It was difficult walking in the outfit, as all the tributes assembled for the opening ceremonies.

Xavier was already by our silver chariot, next to a squat man who I assumed would have been his stylist. Xavier and I weren’t in the same outfits, but the concept of what Alta had said was very clear to me. Xavier had his torso naked, but his bottom half had the same qualities of fabric and metals that my train had. He looked like the epitome of what a warrior should be. He even had a silver trident in his left hand.

At first, I had thought he was a scrawny kid, but it seems that training had done him well. Surely, our district would get sponsors just based from the opening.

I was nervous, and I told them that I needed a glass of water. I went for the station where some of the refreshments were and took a cool glass. I needed to feel something cool. The station was near where the District 2 chariots were. The male tribute was eyeing me, but I couldn’t tell what kind of expression was on his face. I didn’t know if he found me amusing because I was using beauty as opposed to strength, or if the outfit that Alta had managed impressed him.

His female counterpart was conversing with the District 1 tributes next to them, so he had the time before the ceremonies to preoccupy himself.

All I did was stare back. Really, what was the harm? He would probably be an ally soon anyway, so I might as well talk to one of them this early. I took a sip of water and smiled. His responding grin was wider than mine.

He started going over to me, and my mind went blank. It was odd. I would usually feel at ease with people, but I was probably looking at a future enemy. My brain probably protected me from making friends so that I wasn’t going to feel any attachment when they time came that I had to kill them.

“Serena, from District 4?” he said, in a deep, husky voice. I assessed him quickly. He was about a foot taller than me, with light brown eyes flecked with gold. His hair was brown a few shades lighter than mine, which was completely black, sans for the strings of gold and blue twined with my hair. “I would remember a girl’s name that had a face like yours.”

Was he flirting with me, really? He was aware that we would be trying to kill each other after a few weeks, right? Maybe this was a tactic. I could play that, if he wanted. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t catch yours.”

I pondered whether playing hard-to-get would work with this guy. Due to the restricting amount of time that we had, probably not, but I didn’t want him to think that he was so obviously attractive that I was ready to forget the pretense of everything. We wouldn’t even meet like this if it hadn’t been for the fact that we were tributes. But then again, he had volunteered to be here.

“Slate.” His smile was wide and sincere, reaching to his eyes. I noticed dimples on his cheeks that I hadn’t seen earlier. This made him seem less intimidating, what with his bulky, muscular body and impressive height. How he managed to grow this way, I couldn’t imagine, but then the Capitol had always favored District 2.

His district industry was masonry, so he was in a light metal armor that made him look like a warrior. Next to him, I probably looked like some damsel in distress.

From the corner of me eye, I saw Alta beckoning for me to head back to the chariot, which was just one chariot away from Slate’s.

I winked at him and said, “Catch me later?”

He seemed amused as he replied, “You can bet on it.”

The horses attached to our chariot had a beautiful white coat, and their mane glistened silver. Alta and Beagan positioned Xavier and me on the chariot, and had the nets wrapped around us in a way that must have looked attractive for television. I saw attached to the net was a gossamer fabric that was colored blue. That would probably ripple behind us as we paraded.

The District 1 chariot started signaling that we were good to go. Their horses were painted gold, and their outfits were filled with different jewelries. The District 1 tributes and their stylists always had it easy, what with their industry being luxury.

Slate and his partner were soon off, looking formidable in their outfits. I could hear the cheers of the crowds as our horses made its way toward the door. I hoped that Alta had done a really good job at this. Even I could admit that our outfits stood out, when all the tributes were assembled before the ceremonies.

The crowd shouted loudly as Xavier and I were in view. I saw that their vision had worked. From the television, I saw myself, looking breathtaking and attractive in the outfit, with my best features highlighted. Xavier couldn’t be overlooked either, even with my dramatic outfit. The fabric attached to the net was actually longer than I expected, and it looked like we had waves rippling behind us as the chariot proceeded at an even pace.

Flowers were thrown at me and I caught them. I gave the most charming smile at the audience, even though I really couldn’t see anything, what with the lights in my eyes and the music pounding in my head. I blew kisses and batted my eyelashes.

Use your physical attributes to your advantage, Travis had said. Maybe I should appear ethereal in beauty. Mermaids weren’t even supposed to exist, but they were believed to lure sailors because of their beauty. Alta must have had the same idea of using my looks. They had no way of knowing that I was just as deadly with weapons.

The cameras seemed to focus on our chariot more than most. Even the long train of waves that kept flowing distracted me. It made the chariot seem longer, and us look larger than life.

The tributes all ended up at the City Circle. The music ended. I glanced at Xavier. He was only a few years younger, but he looked like a child to me. As much as he tried to look brave, I could see the flicker of fear fill his eyes.

I reached over and squeezed his arm in reassurance. I looked up at the screen and saw that this was captured on television, which had made all the Capitol citizens go wild again. Kindness from two Careers seemed to be something to enjoy.

The president came out and welcomed us. While he said his speech, the camera went onto the different tributes. I could see the cameras lasting on 1, 2 and 4 longer than most. Our chariot was even more distracting, with the waves billowing in the wind. Alta and Beagan did a great job of it.

After rounding the circle one more time, all the tributes headed into the Training Center. The doors shut after the District 12 tributes finally came in, wearing their miner’s attire. The doors shutting sounded like the last bits of freedom closing in.

Our prep teams and stylists, congratulating us on a job well done, suddenly surrounded our chariot. Alta and Beagan were given recognition for their amazing work. I was getting slightly dizzy, with all these different colors, and the tight outfit suddenly felt tighter.

A chariot away, I saw Slate watching me, as his admiring prep team and stylist surrounded him. He was one of the handsome tributes this year, certainly. It was hard to miss him. He saw me glance at his direction and he gave another smile.

Did I really plan to keep up this obviously fake flirtation? Fake or not, I might as well make good use of the last few days that I might be alive.

It was no use harboring on it. I better take everything good that there was about this.

I gave the most dazzling smile that I was capable of. He seemed to be caught off guard, but he started making his way to our chariot. The female tribute watched him curiously, probably wondering why her partner had taken an interest in this District 4 tribute that looked like she didn’t have the brains to survive.

I stepped off the chariot and met him right when I resisted tripping on the train of my dress. If I had caught this guy’s attention, what were the chances that I had caught a few of the sponsors as well?

“Mind if we see each other without all these people around?” Slate said as he bent over so that I was the only one who could hear it.

There was a collective sigh of surprise from the Capitol people around us. They must have been jealous of Slate or me. We couldn’t have met each other prior to this, so this must have only been recently. It wouldn’t hurt to have gossip like this around. I only wondered what my parents and brother would think about me doing this.

Aldo certainly never told me to mingle with the other tributes. I didn’t need to impress anyone. I would just automatically get in with the Careers because of my district. This bit I was doing on my own.

“Tell me tomorrow morning if you find a place.” He was tall, but I managed to plant a light kiss on his cheek.

That was another thing that got everyone excited. Slate looked pleased, and he turned back to his perplexed district partner as they headed for the elevators. Xavier and I were in the same one with them.

It was a short ride, but I could feel everyone in the elevator dissecting Slate’s behavior and mine. It was probably a first when two tributes from different districts showed any interest in each other. After all, it wasn’t a very good investment, with one of us only coming out alive. The District 2 escort and Lolly were conversing in hushed, excited tones. It wasn’t very discreet though. I could hear that they were evidently talking about Slate and me.

His District partner, who was a tough-looking girl, kept glancing at me. I bet she couldn’t figure out whether I was a threat or not.

Since they were on level 2, their ride was shorter. It didn’t mean that Slate didn’t have time to return that kiss on the cheek I gave him earlier. He gave a quick one on my forehead this time. The doors closed and Lolly suddenly became noisier than I thought possible.

“You have to tell me all about what’s going on between you and Slate over dinner!” she squealed. Xavier glanced at me as if to say, ‘What is wrong with these people?’ I smothered a laugh and he smiled.

“Everyone has been asking about the two of you.” The doors of the elevator opened and we stepped in. Lolly rushed us into the entrance foyer. The rooms were huge, with a dining area and a hallway that led to what I assumed to be our quarters for the rest of our stay. “We’ll discuss it more after you get dressed for dinner.”

My living space was even better than the one of the train. My room back home was about a quarter if this. The sheets here were soft and smooth. There were different buttons that had different commands. Everything that I could want was available to me at the touch of a button.

Everything except freedom.