panem et circenses II Finnick Odair

~VII~ Survival of the luckiest

Andromeda took her time preparing herself for her meeting with Caesar Flickerman. She combed through her long hair and curled it just like he told her she looked best. She covered her face in delicate makeup approved by the President. She put on a part of elegant, dark pants and a satin shirt in a colour that matched the eccentric presenter's hair.

She needed him in a good mood. If he was happy enough, it would be easier for her to do what she set out to. 

The day started about as well as she could hope. Caesar gasped when she entered the back of the long, dark car that he chose as their means of transport. Like anything he did, the reaction was greatly exaggerated but on this particular day, she didn't mind. 

She was happy to chat with him all the way to the training centre, making sure to throw in a ridiculous amount of compliments into every sentence. He ate up the fake pleasantries, too greedy to be praised to stop and wonder what had gotten into her. 

As the two were led through the dark corridors of the closed-off building, he babbled on about all the people she was about to meet, telling her how great of a privilege it was to even be in the same room as them. He didn't realise that she wasn't listening. 

No matter how hard she tried, the girl couldn't focus on his words. Not when she knew that Finnick was so close, he would hear her if she screamed. Now when she knew that, if she played her cards right, she could see his beautiful face. 

The painfully long walk ended at the elevated balcony that overlooked the, temporarily empty, gymnasium. The prepared lounge was filled with people even though there were still more than ten minutes left until the tributes were supposed to arrive. 

The well-behaved young lady that she was, Andromeda went around and greeted all the guests. At first, she was scared that they would ask her questions she wasn't prepared to answer or say something that would force her to break the character she was so careful crafting. Then, she quickly found out that it would not be the case; Caesar answered for her, treating her more like a pretty accessory rather than a living, breathing person. 

Once again, she didn't mind. Especially since once the gymnasium door opened and the tributes flew into the room, the rest of the world disappeared. Her eyes immediately found the only person she truly wanted to see. 

Finnick seemed surprisingly calm given the circumstances. Upon entering, he looked over the room large room and immediately set his eyes on one of the stations. As soon as the tributes were allowed to spread out, he grabbed Elena's arm and led her to the knife-throwing station. He moved with determination and purpose. He did not look like the fourteen-year-old child her was. 

"Watch carefully. The more you remember, the better tonight's show will be, right?"

"Yes, of course," the girl answered, turning back to face Caesar. "What should I pay attention to? Abilities? Alliances?"

"Anything entertaining." The man shrugged. "You'll be alright alone, won't you? I have some people that I want to catch up with and I wouldn't want to bore you with our conversations." 

They both knew that it was a poor excuse to get away from her and enjoy one of his favourite social events. Separation worked out for Andromeda too; his performative voice only distracted her.

Once he left, her eyes jumped back to Finnick who was now talking with a large boy that she remembered had come from Eight. She watched as the boy smiled at a joke shared by her friend. It never failed to amaze her just how easy it was for him to get into the good graces of everyone he met. She prided herself on being able to win people's favour rather easily, but compared to him, she was an amateur.