CHAPTER TWO

7:30 pm

What? This girl is… 16, maybe? How is she here? Are we picking her up from district 2? The odds were in her favor, but… this is stupid! Why did she get a chance to be more verse us? Us in twelve hang to suffer… and beg for a piece of bread. This girl and her being is already annoying me. Effie Trinket. "she is from district 2, and Effie is about 15 years old and will be helping me a lot with you all with your physicality." Effie's light blue eyes lock with mine, and she gives a sincere smile… Her eyes look like they are made of blue marble, so delicate and indifferent that we see here in twelve. I can see her just with her eyes. Who knew you could do that with a capitol girl? I mean, she annoys me, but she is pretty. I guess we have a perception that all capitol citizens are stupid and wasteful. Well, they are, but I don't know, something is different. I don't know her, and I am very judgmental towards her, but Her eyes look watery like she about to cry or let a tear out... maybe of happiness?… I wouldn't mind if she were crying with joy because she didn't get reaped! Verses us. Effie says In a soft, welcoming voice, "Hello, I'm happy to be with all of you today.. this is going to be a fabulous Quarter quell.."

We all stand awkwardly in a semi-circle, and then, Heather, Karma, Evian, and Jasyn Escort themselves out, and they bring in the suitcase after the suitcase into the train, and they all take out notepads… And I hear them discussing color options and different fabrics they should use, but they leave Effie behind. Oh god, this should be fun, a capitol wannabe girl in a district body… this should be a sight. We're all in a circle randomly standing, and Ajax says, "hi Miss. Trinket, I'm Ajax, Ajax Cohen … This is fauna, Maysilee, and Haymitch" our eyes lose touch. She looks at each one of us, slowly taking off her silk gloves, "how sweet! well, you all know me as Effie or Miss.Trinket, but you can call me Effie it is fine don't worry.. this is my first time participating in the games, I am very excited!" she says politely. Ajax says, "well, isn't that just fabulous!"... I say, "your not participating in the games, your not going to lose blood or stab anybody all your going to do is paint our faces," Maysilee says, "Haymitch calm down" I reply "it's true. She's not particaping in the games she is apart of the organization, if you would even call it that… she's apart of the staff it's clear," Maysilee says "it still doesn't mean you should attack her" I employ "no attacking is going to be done other thats for sure, just to us," Fauna says "haymitch has a point," Ajax says "sh." This all annoys me so much. 'my first time particaping in the games' who does she think she is, does she also hope to like become an Evian type? This all drives me insane.

I say, nudging Ajax at his side, "let's go to the couch" we all agree and go to the couch, and Maysilee looks worried, and she tries to start forming conversation, and Maysilee begins by saying, "so…. um." Fauna says, "Effie tell us about you; we all know one another, so" Effie smiles, and she takes a breath and thinks for a second. She says, "well, I was raised in district 2, I studied in the university well I trained for the games until I was 14, I got the opportunity to be drafted to be in this lovely 'organization,' and I passed the test!" I say, "you passed the test?" She says, "why yes, of course… the test like capitol history why we do what we do" I reply, "they test you on the hunger games?" She replies, "yes.. in a way, we get tested on what we would do as an official and what we would do in our field like I happen to get tested orders of putting on make-up and such, but I also had to have a clean record and only have my name in the fishbowl a couple of times so that the odds would be in my favor." Maysilee starts "hah that must be a dream… living in the capitol getting tested, going to a university. Imagine that.. Haymitch's sister and I would talk about the capitol when we were younger, we used to wish we had the fine clothing and wish we were allowed to wear the excessive amount of make-up" Effie replies, "well, I have to admit it wasn't a lovely life growing up, training for the games and stuff.. but we all have our dreams and shall abide by them if we chose to succeed in the" I say sarcastically "well-spoken. Like a true teenager," Effie replies, "hm? Excuse me?" I respond, "well, I thought you would say something more humane you sound like a peacekeeper; I am not going to lie," and she begins, "well, I am capitol" I reply, "your district," she says "I am capitol." Ajax replies, "well, I'm sorry, miss capitol, but you sound scripted and peacekeeper like… I agree with Haymitch. I'm going to the kitchen to get something," I say, "get the skinny bottle up there," Ajax says, "the.." I reply, "yes, the booze"…. Maysilee gets the glasses," Maysilee says, bugging her eyes out like a bunny.

"Ajax, what liquor?" Pointing at Fauna saying no in mime way. He says, "Oh, right! No no no no… no liquor uh orange juice" Maysilee stands up and speaks to a weird-looking servant "orange juice?" And gives her a wink, and the Avox comes in with a bottle of dark purple alcohol called 'wine,' and the servant also brings a pint of orange juice.

Maysilee And I say, "Here Here!" Ajax says, "here's to the probability of our death!" And we all say, "here here!" Except Effie, of course, because she's not experiencing any death anytime soon. Fauna shouts, "here's to orange juice, and for for the first time, I have had it!" And we say all at the same time, "Here here!" Later in the evening, we all are drunk and tired… I had never gotten drunk before, and the feeling was so weird. We must have spent 3 hours drinking and talking about random things… like why dogs are the most peculiar animals, how orange is the ugliest color, and last but not least, is water wet?. Effie says as she almost trips over her heel, "fauna dear, it is time to brush your hair, put on your cream, and go to bed" Fauna replies, "Effie, do you feel good.. and whats cream?" Effie replies, "Cream is pate you put on your face, to make it shine and well, of course, I feel fine" as she trips over the table, she continues, "Time to go to bed" Maysilee, Fauna, and Effie go to Maysilee and Faunas room. Ajax and I both sneak into our cart, two beds lined with a white tablecloth and a set of pajamas on top. We both get dressed and fall on our grounds and go right to sleep. Later in the night, I hear Effie talking to Maysilee and Fauna in their room about hair, make-up, and the latest capital trends. They talk about the university, the lights, the coffee, the styles, and how 'fabulous' everything is. But then the lights turn off, and I don't know much about Effie, but she seems mysterious. Stuck up but different. Arrogant but different. I fall right asleep, and in my dream, I am in Last years hunger games., there are all the tributes from last year, and the cornucopia is striped on a tree like a house. I climb up to the top, but as soon as I get there, Victor Lily Tomson stabs me last year and falls down the tree, and wakes up panting.

I Go to the bathroom, and I hear some sniffle… a sort of pleading I would listen to a couple of days before the reaping when Gran and Mom would start their tantrums. I try opening the door, but the voice says, "give me a minute, please," I say, "ok?" The cry ends, and I hear a loud blow. Is it Effie? I ask myself. Could it be this selfish little capitol teenager crying on a train… she just spent 5+ hours talking about make-up hair and trends… Drinking with us, and she's crying. That's stupid.

I come to think maybe Alma was right. Perhaps she also teaches others to fake their emotions and hides, so we don't feel pressured and not comfortable. The door slides open, and Effie says, "yes… Haymitch," I reply "yes, Effie… I'm waiting for you to get out," she says, wiping her tears off her face. "I know," I say, "Then why did you say yes…. Haymitch?" She says, "well, you were leaning on the door," I say, "I was waiting, and it is 4:30 in the morning, but anyways ….are you ok. Like you seemed so fine plus whats the stuff on your eyebrows you look insane" she replies "bleach," I say "whats bleach? It smells awful, my gosh," She says, "it burns off the color of things, like hair, clothing it is a very very intense chemical. I have been told it can almost kill somebody, and it really hurts, hints the tears, but also I am going to lose maybe all of you in 2 weeks… I shouldn't be getting attached; nevertheless, be here talking to you. I don't know if I am prepared for that. And well, one thing about capitol people and how our culture works is—" I say, cutting her off.

"A) why your eyebrows B)your not capitol, your still district C) awwwwww that's sweet," she says "A) it's the style AND let me continue my thought… in the capitol we are fake. We fake a lot to make others feel joy... I really had a lovely time tonight, but" I say "A) that's stupid B)but?" she says

"it's just hard. I miss my parents and my friends back home.." "well, hey, you're stuck with me for the next two weeks. I'm not going anywhere right now.. look, your not a tribute, so you have nothing to worry about but now since well I don't know but let me welcome you are more apart of our team" Effie replies, "thank you, that sounded capitol" I reply "shut up." We both laugh. She says "yes, now I should be getting to bed" I respond "ah yes beauty sleep, or is beauty sleep more of a district 12 thing only.. oh wait I mean capitol… or was it district?" She replies "ah yes only district 12 that was so the last term… well goodnight Haymitch" I reply "night."

Effie is strange, she is like a more excellent version of Dahlia and a more caring one too, Dahlia should take lessons from her.… but I've never had a sister well like that… but she's like a friend…. I think about it, in just two weeks I'll get killed. No... then I realize, is that what I am for the next two weeks... only a tribute? Just Haymitch Abernathy? That's all I am. A tribute. From district 12. Well, I wasn't much at twelve, but I planned on doing something more with my life than becoming Haymitch Abernathy. I wake up early and on the clothes that Karma or Jasyn has scheduled for today and has laid out. I wake Ajax up by pouring water onto his face, but he stays dead asleep. I comb my hair back and tie it in a bun and walk out. I walk towards the train's main entrance, and I see Maysilee looking over to the morning dawn, just taking it all in… I pass and go back to my room and ignore the whole thing. Don't want to be creepy.

Breakfast is served for all of us, capitol foods… things like pink oranges and grapes the size of watermelons… we all don't talk much during breakfast. Just a few conversations pass by but nothing else. A couple of hours pass by, and we get to the capital.

The capital is genuinely horrible. Children are wearing t-shirts saying 50th hunger games, and fake knives pretending to kill one another is cruel. The capital is filled with weird-looking people all surgically altered to look a certain way… some have pointed ears and cheekbones that pop out of their faces like knives. As we are walking out of the train, a breeze of cold air passes through our face, the scent of the air is so sugary and sweet… flavors air? It is pretty exotic.

There is a huge crowd filled with capital crazy people. Half of them with bleached white skin. Some even have their skin dyed colors. Some have gold eyelids for the golden quarter quell. I can't stand this, but here we are. As we walk out, there are cameras, lights, and a gazillion amount of people screaming and chanting… more like wanting a piece of the action or us. I hear people say, "there they are" and "look how cute that little one is." Do they not realize that for their enjoyment, a 7-year-old "cute" little girl will get murdered under their hands?. All I see is lights and cameras and glitter freaking everywhere. How do they support this? How do you help me? A district 12 citizen.a Panama citizen. Somebody who has to make their food and have the capital take that away… why don't they just broadcast capitol people making their dinner for families and then a peacekeeper storming in and taking it in? Wouldn't that be a new tv show?

As we walk into a building, we head straight to get cleaned up. Evian escorts us to a big room with smaller fish rooms inside. Each room is divided by curtains. Strange looking men hose us down and pluck out the airs of our eyebrows. They give Ajax and I a shave and try to make us appear "clean" and "capitol." I can't see well, so they take me to a room and have me look straight, and a strange-looking man wit pink & gold hair comes to me and tells me to count to 10 as he checks my eyes.. they do a "rapid" surgery on my eyes so that I don't have to use glasses in the arena. Next, they take me to a room where I happen to see Ajax getting his hair trimmed and dyed by Effie and Mystique…. Mystique is a new add on to the whole crew now Ajax hair is perfected to a capitol way. They sit me in a chair, and Heather Rae and Leslie, another add on stare at my head and examine it for 45 minutes. Just staring at it and flopping my hair to the side.

Effie wonders back to Ajax and finishes his hair. Now he has spiky Burgundy hair that's long on the top and short on the sides… she has given the sides a fade. I give her a friendly smile, and she smiles back. I wonder what was going on in her head last night. Like what does she happen to see me.. hmmm … I don't know. I'll probably never know. Then Heather looks at my long blonde hair for another 45 minutes and decides to give me chin-length hair and part it in the middle. They dye my hair a shade lighter than its original blonde, and they give me individual orders with the shampoo. This shampoo is only used so that the color doesn't wear out. After the long hours of getting waxed, hosed, chopped, and picked, we go to lunch. Finally, I am starved. Usually, I have water and have maybe some cheese for dinner, but that's about it. We go to our new apartment building where an apartment is like a mini but not so mini house. The

"apartment" has ten rooms, five bathrooms, two kitchens, and a living room. It's freakishly huge. The Apartment is filled with woody wooden furniture and hinted wood green accents everywhere. Long lights hang from the high ceilings, and there is a wall made from glass, and it overlooks the capitol. We have lunch, which is an assortment of soups and different sorts of bread. Alma told us that we would have soup for the next two weeks for our lunch so that we wouldn't be bloated for the evening events. Evian leads Ajax and me to our room, where we have two beds and a fridge. I say to Ajax, "what a place," he replies, "yeah.." I take a look around, opening the curtains, saying

"I wonder what gran is doing right now." Ajax replies, "you Shouldn't be thinking about her right now… I mean.. all you need to worry about for the next two weeks is winning the hunger games, and that's about it. If you spend the whole time jumping on your emotions. I mean, If you are planning to die within the first 5 minutes, be my guest" he sure does have nerve, but I reply, "yeah, true I- just I don't know… I'm not sure I want to win the games, but I don't want to get killed.. ya know," Ajax says, "so your still thinning about strategy?" I reply, "well, yeah, it's not like I've had a lot of time to think about my life decisions" he says to me "yeah true I guess."

I leave the room and sit on the toilet seat for like 5 minutes just thinking about gran and who I should confide and make allies with… Is Ajax telling me to put my feelings away? Does that mean in the arena he's going to set side our 16-year friendship? Yeah, sorry, Ajax doesn't look like the right choice, but I will have to talk to Alma about that. Well, I hear the door close, so that means that Ajax left. I got to my bed and fall on it. Just fall. I lay there for at least an hour thinking about everything and everyone again… as I am changing into the clothes that Jasyn has laid out for me to wear for dinner, I hear a knock, so I put my shirt on rapidly and sit on my bed acting "casual," and Effie says its time for dinner. I head to the dining room area and sit. Fauna starts the conversation with us, saying, "Effie chopped and did some strange thing to the ends of my ahir.. look!" She tells In a grumpy tone as she points at her hairs curled ends, Alma says, "well, it's better for the games so that you don't have to worry about it, it being shorter and all," Maysilee says

"they styled mines differently, look" she points at her shortened straight blonde hair that is now, "they cut my hair, and they made it straight.. remember it was curly," Fauna says "well at least your is pretty," Maysilee replies "well, yours is way prettier then mines don't even start".. Fauna still a little upset, she continues to eat. while everyone is eating, Evian starts her nonsense

"well! Isn't just lovely all of us eating together one big happy family getting ready for the quarter to quell!" We all give a mean stare to her and continue eating. Ajax Strats saying, "so when does our first emotionless meeting start and the whole turning us capitol thing so that we can appear perfect to the world start?" We all breathe in and out, and Alma says, "well here's how everything will work, every morning you will wake up at 6:30 and have breakfast immediately at 7:30-8;30 we will have our session. Every day the times will be different since now I have to work with 4 of you and not 2. Around 8;30- 9;00, after Heather and Effie get, and the team gets you ready, you will go train till 4 pm. After that, you will have your soup, and Evian will discuss what you will say. Well, why dos Evian have to help me blah blah blah well, from around 5 to 7 pm, you will be getting ready with Heather and her beauty team. There are about two people for both of you, but Heather will be overseeing the whole operation of Turing your capital. At 7;3o is when the interviews or nigh activities start. Tomorrow is the first one you will be paraded throughout the capital on a carriage. So I suggest you go to bed right away. Your schedules will be on your bed stands every morning. Do I make my self clear?" Ajax replies, "so you don't really make two-way conversations do you?" While eating with his mouth full. Chewing ever so loudly, We all give blank stares at each other. She replies, "look I am not here to be your buddy or your friend why don't you keep your mouth shut like your other fellow tributes be kinds and eat." Ajax replies "sure Sargeant" and leaves the table. I say "fauna I think your hair looks great!" She says "really? Thanks! Miss. Alma, I have a question," Alma says, "yes?" Fauna says, "so the group and oi were talking, and they said we just fall asleep when we die… I don't doubt that but do we have to go through the interview process, and the getting hair has done again after we go through the games?" Alma and I lock eyes as she replies, "no fauna, you don't." Alma says "fauna do you mind going to Effie's room and asking her to brush your hair while I talk to the older kids?" Fauna replies "no problems" and leaves skipping and in a happy mood. Alma tells us "how about we talk… why don't we talk with Ajax as well?" So we all leave and go into my room. Alma, Maysilee and I…. We go in to find Ajax looking out the window and alma starts yelling "how dare you, kids…. How dare you tell her that you are going to sleep when you die?" She circles the room and says, "I get it. It's not hard telling a 7-year-old she has 2 weeks to live, but she might just want to die fish so she could see her mom" she sits down on the chair and says, "Fauna is supposed to save you in a way, look if one of you becomes allies with Fauna your safe. Because look" she goes to the desk "if you become allies with Fauna, your level of being loved by the capitol will go up tremendously… people love kids, and Fauna happens to be a kid if your stupid minds didn't notice," I say "what if we didn't want to be allied with her, and so basically you want one of us to keep her alive as long as we can?" She replies "yes.. kids are an advantage, so I am going to chose who stays with her. So if you want Fauna, hah, you better be pretty sweet to me and those around you," Ajax says, "fine. Perfect. Perfectamundo! I don't need a kid to save me, ok. Simple all I need is myself and a knife because I am here to win, and that's it. Zip-o" he leaves but returns, "oh guess what this is my room, so you should better leave," so give an awkward face to Alma and Maysilee, and they leave. Look To another and briefly sit there for a good 15 minutes. I escort out to my room, give a good start at the capitol through my window and I and put on the night clothing that Karma has laid out for me and go to the roof on the building where I happen to see Effie trinket.