| " P R E P . " |

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"Wake up, darling!" Heredia says cheerfully. "It's the day of the interviews! After breakfast, you have to start getting ready right away."

"Why?" I groan.

"Because you have to." She shrugs. "Now lets go. Your lover is waiting for you."

"I don't have a lover." I say, getting out of bed.

"Cato thinks differently." She winks. "I've already picked your clothes out. They're on the dresser."

"Okay. Whatever." I grab the clothes, and walk into the bathroom. The clothes consist of a plain white shirt, and black jeans, along with socks and tennis shoes. After putting them on, I brush my hair out, and leave the bathroom.

As I walk into the dining room, the smell of bacon fills my senses, making me sigh.

I love the food here.

Food here isn't much different than the food back home in District three. But it's slightly better.

"Finally." Glimmer chuckles from the dining table. "I thought you'd never wake up."

"Yeah, well, I enjoy sleep." I say flatly, and sit in the chair next to her. An avox lays a plate down in front of me that has bacon, eggs, sausage, a biscuit, and a hash brown on it. I smile to the avox, receiving a scowl from Heredia.

"Don't smile at . . . that!" Heredia screeches, gesturing to the avox. Marvel, Cato, Glimmer, Zach, Clove, and I all turn to her, and the avox walks away. "An avox doesn't deserve any kindness."

"Neither do you." I roll my eyes. "Yet you're here."

Heredia's face turns red, and the careers try hardly to hold in their laughter.

"How dare you?" Heredia glares at me.

"How dare I?" I gasp, using a Capitol accent. "How dare I?" I jump from the table, clutching my chest dramatically. "Oh my, I'm so very sorry, Miss. What could I do to make it up to you? How about I give you some manners?"

Glimmer bursts into laughter, and falls over on the floor. The others keep themselves together, but Zach looks like he might crack at any moment.

"Give me manners?" Heredia asks, placing her hands on her hips. "You're the one who's being very immature."

"Me? I'm immature?" I ask, chuckling. "Says the woman who dresses like a ladybug every day."

"This is actually very fashionable," She informs, touching her dress. "And you need to drop the attitude."

"I don't have an attitude."

"Yes you do."

"You're the one who's being very immature." I mock her, sitting back down on my seat. "Can it, you saggy potato."

"I'm not a saggy potato!" She hisses.

"Yeah, those implants sure help," I smirk, giving her a thumbs up.

"Young lady, I can report you to President Snow! He will severely punish you for treating me this way!"

"What's he gonna do?" I ask. "Kill me? Sorry sugar, he's already throwing in me an arena to fight to the death. I suggest you change your type of punishment."

"I'm leaving." She sticks her nose in the air, and walks from the room. I stand up again, and begin applauding and cheering.

"YES, SHE'S FINALLY GONE!" I yell, making sure she can hear me. I chuckle, shaking my head.

"You're really something," Clove laughs.

"I know I am." I wink.

"Where's my favorite girl?" Ross asks, walking into the room with a smile spread across his lips.

"Right here!" I yell.

"I have an objection." Cato states, raising his hand.

"Not now." Ross points at Cato. "I'm taking her away. We have to get to work."

"What kind of work?" Zach asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Putting on my beauty face." I answer, poking my cheek.

"Say goodbye to your friends, Taylor. We only have five hours." Ross taps his watch. "And I have some major ideas for your hair, makeup, nails, and heels."

"Okay." I jump out of my seat. "Bye guys!" I wave at them, then follow Ross out of the room, and into his designing studio.

"First of all, we need your prep team." He starts. With the literal snap of his fingers, my prep team emerges, curling irons, brushes, makeup, and fingernail kits hanging in their grasps.

"This might take a while."

___♕___

Another curl is flopped in my face, making my nose itch.

It's been a few hours, and my body is numb. So far, only my nails and toenails are finished. My makeup is almost finished, and my hair is being pinned back in a criss-cross weave.

"Ross, when will I be able to stand up?" I ask, groaning as a piece of hair gets in my mouth.

"Not too much longer." He replies. "Maybe ten minutes."

"Ugh."

"I was kidding."

The curl is pulled out of my face, and pinned back, like the rest. Ross steps in front of me, and applies blush to my cheeks.

Zela, the hair dresser from my prep team, steps away from my hair. "Finished." She announces, pulling two strands of hair to each of my shoulders.

"Me, too." Ross adds, backing away from me. I smile. "You can stand up, now. All we have to do is put on your shoes, dress, and jewelry."

Finally.

I follow his directions, and stand up, trying not to wobble on my jelly legs. Yes, I've been sitting for that long. Ross pulls my dress from the mannequin, and holds the sides.

"You'll have to step into the dress. If we put it over your head, it'll ruin your hair." He says. I nod, and step into the dress, one leg at a time. The dress is pulled up my body, and tied at my waist. "Here are your shoes."

A pair of golden strapped heels are handed over to me. I put them on, and stand up slowly. Lucky for me, I've gained some knowledge of walking in heels. Most of that knowledge comes from watching Heredia sprint and hop around the living quarters all day.

Golden hoop earnings are put in my ears, along with a matching bracelet. My prep team ruffles the dress around me, making sure it curves at the right places. (Picture of Taylor wearing the dress, shoes, and jewelry at the top)

"Beautiful," Ross pipes.

"Is it time?" I ask nervously.

"Yep. We need to go."

I sigh, and leave the designing room with Ross. He leads me into the elevator and presses the bottom floor button.

"Are you ready?" He questions.

"Not really." I shake my head. "But I have to be. I can't let them think I'm scared."

"I know you'll knock 'em dead."

"I hope so."

When the elevator door opens, I'm rushed out of the tribute building by my mentors and Zach. Apparently, they were waiting for me in the lobby of the tribute building.

When I step into the new building, a whip of fresh air hits me, making me cough. Unfortunately, the whip of fresh air was filled with deadly toxins called 'too much hair spray,' and 'WAY too much perfume.'

A line has already formed next to the stairway, which leads to the stage. The boy from District four is standing in Zach and I's places, making me roll my eyes. He wears a terrified face, and a yellow tux.

"Hey guys!" Glimmer greets, pushing the boy from District four back. We step into our places in line, and Zach sends a glare to the boy. "What took you so long?"

"My prep team." I answer. "They were taking their time."

"Oh, well, you look amazing." She compliments. "I love your dress."

"Thanks."

Glimmer turns back around, and starts up a chatter with Marvel, leaving me to my peace.

"You look gorgeous." Zach says from behind me. Clove turns to us, and smirks.

"Awww, thank you Zach. You look gorgeous, too." I touch his golden bow tie. He glares at me, and Clove covers up a smile.

"She does look gorgeous, doesn't she?" A voice asks from behind me. I jump in my spot, clutching my chest.

"You scared the hell out of me!" I yell/whisper, swatting his chest.

"That was the point." He winks.

"Alright, tributes!" A director says loudly, catching our attention. "The show is about to start, so be prepared for when Caesar calls your name."

"Oh my gosh, I'm going first!" Glimmer panics.

"You'll be fine," I assure her.

"Quiet down!" The producer snaps.

"Why don't you prance your fancy ass over here, and make me?" I challenge, making the producer puts their hands up in surrender. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

The large television on the wall beside us comes on, and shows Caesar Flickerman walking onto the stage.

"Hello, hello!" He cheers. "Are we ready to meet our tributes for this year's annual Hunger Games?"

The crowd applauds him loudly. I roll my eyes at their stupidity.

"Well then, lets get started, shall we?" He asks. "First off, we have District one. You know her, and you love her, folks. Glimmer!"

A producer whisks Glimmer onto the stage, and she makes her way over to Caesar. Glimmer doesn't hesitate to be sweet to Caesar, and throw in a giggle in every now and then. And I can tell, definitely, she's won the crowd's hearts.

Soon enough, Marvel is introduced, and pushed onto the stage. He cracks jokes, and stays his charming self the whole time. His confidence peeks through, letting everyone know he's not afraid of what might happen in the arena.

Clove plays her interview off cool, and let's the answer to every one of Ceasar's questions, slip off of her tongue. And you can tell that she's determined enough to win, just by the way her eyes stay set in a same rock-hard way.

Cato shows off his pride, and ability to woo people. His looks have won over lots of sponsors already, so it probably wasn't hard to do it on stage. He didn't keep his talents to himself, instead he boasted about them. I can only figure to show the audience how skilled he is, and to show the tributes how dangerous he is.

Overall, all of then have stuck to their original rolls.

But then, it's my turn.

"We've heard a lot about this outgoing girl. She's the gem of District three. Please give a warm welcome to Taylor!"

As I step onto the stage, I weigh my feet down, trying to make myself look harsh. I allow the corner of my lips twitch up into a smirk. I keep twitched eyebrows, adding a stone-cold affect to my features.

I take a seat in the guest chair, next to Caesar. He looks over at me, keeping a smile on his face. "So, Taylor, how have you been liking the Capitol?"

"A lot, actually." I lie. "But I've spent most of my time checking out the competition."

"Ah." He cocks his head to the side. "How has that been working out for you?"

I stare at my fingernails, acting like this isn't scaring the shït out of me. "Eh, I don't really have much to say about them."

"Do you see any of them as a threat?" He asks, raising an eyebrow.

"No." I shrug. "They're all weak."

"That's definitely an advantage." He chuckles.

"I believe it is." I nod.

"I think we should have a conversation about your private session." He pauses. "We were all shocked that you got that low of a score. Care to explain?"

"Dont underestimate me, Caesar." I wink.

"Oh well," He chuckles again, "I wasn't planning on it. Do you have anything to say to your allies?"

"Yes, actually." I turn to the cameras, with an evil glint in my eyes.

"Be careful," I say darkly, "Because I might just stab you in the back."

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