The Hunger Games

Chapter Six

"Are you positive that this looks good?" I say over and over. Cinna has now grown tired of me asking him the same question about my interview outfit. It feels itchy around my torso, and I can't feel my arms, the sleeves are skintight. Cinna rolls his eyes and attaches a pin to the back of the dress.

"Yes, it's fine," He says, another pin in his mouth. "now hold still. Your bony body barely holds up in the dress." Why am I wearing it then? He's the stylist, why can't he create a dress that fits me? Isn't that what my stylist is supposed to do? I want to tell him that. Tell him to tear this ridiculous outfit off and make one that'll fit me, but I've already snapped at one too many people, and if I yell at Cinna, I can kiss any chance I had of getting any sponsors goodbye.

Cinna turns the mirror to me so I can examine the full length dress. It looks horrible, to me. I look like a bag of bones in the dress; my skin looks pulled back so tightly and I can barely breathe. The only good part of the outfit is my hair. It's been curled and curls are cascading down my face. I run my fingers over the fabric of the dress. It's rough, not smooth as I had imagined. It's weird, how can Cinna come up with such a brilliant outfit during the opening ceremonies, but fails to create a prodigious outfit now? I turn to Cinna and he smiles and nods. 

"Beautiful." He's says. "Almost perfect." He moves over to my neck and gently fluffs up my collar.

"I don't want to sound rude, but Cinna, you actually think this looks good?" I regret the words as soon as they slip out my mouth. I'm expecting Cinna to yell at me, and walks out of the room, leaving me to make an outfit all by myself. But instead, Cinna just laughs. He sits down on a stool.

"I know you're thinking that the dress it tight on you, and it looks terrible. I would too." He explains. "But the Capitol would kill to wear that. You look so bony in that dress. The Capitol is going to love it." I am still confused. I cock my head to the side and stare at him.

"The Capitol loves skinny people. It's one of their 'fashion trends'. The tighter the outfit is, the skinnier you look. You're already thin, so when I put on a dress that tightens in your arms-"

"I'll look skinnier than usual and people will love it." I cut in, understanding what he was talking about now.

"Exactly. Why do you think I dress in tights and long sleeve shirts?" Cinna asks. I giggle. Maybe he does know what he's doing. Maybe I'm just the dumb one. I waddle out of the room in the heels Effie had given me to practice walking in and into the dining room, just as lunch is being served.

"Prim! You look so thin!" Effie is the first to comment on my appearance. "The audience will eat you up!" She squeals. I blush and even do a little spin to show her what Cinna has done. I almost fall face first on the ground but luckily I catch my footing before I can. How Effie can jump, run, and do whatever it is that "Effie's" do in these shoes, I'll never know. Even Haymitch has noticed a difference in me.

"Wow." He says, not a hint of humor in his voice. "Cinna sure did a great job with you. You're going to look fabulous in during the interviews." I smile and take a bite of my pot roast.

An hour or so passes, and I am now lined up with the twenty-three other tributes waiting to go onstage for our interviews. Butterflies are soaring around in my stomach, and I can't do anything but chew on my nails. What if I screw up? Oh, what did it matter? The audience already thinks of me as nothing more than just a tribute. Some random person from District 12. I don't stand a chance against the other tributes, who have been waiting for this their whole life! I already have a low score, so why should I even bother pretending to love the crowd when I despise them so much? They took my sister away and cut her tongue, leaving her silent for the rest of her life. She will be waiting on another tribute year after year until the Hunger Games have long vanished. I hate everyone here. Effie. Haymitch. President Snow. Caesar Flickerman. I wanted to run on stage and destroy everything until they understood how I truly felt about the Capitol.