I wake up in my cushy bed on the train. It's still dark out, but the clock tells me it's 6:30 in the morning. I stretch, yawn, and roll out of bed. Another outfit is laid out for me on a squishy armchair. I change into it, and am surprised at the comfort. It's a dark green shirt that laces at the top, matched with black leggings similar to yesterday's. I look at my reflection in the mirror. Not bad. 

Percy is already in the food compartment when I arrive, eating some blue pancakes covered in blue syrup.

"Why are those pancakes blue?" I ask.

"I dunno, some dude asked me what I wanted for breakfast and I said 'blue pancakes'. Then he wanted to know if I wanted syrup with said blue pancakes, and I said 'sure, can it be blue, too?' and he sort of nodded and now I have blue pancakes with matching syrup."

"I see," I say. I'm too hungry to wait for anyone to ask me what I want, so I grab a waffle and stuff it in my mouth. And then another. Wow, these waffles are really good. 

I finish up just as we are pull in to the Capitol station. Percy and I are escorted out of the train, and I see citizens smiling and waving at us. I scowl. Look at them. So eager for us to go to our deaths. Hoping that our demise is somewhat entertaining. Do they realize that the children who participate in these Games are as real as them? That they too had dreams, hopes, wishes, and all the same human qualities as the rest of them? 

I look to Percy. whose grim expression must mirror my own. "This is wrong," he whispers. Then, we exit the train station, Lawrence and Claire behind us.

I don't normally care about beauty, but the Capitol is just that. It's buildings reach the sky, sparkling in the sunlight. It looks nothing like anything in the Endless Woods.

"It's so pretty," I breath.

"Yeah. If only it weren't full to the brim with sadistic child-killers," Percy muttered.

"Well, at least it isn't a trash dump," I reply. "It could be worse."

"I don't see how that's possible. We're about to be dumped into an arena full of kids who may or may not be our friends, and we either kill them or be killed by them. It sucks either way."

Claire comes up behind us and grabs my arm. "Okay squirts, time to meet your stylists. Remember, do what they tell you. Resisting does not work. Believe me, I know." She steers me away from Percy, and into the sea of people chanting my name. It's not even my name. It's the stupid alternate reality nametag that was given to me. Ugh.

We reach a tall, shiny building. "This is the training center," Claire says. "Remember where it is." Then she leads me to another building, that's significantly shorter. We push through the double doors, and are greeted by a brightly colored trio.

A girl with pink hair, pink makeup, and pink tattoos everywhere introduces herself. "Hi! You must be Sophia! We're your prep team. I'm Celeste."

"I'm Corona, like the ring around the sun during an eclipse," A girl who can't be older than twenty five says. "My parents are huge astrology geeks. Not many people know what my name means. It's alright." I notice that Corona's skin is tinged yellow. That's kind of weird, but I suppose that's what happens when you have an unlimited budget. 

The last member of the trio is a bit shyer. "I'm Taurus," he says, shaking my hand. Taurus doesn't have much physical alteration, except for a tattoo of a bull on the back of his neck and some light makeup.

"I'll leave you here," Claire says. "Once they're done with you, you'll meet your stylist. Ta-ta, shrimpy kid." She turns around and leaves.

Celeste takes my hand and leads me to a nice room, with shelves upon shelves of beauty products. Sophie would love it here. Heck, Sophie could work here. "Sit here," Corona instructs, pointing me to a nice white chair. 

Taurus pulls out something that I can't identify, but Sophie probably could. It looks kind of like a wax strip, but I can't tell. He takes my hand. "Now this might hurt."

____________

One hour and several muffled screams later, I have been robbed of all body hair. My nails are perfect, my skin is smooth, and my face has been scrubbed to perfection. I kind of like it, actually, not that I would say so. 

"I think she's ready!" Celeste exclaims. "Let's call in Kaitlyn!" She presses a button, and the trio exits the room.

A few minutes later, my stylist arrives. I assume this is Kaitlyn, though I am not sure. She has short blond hair with blue streaks, and blue tattoos running up her arms. "Hey Sophia! I'm your stylist today," she says, and I detect a hint of a southern accent. "My name is Kaitlyn, but you can call me Kate or Katie. Either works. And I'm gonna make you fabulous, darling."

First, she gives me a bit of eyeliner, to 'bring out your gorgeous eyes'. Then, some eye shadow (white) and light pink lipstick. I look in the mirror.

Wow I look young.

I suddenly remember that Sophia is supposed to be twelve. That explains the 'darlings'. Katie hands me a silk white dress with pink accents. I slip it on. Not bad. The fabric is cool and comfortable, and goes down to my knees.

"Here," my stylist says, giving me a pair of pink ballet slippers. "Try these on." They fit perfectly. My outfit, although it makes me look like a toddler, isn't half bad. I twirl a little, and the dress flies out around my waist. Great. I'm on the brink of death and I'm twirling in a dress like an idiot.

"Okay honey, so when you're out there in your chariot, I'm going to press a button. The dress is going to light up a little. Are you okay with that?"

"Of course, Kate. I'll be fine."

"Good. Now, would you like something to eat before you go?"

I'm so sorry for not updating so long, I promise I'll do better on that. I hope you liked this chapter. Until we meet again, my peeps!