LEIA CALORE WAS MAKING FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS IN HER BEDROOM. Her legs were swinging back and forth over her head as she lay on her stomach, sprawled across the mattress. She was humming some old lullaby that she did not remember the name of as her finger weaved the string in and out of each other. She had just learned a new pattern from a boy at school, and she was eager to get it just right. However, her braiding was interrupted by an obnoxious voice. "Leia, it's starting!"

"Coming, Mother!" she responded, and she put down her string and stood up, straightening out her dress before heading into the living room to watch the Reaping. She sat down on the couch with her back straight up and her hands in her lap as the music of Panem played throughout the room.

The Reaping decided who was going to compete in the Hunger Games, which was a fight to the death that the country held every year for children ages twelve to seventeen. There were twelve districts, and a boy and a girl were selected from each and then thrown into an arena until one Victor remained. Leia was fourteen, but she lived in the Capitol. That meant that she was not a candidate for the Games, something that she was eternally grateful for, despite the fact that every single person in the Capitol seemed to be annoying.

However, that year, she got to work with some of those obnoxious people. She was doing an internship that allowed her to miss school and act as an apprentice designer for the Games. She would be working with some of the best designers in the country as they worked to make this year's Tributes look good. Mrs. Calore turned to her daughter with raised eyebrows. "Do you remember what District you're with?"

"Four, I think," Leia answered. She was going to be working with the great Apollo Blase and his team. Blase was widely known around Panem for his bold designs and impeccable taste. The Calore girl did not know whether to be excited or intimidated.

Her mother winced, which made her heart drop, but then a smile made its way onto her face, which soothed the young girl's nerves a little bit. District Four was not technically a Career, but it was sometimes considered one since they had pretty high numbers when it came to Victors. The older woman responded, "Ooh, not quite One or Two but still very good."

"It doesn't really matter what District I get, Mother," Leia pointed out. She was just designing, not training or competing. In fact, she was not even designing. She would be helping out with makeup and hair and just watching the designing process.

"Well, you wouldn't want to be associated with someone from Eleven or Twelve," Mrs. Calore explained, and Leia frowned. She did not care what District her Tribute was from. She was a lot more interested in the work. The Districts had always been known to be inferior to the Capitol, but Leia had never even met someone from the Districts, let alone been there. She wanted to wait until she decided that they were any worse than the frivolous idiots that lived in her city. "That's just embarrassing and just so much more difficult. You can't make miners and farmers look good. It's nearly impossible."

President Snow's face appeared on the screen, and he honestly scared Leia. His stare was cold and almost emotionless. He smiled at the camera and the people that were watching him. "Today is the day that we officially start the process of the 65th Hunger Games. It is on this day that all twenty-four tributes shall be selected and presented to the Capitol and the nation of Panem. The ceremonies will begin shortly. Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor."

They watched the first three Districts, and her mother made some very rude commentary about the looks of each person throughout the entire Reaping. Finally, they got to District Four, and a woman in a bright blue outfit was standing on a stage along the beach. Leia recognized her as Dayta Silk, the District Four escort.

"Happy Hunger Games! It is time for the Reaping, as you all know. Ladies first." she announced, and she grinned as she headed over to the clear bowl that was halfway filled with names. She dramatically removed a slip of paper and delicately unfolded it. She cleared her throat once she made her way back to the microphone, and she read out, "Isla Angler."

The camera landed on a girl stepping out of the crowd. She was a very muscular female, and she towered almost everyone in the crowd. She had blonde hair that was pulled back and a terrified expression. Mrs. Calore winced as Isla made her way up to the stage. "That is one unattractive girl. You'll have your work cut out for you."

"I think I'm with the boy," Leia responded, fighting the urge to roll her eyes at her mother. She had been told that she would be working with the male tribute. Dayta moved over to the boy bowl and repeated the same process that she had done with the girls.

"Finnick Odair," she said finally, and Leia leaned forward in her seat as a small both with curly blonde hair stepped into the aisle. He looked absolutely mortified, and Leia froze, feeling awful because he could not have been older than she was. "Come up here, Finnick."

He was attractive with defined features and stunning eyes. Despite the fact that a child the same age as her daughter had just been chosen, Leia's mom smirked at the sight of him. "Now, him you could work with."

《✵》

LEIA WAS PRACTICALLY SHAKING AS SHE STEPPED INTO THE TRIBUTE BUILDING. It was where all of the tributes stayed and where she would be staying until the end of the games.The building included the training rooms, the interview hall, and where the tribute parade would take place as well as all of the suites. The entire place was overwhelming.

She entered the District Four suite, and she found her teammates in Finnick's room. She introduced herself to Apollo Blase and met his hair specialist — Amethyst Calis — and nail specialist — Lunia Diamond. Leia was supposed to be on makeup. She had been practicing non-stop since she found out that she would be doing this, but she was still terrified.

"He is a very handsome young man," Apollo commented as Finnick came on the television once again in a replay of the Reaping. Leia had to admit that he was right. Finnick was stunning. She was admiring him from where she sat next to Amethyst. The Blase man grinned. "It should not take much to make him look good."

Lunia nodded excitedly in agreement. It was clear that she admired the man very much, and she seemed very eager to please him in anyway that she could. She sighed and informed him, "I feel bad for Opal. She has the District Four girl."

"Oh, that foul-looking girl. Seems strong, though," Apollo responded with a pout. He did not seem the very least sorry about their horrid comments.

Leia frowned, and she leaned toward Amethyst who had yet to contribute to the conversation. She and Lunia seemed around the same age — nineteen or twenty — but the Calis woman seemed a lot cooler and a lot less gossipy. The Calore girl whispered to her, "Are they always this mean?"

"You get used to it after a bit. They'd never say it to your face, though. They just like to gossip," Amethyst answered with a hushed voice. She froze after a moment, realizing that she made it seem like Apollo and Lunia were going to gossip about Leia behind her back. She corrected herself, scanning the young girl for any imperfections, which made her kind of uncomfortable. "Not that there's anything to say about you. You're adorable."

"Thank you?" Leia responded, wondering if she wanted to be cute. She did not know if that meant completely unintimidating or attractive.

"It's a compliment," the Calis woman assured her, waving her off to get rid of any doubt or fear. "The Capitol adores cute people, although you probably won't get a lot of time in the spotlight. We're just the artists. It's our art that they pay attention to."

The Calore woman was relieved because she hated being the center of attention, especially when it came to people in the Capitol. They were ruthless and would notice anything that was not completely perfect and make a huge deal out of it. She pointed out, "People know who Mr. Blase is, though. My mother said that he was a genius."

"Well, Apollo can't not take credit for something. He might as well sign all of the clothes across the chest." That made Leia giggle, and she was honestly surprised and so glad that she found someone that was not completely stuck up and elitist.

However, both of their smiles faded when Apollo whipped his head over to them with a piercing glare and raised eyebrows. He questioned, "What's so funny?"

"Sorry, sir. We were just discussing District Three's Tribute Parade design from the 61st Games," Amethyst answered casually and confidently. She offered a cute and charming smile up at the man, and his scary face eased into a happy and humorous one.

Then he burst out laughing. Leia was honestly a bit more scared by the laughing that his glare because he almost fell off the seat. When he calmed down, he grinned and looked up at them before waving them off like they did not do anything. "Oh, no worries. How could anyone not laugh at that?"

"What's that?" Leia asked Amethyst once Apollo and Lunia had gone back to their discussion. She had been ten and ill during the Games they were speaking of.

"They dressed them up as computers from the old ages," the older girl explained, shaking her head. Leia pictured it, and she could not think of a way that that could look good. She was guessing that it was a disaster. "They were too big to fit in the carriage and fell out about ten seconds into the parade."

Leia gasped, and her hands flew to her hands, knowing how humiliating that must have been for the people that had to experience it. She responded, "Those poor tributes."

"It actually won them a lot of sympathy. The guy won because they got, like, twenty gifts in the arena," Amethyst told her. Who knew that falling off of the Tribute Parade carriage would end so well? Good for them, Leia guessed.

They were interrupted by the sound of the door opening, and all four heads turned to see the blonde boy standing in the doorway. Leia's breath left her lungs at the sight of him. He was even more stunning in person. Apollo clapped his hands together and grinned at the boy. "You must be our new project."