Sophie stumbled out of the train in an uncomfortable, blood-red dress with a puffy skirt and a tight-fitted bodice. It was safe to say that Sophie didn't like dresses at all, instead preferring simple jeans and t-shirts. She tripped for about the millionth time on the quartz steps and would've face-planted into the crowd if it weren't for Keefe.

"Never can be graceful," he said with a smirk. Sophie's cheeks turned a fierce red again. It seemed to happen a lot when she was around Keefe, and Sophie began to wonder if it would be permanently etched onto her face.

"Here come the district 11s; please welcome Ms. Foster and Mr. Sencen!" a voice cried out from a balcony high above them. Sophie looked up though, and couldn't see anyone. She clutched the pin in her hand tight, heating it up, before reluctantly putting it in her pocket when Tiergan started to stare.

All of a sudden, as they walked over the bridge, all the onlookers burst out in thunderous applause; Keefe lapped up the attention like a dog, waving and smiling and blowing kisses to the crowd. Sophie didn't wave at all, just focusing on putting one foot in front of the other and not tripping in front of hundreds of people.

She was relieved to make it to the hotel where there was no gawping crowds, no tripping over, no publicity for the first time since she'd been reaped. She smiled awkwardly at Effie, who beckoned her over to a large grey door clearly marked District 11 Female - Elwin. Nervously, Sophie opened the door and met a crew of Ginger-haired elves from the outskirts of the capitol. Sophie glanced around, relieved that there were no needles. Sophie hated needles, just the point was enough to spook Sophie. Ugh - she shuddered thinking back to when she was about 5 when she'd first woken up able to read minds. And the doctors were sticking all sorts of needles into her arms and legs, more than enough to terrify a 5-year-old child.

***

It turned out Elwin was a beautician - his eyes were more of a grey than a blue, but his smile lit up his entire face; His crazy spectacles were creepy though; he could tell when she'd had a headache from the preparation crew. Weird. He was messing about, giving her several elixirs to down, not all of them particularly nice. It was to cure the lack of food and proper nutrients, he said.

He also handed her a dress to wear to the interview, as well as showing her the design of the black jumpsuit she'd be wearing in the arena. He also attempted to wrench a hairbrush through her hair, something she'd never really bothered with before, adding a light layer of makeup on, so subtle the Sophie barely noticed it, which was exactly her style.

After a few more minutes of tweaking, he turned her chair around for her to look in the mirror, and Sophie was surprised by the girl she saw. She was wearing a fairly loose dress that didn't rub, but it didn't flow so insanely that she was likely to trip. It was a simple red - Elwin said it brought out her eyes and it was 'Her colour', with a few decorative flowers, but thankfully nothing more. Her hair was tied in an intricate plait, with a sheen she'd never seen it have before. She got up to have a closer look, immediately stumbling on the low heels. Great.

Elwin steadied her, brushing the hair out of her eyes.

"You look great," he assured her, stepping back to admire his handiwork. "Good luck - everyone from all the districts will be watching." Great. More people watching her. No pressure!

At that moment Sophie wished she was a vanisher and could disappear like Biana or Della, but She resisted the urge to shrink away as she walked down the corridor.

She slipped into her seat just in time to hear Linh take the stage. She hadn't been able to gauge from the reaping how beautiful she looked; Her dark hair contrasted with her pale face and pink cheeks. On top of that, the district one stylist was a genius, so she naturally had the advantage. Sophie tuned out for most of the interview, but the relationship between the twins was striking - but Most of the interview was about how she had to kill Tam, turning her positively green. Tam entered the stage, openly defiant. Sophie wanted to warn him not to for Linh's sake, but she couldn't.

Dex's interview was a little more... Interesting. He released a stink-bomb, and It was safe to say it was quickly ended. Stina turned out to be fairly confident in her combat ability, which ended with her threatening to kill them all. Jhen was the average contestant, making lacklustre death threats; but Mylah tried a different tactic; Her heartbreaking sadness wrenched the crowd's hearts; Sophie knew she would get sponsors, despite her noting a dangerous glint in her eyes. Fitz looked at Sophie briefly before he took entered the stage.

'I'll be OK,' he transmitted. Sophie felt her cheeks warm before transmitting back,

'Be careful.' He nodded, or Sophie assumed he did as his head bobbed up and down.

"Is it true you volunteered for a stranger just so your sister wouldn't die alone?" Ceasor Flickerman asked, his fluorescent-orange hair being slicked into place by his hand. Fitz nodded. He gripped Biana's hand tighter. "What are your abilities? Any advantages? Come on. Spill." He teased.

"I'm a telepath," Fitz quietly muttered after an awkward silence. Biana merely smiled.

"I wouldn't give away my advantages to the other tributes now, would I?" Biana told him with a smirk and a flick of her hair. A bell rang, and Sophie jumped.

"Relax, Foster," Keefe whispered in her ear. Ruy took the stage, boasting about being a psionpath. Sophie scowled. Memmy was crying. Hard. She sobbed and sobbed throughout the interview. Ceasor tried to comfort her, but before long the 3 minutes were up. Both District 5 and 6 are the Neverseen district; they generally won. Fintan and a girl called Glimmer were up next. Fintan raved and raved about the unfairness of it all and Glimmer showed off her light tricks. Stupid Neverseen. Sophie controlled the rage to avoid another incident like at the reaping.

Wylie and Maruca were holding hands; they were cousins. Wylie refused to talk but Maruca blabbed and blabbed.

Out of the corner of her eye, Sophie swore she saw a spark appear out of Marrela's hand. She didn't realise she was staring until Marrela gave her a funny look, the kind of look that says 'mind your own beeswax.' Marrela jumped out of her seat with a jerk. When it got round to the ability question, Marrela replied,

"Put it this way, Fintan isn't the only pyrokinetic in this room." That started off a round of mutterings, but they quickly disappeared when Ceasor raised his hand for silence.

Jensi had this way of talking like he'd eaten sugar for breakfast. Sophie didn't catch much of what he said.

District 9 was the gnome and ogre district. It's cruel forcing the creatures together; the ogres hate the gnomes. Flori was a short-haired, green-fingered little gnome. Sophie couldn't look at Ro for all her warts covering his body. Ro growled at one of the goblins venomously. District 10 was the goblin district. A couple named Sandor and Grisel were those representatives. The goblins often won; they were the best fighters.

"Come on up Sophie Foster!"