𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐒𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐍 | 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀

FIVE

I've been lying on a bed and staring at the ceiling for what feels like forever when the woman who introduced herself as Emmaline finally speaks up. "Last one, Oceana!" She says, smiling. She has hair so light it looks white and a gold piercing near her eyebrow, above all she has gold tattoos all over her arm. I will never understand Capitol fashion, but I guess if that was what made them comfortable I'll try not to judge. I instantly bite the bottom of my teeth as she yanks the fabric from my leg, the hair below it tears off as I slowly recover from the pain.

"Are we done?" I ask, turning my head to the side to glance at her before glancing at the clock. I've spent the past three hours in the Remake Centre and the last hour or so lying on the bed in a thin robe which is so thin you might as well not wear one as Emmaline rips my hair out of my body. No wonder I feel like I've been here for an eternity.

"Almost," she smiles before calling the rest of my prep team over. "You're doing very well."

Almost? It's been three hours and I'm still not ready to change into my costume for the parade. How much is there to do? I glance over at the rest of my prep team. There's a lady called Nessa who has silver tattoos all over her arms, she has pink hair and all sorts of piercings on her ears– I suppose she's the one that looks the most normal in contrast to some guy called Ryker who has his entire body dyed a pale shade of orange.

They rub me down with some kind of lotion which stings for a while before it soothes my skin before pulling me from the table to remove the robe. I'm completely naked at this point and I can't help but feel self conscious as I stand in the centre of the room awkwardly, watching as they circle me, wielding tweezers as they inspect my body closely, looking for any leftover hair. I probably shouldn't feel as self conscious as I am right now, afterall, they're only doing their jobs, but I can't help it. Emmaline must've taken notice of it as she places her hand on my shoulder and gives a reassuring smile.

"And we're done!" Ryker claps his hands together, "you look excellent my dear, and I'm sure you'd look even more dazzling in your dress!"

"Thank you," I smile, looking at Nessa who passes me a silk robe to wear out to the dressing room.

"Doesn't she look beautiful?" Emmaline squeaks in her high-pitched voice and her funny Capitol accent. "Oh, my darling, you have such incredible potential when it comes to your looks! I'm so glad we're going to manage to reach it!"

I'm not sure whether to take the last part as an insult or compliment but it doesn't matter as I make my way out into the sitting room and take a seat on one of the velvet seats that are so comfortable I can fall asleep on them. I run my fingers through my hair. If only I was back in District 4 with Aurelia. My mind starts to wander off as I think about mother who's probably worried to death and father who is probably carrying on with life just fine. Mother...The dress mother had given to me! I now remember about it and my lips turn upside down into a frown as I remember that I had left it on the train– not thinking about bringing it with me into the Capitol.

I hear the door open and I turn around to see Valeria. The soft curls in her pink hair bounces up and down as she makes her way to me excitedly, there's a big smile on her face as she looks at me, although it fades away when we make eye contact with each other.

"Why the frown, Oceana? Did the prep team not do a good job?" She asks, slight concern lacing her voice.

"No," I force a smile. "They did a brilliant job." I'm not sure how true the statement is, but Valeria seems to agree regardless.

"Then why the frown?" She asks, combing through my hair. "You should smile more, you have the sweetest smile!"

"I was just thinking about home," I vaguely reply.