Sugarcubes // Finnick Odair - Hunger Games Fanfic

XII.

"Back straight, Kendria. You're not an 80-year-old woman."

Rosaline chides me as I sit on the armchair in heels and a poofy dress and her and Eero try and get me prepared to act like a lady in my interview with Cesar tonight. Spoiler alert: I'm not a lady.

"Yeah. She is." I say gesturing towards Eero snappishly, annoyed at their constant nagging.There are so many better things I can be doing right now. So many things that would actually help me in these nightmarish games.

"Be nice." Rosaline replies curtly, walking forward and adding a two-ton book on my head. It's a wonder the capitol people can have books that weigh so much and yet still be so dumb. I refrain from stating this opinion as I push my back further in to hold my head up high.I don't understand how stupid books on heads and poofy dresses are supposed to help me win death games. Lucky for them, this is a question I don't hesitate from asking.

"This is stupid. How does this matter anyway? It's fucking idiotic. If I'm going to die, I'd rather the days leading up to it be comfortable."

"Mind your language, Kendria," Rosaline reprimands digging through the pile of clothes on the other chair to find something.

I can't believe that the language was the only thing she got from those sentences.

"This may not be the days leading up to your death, sweetheart, If you learn to get the capitols attention. You need to act like a lady. Draw their attention to you. It's a pageant. This 'shit' as you would call it, is important." Eero interjects, standing up from her seat across from me with utmost elegance. I almost miss the days where she wouldn't so much as look at me.I wonder what Austin is doing and hope that it is as torturous as what these people are putting me through.

"But its bloody," I pause at the right of Rosaline's stare, "Oh come on! Bloody isn't a bad word!" I exclaim indignantly. Pulling my off-shoulder shirt back on my shoulders, I huff, frustrated. Why on earth would someone make a dress this impractical?

"How come Austin doesn't have to do this stuff?" I ask as Rosaline pushes my sleeves back down my shoulders and hands me a pair of heels.I would pay to see Austin wear on of these dresses and prance about in heels.

"Because Austin is at least ten times more graceful than you are." Eero says. Touche lady.

"I'm sorry I wasn't jumping through ballet loops when my siblings were starving to death trying to act graceful." I snap at her again, almost adding a statement about him, but then quickly recovering myself. "I'm a lumberjack. It's hard for me to be 'graceful'"

"So was I." She says in an undertone huffing at sitting down in a chair – even this action coming out frustratingly grateful. I'm so annoyed at her and her gracefulness I don't focus on her words.

"Enough. Put on the shoes, Kendria." Rosaline reprimands me, motioning to the shoes in the lap of my puffy dress.

I huff at both the females in the room, feeling quite inadequate myself in the room filled with bags, shoes and poofy dresses. I feel like the best part of these games now, is actually getting into the arena, because I have some control of the outcomes – whether to kill or get killed – whereas here I am sitting like a doll, useless, trying to act like someone and something that I most certainly am not. Rosaline and Eero both insist on having me stand in the heels which I can't seem to keep my balance on. I try to walk a few steps forwards, but instead bump my leg on the table and swing my bag across the room, smacking Rosaline in the face and fall forwards, only to be caught by a red faced, disgruntled looking Austin who seemingly had a bad half of the day of preparations with Blight. Secretly, I'm glad.

"Woah!" He exclaims, catching me as I come tumbling down in my poofy off-shoulder cursed dress.

I slam into him trying to stop myself and send us both to the floor. Once I scramble up to my feet and throw the heels aside, an equally disgruntled pair of women join us. I roll my eyes at Rosaline who rubs her face – presumably where my bag hit her, with a hurt expression.

"Oh, chill out, I didn't mean to hit you." I say exasperated at her behavior.

"I was aiming for Eero." I add under my breath softly. Austin seems to hear my because he lets out a low, badly concealed chortle at my words which brings a smile to my face.

"Blight- Blight wants to see you, Kendria." He stutters out, still trying to hide his laughter, even more so now, at the sight of the disheveled room and baggage and dresses.

"Oh, thank god." I sigh, stripping off my dress in front of them all, leaving me in just my bra and underwear and putting on a loose-fitting large T-shirt. I wink at Austin, leaving him flustered and exit the room barefoot, mouthing 'good luck' at both him and Eero and Rosaline – It's up to them to decide which party it's meant for.

I walk down the hall of the apartment and stop in front of the door I'm supposed to be entering now, smiling when I hear a crash and a scream from the hall room, showing that Austin is definitely giving the ladies some trouble of his own.

Published: 11, January 2023