Hunger Games 1

Chapter 10 The Burning Girl (2)
"What is coal for? For burning," Cinna said. "You're not afraid of fire, are you, Katniss?" He grinned at my expression.

A few hours later, I was in what was either the most sensational or the deadliest costume of the opening ceremony—a simple black bodysuit, tightly cinched from neck to ankle, and shiny knee-high black leather boots with orange, yellow and orange accents. , a flowing cloak with red tricolor stripes and a matching cap.Cinar intends to set the cloak on fire before our chariot rolls into the street.

"Of course not a real fire, but an artificial flame designed by Portia and I. You are [-]% safe," he said.But I'm still not sure if I'll be grilled when I get downtown.

I have basically no makeup on my face, just a little bit of highlighting in one or two spots.The hair is recombed and, as usual, a large braid is left behind. "I want the audience to recognize you as soon as you arrive in the arena." Cinna murmured, "Katniss, the burning girl."

It suddenly occurred to me that Cinna's serene, ordinary exterior hid one of the wildest souls.

Despite all the speculation about Peeta this morning, I was relieved when he showed up in the same outfit.As a baker's son, he should know about fire.His stylist, Portia, and the design team followed him, all excited about the potential buzz our clothes and looks could make.Only Cinna, under the frequent congratulations of others, was a little tired.

We were surrounded and came to the bottom floor of the Image Design Center, which was originally a huge horse racing training ground.The opening ceremony is about to begin.Pairs of "tributes" boarded chariots drawn by four horses.Our tanks are black.The horses that pull the cart are so well trained that the driver doesn't even need a bridle.Cinna and Portia led us into the carriage, carefully positioned us, and arranged our cloaks.

"What do you think? The flame idea," I whisper to Peeta.

"I yank your cloak, you yank mine." He squeezed the words through gritted teeth.

"Deal." I said.Perhaps we can yank off the cloak as soon as possible and avoid serious burns.It sucks, we're going to be thrown into the arena no matter what the situation is. "I know Haymitch has been promised to do exactly what they say, but I don't think he's taken that into account."

"Where the hell is Haymitch? Isn't he supposed to protect us in this kind of thing?" Peeta says.

"Maybe it's not a good idea to let him near the fire after being drunk," I said.

Suddenly, we laughed together.At this time, we are already too tense and depressed, fearing that we will become living torches, and our behavior is a bit strange.

The music for the opening ceremony sounded.Loud and noisy voices penetrated the entire Capitol.The heavy gate opened, and a wide street appeared before the eyes, with crowds of people on both sides of the street.The chariot will drive for about 10 minutes, and finally arrive at the circular square in the city center, where the crowd will be waiting to welcome us, and then the national anthem will be played, and the crowd will welcome the players into the training center.All the contestants will stay here until the Hunger Games begins, it's a home, it's a prison.

The chariots in the first district were pulled by snow-white horses. The contestants wore silver tunics studded with shining gems, which looked beautiful and tasteful.District One crafts luxury goods for the Capitol.The crowd roared with applause as their chariots passed by, and they were forever the crowd's favorites.

The chariots of the second district followed closely behind.Soon, we were getting closer and closer to the gate.I saw the sky was overcast, and the lights looked gray against the twilight and the sky.The chariot of District [-] was about to drive out of the gate, when Cinna appeared, holding a torch in his hand. "It's our turn," he said.Before we could react, he set our cloaks on fire.I was short of breath, waiting for the fire to burn, but all I could feel was a numbness in my back.Cinna climbed into the chariot again and set our turbans on fire.He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It worked." Then he gently cupped my chin in his hand and said, "Remember, hold your head high and smile. People will love you!"

Cinna jumped out of the chariot, then seemed to remember something, and shouted at us, but the music drowned out his voice.Again he shouted and gestured.

"What did he say?" I ask Peeta.That's when I looked up and saw the fake flames on him for the first time, and he looked radiant, so I must be too!

"I think he meant let's hold hands," Peeta said.He grabbed my left with his right, and our eyes turned to Cinna for his confirmation.Cinna nodded and gave a thumbs up, the last thing I saw before entering the city.

After we came out, the audience was surprised at first, and then quickly turned into cheers, "District [-]!" Everyone turned their attention from the three chariots moving in front to us.At first, my body was a little stiff, but I saw myself on the big screen, and it was dazzling how radiant we were.Torches illuminated our cheeks in the coming night, and our fluttering cloaks stretched long lines of light behind us.Cinna was right not to put on heavy makeup on us, we both looked smart and recognizable.

"Remember, hold your head high and smile, people will love you!" Cinna's words echoed in my ears.I raised my chin slightly again, showing the brightest smile on my face, and kept waving to the audience.It's nice to have Peeta pulling me for balance, he stands firm as a rock.I became more confident and even blew a few kisses to the audience.The Capitol went wild, holding flowers at us and chanting our names that they had just seen on the show.

The deafening music, cheers and the respect of the audience made my blood boil and I couldn't suppress the excitement in my heart.Cinna gave me a big advantage, no one would forget me, my name, my face.Katniss, the burning girl.

For the first time, I felt a glimmer of hope kindle in my heart.There must be patrons to support me.As long as I get extra help -- food, a handy weapon -- why do I think I'll be eliminated from the competition?
Someone throws a rose at me, I catch the flower, smell the flower, and blow a kiss in the direction of the flower.A hundred hands reach out to catch my blown kiss as if it were something tangible.

"Katniss, Katniss!" I heard people shouting my name from all directions.Everyone wants to blow my kisses.

It wasn't until we reached the city center's Circus that I felt that the blood circulation in Peeta's hand had stopped.I wanted to let go of our intersecting fingers, but he held me tightly again. "No, no, don't let me go," he said.Firelight danced in his blue eyes, "Please don't let go of me, I'm going to fall out of this thing."

"Ok." I said.I kept grabbing his hand, but I felt strange why Cinna connected us in this way, let us play as a team, and then locked us in an arena to kill each other, it's so unfair up.

Twelve chariots formed a circle in the central square.Every window of the buildings around the circular square was filled with the most prestigious citizens of the Capitol. Our horses pulled the chariot directly in front of President Snow's mansion and stopped.The music ends in a beautiful movement.

The president, a small man with white hair, stood on the balcony and gave us a warm welcome on behalf of the government.Typically, during the speech, the camera cuts to the face of the "tribute".I've noticed on TV that the two of us have far more camera time than anyone else.The later it got, the harder it was to take our eyes off the flickering fire.

When the national anthem sounded, the camera lens switched to the faces of the contestants in each district, and turned around quickly.When the Twelfth District tank finally circled the field until it disappeared into the training center, the camera never left us.

The gates closed behind us as our tank was mobbed by the design team, who babbled praises at us but were drowned out by the noise around them.I looked around and saw many "tributes" casting jealous glances at us, confirming my prediction that we dwarfed them all in their splendor.Cinna and Portia were waiting there, and they helped us off the chariot, carefully removing the burning shawls and headdresses.Portia then extinguished the fire with a fire extinguisher.

Realizing that my hand is still joined to Peeta's, I spread my stiff fingers and we both rub our hands.

"Thanks for holding me, I was shaking," Peeta said.

"I can't see you shaking," I told him, "I'm sure no one noticed."

"I bet they didn't notice anyone but you, and you should always wear red," he said. "It suits you."

Then he smiled at me with a slight shyness, which just set off a warm current in my heart.

But I immediately sounded the alarm. "Don't be so stupid, Peeta is planning to kill you," I said to myself. "He's getting you hooked. The more reliable he looks, the more he'll kill you."

But he's not the only one with tricks, I tiptoe and kiss him on the cheek, right on the bruise.

(End of this chapter)