hope in our eyes || 37th hunger games ✔️

We Made it

Aspen

I can't stop my mind from wandering as I lie awake in bed for hours. I wonder about the scores, and what difference they'll make. I think mostly about what happened with Eisley tonight. First off, she kissed me, which I did not expect in the slightest. It was also my first kiss... Did I like it? Well, sure. But, what about Lily? And what would Olive think? Maybe it doesn't matter. We'll be dead soon anyway.

I try to shut my mind off, but only succeed in changing the subject. The interviews are tomorrow, and I'm worried I'll screw up. I've never been good in public. Even with school reports, and especially with spilling my guts to a stranger on live television. Sounds fun, not.

I close my eyes and try to even out my breathing. In... Out... In... Out... In-

"Aspen?" I jump so hard I smash my skull on the headboard of my bed.

"Shit!" I yell in pain. My eyes flick open and I see a shadowy figure standing at the foot of my bed.

"Aspen..."

"Olive?! Sorry, I... What are you doing in here, it's the middle of the night." I say, sitting up and pulling the covers protectively over my bare chest.

"I... Had a nightmare," Olive says, I rub the newly-formed bump on the back of my head, then beckon for her to come over. She leaps onto the bed and crawls over to me, nestling into the crook of my arm. "Can I sleep in here tonight?"

"Of course." I sigh and lay back down. I help Olive get situated under the covers and close my eyes again. In... Out...

"Goodnight, Aspen." Olive whispers.

"Goodnight." I say, keeping my eyes closed, staring at the endless black void provided by the backs of my eyelids. And the feeling of my little sister lying beside me, her breathing even, her little arms wrapped around me, brings me some peace, and I manage to finally fall into a dreamless sleep.

-

"An angle." Oakley repeats. We're sitting in my room preparing for the interviews.

"Ok... Well, my stylist said our Tribute Parade costumes were supposed to say 'colorful and sweet', so-"

"That'll work for your sister, but not you. Now, you want to save her, I've gathered," I start to say 'yes', but Oakley holds up a finger and continues. "So, that's the angle you'll play; protective, maybe a little reckless-"

"I'm not-"

"And determined. Does that work?"

"I'm not-"

"Whatever. Does it work?"

I say, "Yes.", and we get to work. After a few more hours, I'm sent to Alyana for a long class on etiquette, which is excrusciating. And boring. Excruciatingly boring.

Finally, I'm handed over to Glitz and the prep team, and they dress me up in a forest green suit that goes well with the flecks of green in my eyes, which I've never really noticed before, and a ridiculous gold tie that practically blinds me. Sometimes I don't even try to understand the Capitol's sense of style.

We meet Xato and Olive, who's wearing a knee-length, golden dress with a complicated crisscross of straps in the back, that shimmers and reflects the light, her hair in a braided bun on the left side of her head, and the same crown of vines as in the Tribute Parade sitting primly atop her head, and ride the elevator down to the stage.

We join the quickly-growing line forming just offstage, taking our place between the tributes from 10 and 12. I turn around and chat with Hazel, who's in a stunning, black gown, until the Panem anthem begins to play, and the line of tributes parades onstage. One by one, were called to center stage to meet Liam Malice for our interviews. The districts slip by like sand between my fingers. 1, 2, 3, my breath catches when I see Lily in a beautiful, light blue, knee-length tulle dress with shimmering gold heels. 5, 6, 7. Eisley is in a long, blue dress with a slit at her right knee that matches the color of her eyes perfectly. She seems to be playing an angle like... Confident. She doesn't mention Eoin, and he doesn't mention her during his interview either.