Return to the Games

ROSALIND'S POV

"Next you'll go to your prep team. Don't argue with them, now. They have the power to make or break your appearance. Do you want to be remembered, as your mother was? Or do you want to stand stark naked on a platform while everyone passes over you? Your prep team knows what they're doing. Trust them." Ashby Bowlin's voice echoes in my head as the train speeds along the track. The sound of clinking the train makes is calming, like a light heart beat. I can almost forget where I am, why I'm on this train in the first place.

Reality hits again when we enter the shining premises of the Capitol. It doesn't look like much on the broadcasting they show; a large white house with well-fed people. This isn't like any other district. It looks like a completely different world. The buildings are taller than any tree in the forest and they're painted with every color. Instead of the white wooden houses back in my district, these are light greens and blues, orange and pink. Everything is lit up, like fireflies in the meadow my mom took me to. There are shining cars zooming down every street like they're in such a hurry. What are they possibly late to? It seems like they have everything here.

The train slows down and I get a chance to look at all the people. I stand up to look out the window but stumble back in shock. Everyone here has swirling tattoos on their faces and green or purple hair. No one seems natural. I think back to my class at home, about the girl with fiery red hair. Everyonemade fun of her for months. If they could see it here...

It looks like a fake rainbow threw up.

---

As soon as we got to the Capitol, they led us to a place called the remake center. I'm laying on a high bed with metal sides, as if I might fall out. The woman above me is shaving my legs; a concept completely foreign to me. All I can think about it, what if it's cold in the arena? What if it's an ice age or something? I'll be missing my furry legs then.

The woman with mint green hair and bright red lipstick smiles down at me. Her ears have feathers dangling from them, like she's some sort of strange and exotic bird. Granted, everyone here looks like a strange bird.

"How are you holding up, Rosalind?" She asks in an overly peppy voice.

"Fine," I say quietly.

"You don't sound very happy?" Saffra remarks. That's another thing about these people. Everything they say sounds like a question.

After she finishes with my legs, I'm taken to another bed/table and made to lie down and be plucked apart. They shave my arms and torso and peel off parts of my eyebrows with some hot sticky substance. It's less than pleasing. After I'm completely plucked apart and hairless, a man with orange skin and flamboyant blue lipstick addresses himself.

"Hi there! I'm Leporis, another member of your prep team! Let's get you cleaned off, shall we?"

No, we shall not.

I'm instructed to get into a hugely round tub, and then he starts scrubbing me with some sort of gritty sponge. It must take an hour before he finds me suitably clean. I cringe.

Lastly, a woman with long pink hair and a ruffled shirt comes over to me and asks me to sit in the chair next to her. At least, I think she asked. She might have been telling me, but with the accent I really can't tell. She starts polishing my barely existent nails to a "T". As I've been biting my nails since I was young, I didn't give her much to work with.

"Oh, you poor thing?" The plump woman called Orchid comments. "You must be so nervous about the games, you've got no nails left?"

"I've always bitten my nails," I say, annoyed.

"Well, love, it's a dirty habit? We'll have Flux cover them up with something so no one sees?"

"Who's Flux?" It's my turn to ask the questions.

"Well your stylist, of course!"

As if on cue, a man with a short, black ponytail saunters into the room. His skin is naturally dark, unlike many other people I've seen here so far. The only thing about him that seems off are the stenciled eyebrows, but he appears rather close to an average person. He's got on a white tunic with buttons down the front and brown pants that show off a small portion of his lower legs which are coated in thick black hair. He seems young, perhaps twenty-five.

"Thank you, Orchid. You can go now." He says in a stern but still kind voice. It's not condescending at all.

"Hello, Rosalind. I'm Flux, and I will be your stylist for this period of time. I will dictate every appearance you have, from the opening ceremonies to the interviews to the second before you enter the arena. Don't worry, I've got brilliant ideas."

"You're not going to have me standing naked next to my brother, are you? My mom said a lot of stylists did that in the past."

"I said brilliant, Rosalind. I did not say poorly thought out and lacking creativity."

Well, at least that's a plus.

I start picking at the braid I'm still wearing. My hair is getting greasy at this point, and I wish I didn't ask Leporis to skip over washing my hair.

"That," he says, noticing my hair. "Are you trying to be an image of your mother?"

"Aren't you too young to remember the games my mother was in?"

"Her stylist was my uncle. He was my role model until he was brutally beaten and murdered."

"I'm sorry," I stammer. I'm not used to anyone having such a real comeback.

"Let's not dwell on that. However, now that we're on the subject, I want to let you know that you will be making an impression. You will not be the girl on fire, but the girl who rose from the smoke."

"What are you talking about?"

"As you know, District 13 was known for making nuclear weapons. Do you know what happens when nuclear weapons are fired?" He asks, eyes wide and excited to see my reaction.

"There is an explosion?" I question.

"Exactly. An explosion."

I'm completely lost.

"Let's get back to the opening ceremonies. My partner, Isa, will be styling your brother. We want to make as big of an impression as your parents' stylists did years ago."

A half hour before the opening ceremony, Everett and I are standing next to each other. There is a glistening black car which we will be riding in in front of us. It has no doors or roof, so everyone can see us perfectly.

We are covered by the fluffy white suits we're wearing, with white powder covering any exposed skin. I don't feel like I look like an explosion.

"Now, what's going to happen," Flux begins, "Is I am going to press a button and you two will spring into the air, and smoke will cloud around you. It's going to look like you exploded into the Games!"

This man is nuts.

Music I've never heard starts playing, and everyone is loaded into their districts' car. I can see District 1 at the very front. The boy appears to be in a silver suit with sharp edges and high silver boots. I assume he's a diamond, as that district makes luxury items for the Capitol. His fellow tribute, the girl with all the siblings, is in a long red dress that accentuates her curves. She is a ruby.

I can't see any of the other tributes because they enter the city so quickly. District 11 is right in front of us, and they just started rolling down the wide-paved road. The two tributes seem to completely despise each other. He's painted gold with a green suit. I assume it's corn. She has a gorgeous dress with a green bottom and a golden top. The cape she's wearing flares out like corn leaves. I take a deep breath.

We start rolling into the city, and everyone is waiting for us. We need to make an impression. I look towards my little brother and see him beaming up at the crowd. He's waving at everyone and smiling like I haven't seen him do in weeks. I grab hold of his hand and squeeze it to let him know we're in this together. As soon as our eyes meet, we are hoisted into the air. The audience gives an audible gasp and then they cheer as loud as they can. We are consumed by smoke. Everywhere we look is grey and cloudy, but the audience loves it. My mom would be proud.

We ride until we reach the end of the street. There is a white mansion that we've seen on the television a hundred times. The president walks onto the balcony and gives an official welcome. It sounds fake.

The car takes my brother and I, along with all of the other tributes, into the training center. Everyone is looking at Everett and me.

"That was great, wasn't it Rose?" he asks me. He's so excited.

"Yeah, great. You did great."

"So did you," he gushes. He starts to ramble on about something else but I can't pay attention because it finally hit me.

"There is only one victor."