Ximena gazed over at Haliey, who was sitting on the chair beside them.

"I'm getting hungry. We should go get some food before we have to get prepared for the introductions," they said, standing up and holding out their hand.

"If you insist." Haliey grabbed their hand and together they walked to the buffet room. They weren't alone - Alaya was there with them, so the two decided to talk to her.

"Hi! Alaya Cezar right? From District 7," Ximena began.

"Yes. I believe you two are Ximena Katherine and Haliey Willow?" Alaya asked, holding out her hand for the couple to shake it.

"Yep! Nice to meet you," Haliey replied, shaking her hand with a smile.

"Nice to meet you too. So, you two checking out the contestants?" Alaya questioned, grabbing a plate and scooping some salad onto it.

"Yeah, something like that. We are also trying to find a good alliance, y'know," Ximena explained.

"Of course. My partner is very difficult, so we probably won't find an alliance too quickly," Alaya laughed.

"How so?" Ximena asked, pulling their hair behind their shoulder.

"Well, he just doesn't want to cooperate. He's too impatient and has no respect for the world around him," she sighed.

"Wow. Seems like the attitude of a career," Haliey added.

"Almost, minus the years and years of deadly training to back up his ignorance. He is such a flirt as well," Alaya rambled, looking at her plate like she was going to crush it just remembering the many stunts Max had pulled.

"Wow, that sure is something." Haliey grabbed some food and placed her tray on a table. "Want to sit with us?"

"Why not?" Alaya sat down in front of Haliey and started to eat. Ximena grabbed their own food and sat down. They all started to talk, and as time passed, more and more tributes came and left the room. Eventually, Alaya's mentor came and stole her away to get ready for the introduction ceremony.

"She was nice. We should choose her," Haliey commented, finishing up her food.

"Yeah, but she did mention that her mentor wants her and Max to alliance with someone. She said he was stupid, and we don't need him bringing us down, remember?" Ximena responded.

"That's rude, babe! He's probably not stupid as you say. He might just not know right from wrong!" Haliey said, looking up at them.

"Sorry, you're right... I'm just getting so passionate about all of this," Ximena sighed.

"It's okay. That's a natural response," Haliey said, kissing Ximena. "We should get to our stylists, though."

"Yeah, good idea," they answered. The two walked together, laughing all the way back to their room. As District 1's main production was jewelry, they were put in outfits that sparkled brighter than ever. They both had a similar makeup job with white, gray, and blue lines stretched across their faces. Ximena's hair had been pulled up into a high bun, while Haliey's was in two braids that crossed over each other. They headed to a large outside area where they were pushed into a carriage.

"Ready?" Ximena asked, holding their hand out.

"Let's go get some sponsors," Haliey said, grabbing her partner's hand. Their carriage pulled into the arena and they watched the crowd go wild, throwing roses at them. Haliey put her hand up and started to wave at all the screaming people. Ximena turned to Haliey and gave her a kiss, which made the whole crowd roar even more. The carriage stopped in front of a big podium-type building, the president stood on top.

"That was perfect!" Haliey whispered excitedly to Ximena. They smiled and glanced behind them, watching the rest of the contestants pull up to the same building.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rian tore her gaze off Jean and moved towards the cafeteria, meeting her mentor, who'd been angry ever since she'd ignored his wishes in the training room.

"Go eat and get into your room as fast as possible," he growled.

"Yeah yeah okay, chill." Rian rolled her eyes. While she was grabbing some food, she scanned the room.

"Alaya Cezar sitting with Ximena and Haliey... Oh, this ought to be good," Rian passed by the three contestants and sat down at an empty table, scarfing down her meal. When she finished, she started to admire her charm bracelet. Every year, on her birthday, her mom would add a charm to the piece. It had sixteen charms on it currently, and it was beautiful. Rian got up and walked over to her mentor, who escorted her into her room with her stylist.

"Let's get to work. I have big big plans for you!" The stylist pulled Rian into a chair. After an hour of work, she was what the stylist considered 'presentable.' She was in District 3, the district of technology, meaning all their outfits were quite creative. She was dressed up in a flowy white dress that stopped just past her knees. It was like a tv screen, and as she walked, it started to show holographic images glitching in and out. It was gorgeous. Her hair had been left down and was flowy as well, and her makeup was a simple contrast of different shades of green and yellow. Rian made her way to the carriage with her district mate. He was in a similar outfit, but instead of a dress, he'd been sat with a suit and tie. When the carriage pulled out, she stared straight ahead - no smile or wave, seeming oblivious to the crowd oohing and ahhing. Most of the tributes had come off sweet and kind, but she came off intimidating to the crowd. When Rian reached the end, she looked up at the president with daggered eyes. She was furious.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Max watched Alaya walk off to get food. He wasn't hungry (and he didn't want to have to face her anger again), so he didn't follow. Instead, he decided to walk around and try to find someone who might want to talk to him. He saw Jay and began to approach him.

"Hey, what's up?" Maxtess asked.

"Well, a few minutes ago, I fell on my face trying to impress Q'uira. She's eating now," Jay said, looking at Max with a small frown.

"Oh, you like her, don't you?" he commented, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, but I'm so awkward," Jay replied.

"How so?" Max adjusted his weight onto his right leg.

"Last night, she tried to hug me. I accidentally backed out, so I tried to fix it and hug her - but she pulled back. So, instead of having a somewhat romantic hug, it was just a fist bump..." Jay smacked his head.

"Wow." Max put his hand on Jay's shoulder. "That's pretty sad, no joke." Jay squinted his eyes in annoyance. "Sorry. Anyways, just tell her how you feel. Worst case scenario, she doesn't like you back, and that's fine. Just go for it, man!"

"Thanks for the pep talk, I appreciate it," Jay nodded. "I've got to get to my stylist - something about some introduction thing."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I think I'm late... Oh well, catch you later, dude." Max gave Jay a pat and then started to walk to the door.

"You too." Jay headed over to his mentor, who was sitting in the corner.

When Max reached his room, he quickly got into the suit that had been laid out for him. District 7 was famous for their production of lumber, so his outfit had fake log pieces coming out of a stylish suit. He walked down to his carriage and met up with Alaya, who was wearing a dress with one prominent log that came sideways by her neck. Her hair was in a very unusual updo, and you could tell she was annoyed.

"What is their deal with hairstyles here?" Alaya raised an eyebrow and hopped into the carriage.

"No idea." Max watched their mentor hook them in and the carriage started to pull out.

"Smile and wave," Alaya said.

"Okay," Max replied, putting a smile on.

"I was talking to myself." Alaya looked at the crowd, starting to smile and wave. The people in the stands began screaming excitedly at all the tributes, and eventually their carriage had pulled up next to the others. Haliey smiled and nodded at Alaya. She returned the gesture, and Max began to wonder something.

"Is she replacing me...?" Max bit his lip.

"Hey, stop. Don't do that, it makes you look immature." Alaya slapped his hand, making him flinch a bit. Alaya looked over at Jay and Q'uira, then smiled. "Wow, look which girl looks stunning in her gown."

~~~~~~~~~~

"No way." Jay blushed, causing Q'uira to go pink as well.

"Well, it's true - you're cute." Q'uira smiled, then pointed at their mentor, "My turn is up, gotta run. Bye!" She waved as she walked away from the carriage.

When she arrived in her room, her mentor was talking to a major stylist. He had a beautiful gown in his hands. The top was white and sparkly, and the bottom was flowy with black cow-like splotches.

"There's our star. You're gonna steal the night with what we have in store for you!" Her mentor grabbed her arm and pulled her into the dressing room. When she'd finished putting the outfit on, they all examined the dress. It fit perfectly. Q'uira did a little twirl and it spread out flat around her, just like a ballerina's gown.

"It's beautiful." Q'uira smiled.

"Now let's do your hair," the stylist said, maneuvering her into a seat in front of a long mirror. He took two handfuls of her hair, one of which he curled. He then took the side that was straight and braided it around the curled one. He took out some hairspray and sprayed it all around, which started to bring out her natural hair color. The red contrasted perfectly with the dress. Her makeup was done in colors of orange, red, and black, making her face look almost like a sunset. After about an hour and a half, the final outfit was complete. He took some subtle but sparkly glitter and spread it over her head, so when she spun, she would shine in the light.

She then made her way down to the carriage. Shortly after she'd arrived Jay popped up stunned. He couldn't take his eyes off her. "Q'uira you look... Wow." He stared in awe, mouth slightly agape.

"What, is it really that bad?" Q'uira looked around to see several people staring. She grew self-conscious almost immediately.

"No, no! You look amazing," his said, eyebrows raised.

"Thanks," she replied, raising her shoulders and starting to blush. After a few minutes of staring into each other's eyes, their mentor rushed the two into the carriage and sent them out. Q'uira started to sparkle, like the stylist had intended, which sent the crowd wild. They began to chant her name. The girl smiled, waving to them, then looked at Jay.

"See, you're amazing!" Jay looked at Q'uira, causing her to smile again. She quickly grabbed his hand and leaned her head on his shoulder, careful not to mess up any of her makeup. This caused Jay's whole face to turn red, his heart starting to pound out of his chest. It was a (somewhat) peaceful moment between the two - one they knew they'd never forget.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jean and Reva had been rushed to their stylists. The two had forgotten to get up early, almost causing their mentor to have to drag them both out of bed.

Reva was the first up. They looked around at the clothes they'd been assigned - a downy gray suit that looked like it had orchids coming off it paired with dark pants and a white undershirt. After they dressed, their hair left down, they were given a new flower crown that matched their attire. Their makeup was a mixture of pink and green, the two bright colors lining their eyes and lips. They noticed that Jean was in similar clothing, except Jean's orchid accents were a different color and she had a dress instead. Reva frowned at the girl. It looked like she was fuming with hatred.

"Are you okay?" Reva asked, tilting their head.

"No, I am not okay. Now if you will excuse me I have to get to the carriage." Jean stalked past Reva, her face as red as an apple. They made it down to the sector and got into their carriage, Jean muttering soft curses the entire way. Reva noticed the crowd going wild over the cart in front of them.

"Wow, they seem delighted with District 10, huh?" Reva hopped up into their seat and looked at Jean.

"The cow crew, haha. Hard to believe," Jean got into her seat as well, and readied herself. The carriage pulled out slowly and Jean put on a cheerful (but fake, Reva was quite good at telling whether someone's smile was genuine) smile, waving and blowing kisses. She was like a whole new person - polite, caring, happy, and normal. When they came to a stop, Reva pointed at Q'uira.

"Well believe it or not, the spectacle is right there." Reva's finger lingered on Q'uira's sparkles.

"How did they get her to look like that?" Jean squinted her eyes. "She seems so... put together."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Paul ate his lunch slowly, mind spinning with his thoughts. They generally consisted of what would happen to Maliery.

"What am I going to do...? She is so young, but it has always been my dream to be in the Hunger Games. If I don't live, then what was I meant to do in my life - what was my purpose? I've been practicing for so long. If I don't come home, then I was nothing but a failure, right?" He looked down at his watch, alarmed by the time. He jolted up and sped out the door to meet his stylist. District 12's outfit always centered around their profession - the coal mines. His stylist had decided to make the attire as simple as possible, but still stylish - Paul donned a charcoal-colored suit, paired with leggings of the same shade and shiny black boots. Maliery, of course, was adorable in her black-themed outfit. She was sure to wow the crowd. Paul hopped into the carriage, then gave Maliery a hand. She took it gratefully and jumped up next to him.

"So, partner, what's our plan today?" She smiled.

"Be cute, smile, and have fun," He responded. He couldn't help her himself, but maybe she could get some sponsors to aid her. The horses pulled out and the crowd screamed for Maliery, who was a natural. She held her head up high, waving with a smile. The carriage rattled onto the edge of a platform and stopped next to the other contestants.

"What do we do now?" she asked.

"Just listen."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

President Snow smiled and looked at all 24 tributes.

"Here it is, the 58th annual hunger games. Here are your 24 tributes. They are looking very nice today. Especially young Q'uira Meyers. Isn't that right, everyone?" The crowd cheered, making Q'uira blush. "Yes, you all look amazing. Very, very, lovely."