The 62nd Annual Hunger Games

Chapter 6: The Opening Ceremonies

Ali opens the door as I am about to walk out.

She gasps. "Oh darling, you look spectacular!"

I blush a little. "Thanks."

I actually feel good about myself. I don't hate this as much as I thought I would. I'm learning to like these citizens. Until I remember why I am here. They are just preparing me for slaughter.

"Where's Reed?" I ask looking down the hall.

"She is at the staging area. Let's go!" Says Ali, pulling me behind her.

I see Reed and quicken my pace but stumble. Boy, it's hard to walk in these heels! I want to talk to her about finding allies.

"Oh, Faith!" She says holding her arms out to me. "You look terrific!"

"Thank you!" I whisper as we hug.

She tries to escape but I grip her harder.

"What should I do to get allies?" I ask, still at a hushed tone.

"Just show yourself friendly, but serious." She replies quietly.

I release and make my way over to the other tributes. My first stop is district four. Even though the boy is a little creepy, I still am quite interested in her. I reach out my arm.

"Hi! I'm Faith, district ten"

She shakes my hand. "Corala! District four. You look amazing!" She says.

"Aww! Thank you." I reply. "So do you!"

I don't know what else to say. What do I say? It's a bummer I have to murder you? We stand there awkwardly, with an occasional shift in stance.

"Nice meeting you." I say and act serious, one of the parts I forgot.

I continue to introduce myself to the other tributes. I learned the names of most of them. The careers are Gleam, Blaze, Raven, and Victor. Wow, nice names. I already forgot district three. Then from four, there's Cove and Corala. Aubrey and Amald are from five. Kiva and Turbo are from six. I talked for some time with both of district seven. They're pretty nice, Maple and Barker are there names. I hope they like me back. Oh yeah, district three is Digit and Spark. From eight, Lacey and Dobby. Bailey and Bruno are from district nine. Peara and Thorn are the tributes from eleven. And twelve is Juniper and Grayson.

"Tributes, please get in your carts." A piercing loud voice over the intercom says.

I make my way over to the cart. We are pulled by spotted horses. I give them a pat on the neck, and then Ashton helps me onto the cart. He may not be super nice, but he's a little piece of home, and I will cherish that until the Games. I stumble on my heels.

"Woah!" He chuckles. He doesn't talk much, so it's kinda weird to hear him laugh.

I smile and recover from my embarrassment. Hopefully no one else saw that. District one goes out first, followed by two, and so on. As the rest of the tributes go out, I notice I am the only one wearing a dress without The Capitol written all over it.

"Thank you Mindalia." I whisper.

"What's that?" Reed comes up.

I shake my head.

"Faith, remember, serious, but friendly." She begins to whisper in my ear. "Smile and wave, but with poise."

I nod. She says something to Ashton in his ear too. Our horses begin and Reed dodges them. We ride out, and Ashton begins to wave immediately. I copy, and the crowd starts to cheer rapidly. I see roses flying from all directions. I manage to catch one, and hold it to my chest. I blow a kiss to the stands. We do this for a couple more minutes. A bouquet of roses makes it's way to our cart. It lands on Ashton's side, and he reaches down to grab it. He picks it up, and hands it to me. The crowd roars incredibly loud. I smile and we continue to wave to our fans, who keep cheering. We pull around a circle in front of President Snow's mansion.

"Greetings, Panem." Snow begins, his young sounding controlling. I tune him out. I don't want to remember why I am here. He goes on and on. I catch Ashton's eye, he smiles but immediately focuses back on Snow. The horses begin again, and within a minute, we are in an elevator with Reed and Ali.

"Splendid, just splendid!" Yells Ali jamming a button that says ten.

"Thank you." Ashton and I say at the exact same time.

The doors open. My jaw drops.

"This is going to be your home, up until the games." Says Ali. Reed puts her arm around me.

"Show 'em around, Ali." Ali grins.