” He said, coming up behind me. He was wearing an orange shirt with a reddish tie. His pants were black, and so was his jacket. In fact, our outfits were remarkably similar.
“Looks like our stylists are friends.” He smiled. I looked over at Griffin to see that he was dressed in a cool green-blue suit. The District 12 girl was wearing purple.
“Yeah. Either that, or they mixed you up with Griffin.” I said. It made him burst out laughing. He and Griffin looked nothing alike. Griffin was tall and muscular. He looked like he was already a victor. Moss, on the other hand, was an average height and quite malnourished. If you took a quick glance while he was sleeping, he could easily be mistaken for a corpse. An announcer started calling for the District 1 girl, Shine, to get on stage. I promised myself that when they called my name, I wouldn’t be fake. I would be myself.
“Okay, just... whatever you do, don’t be yourself. You don’t have the best personality in the world. Try to make them like you.” She sighed. I watched Griffin talking to himself in the mirror, always seeming to give the best possible answer for every question he asked himself.
“Focus, Ivory. If Caesar were to ask you ‘What do you like best about the capitol?’, what would you tell him?” She said, snapping her fingers twice. I couldn’t tell if it was to get my attention, make me hurry up, or possibly both.
“Oh, well I don’t really like much of anything.” I said, keeping a fake smile off of my face. The last thing I wanted was to fake anything.
“No, no, no. You’re not doing well at all.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Never mind. You have to get ready now. Go on, and try not to embarrass your district too much.” Lovage hissed.
I was sent to the prep team I’d met on my first day. After they thought they did a
satisfactory job covering my body in powders and creams and curling my hair, they handed me over to the stylist. She made me wear an orange dress that faded to black at the bottom with reddish ruffles running down one side. A pure black flower, the same color as Moss’ hair, was stuck into one of my curls.
“Beautiful.” She whispered, sending me off to a small waiting area. Some of the other tributes were there too, but not Moss. I couldn’t wait to see if his stylist was planning on being lazy and not even bothering to design clothes again.
“Boo!” He said, coming up behind me. He was wearing an orange shirt with a reddish tie. His pants were black, and so was his jacket. In fact, our outfits were remarkably similar.
“Looks like our stylists are friends.” He smiled. I looked over at Griffin to see that he was dressed in a cool green-blue suit. The District 12 girl was wearing purple.
“Yeah. Either that, or they mixed you up with Griffin.” I said. It made him burst out laughing. He and Griffin looked nothing alike. Griffin was tall and muscular. He looked like he was already a victor. Moss, on the other hand, was an average height and quite malnourished. If you took a quick glance while he was sleeping, he could easily be mistaken for a corpse. An announcer started calling for the District 1 girl, Shine, to get on stage. I promised myself that when they called my name, I wouldn’t be fake. I would be myself.