Chapter 8- Interviews
"Julia, wake up," a voice spoke, intruding into my dreams. "Julia, come on. Wake up." It kept getting louder and louder, until I couldn't stand it.
"What?" I complained, opening my eyes sleepily.
I jumped in surprise. All I saw was Septimus' face hovering over mine.
"It's time for lunch. You've been sleeping all morning, and the interviews are coming up pretty fast," he told me.
I slowly got up, stretching and looking around. I was still in the sitting room; I must've fallen asleep on the couch.
"Just give me a minute," I mumbled to him, getting up and wandering to my room to take a shower.
When I stepped out of the steamy shower, I slumped against the counter, staring at myself in the mirror. One more day, I thought miserably. No matter what I tell myself, I know that I will most likely die over the next few days. Last night's video just made me realize it sooner.
Lunch went by fast, and soon my prep team is bursting into my room, getting right to work on me. The interviews were only in a few hours, and there was no time to lose.
They sat me down and Katri and Saffra got to work on my body, quickly stripping it of any hair that grew back since the Opening Ceremonies. While they did that, Alto painted my nails a golden color that shimmered in the light.
While Alto worked on my hair, the girls advanced on me with makeup. They didn't use nearly as much as they did for the Opening Ceremonies, only enough to bring out my eyes and enhance my facial features.
Around two hours later, they finished and led me to a mirror to examine their work. I was pleasantly surprised; even without the dress, I still looked gorgeous. My skin shimmered and glowed healthily and my hair was done in loose ringlets, flowing over my shoulders. Some of the hair from the sides of my head was pulled back with a glittery clip so only the shorter strands that couldn't reach curled down the sides of my face.
I turned to them, smiling in gratitude. "Thank you so much. I look beautiful!"
They all agreed with me, complimenting their work. "Wait 'til you see the dress!" Katri piped up.
We couldn't say anything else because Septimus appeared in the doorway, an opaque plastic bag in his hands that must contain my dress.
"Are you ready?" he asked me. I nodded, excited to see the masterpiece he held in his hands.
"Close your eyes, then," he whispered.
I did as he instructed and felt him help me into the dress and fasten all the ties in the back. He turned me to face the mirror, probably, and then whispered, "Open."
The dress that I was in was nothing less than perfect. It was a floor-length halter dress that flowed around my body, showing off my curves, but not in a sexy way. The mottled forest green and gold patterns on the dress really brought out my eyes, making them bigger and brighter than they've ever been.
He brought out a pair of glittering black peep-toe platform heels, and I slipped them on, my golden toenails peeping out from underneath the hem of the dress.
I spun around, enjoying the way the dress spun out around me. I turned to Septimus, who was smiling at me happily, and wrapped my arms around him, hugging him tight. "Thank you so much," I whispered.
He returned the hug and stepped back. "Now for the finishing touch!" He pulled something out of his pocket, and I realized it was my locket.
I stood still as he placed it over my head, the locket settling on my chest, right by my heart.
My smile widened, and I almost couldn't stop the tears that were threatening to spill onto my face.
"Come on, it's time to go," he told me. Before he led me out, he reached up to wipe the single tear that fell down my cheek.
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The interviews take place across the street from the Training Center, on the stage that's set up on a big expanse of land. Rows and rows of seats are placed in front of the stage, surrounded by bleachers for the important people like Gamemakers, stylists, previous Victors, and so on.
As James and I are led backstage to the row of seats where the Tributes sit until they're called up, I catch a glimpse of the crowd, and it was bigger than I expected. Every single seat was taken, and the surrounding streets were flooded with people trying to watch.
My stomach got butterflies just looking at them. I've always wanted to be on stage, and I was pretty excited for my turn.
When we arrived backstage, almost all of the other Tributes had arrived already. I spotted the pair from 1, the girl wearing a revealing maroon dress and the boy wearing a suit with a nice blue shirt, complementing his eyes.
As I passed him, I swore I saw him smile at me, but I couldn't tell because the pair from 2 blocked my view of him as they walked to their seats, giving me mean glares as they passed.
Music suddenly started blaring, and I heard them announce the host, Caesar Flickerman. It's starting.
Capitol workers quickly usher us to our seats in order of the Districts, girls first, then boys. A big screen is set up on the wall in front of us, showing the stage as the camera panned over the area.
Finally, they started calling up people, starting with the girl from 1. I managed to listen to her speak, but soon I became so nervous, I had to resort to zoning out so I didn't puke up my dinner or do something embarrassing.
Occasionally, they would show clips of us sitting backstage, making me guess that there were cameras back here also.
As the interviews passed by, I started feeling someone's gaze on me. I turned to look, but everyone was watching the screen. But when I turned back, I caught the boy from 1 staring at me out of the corner of my eye. A smile crept onto my face, but I quickly suppressed it, not sure why I was smiling in the first place.
My turn came quicker than I thought, surprised that the boy from 9 was already walking back to his seat. Three minutes sure weren't as long as I'd thought.
I got up and made my way to the stage, feeling like I was in a dream. Everything faded into the background, the only noise I could hear was the pounding of my heart in my ears.
I slowly walked across the stage and into the light, taking deep breaths. Only three minutes, Julia. Only three. You can do this.
Then I was at the cushiony white seat positioned next to Caesar's, and I shook my head, clearing my thoughts before sitting down and smiling widely at him as he welcomed me.
"So Julia," he started off cheerfully. "You're looking beautiful today!"
I smiled. "Thank you! I absolutely love this dress!" I was gushing a little bit, but the crowd loved it.
He smiled and laughed, moving on to the next question smoothly. "You got a pretty high score in training, huh? Can you give us all any hints on what you did?"
I pretended to think of a bit, and then shook my head. "Nope," I said popping the 'p.'
"Oh, come on!" goaded Caesar. "Just a small clue? Don't we all want to know?" he asked the crowd, and they screamed out a huge "YES!"
I laughed, starting to enjoy myself. "You'll find out if the Gamemakers decide to put that weapon in the arena. So until then, my lips are sealed." I mimed zipping my lips shut and throwing away the key.
"You really know how to ruin the fun," muttered Caesar jokingly. I just smirked as he moved on to the next question.
"On a more serious note," he started off, leaning closer to me, seriously, "Do you, or do you not, have a handsome young man to go home to?"
My eyes went wide, my stomach twisted into knots, and my heart gave a painful squeeze as I was reminded of Cody. I could only shake my head.
"I don't believe that!" exclaimed Caesar.
"It's true, though!" I protested.
"Nuh uh. There has to be at least someone that you like." He just wouldn't give up!
I heaved a sigh, giving in to the pressure. "Ok, there...there is this one guy..." I trailed off.
"Yes?" Caesar asked, leaning forwards in his seat in anticipation.
I took a deep breath and began to confess. "He...he's, like, my best friend in the whole world, and I'm not saying any names because he knows who he is if he's watching this right now, and I know he'll never like me back the same way that I like him because we're just best friends but every single moment I'm around him is pure torture becauseIwanthimtolikemesobadandIhateit!!!" I finished in a rush, shouting at the audience before taking a huge breath.
Everyone was a lot quieter, surprised by my outburst, and Caesar was just starting at me, eyes wide, and spoke one single word. "Wow..."
It was then that I realized that I was standing and shaking terribly. I went to sit down, embarrassed, but the buzzer rang out, marking the end of my disastrous three minutes.
"Well Julia," Caesar began, having regained his posture, "Thank you for being here and good luck in the Games!"
I quietly thanked him in a shaky voice, and then hurried off the stage, suddenly hating the spotlight.
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Hey again!! First off, I absolutely HATE the chapter title, so if anyone has a better name, PLEASE TELL ME!!! Ahhhh, one more chapter left until she enters the Games! :P YAY! DEATH! Comment, vote, please!!!
Ok, so you know how me and my friends are trying to make this into a movie? Yeah, well I hate writing scripts. Its NOT fun! And everyone needs to start rushing around because one of the actors is moving in July!! Thats onle like 2 months away!! We need to film her scenes quick!!! AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! I'm a bit stressed out... sorry...