The 23 Cannons Trilogy

Promises

Ryder Bristen, 18, District 4 Tribute

"Oh my, you were marvellous! The both of you!" Our escort begins kissing both me and Annemarie. I hop out of the chariot, the fish tail making it quite hard to move.
"Can I get some help?"Annemarie asks, since her outfit is hard to move about in.
"Sure." I reply, and grab her, lifting her down.
"Thanks. That outfit is impossible to move in." Our escort mutters something before guiding us both to the elevator.
"If your outfits really are that uncomfortable, I suggest you change before dinner." 
"Hey, where are our mentors?" Annemarie asks. It's true, we haven't seen them since the train.
"Well, they have urgent matters to attend to in the Capitol, is all." Our escort replies, adjusting her blue hair. It looks like some massive tidal wave, but there have been crazier fashion statements.

The elevator stops on our floor of the training centre. Annemarie lets out a gasp at the room, and I see why. It's huge, the dining room twice the size of the huge one in the train, and it's full of food.
"Well, since you said you were going to change, you'd best do that now whilst the food's still warm." Our escort says as she takes a seat. I walk out of the dining room, down the hall, and into the room where I'll be staying until the games begin. I shut the door, and pull off the shining fish tail, setting it on the side. I go into the closet, and select a plain outfit. It's a relief to actually have normal clothing in there. I walk out, and join the others for dinner. During the brief amount of time it took me to change, our mentors have turned up, Shellie and Lukas. Their hair is slightly messed up, and their clothes look slightly scruffy.
"Where were you?" Annemarie asks them. They exchange an almost worried glance before replying.
"Just meeting up with some old friends." Lukas replies almost nonchalantly. Something about his story seems off, but Annemarie seems convinced. I take a serving of fresh fish stuffed with herbs, and begin to eat. It tastes far nicer than the fish back in District 4; they've probably added things to it to enhance the flavour. Even so, our escort complains about the food being too bland. I barely eat the fish before my stomach feels bloated. Not only does the food taste nice, but it's far richer.

"Now tomorrow's training. I'd advise the two of you to join the Career pack. You'll have more food, more supplies, and an overall better chance of winning." Shellie says, finishing her meal. That was already mine and Annemarie's plan, but now there's no choice but to.
"Alright then." I say. Suddenly, our escort jumps out of her seat.
"Oh goodness! How could I have forgotten! The recap of the chariot parade's about to start! Come on!" she practically pulls us out of our seats, and we follow her to the living room as she frantically switches the television on. It shows the seal of the Capitol, and the last few notes of the anthem are playing. The screen switches to the two faces of the Hunger Games, Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith. Caesar's hair's been dyed the colour of stone this year, which is actually strange to see a plain colour on such extravagant hair. They start off by cracking a few jokes with one another, then the chariots roll out.

District 1's tributes are dressed in regal outfits adorned with various jewels. The dark haired boy begins throwing some of the jewels at the crowd, and they go wild. The girl blows kisses to the crowd. They have the audience captivated. District 2 follows, dressed like warriors. They both give menacing smiles at the crowd, and even Caesar comments on how they look like true Careers. District 3 takes their place afterwards. Their outfits aren't brilliant, but they are interesting. They both are wearing formal outfits, but they're entirely made of wire. The crowd still cheers for them anyway. Then come us.

As soon as we're in the spotlight, our outfits begin to release bubbles that float towards the crowd. The chariot then begins to release a spray of water, catching the light in just the right way that it creates a rainbow. The oyster in the middle of the chariot opens, revealing Annemarie looking like a mermaid. Her tail shimmers with the light, releasing thousands of bubbles into the air. The crowd goes wild, but unfortunately we don't get the spotlight forever. The cameras focus on District 5's chariot, but the outfits have begun to go downhill. They're dressed in outfits made of foil, with light bulbs on their head. The crowd goes from cheering to politely clapping. And the outfits get worse. District 6's tributes are dressed like cars, District 7 yet again has a pair of trees, District 8 looks like someone threw a pile of fabric on top of them, District 9's in golden outfits, District 10's dressed like cows, District 11's some sort of fruit. But the most hilarious outfit is District 12. We all start laughing as they're rolled out. The boy's wearing only a tool-belt and a miner's hat, and is holding an oversized pickaxe. But the girl is priceless. Her skin's dyed pitch black, and she looks like a massive boulder. Her hands and feet barely stick out of the massive lump, and the make-up completely hides any facial expressions. Even the announcers are having a hard time keeping a straight face. The cameras then cut to the president's speech, and the show ends with Caesar telling everyone to stay tuned for the tribute interviews in a couple of days time.